Phase III | Phase II | Phase I | About the Historic Resource Survey 

Phase II adoption  
At its June 14, 2012 meeting the City Council approved the Survey and Inventory of Historic Resources in Downtown Round Rock, Phase III report entitled: “Moving Historic Resources: Consideration and Implications in the City of Round Rock, Texas”. The Report outlines a program that would enable the relocation of designated historic resources within the City as an alternative to demolition or removal.  

Report: Moving Historic Resources: Considerations and Implications in the City of Round Rock, Texas (pdf)
Reference: Historical Resources Relocation Program Feasibility Study (Draft)

Survey and Inventory of Historic Resources, Phase I:  
In spring 2010, a subcommittee of Historic Preservation Commission and City Council members reviewed the Phase I survey findings and recommendations. The Phase I survey report then was approved by the Historic Preservation Commission, Planning & Zoning Commission, and City Council in September 2010 as an addendum to the Downtown Master Plan.

Report (pdf, 2 MB) Appendix A: Inventory (pdf, 56 KB) Appendix B: Maps (pdf, 6 MB) Appendix C: Photos (pdf, 23 MB) Appendix D: Survey Forms (pdf, 12 MB)

2010 Historic Resources Survey
During the Downtown Master Plan process, residents made it clear that they wanted the City to preserve Round Rock’s character. That sentiment was repeated when the City updated its 2010-2020 General Plan. Because the downtown area was one of the first parts of New Town Round Rock to be developed, the Downtown Master Plan recommended that the City’s 1992 Historic Resources Inventory should be updated before any further action is taken, so that in the future, we would be in a better position to make informed decisions about potential redevelopment activities. 

The process of updating this inventory of historic resources is called an Historic Resource Survey. Historic Resources Surveys gather information about individual properties and neighborhoods through research, visual observation, and photographs. Over the past 50 years, the survey process has been standardized by the U. S. Department of the Interior to ensure that the data collected in such a survey is similar from city to city across the country. Following this standardized process helps us compare the 1992 data to the information being collected today. 

In spring 2010, the City hired McDoux Preservation, LLC to compile a record of each property within the Downtown Master Plan area. This included a history of the area, photographs, maps, and details about each building’s architectural style, materials, and any historical significance. The survey was completed in two parts. Phase I included 155 properties mostly west of the two-block downtown commercial historic district. Phase II included the remaining 498 properties.

Surveying the City’s historic buildings helps officials, the Department of Planning and Development Services, and the public understand which properties are historically or architecturally significant, and therefore worthy of preservation.

Although adopting the informational Phase I and II survey reports does not obligate the City to act on any of the recommendations set forth in the report, the information will help City officials make well-informed decisions and preserve the most significant parts of Round Rock’s historic built environment.

For more information about the Historic Resources Survey, please contact Joelle Jordan, Senior Planner, Department of Planning and Community Development, at (512) 218-5422 or jjordan@roundrocktexas.gov.