South Austin Projects

[Celery Man 20929]

Staying the fuck out of the southbound left lane near that.

[Longhorn 145]

On 6/22/2019 at 3:34 PM, Celery Man said:

Just drove down the farthest bit of Congress towards Southpark Meadows.  That HEB is starting to take form.

Is this open yet?

[bluto 4912]

Also on s 1st just announced a new project at live oak where end of an ear used to be. Guy doing it bought it off Nate Paul and claims him to be a mentor/inspiration (wtf)

[MAUFRAIS 6615]

Also has world class on his resume and looks like an asshole and went to highland park and A&M.

[bluto 4912]

He grew up bouncing around between mom and dad. Claims they lived in a relative shit hole in HP, went to Richland CC and blinn then anm

[Celery Man 20929]

Is this open yet?

Spring 2020. Drove by there today

[bolverk 29646]

Office and apartment buildings to replace Genie Car Wash.

https://austin.towers.net/heres-our-first-look-at-south-lamars-next-mixed-use-transformation/?agent=caitlyn@towers.net

 

[J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. 1084]

Based on the recent Yelp reviews, hardly anyone's going to miss Genie.  The garage next door was always pretty solid in my experience, however.

[Guest Lobo]

best part about Genie was the free birthday car wash and that Chicago style hot dog truck in the parking lot that would bring your food over to you while you wait for your car. 

Also, those renderings make Lamar look like the most pleasant street in America.  

[Your Mom 4805]

Brick's Pub looks to be open now where Independence Fine Foods used to be across the street from Indian Roller.  Anyone been in?  It looks a little too nice and cramped for my taste, for a nieghborhod bar anyway.  But it's good having another option around there.    Owned by the Moontower guy.  

[Wally Pryor 5261]

What is going up east of Manchaca, south side of Ben White, next to the Jack in the Box?

[drt 638]

Law office I think

[hayden_horn 11362]

On 11/20/2019 at 9:18 AM, Your Mom said:

Brick's Pub looks to be open now where Independence Fine Foods used to be across the street from Indian Roller.  Anyone been in?  It looks a little too nice and cramped for my taste, for a nieghborhod bar anyway.  But it's good having another option around there.    Owned by the Moontower guy.  

yeah, we have been a couple of times. still in a soft open with a limited menu. since we went on weekend lunch, it was a brunch menu, breakfast heavy. but if you fancy a burger, they make a great fucking burger. just ask for the egg and bacon on the side, unless you want all that on it. the sign says they got a dinner menu now, but i haven't been for dinner.

they are going for a british pub type atmosphere, and brick is a reference to bricktop from snatch, so it all kind of works.

[bolverk 29646]

About ten years ago, there was talk of plans for Kyle to position itself as a potential "third downtown" for Austin (first being actual downtown & second the Domain). It looks like they're about start getting serious about it.

Billion-dollar ‘Uptown’ area moves forward in Kyle

KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — The City of Kyle is planning a billion-dollar area called Uptown Kyle.

It’s located off of Kohlers Crossing and FM 1626.

Uptown Kyle will include a hotel convention center, office spaces, a soccer complex and dozens of stores and restaurants.

The concept began last fall and last night, council members gave the green light to start on three related projects: A new police headquarters, and two parks: Central Park and Heroes Memorial Park.

“We’re pretty ambitious, particularly with the memorial,” says Dex Ellison, a Kyle City Council member who is also on the Heroes Memorial steering committee.

Ellison and the mayor are comparing it to Austin’s Domain.

They are using the Domain’s phase II designer.

“It would be a mixed use residential and commercial development, so really a place where people can be gainfully employed in an area, be able to reside in an area, and also be able to be entertained and have a certain quality of life in that particular area, as well,” Ellison says.

Ellison says they want to make sure to keep a touch of their own town.

“We’re also particularly careful to identify ways that we can make this very unique to Kyle and speak to the history of Kyle, speak to obviously veterans and first responders in our area and just have that certain bit of touch of Kyle,” Ellison says.

The memorial is the first project expected to open on September 11, 2021.

Presentation: https://www.cityofkyle.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/council/page/9950/uptown_kyle_concept_presentation.pdf

[Chet Steadman 940]

Ha.  You would need about a dozen hands to count the number of "next Domain"s and "next downtown"s which have been proposed over the past 7-8 years.

 

And yet, it's still just those two. 

