A redevelopment project proposed for the Great Hills Market retail center in Northwest Austin will be on hold for several more years pending an ongoing lease with Manuel’s Mexican Restaurant.

The owners of Manuel’s, located at 10201 Jollyville Road, Austin, confirmed in early 2018 that they would extend their lease through 2025 and announced July 2 that the lease extension is official, according to a news release.

The lease extension also includes parking easements for the entire 17-acre center located at 9828 Great Hills Trail, Austin, which means the developer will be unable to redevelop the site until the end of the lease, according to the release. Regal Arbor 8 @ Great Hills also has a lease through 2020.

“Family-owned restaurants like ours usually don’t survive the big rent increases that come with
fast growth and redevelopment,” Manuel’s co-owner Jennifer McNevin said in a news release. “They simply disappear or get replaced by uninspiring corporate chains that you can find everywhere. Each time this happens, the variety and flavors available to the community are diminished. Thankfully, our ground lease extension will enable us to stay right where we belong.”

Manuel’s has been located in Great Hills Market for 21 years.

In October 2017, Community Impact Newspaper broke the news about the zoning case for Great Hills Market. Later that month, the Austin Zoning and Platting Commission recommended the approval of the zoning change from general retail and limited office, or GR-LO, to general commercial services mixed use to allow for a mix of retail and residential uses. That zoning change received Austin City Council approval in February 2018.

The developer, Chicago-based Heitman Properties, is planning to ultimately build 372 residential units with retail and restaurant space on the first floor.