The big picture
The more than 100-acre waterfront district has been the subject of longtime city planning efforts with an eye toward future development.
Proposed local regulations for new construction and community improvements rolled out this year, but now may not be rolled out until 2025. While those updates are in the works, more mixed-use construction is coming to the area.
Plans to transform one of the area's largest landmark properties, the 19-acre former Austin-American Statesman campus, were approved by council in late 2022—although the Save Our Springs Alliance sued city leaders to contest that vote. That 305 South Congress redevelopment would bring multiple high-rises with millions of square feet of residential, hotel and commercial space alongside new public areas to the shores of Lady Bird Lake.
This year, plans for a hotel, residential and office campus off South Congress Avenue that could reach up to 750 feet tall remain under city review. And this fall, Austin officials signed off on plans for the first of two more mixed-use tower projects nearby.
What happened
Council members voted in favor of the planned unit development, or PUD, zoning update in the South Central Waterfront on Nov. 7. The PUD was also unanimously recommended by the Environmental Commission earlier this year.
PUD cases involve negotiations between the city and property owners that can grant greater building allowances in exchange for public amenities, such as parkland and other local improvements.
The PUD approved this November is for the 0.81-acre 311-315 S. Congress Ave. property now home to a Firestone garage and commercial space. Its redevelopment with a high-rise up to 480 feet tall will include:
- 488 residences
- 30,000 square feet of offices
- 7,500 square feet of street-level retail, with 2,500 square feet set aside at an affordable rate for a local business or nonprofit
At the South Congress PUD site, the new tower will wrap in environmental building features like a low-emission construction process, on- and off-site stormwater treatment, native plant landscaping, rooftop solar panels, and a beehive maintained by the developer. It'll also improve pedestrian space on the street and feature a 2,200-square-foot public plaza and public art.
Additionally, the developer will contribute city parkland dedication fees and pay $6 million to Austin's affordable housing fund. That money would have to go toward projects within 1.5 miles of the site if spent within three years, or potentially elsewhere in the city beyond that time frame.
Around the corner, another property—vacant offices at the 3.96-acre 200 E. Riverside Drive—is the subject of a separate PUD review. However, council postponed a vote on the plan Nov. 7.
If approved in the future, it'd be redeveloped with two towers up to 500 feet tall containing:
- 1.38 million square feet of offices
- About 30,000 square feet of street-level retail space, with a discounted lease for a local small business
- A 450-square-foot public amenity space
- Almost 13,000 square feet of open space pocket parks
- Public art from a local artist
- Pedestrian and bike accessibility improvements
While the city's new overall guidelines for future development in the South Central Waterfront remain on hold, many properties there already fall under negotiated land-use plans.
Several PUDs, planned development areas—PDAs—and planned development agreements are now in place for dozens of acres of land in the district.
