Reviews are progressing for the Greater Austin YMCA's redevelopment of its TownLake center near downtown, anchored by three residential towers rising more than 400 feet.

Alongside those high-rises and an expanded YMCA, the nonprofit is also partnering with Foundation Communities on an affordable housing complex on the Old West Austin property. President and CEO Kathy Kuras called the project a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" for the city.

"Not only will the redevelopment provide a much-needed modernized facility that will serve as an economic driver for all YMCA’s and child care sites across Greater Austin, but the project will deliver broad environmental and public benefits for all," she said in a statement.The big picture

The YMCA announced its TownLake redevelopment plans at 1100 W. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, earlier this year. The future facility will include an early education and child care center and offer new well-being programs, including mental health counseling, as well as on-site housing support services.

The nonprofit is now moving its planned unit development, or PUD, application through city reviews to build:

• A 110,000-square-foot YMCA and office building
• Up to 750 market-rate condominiums from developer Millennium Partners affiliate MP-Austin
• 90 affordable housing units for tenants earning up to 30%-80% of the local median household income, most of which will be two- and three-bedroom units designed for families
• 35,000 square feet of pedestrian-oriented space at street level, including a 10,000-square-foot restaurant space

“We’ll create a destination for family fun, major improvements in environmental sustainability—which is a strategic imperative for the YMCA—and a hub for expanding community partnerships," Kuras said Oct. 15.The approach

The YMCA is seeking PUD zoning, a designation reserved for larger and more complicated mixed-use projects that involves a tradeoff of city building entitlements in exchange for public benefits.

YMCA representatives say the TownLake project falls in line with past City Council direction and community goals for the Volma Overton, Sr. Beach area, and will meet or exceed many of Austin's development benchmarks. In addition to affordable housing and open space, construction will also take place under green building standards.

David Anderson, director of land use and entitlements for the Drenner Group and the YMCA's zoning agent, highlighted several other aspects of the project during the PUD's initial review by the city Environmental Commission this fall. Those included landscaping and water quality features, like a reuse system he said could save more than 20 million gallons of water annually across the property.

“That is game-changing, not only in downtown but in all of Austin; there are only a small handful of blackwater projects," Anderson said.

Also anticipated are new flood control measures, tree plantings on the property and in neighboring public parkland, and improved public access around the site.The new YMCA's rooftop may be equipped with solar panels and have a public community garden and meeting space. And Anderson said the YMCA is in discussions with Union Pacific Railroad for a safer crossing of the rail line on the north end of the property.

"The redevelopment will solve ongoing environmental concerns that the city itself has been unable to address, including moving public parkland out of floodplains, mitigating untreated urban runoff, improving the water quality of Lady Bird Lake, and increasing access to, and through, parkland for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike," Kuras said.

PUD review will continue over the coming months leading up to final consideration by City Council in 2026 or later.

What they're saying

The redevelopment plans received some public backing, and reservations, from residents and commissioners during the Oct. 15 review.

Supporters said the new TownLake site will be an environmental benefit while addressing local needs for housing, health and child care access.

“Over the last 30 years that we’ve been in Austin, I’ve tried really hard to find locations for our housing that are connected, that are transit-connected, connected to jobs and services, and walkable," Foundation Communities Executive Director Walter Moreau said. "It’s hard to find a perfect location, but I think this is about the perfect location."On the other side, several Old West Austin Neighborhood Association members said the project is too large and out of character with nearby residential areas and parks just outside downtown.

“When you look at it in relationship to the entire community, it’s so excessive. Not at all in keeping with the rest of Old West Austin," OWANA Chair Steve Amos said.

Anderson called the larger and more luxurious condo towers the "economic engine" allowing the project, and its low-income housing and public benefits, to move forward.

“When you think of things that we are trying to accomplish with the rest of the site, there’s a cost to that," he said. "Having that level of intensity is necessary to make the rest of the project happen."

Still, Vice Chair Mariana Krueger pushed both the YMCA team and other developers in town to bring more affordable housing to Austin in their future projects. She said it was a "misrepresentation" to label the redevelopment as a win for working families given the smaller share of income-restricted housing.

“We have to dream bigger. We have to envision a more equitable world where 10% [affordable units] is not considered a victory, because I certainly don’t," she said.