ATX-LLH: Impact 11/7/2025

Anytime Fitness officially opened its new location near the Liberty Hill and Georgetown border Nov. 4.

The fitness center's memberships offer 24/7 gym access to a network of over 5,500 gyms around the world, as well as personalized coaching and free access to Apple Fitness+.

One more thing: The facility has squat racks, dumbbells, treadmills, rowing machines and more, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

• 2029 Kauffman Loop, Ste. 410, Georgetown

Waffle House, the nationwide breakfast chain, has filed to open a new location in Liberty Hill, according to a listing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. This would be the first Waffle House location in the area and the first Williamson County location outside of Austin.

The 1,840-square-foot diner will be located along Hwy. 29 and has an expected construction start date of June 2026. The construction is expected to be complete by winter.

The Ascension Seton Health Alliance, a network of doctors and hospitals in the Austin metro area, will invest $800 million in its Williamson County facilities through a nonprofit bond.

The breakdown: ASHA has plans to improve some of its existing facilities throughout the state, amounting to more than $1 billion, Jerry Kyle, a partner at public finance firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, said at a Commissioners Court meeting Oct. 28.

Upgrades to Williamson County facilities include:

• $480 million for the Ascension Seton Cedar Park Hospital
• $25 million for the Ascension Seton Wound Care Center in Cedar Park
• $20 million for the Ascension Seton Emergency Center in Leander
• $275 million for the Seton Williamson Hospital in Round Rock

The air traffic control tower at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is staffed at just 45% of its target, according to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett.

The overview: Only 27 controllers are currently assigned to a tower that needs 60 to meet federal recommendations. The Federal Aviation Administration attributes nationwide shortages to disrupted hiring and training cycles. Controller turnover remains a top issue, according to FAA reports. While the FAA plans to hire 8,900 controllers by 2028, projected departures mean only a net gain of about 2,000. 

The local lens: Those gaps have raised safety concerns. Since late 2022, the FAA has recorded six near-miss incidents at ABIA. 
Local leaders warn that without faster staffing relief, reliability and safety could suffer as Austin’s aviation demand rises.

Quote of note: “These staffing-related disruptions are now systemic, recurring with increasing frequency and intensity. ... With record-setting passenger growth and a multi-billion-dollar expansion underway, AUS cannot meet its operational or safety commitments without immediate staffing relief,” ABIA CEO Ghizlane Badawi wrote in a letter to FAA administrators.