More residential and commercial additions are poised to come to Austin's Highland neighborhood as the area moves toward a full build-out after years of intensive redevelopment.

The background

Bringing a new feel to Highland has been a work in progress for much of the past decade, spurred by Austin Community College's and developer RedLeaf Properties' focus on renovating the old Highland Mall and growing the footprint of its campus there.

The Highland campus redevelopment formally kicked off in early 2013. Since then, RedLeaf has brought new projects around the district while ACC added new institutional space.

The old Highland Mall officially closed in 2015 as part of the phased redevelopment of the campus between I-35 and Airport Boulevard centered around the community college and RedLeaf's long-term vision for a new mixed-use hub.

After moving through initial phases in the 2010s, ACC's campus now features many new facilities, including the Austin PBS media center. The city government also took an interest in the area, consolidating much of its planning and development operations in a new hub there as well.

Overall, the process has spurred residential interest and renewed local economic activity from its first days that's likely to continue for years to come.

“Highland was envisioned to be and planned to be—to have a catalytic impact on this area," RedLeaf founder and principal Matt Whellan said. "When we started with ACC and the redevelopment of the mall, there was literally no new investment occurring in this area. And now that’s changed. There’s a number of projects around us that are being built; there’s more residential, there’s life being breathed into the retail that exists all around us."

What happened

While the next round of change in Highland may still be years away, City Council finalized several rezonings that will allow RedLeaf to pursue further redevelopments.

“Our view of what the rezoning is, is, ‘Hey, the vision of Highland is coming into focus. And it was envisioned as denser-type uses, and this is now paving the way for that full vision to be realized,'" Whellan said.

The zoning update includes four tracts around the outskirts of the campus off Middle Fiskville Road, and Airport and Highland Mall boulevards. City officials agreed to the land-use changes, allowing for greater height and potentially a mix of retail, office and residential space in May.



As of this spring, RedLeaf still has no firm plans for the number of residential units or the square footage of any commercial space it'll bring to the properties in the future, thanks in part to uncertainty in the real estate market.

Once construction is underway in several years, Whellan said the changes will support Highland's shift into the "dense activity center" it's been envisioned as for years, with the potential to link with ACC's operations.

"The goal is to have different tenants that are relevant in Austin’s economy, but also with the proximity to Highland, [it] can have integration with the college from the standpoint of curriculum development, internships and to have the collaboration that ACC provides with all the key industries of Austin," he said. "The hope is that that can be in a little bit more of an intimate setting with the types of companies who could ultimately move here."