Popularity trumps once-held perceptions about neighborhood
East Austin, once avoided by developers, has become a source of inspiration for those seeking to replicate the success of the Mueller neighborhood.
"Mueller ended up setting the bar—more than just in East Austin but throughout Austin—because a lot of that Austin just hadn't seen before," said Greg Weaver, executive vice president of Catellus, the master developer of the 700-acre redevelopment project. "There were a lot of skeptics who didn't think [Mueller] could all be done and clearly skeptics that didn't think it could be done on the east side."
Weaver came to Austin in 2002 after developing a similar airport-turned-new urbanist neighborhood in Denver. His fresh perspective has so far proven valuable in creating high-density, mixed-use development in Mueller, a neighborhood approximately 3 miles from downtown.
"It kind of looks back to smaller cities and villages where you didn't have to get in a car to go to the corner market, restaurant or school or whatever it is," Weaver said. "We're trying to create all the different components of a city in one community."
A similar mindset has helped transform central East Austin, where redevelopment projects have taken on many shapes and sizes.
Slow to grow
While Mueller helped shine the spotlight on East Austin, developers remained skeptical of high-density projects until the 2005 creation of transit-oriented development districts, said William Schnier, co-founder and CEO of Big Red Dog, an engineering consulting firm. Using train stations as centerpieces, TOD districts encourage vertical, mixed-use development.
However, the recession slowed enthusiasm for such projects.
"The brakes got put on in 2008–09, and you couldn't hear crickets out there," Schnier said.
But by mid-2010, he said, demand began to pick up near the two East Austin TOD districts, which surround the Plaza Saltillo and MLK train stations. Developers scrambled to create projects that matched the TOD guidelines, with many of those developments expected to debut in 2014.
Schnier's firm is involved in projects in both transit areas, including Corazon, a mixed-use project on East Fifth Street expected to open in February. Big Red Dog also assists with Elan East, a large, vertical mixed-use project currently under construction.
"Ten years ago, none of us would have been in East Austin," Schnier said. "Now it's inevitable—the land is just way too close to downtown."
Aside from access to rail, Schnier said East Austin developers also benefit from the planned extension of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway and the Tejano Trail—one of multiple attempts to preserve East Austin's cultural roots.
Maintaining identity
Another East Austin cultural landmark, the African American Cultural & Heritage Facility, opened in January 2013. McKinney York Architects worked with the surrounding community when redeveloping the East 11th Street site, which includes a revived residence that had been passed down through generations of one East Austin family.
Also, the main building's facade seeks to emulate old Austin common brick that is routinely found at longstanding structures throughout the city.
"The trick is to respect that history and culture," McKinney York Principal Al York said. "[East Austin residents] have a real long and established tie to this part of town, and the best work we can do is going to come out of an understanding and appreciation of that history."
That same respect for neighborhoods can be seen in single-family projects throughout East Austin, said Heather McKinney, founding principal of the architectural firm.
"People don't want something mass produced," she said.
But as more people move to East Austin, such demand has resulted in high-rise multifamily projects such as Eleven Austin Apartments. Nelson Crowe, real estate associate for Forestar Group, which developed the 257-unit project along I-35, said the target tenants for Eleven have evolved since its inception.
"We saw an opportunity to have cheaper land than downtown and provide tenants that same opportunity—just at cheaper rents and arguably better views," said Crowe, who expects similar-sized projects to sprout up along the interstate. "We weren't aware of the depth of the East Austin renters market—we thought we'd have to gear the project more toward the downtown crowd."
Possibilities for 2014
Many developers have shifted focus in early 2014 to a 10.15-acre undeveloped property next to the Plaza Saltillo train station. Ten mixed-use proposals have been submitted to Capital Metro, which owns the land. The mass-transit agency is expected to pick a developer for the site this spring, Capital Metro board member David Siebold said.
Other big developments include the start of the third phase of the Mueller Town Center, which will include retail, restaurants and a possible movie theater. The master-planned community is also expected to begin construction on an additional 374 residential lots, Weaver said, and a 279-unit AMLI apartment complex—the third such complex at Mueller—could be done by the end of 2014.
But the vast majority of activity in East Austin will be smaller-scale efforts, McKinney and Schnier agreed.
"I expect there will be a push to see as much of that single-family fabric remain in place as possible similar to pockets of Clarksville and West Austin," Schnier said.
