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New park opens at Mueller community in Austin

The new park honors the life of Mary Elizabeth Weaver, former president of Huston-Tillotson University

AUSTIN, Texas — In the past year, more than fifteen businesses have moved to the Mueller development just east of I-35.

“Mueller is intentionally designed as a place that has lots of density,” said Kathie Tovo, Austin District 9 council member.

There is also a variety of housing: Apartments, condos and townhomes.

"It's really a mixed-use, sustainable urban village,” said Tovo. “There are restaurants and other kinds of services here."

More than 5,500 people work here and there are more than 6,200 homes, according to a 2018 community report.

On Friday, Mueller opened its seventh park, Branch Park, named after former Huston-Tillotson president Mary Elizabeth Branch.

"She was heralded as the turning point for the institution,” said Wayne Knox, current vice president of the university.

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Branch was president of Huston-Tillotson – then called Tillotson College – from 1930 to '44.

She helped double the number of faculty, increased enrollment and transformed the women's junior college into a four-year, co-ed historically black university, by merging with Samuel Huston College.

"Mary Branch serves as a testament that you can do whatever you put your mind to,” said Knox. “Mary's family were not educated individuals. They were just hard-working sharecroppers. But she saw something different for her life."

This new park is one way to remember her legacy, at a busy, growing development, just minutes from downtown.

Developers hope to employ more than 14,000 people in Mueller.

"It's exciting right now,” said Greg Weaver, catellus executive vice president. “We got multiple apartments coming, houses coming, office building. Retail, all within the next two to three years."

Branch Park is now open, on Aldrich Street, across from Kerbey Lane Cafe.

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