Development
BY BEN THOMPSON
Austin City Council voted March 21 to buy more than 100 acres from semiconductor company Tokyo Electron Limited for $87 million, including: • TEL’s 46.79-acre of ice campus at 2400 Grove Blvd. • An adjacent 60.37-acre lot at 5601 E. Riverside Drive Nearly 190,000 square feet of o ce space will house a new city Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center; Austin’s current facility is overcapacity. The remaining land will house a future transit-oriented, mixed-use community centered around a ordable housing. Council approves $87M land buy
Put in perspective
March land purchase from Tokyo Electron Limited 1 O ce campus: 2400 Grove Blvd. 2 Future development: 5601 Riverside Dr. Existing city-managed property 3 Future development: 2201 Grove Blvd.
City leaders say the development will support signi cant housing for the local workforce near the proposed Project Connect rail line. “The vision is for a dense, transit-oriented neighborhood that could conservatively accommo- date 1,100 living units,” Mayor Kirk Watson said in a March newsletter. “Think about something akin to the Mueller neighborhood—but intentionally built around public transit and with the bene t of the lessons learned about ensuring a ordability and other challenges in a much-in-demand planned community.” The city will pay for the land through the budget and certi cates of obligation.
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Financing the purchase
$59.88M via certi cates of obligation from the city
$27.17M from the city's anti- displacement funds for Project Connect
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$87.05M Total:
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT
What else?
The $87 million purchase price is about 76% higher than the land’s public valuations. Financial Services Department spokesperson Kimberly Moore attributed the di erence to private nancial information, such as the income potential of commercial land, that appraisers don’t have access to when making their evaluations.
overseen by City Council which already owns land at Grove and Riverside. Construction is likely still years away and will involve more local engagement before proceeding. Tokyo Electron’s land sale comes as it’s readying to relocate from its longtime home in Southeast Austin to the RiverSouth tower at 401 S. First St., Austin.
The city expects to recoup at least $3.65 million by leasing the o ce space back to TEL for up to a year, before reviewing plans for the campus and moving employees in. Moore said “minimal renovations” may be needed. The surrounding new development will take place under the Austin Housing Finance Corp., the nonpro t a ordable housing entity
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