Construction has begun on a $3 billion project to bring 7 million square feet of residential, retail and office space to North Austin—a project developers hope will solidify the area as the city's second downtown.
Brandywine Realty Trust announced plans Dec. 13 for Uptown ATX, a 66-acre master-planned community, in a Dec. 13 press release. The project—which was formerly referred to as Broadmoor—is located across from The Domain at 11501 Burnet Road and will redevelop the site of the IBM Austin campus.
Uptown ATX will be transit-oriented, and it will include a future Capital Metro MetroRail station and access to 23 miles of pedestrian and bicycle trails.
The existing 1 million-square-foot campus was built in the early 1990s. Brandywine has been working to transform the site since 2018, when Austin City Council approved the zoning change to allow for retail, residential and hospitality uses on the property.
“We are delighted to begin realizing the ultimate vision for Uptown ATX—which will accelerate establishing this area as Austin’s second downtown,” said Jerry Sweeney, president and CEO of Brandywine, in the release. “This community brings unmatched lifestyle and work experiences and is intentionally designed to prioritize bold architecture, community connections, green space, walkability and mass transit access.”
One Uptown
Brandywine has broken ground on Phase 1 of the project—a $328 million mixed-use section dubbed One Uptown—according to the release. Brandywine is developing One Uptown in partnership with Canyon Partners Real Estate.
Spanning 5 acres, One Uptown will bring 341 apartment units, 348,000 square feet of work space and 15,000 square feet of first-floor retail space to the area. Additionally, the One Uptown will include a public park and a six-story parking garage.
Page Architects designed the 14-floor office building that will feature floor-to-ceiling glass windows, an 8,000-square-foot lobby, flexible floor plans and a cafe. Similarly, the multifamily units—designed by GFF Architects—will have private balconies, a resort-style pool and a fitness center.
Construction on the office portion of One Uptown is scheduled for completion in late summer 2023, with the multifamily units completed in mid-2024, according to the release.
“One Uptown will set the quality and design standard for what residents, workers and the community at large can expect out of the Uptown ATX experience,” Sweeney said in the release.
A transit community
Brandywine officials said in the release that with the development of Uptown ATX, they hope to create an accessible community, tapping into the existing multimodal transportation network in the area.
“As a transit hub, Uptown ATX will have the unique ability to link people with the exploding growth opportunities occurring throughout Central Texas,” said Bill Redd, executive vice president and senior managing director for Brandywine, in the release.
In addition to more than 11 acres of public parks and access to more than 23 miles of trails, Uptown ATX will include a Capital Metro RedLine station.
Tawaun Cole, a spokesperson with Capital Metro, said construction on the MetroRail Broadmoor Station is expected to begin in the coming months. Construction on the $24 million station was initially slated to begin in September 2020, but has been delayed.
Once the Broadmoor station and the upcoming McKalla station at Q2 Stadium are complete, Capital Metro will close the Kramer Station. Capital Metro presented preliminary designs for the McKalla Station Dec. 9.
“In establishing Uptown ATX as the new brand, we saw an opportunity to integrate connections to Austin—both physical and philosophical, including increased access to jobs, affordable housing, green space and live/work/play neighborhoods,” Redd said in the release. “This mixed-use community will be elegant, sophisticated, authentically Austin and accessible to all.”
