BY BEN THOMPSON
The speci cs
A closer look
One Lady Bird Lake, the 17-story tower from real estate rm Related Cos., will feature almost 300 units, a restaurant and retail space, and a lakeside park area. The property will also house a future boardwalk trail extension. The largest and most prominent planned project, the waterfront “Statesman PUD,” or planned unit development, is expected to bring up to six mixed- use high-rises o Congress Avenue. While City Council passed the PUD in late 2022, construction is currently stalled due to ongoing litigation. Down the block, Related is also adding millions of square feet of housing, hotel, o ce, retail and venue space at 500 S. Congress Ave. Related Texas President Mike Iannacone said the project, which could rise up to 650 feet, will serve as the heart of the waterfront district—an area he called a “mixed- use city of the future.” Other towers are expected to replace a local auto shop and salon, a vacant o ce building and Cider- cade. The city’s 4.6-acre One Texas Center property may also be redeveloped.
members have also contended that planned construction con icts with civic protections for the waterfront area and isn’t aligned with past desires for the area. Private development is also taking place without millions of public dollars anticipated under the vision plan. In late 2022, o cials created a district-wide funding mechanism for new infrastructure as the area built out. It would’ve reserved a share of rising property tax collections there to fund upgrades such as roadways and parkland. That tax reinvestment zone was shut down before funds were used. Some Austin residents sued over the plan, claiming the zone was improperly created and unnecessary for the district’s growth. A district court judge agreed last year, ending the nancing strategy. E orts to guide the area’s future still remain in progress, as the waterfront area is now part of Austin’s renewed “Central City” plans running from north to south of downtown.
Since regulatory plans for the area fell through last year, projects in the South Central Waterfront have been handled on a case-by- case basis. The area is now unlikely to see the bene ts outlined by residents and other stakeholders amid market conditions that di er from those a decade ago. Some community
Waterfront planning December 2022:
“Statesman PUD” and tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, approved April 2024: TIRZ struck down September 2024: District zoning regulations inde nitely postponed November 2025: Austin launches Central City District planning process
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT
Get involved
the South Central Waterfront and West Campus to the north. The process is meant to support public spaces, retain and attract businesses and cultural institutions, improve public safety and mobility options, and ensure access and a ordability. Further engagement will take place in 2026 ahead of the plan’s adoption late next year.
Last summer, o cials also asked to update the city’s existing downtown-area blueprint. That process kicked o this fall, and residents can weigh in on what they want to see around Austin’s core. That new Central City District Plan extended downtown’s traditional boundaries to add
Find out more
More information about the Central City District Plan initiative is available online.
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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