[Guest Lobo]

Yes but this one will have a DSW 

it’s a valiant effort.  Just be downtown Kyle.  Lots of pride in that

Edited January 23, 2020 by Lobo

[CooterBrown 18002]

Yes but this one will have a DSW 

The gap between what their demographics warrant and what they envision will be huge.

If they’re lucky, it’ll be the DSW retail tier. It’s more likely to be Autozone, Big Lots, and a Planned Patenthood.

[Guest Lobo]

It's no commentary on their demographics, it's just that they need to know what kind of tenants to attract on the retail side and the office side.  You'll et a handful of major employers to put an office down there with the allure of lower taxes, shorter commutes, etc.  And you'll get a handful of retailers to put a storefront or restaurant there for similar reasons.  But it's not going to be "like a Domain" as the developers are claiming.  The domain has a huge population cluster in all four directions, this one only has two directions of people with a third on the distant horizon.  The Domain was able to attract "destination shoppers."  This one can't do that because the visitors have already shopped at the Domain and down in San Marcos.  They should market it for what it is, a great destination for those in Kyle, Buda, SW Austin, and parts of San Marcos.  IT'll be a big hit and I wish I could have invested in it earlier. 

[bolverk 29646]

Man, this is an ambitious project that would totally remake a part of town that I'd wager a good chunk of us passed by daily in the Beforetimes:

$1 billion project proposed for Brodie Oaks retail center

South Austin’s Brodie Oaks Shopping Center could be transformed into a mixed-use project with up to 3 million square feet of new development, at a cost that could top $1 billion over the next decade.

The shopping center sits on 38 acres at the busy intersection of South Lamar Boulevard and Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway), just east of the Barton Creek Greenbelt.

Though plans are in the early stages, the mixed-use project eventually could include 1,600 residences, 1.1 million square feet of office space, 450 hotel rooms and 140,000 square feet of retail and restaurant, executives with Texas-based developer Barshop & Oles told the American-Statesman. Barshop & Oles, a commercial real estate development and management company, owns and manages the Brodie Oaks shopping center.

The 3 million square feet of development would be a significant footprint. That amount of space would roughly equate to the square footage of two Barton Creek Square malls, although the Brodie Oaks makeover would take the form of a more vertical, rather than horizontal, layout.

The site consists of mostly single-story retail spaces, with a two-story office building on the back side, all of which would be razed. The new project would have about the same amount or less retail space, the development team says.

The new project — which does not yet have a name — would add to the redevelopment of South Lamar, a heavily trafficked road that has seen a surge in new residential and mixed-use projects in recent years.

David Armbrust, the company’s land-use attorney, on Thursday was scheduled to file an initial request for a zoning change with the city of Austin.

Barshop & Oles is seeking zoning for a planned unit development, or PUD, for the shopping center, which is at 4021 S. Capital of Texas Highway. A PUD allows developers flexibility under a variety of market conditions, which change over time.

The official zoning document is expected to be filed early next year. It would undergo review by various city boards and commissions, with the Austin City Council having the final say on the zoning change. Navigating such a rezoning process with the city can often take a year or more, and a spokeswoman for Barshop & Oles estimated that that development on the site wouldn’t begin until late 2022 or sometime in 2023.

“This is probably the most significant development project in the region presently,” Armbrust said. “I think the time has come.”

Spoiler

 

The current Brodie Oaks tenant roster includes Sprouts Farmer’s Market and Hobby Lobby stores, along with a number of restaurants and smaller shops. A spokeswoman for Barshop & Oles said current tenants have been informed of the redevelopment plans, and that some have begun to vacate the property.

Plans call for publicly accessible parks and open space, pedestrian connections to the nearby greenbelt, water quality improvements and reducing the concrete footprint —known as impervious cover, in industry jargon — of the 365,000-square-foot Brodie Oaks center, in part by building taller buildings.

Two or three buildings could be five to 10 stories tall, and some could be as tall as 20 to 25 stories, with others coming in between those heights, according to the developers. Height would be tallest near the Loop 360 interchange, and stepped down closest to the greenbelt, the developers say.

Which of those towers might be residential and which might be office or mixed-use has not yet been determined, Barshop & Oles said.

Barshop & Oles executives say the project would fit with the city’s comprehensive long-term planning efforts to make the Austin area more compact, connected and pedestrian- and mass transit-oriented.

As currently envisioned, the proposed project would reflect South Austin, “not Dallas or Houston,” said Milo Burdette, a Barshop & Oles partner.

