DEVELOPMENT BRIEFS
Developments underway in the Central Austin area
COMPILED BY BEN THOMPSON
Dairy plant site cleared for landmark East Austin redevelopment
The transformation of a dairy plant into East Aus- tin’s tallest mixed-use residential project is moving forward, despite objections of some neighborhood and environmental groups. The details: A rezoning that would clear the way for redevelopment of the Borden Dairy Co.’s 21-acre property at 71 Strandtman Cove off US 183 was approved by Austin City Council July 20 in an 8-1 vote. Under the proposal from Endeavor Real Estate Group, the Borden dairy silos would give way to residential towers up to 120 feet tall—potentially 10 to 12 stories—alongside other features. As proposed, the project is set to include: • 1,400 residential units • A 220-room hotel • 411,500 square feet of office space • A 66,000-square-foot sit-down restaurant • 40,000 square feet of retail space
The Borden site borders the Colorado River Park Wildlife Sanctuary and is several hundred feet from the Colorado itself. Several community members shared concerns about the impacts of a dense project with taller towers coming so close to the preserve and largely undeveloped river corridor. While most public testimony about the project has been in opposition, Montopolis resident Gary Babbit said he looks forward to new towers rising on the east side. “I’m excited for a change,” he said. “Seriously, taking an industrial site and parking lot and turning it into a mixed-use development for people to live, work, eat and play … this kind of development is its own community benefit.” Endeavor committed to an extended 75-foot buf- fer between its development and the sanctuary and building to Dark Sky standards with more reflective glass for birds. The developer will reserve 10% of the project’s residential units at affordable rates and
Borden Tract
STRANDTMAN COVE
COLORADO RIVER
COLORADO RIVER PARK WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
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fund east side housing preservation.
One more thing: District 3 Council Member José Velásquez was sanctioned on Aug. 23 for failing to list past sources of income and affiliations related to the East Austin Conservancy, which struck a deal for housing funding with Endeavor, on city financial disclosures.
City-backed development plans fall through
3423 Holdings/Ryan Drive Site
Aspen Heights/HealthSouth
RYAN DR.
A pair of long-anticipated rede- velopments of city land fell through this year, kicking off a new round of planning and review before hundreds of affordable housing units and other community benefits can be realized. The details: 3423 Holding’s Crestview initiative at 6909 Ryan Drive—an Aus- tin Energy storage lot in Crestview— proposed nearly 350 apartments and townhomes with a majority reserved at affordable rates. The city and 3423 began negotiat- ing final terms for a redevelopment plan last year. However, the firm
backed out on May 25 given eco- nomic factors such as rising interest rates and borrowing uncertainty, 3423 Chief Operating Officer Ben Barlin told Community Impact . Downtown, a project from Aspen Heights Partners would’ve brought a pair of 37-story towers with nearly 1,000 residences—more than 200 reserved for lower-income tenants— to the former HealthSouth facility at 1215 Red River St., alongside a new public plaza and cultural space. Austin and Aspen Heights had been in talks over that project for years, but city staff eventually ended negotiations in late June. Staff cited changing market conditions that
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led Aspen Heights to suggest a new plan that would have cut down on the unit count and led to “significant increases in project density and complexity” that were “too extreme to overcome,” city spokesperson Memi Cárdenas said. What’s next: On July 20, City Council cleared the way for reboots of both processes. An approved resolution from
Council Member Zo Qadri, who represents downtown, formally recommitted to the HealthSouth redevelopment with updates to come as soon as September. Sepa- rately, officials also voted to transfer the Ryan Drive site to the nonprofit Austin Housing Finance Corp., which will handle a new project. Other city-backed redevelop- ments, including the 19-acre site in St. John remain on track.
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