New 18-acre shopping center in South Austin to open on Congress Ave. this fall

Construction continues on the new Oaks at Slaughter shopping center in South Austin on South Congress Avenue north of Slaughter Lane.

By November, businesses in the new 18-acre shopping center will begin their staggered openings.

The H-E-B, which opened in June 2020 at 8801 S. Congress Ave., Austin, anchors the development. The site will also include a 108-room hotel, banks, and several restaurants and retailers, said Milo Burdette, partner and vice president of development at commercial real estate company Barshop & Oles.

The center will bring 10-12 new businesses to the area. Construction on the main buildings will be complete around October, while seven businesses in individual buildings within the center will open later than the rest of the development.

The first businesses to open will be 8,500- and 17,000-square-foot retail stores just north of the H-E-B parking lot, Burdette said.

Burdette said he could not yet announce other tenants as they are still going through the permitting process with the city, but most of the restaurants and retailers will be locally owned with “a couple of names everyone will know and like.”

Barshop & Oles is also extending a public road to accommodate the center. Ralph Ablanedo Drive, which currently connects South First Street to South Congress, will extend to I-35 and include a new traffic light by October, Burdette said.