“The renewed Brodie Oaks will be a South and Southwest Austin destination for residents, businesses, restaurants and retailers, shoppers, parkgoers and events that will rival that of any other in Austin,” Burdette said.

Barshop & Oles has owned the center since 2008. Almost from the time it bought the site, “we knew the highest and best use was not what was there,” said Burdette, one of the firm’s partners.

Under Barshop & Oles’ ownership, “we’ve been adding tenants, all the time with an eye towards potential new development,” Burdette said.

Brodie Oaks is in Council Member Ann Kitchen’s district. She said the City Council has not yet been presented with the formal zoning application, but she said she looks forward to learning more about the proposed uses for the property.

“There is a lot of potential for housing and other beneficial uses for the neighborhoods for this site,” Kitchen said.

Armbrust said he plans to schedule meetings with nearby neighborhood groups to brief them on the project and listen to any concerns they might have.

Burdette said Barshop & Oles will partner with Houston-based Lionstone Investments on the project. The cost of the redevelopment could exceed $1 billion at completion over the next 10 years, Burdette said. Barshop & Oles previously developed the Central Park shopping center in Austin and the Northwoods project in San Antonio. Lionstone has developed a number of mixed-use projects, including Plaza Saltillo in Austin.

Barshop & Oles said the high-density project would support ridership on Capital Metro’s existing transit route on South Lamar. Shared parking and strategies for managing travel demand also are expected to reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles related to the new project.

Armbrust said the project isn’t aiming to be another Domain, referring to the mixed-use project in North Austin that is home to many high-end retailers.

“We don’t want to be the next Domain. This is a South Austin project,” said Armbrust, who lives in the area.

Environmental plans

Barshop & Oles executives say the Brodie Oaks redevelopment would comply with Austin’s Save Our Springs water quality ordinance.

About 84% of the site is currently Impervious cover. That would be reduced to about 54% with the new plan, Armbrust said. He said the new development would convert almost 14 acres to green space, accounting for more than a third of the site.

“When the current project was approved, the original developer dedicated 84 acres to help create and expand the Barton Creek Greenbelt. The current owner and developer plans to carry that environmental spirit forward while creating a unique urban environment with a distinctive South Austin character,” Armbrust said.

To connect the site with the Barton Springs Greenbelt, the new project would develop a publicly accessible trailhead into the greenbelt. Plans also call for trails, pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths on the site, according to the development team.

Land planning efforts are being led by Rebecca Leonard, CEO of Lionheart Places, a design, planning and landscape architecture firm.

“Originally, this site was built before the community was clear about its vision for the area surrounding Barton Creek,” Leonard said. “What is so exciting about this project is we now have an opportunity to align the development with the last several decades of public planning and policies.”

Leonard said a wall on the back of the site blocks Brodie Oaks from the greenbelt. She said the wall will be taken down, “which will be beneficial for wildlife habitat and water quality.”

The new project will aim to preserve all the heritage trees on the site, either by keeping them on the site or transplanting them, according to the developers

The Save Our Springs Alliance, a local environmental advocacy group, has not yet taken a formal position on the proposed project.

However, the group’s attorney, Bobby Levinski, said that from an environmental standpoint, it could bring “significant benefits to the water quality of Barton Creek and Barton Springs.”

“Right now, the existing shopping center is a ... slab of concrete over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, built right along the edge of Barton Creek,” Levinski said. “From what I’ve seen of the proposal thus far, the redevelopment would remove over 11 acres of impervious cover (pavement) from the site, and it would treat the remainder of the pavement with SOS-standard water quality controls. I also understand that the proposed development would shift the buildings away from the creek and restore those areas to green spaces, which could help reduce streambank erosion.”

Levinski said the Save Our Springs group will be keeping an eye on the project to ensure “that it is protecting and enhancing the water quality of Barton Creek and Barton Springs.”

Ripe for redevelopment

Some Austin real estate experts say they aren’t surprised to hear about plans for remaking the Brodie Oaks site.

Charles Heimsath, president of Capitol Market Research, an Austin-based consulting firm, said he has long thought the Brodie Oaks shopping center was ripe for redevelopment.

“The proposed plan seems exactly right for the site,” said Heimsath, who is not involved in the proposed redevelopment plan. “It thoughtfully balances the preservation of open space with higher density, mixed-use development, which is clearly the ‘highest and best use’ for the site.”

Heimsath said he particularly likes the variety of building sizes, “which will allow the development to begin immediately, as the demand for mid-rise buildings can be demonstrated today, while tower construction will be market-justified in the future.”

