This past October, Bisnow hosted a panel discussion in Austin, TX regarding “Emerging Submarkets Outside the Urban Core.” Burt Wellmann, PE, Regional Discipline Leader (Civil/Site) in the San Antonio office, joined a diverse group of construction, architecture, development, and municipal leaders to explore this topic. The conversation expanded beyond traditional development concerns, touching on crucial aspects of suburban growth, including early master planning for essential utilities and infrastructure; implementing redundant measures for natural disaster preparedness; as well as addressing water management challenges in smaller communities. This comprehensive approach to development has become increasingly important as emerging markets around Austin continue to experience rapidly increasing growth.

During the discussion, Wellmann shared his “Three Ps” approach focusing on the infrastructure and civil engineering side: “Plan, be Proactive, and Prepare.”

Plan: Infrastructure

He emphasized the critical importance of early master planning for infrastructure, including roadways and utilities including water, sewer, electric and fiber optics. “When we work with developers on the front end of projects, we need to answer fundamental questions about what’s required, what’s available, and what needs to be done,”. Noting that roadway and utility planning presents significant opportunities for forward-thinking design and planning.

Proactive: Water Management

Water management emerged as another crucial concern, especially for smaller communities facing infrastructure challenges. “From an infrastructure standpoint, water is such a huge deal, and water rights are not readily available, so this needs to be taken into consideration. That’s why being proactive and planning early is important,” Wellmann observed, explaining that smaller communities often lack the funding and/or resources to even begin addressing these issues.

Prepare: Drainage

He also discussed the importance of natural disaster preparedness, particularly stressing the importance of flood prevention and management. “One of the good things that comes from these disasters, is having more of a focus on drainage and understanding the flooding aspects,” he noted, highlighting Texas’ progressive approach to flood prevention and proactive design solutions.

The insights shared during this panel illuminate the complexities of development beyond the urban core, offering valuable perspectives for industry professionals and community stakeholders. These concepts present a reality that ties back to Wellmann’s approach of why planning, being proactive, and preparing is critical to creating sustainable, resilient communities in these growing areas.

Other professionals who joined this panel were: Rob Shands, Partner at Redleaf Properties; Arthur Jackson, Chief Economic Development Officer at Cedar Park EDC; Bryan Baynton, Director of Acquisitions & Development at Titan Development; Kevin Foltermann, Vice President at W.E. O’Neil Construction; Will Gresham, Principal, Director of Architecture at STG Design and Wes Wigginton, Managing Director at Foursquare.

Let’s Work Together!

For more information regarding our approach to Land development in emerging markets, contact Burt Welmann.