Health care
Health care
BY GRACE DICKENS & BEN THOMPSON
BY BRITTANY ANDERSON
Council approves rezoning for residential project near Q2 Stadium
UT Medical Center shifts from downtown to Northwest Austin
What they’re saying
The rezoning applicants stated in the documents that this rezoning is consistent with the North Burnet/Gateway, or NBG, plan and other urban planning and design best practices. “It appears the existing zoning capacity established in the NBG Master and Regulating Plans was not permissive enough to allow the subject property and others like it to respond to market forces,” the applicants said. “These forces are the primary drivers for implementing the NBG plan through the creation of a transit-supportive, higher-density mix of development.” The rezoning is just one piece of the NBG plan, which city officials say is poised to help make the corridor become Austin’s “second downtown.” Previous zoning and land use amendments have allowed developers to propose taller and denser mixed-use projects within the gateway zone.
Officials confirmed Feb. 18 that the University of Texas Medical Center will be located in Northwest Austin rather than at the former Erwin Center site downtown. “As our two institutions continued to work collaboratively over the last year, it became apparent that the proposed Erwin Center location would not be as conducive to the fully integrated, patient-centered approach that was being envi- sioned, and there would be limits to future growth on that,” UT Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife said at a Feb. 18 board meeting. The new site, anchored by Dell Medical School, will be located west of the J.J. Pickle Research Campus on university-owned land in Northwest Austin, although a specific site was not confirmed. Of the several university-owned plots of land in the area, one holds The Shops at Arbor Walk, while another has part of the Braker Lane Crossing shopping center.
The medical center still plans to open in 2030, despite the new location, and will still be in partnership with MD Anderson. There are currently no plans for the Erwin Center site, Eltife said. Diving in deeper The UT Medical Center was first announced in summer 2023 as a “monumental” addition to downtown’s medical district, and a major new piece of UT Austin’s academic health system. The project, then estimated at $2.5 billion, was envisioned as a pair of medical towers housing an MD Anderson clinical and research cancer center and a UT Austin specialty hospital. Following the Erwin Center’s recent demolition, groundbreaking for the UT Medical Center on the old arena property at 1701 Red River St., Austin, was expected in 2026 ahead of a 2030 opening.
UT-owned land
Braker Lane Crossing shopping center
A large residential mixed-use project could be in the works within the North Burnet/ Gateway zone following Austin City Council’s approval of a rezoning request Jan. 22. The request rezoned nearly 7 acres of land near Q2 Stadium from warehouse mixed-use to commercial mixed-use. Per agenda documents, the 6.76-acre site currently operates under warehousing, manufacturing and general office uses, and includes the site of Austin Warehouse & Distribution. The site’s new zoning would allow for the development of a residential project up to 420 feet. Other uses could include destination retail, large-scale civic uses, office space and entertainment complexes.
MCKALLA STATION
MOPAC
Q2 STADIUM
BRIGHT VERDE WAY
183
T E
McKalla Place rezoning
J.J. Pickle Research Campus
STONELAKE BLVD.
The Shops at Arbor Walk
N
N
HYMEADOW 12611 Hymeadow (512) 506-8401
NORTH 620 10601 N FM 620 (512) 506-8316 NORTH LAMAR 914 North Lamar (512) 214-6665
ARBORETUM 10515 N Mopac Expy (512) 342-6893
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