“A travesty,” is how one resident, who asked not to be named, described the announcement.
“We have no comprehensive public high school in Austin and as a result, people are leaving the community,” the resident said. “If a school was built on that property, it could employ upwards of 300 people. This decision just does not hurt Austin from a community development standpoint, but also from an economic standpoint.”
Others have a different view.
“As long as the developers are committed to the community, any development is a good thing,” said state Rep. LaShawn Ford, who was among community members touting the site for a high school campus.
While the site is ideal for a school, the proposed development could spur economic activity in Austin, Ford said.