A commercial site off East Riverside Drive will be redeveloped into a residential high-rise. (Ben Thompson/Community Impact)
Two new high-rises in Riverside are moving closer to development after recent city zoning approvals.
The big picture
Like Austin overall, the Riverside neighborhood has experienced a rising population and new development over the past decade-plus. The city previously established a master plan and regulating plan for the East Riverside Corridor to guide local improvements as more residents, businesses, transit investments and other facilities came to the area.
The city is updating plans for the East Riverside Corridor area in preparation for continued growth and the arrival of an Austin Light Rail line. (Courtesy city of Austin)
The corridor's current regulating plan includes building standards and height limits, allowed property uses and other details informed by residents' desires for the area. Those plans are now being updated in response to continued growth along the proposed Austin Light Rail route down East Riverside Drive; the next public meetings about that initiative are scheduled in late August.
In July, City Council voted to remove two properties from the East Riverside Corridor plan for the development of the area's largest high-rise projects to date.
Zooming in
The two sites are now primed for towers up to 180 feet tall, triple the typical height limit set in the corridor's regulating plan. The locations include 1404 E. Riverside Drive next to an existing waterfront apartment complex, and three corner properties at 1712 E. Riverside Drive and 1705-1717 S. Lakeshore Blvd.
The site at the corner of Riverside and Lakeshore previously received support from council to be removed from the local plans. Representing the development team, attorney Michael Whellan previously said the building would be the neighborhood's tallest and densest project that will use its full 180-foot height allowance. It's also been framed as a necessary addition given local growth and the anticipated arrival of the new rail line, which Whellan pointed to after council's July 23 vote.
"Grayco, the property owner, appreciates the collaboration with the neighborhood and Council Member [José Velásquez]. Grayco has been investing and building in the South Shore area since 2010, and looks forward to continuing to do so with this important addition at a planned rail station," he said in a statement.
The less than 1.5-acre site is now home to a Baby Acapulco restaurant and 7-Eleven convenience store. No ground-floor retail is planned in the redevelopment, which would include 350 new residences. The developer would also pay some fees into the city's affordable housing fund, and has worked with neighborhood representatives on an agreement to expand the nearby Heritage Oaks Neighborhood Park.
Blocks away, the 2.6-acre site at 1404 E. Riverside was also removed from the local zoning plan ahead of new construction.
A high-rise project on the shore of Lady Bird Lake is expected to reach 180 feet tall, about double what's permitted today, and include 381 new residential units. Fifteen will be reserved at affordable levels and the developer will pay more than $1 million into the city's housing fund. A portion of the property adjacent to the lake and hike-and-bike trail will be preserved as undeveloped open space.
A vacant lot off East Riverside Drive will be redeveloped with housing in a 180-foot project. (Ben Thompson/Community Impact)
