Initial phase of development honors early aviation, community

AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 21, 2026) – Central Austin is noticing a striking, newly painted 50-foot mural featuring a young woman in a well-postured pose, wearing a red bandana and a bomber jacket. Located where E Hwy 290 ends, merging with East Koenig Lane and into the North Loop neighborhood, the mural adorns the garage wall of Millie at The Hangar, the first phase of a multifamily development currently under construction at 403 East Koenig Lane. Muralist Luis Angulo “ULOANG” filled it with images highlighting this vibrant community and its lasting history.

This multi-phased development aptly named “The Hangar” embraces the spirit of early aviation and pays homage to the “Doc” Haile Airport that once operated on 50-acres of North Loop land in the 1940s. A woman named Mildred “Millie” Inks Davidson Dalrymple inspired the mural and this first phase of construction which is named “Millie” in her honor. After her husband’s plane was shot down in World War II, she set her mind to contributing to the war effort by joining the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), taking flying lessons at the Haile Airport. While in the WASPs, she flew a variety of aircrafts, piloting the nation’s heaviest bombers. In 2010, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her service in the war.

The mural on Millie at The Hangar fulfills the dual purposes of honoring this unique history and serving as a gateway to the neighborhood. “I wanted to make it obvious that this mural was about welcoming you to this unique part of Austin,” ULOANG said.

Merging a storied neighborhood with new development

In concert with the North Loop Neighborhood Association, the development team worked collaboratively for multiple years on everything from the height of the multifamily structures to number and type of affordable units while incorporating a one-acre park greenspace.

Commissioning ULOANG to create a mural, incorporating community and developer feedback, represents a natural continuation of the relationship developed over time aimed at welcoming future Millie at The Hangar residents into North Loop. As such, the new public park will be directly underneath the mural; an ever-present reminder of the amalgamation of history and place.

“This is the first thing people see when they approach the neighborhood from the east, and I’m proud as punch,” North Loop Neighborhood Association’s History Committee Member Jan Seward said. “We were lacking welcome signage into this neighborhood, and ULOANG took the community’s input and created something special.”

The result of this neighborhood/developer relationship is a two-phase multifamily project designed by KTGY. The first phase, Millie at The Hangar, is a 249-unit, five-story apartment complex currently under construction by general contractor, Arch-Con® Corporation. Millie at The Hangar includes a public, one-acre park with amenities including native landscaping, a nature-inspired playground, and a basketball/pickleball court. A heritage oak tree was relocated to the park to enhance the beauty, providing shade while a city bike trail runs on the north side of the project. This first phase also includes a 2,000-square-foot retail space which needs a retailer well-matched to North Loop.

“It was an experience that we don’t usually have with developers who are so open and so ready to talk and want to know what the neighborhood needs and wants,” Seward said. “It was a unique and mutually beneficial experience.”

The 265,100-square-foot wrap-style apartment building includes two outdoor courtyards with a bocce ball court, pool and landscaped lawn area for residents. The two courtyards are connected to a smartly designed pass-through amenity. Other amenities for residents include a large co-working space, lounge and wellness center.

History of Austin’s North Loop neighborhood

Most of what is now called the North Loop was vastly empty land with the private Haile Airport as its northern boundary. Seward said early on, small airfields peppered North Austin including Haile Airport and the first city-owned airport Robert Mueller Municipal Airport that opened in 1930.

After the war, according to Seward, this land made way for a boom of affordable bungalows. It was fueled by the G.I. Bill with soldiers pursuing a college education and starting families during the 1940s and 1950s. A later development boom to the neighborhood occurred when the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport closed in 1999.

“We ceased being underneath the flight path,” Seward said. “So, we no longer received all the soot or the noise. The minute that airport moved, property values increased and we saw definite change.”

Seward said a master plan emerged in 2001, establishing the North Loop Neighborhood Association with a vision for walkable greenspace and community building. Today, North Loop is known for its unique local stores, widely on 53rd Street, with a vast collection of vintage shops, record store, and unique, local food & beverage options. “What we call the business district is one block long, both sides on a curved road,” Seward said. “The buildings are the original late 1940s, early 1950s buildings.”

The pocket of the North Loop where The Hangar is situated off E Hwy 290 is currently experiencing a surge in redevelopment, transforming into a mixed-use district.

“Welcome to North Loop” mural tells story, adorns Millie at The Hangar

ULOANG said the mural marries the past with the present in a powerful way. “It’s a young lady walking through the North Loop neighborhood past one of the vintage shops on a beautiful day,” ULOANG said. “She’s wearing an Army Air Corps bomber jacket that perhaps Millie would have worn in the 1940s.”

ULOANG described many of the images he incorporated into the mural – The Monk Parakeets are whimsical birds thriving in North Loop. The WASP patch and Air Force medals on the bomber jacket pay homage to Millie and other service pilots. The black and white portrait is an old WASP photograph of Millie. The red bandana is a reference to Rosie the Riveter, an iconic figure from World War II and a reminder of how women, including Millie, kept the country running during this time. I Love Video was a beloved Austin video store revived as the We Love Video not-for-profit. Images of “Doc” Haile’s original hangar and Haile’s Flying Service are highlighted in the mural, among many other treasures.

“I look at that woman and think, modern young woman living in a somewhat vintage community,” Seward said. “ULOANG really made me realize this is a 1940s community.”

The North Loop Neighborhood Association and SECO Ventures are planning a neighborhood event in the park later this fall to celebrate the community space, the mural and Millie at The Hangar. To learn more about Millie at The Hangar, stop by HangarATX.com.