Brett Denton, who has developed apartment projects across the Austin area, including along South Lamar Boulevard, said the proposed redevelopment “is a unique opportunity to create a mixed-use destination” at the crossroads of three major roads: Loop 360, U.S. 290 West and South Lamar Boulevard.

The mix of uses — office, retail, residential, hotel, parks and public spaces — “would enhance all of the components of the project and the surrounding area,” Denton said.

 

 

[Wally Pryor 5261]

Yeah, that's going to be huge.   Literally.    

[Guest Lobo]

fun fact-one of the Barship Oles principals is a Texas-Ex and cousin of Giancarlo Esposito, aka Gus Fring.  

So yes, inside the development---there will be a Pollo Hermanos.  One of the most wasted views in Austin is of the greenbelt/skyline where that Toys 'R Us loading dock is and an insurance broker's office balcony is.  

One thing's for sure, this is gonna cause a huge environmental uproar.  It's a paved shithole at Brodie Oaks right now, I'm all for a more reasonable and functional development, but the actual construction process is gonna be a shitshow that close to the creek.  But they got the right attorney for it, despite his connections to Nate Paul. 

[Wally Pryor 5261]

2 minutes ago, Lobo said:

 One of the most wasted views in Austin is of the greenbelt/skyline where that Toys 'R Us loading dock is and an insurance broker's office balcony is.  

No kidding.  Don't know how many times when in that shopping center I've driven behind the TRU for that very reason. 

[bolverk 29646]

6 minutes ago, Lobo said:

fun fact-one of the Barship Oles principals is a Texas-Ex and cousin of Giancarlo Esposito, aka Gus Fring.  

So yes, inside the development---there will be a Pollo Hermanos.  One of the most wasted views in Austin is of the greenbelt/skyline where that Toys 'R Us loading dock is and an insurance broker's office balcony is.  

One thing's for sure, this is gonna cause a huge environmental uproar.  It's a paved shithole at Brodie Oaks right now, I'm all for a more reasonable and functional development, but the actual construction process is gonna be a shitshow that close to the creek.  But they got the right attorney for it, despite his connections to Nate Paul. 

That was one of my first thoughts as well, wondering how they were going to be able to manage demolition and construction that close to the creek. My second thought was wondering what Robin Rather would say about it on my FB feed. brb

Edit: Nothing so far.

Edited December 3, 2020 by bolverk

[4th&Five 41506]

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

fun fact-one of the Barship Oles principals is a Texas-Ex and cousin of Giancarlo Esposito, aka Gus Fring.  

So yes, inside the development---there will be a Pollo Hermanos.  One of the most wasted views in Austin is of the greenbelt/skyline where that Toys 'R Us loading dock is and an insurance broker's office balcony is.  

One thing's for sure, this is gonna cause a huge environmental uproar.  It's a paved shithole at Brodie Oaks right now, I'm all for a more reasonable and functional development, but the actual construction process is gonna be a shitshow that close to the creek.  But they got the right attorney for it, despite his connections to Nate Paul. 

I used to ask my mom why that view was wasted on a Toys R Us when I was 8. How did it take this long?

[blacklab 11926]

Also, great place to watch the fireworks on the 4th.

[DanRydell 799]

Would be a much better use of that land but they're going to have to figure something out with ingress and egress and the traffic on that stretch of 360, which might already be the biggest consistent traffic jam in Austin.

[royiv 9242]

4 minutes ago, DanRydell said:

Would be a much better use of that land but they're going to have to figure something out with ingress and egress and the traffic on that stretch of 360, which might already be the biggest consistent traffic jam in Austin.

Agreed. That is going to be a huge engineering challenge given the differences in elevation between 360 and the property. 

[bolverk 29646]

New rendering for the Brodie Oaks redevelopment proposal that better shows the height and scale.

https://austin.towers.net/south-austin-gets-its-own-skyline-at-the-reimagined-brodie-oaks-retail-center/?pro=caitlyn@towers.net

[Wally Pryor 5261]

Anyone know what's going on with the condos on Banister, just north of Ben White.  Burnt down a year to two back and have been rebuilt for awhile but haven't seen any activity in / around there.

[TKthunder2 4985]

On 3/5/2021 at 10:59 AM, bolverk said:

New rendering for the Brodie Oaks redevelopment proposal that better shows the height and scale.

https://austin.towers.net/south-austin-gets-its-own-skyline-at-the-reimagined-brodie-oaks-retail-center/?pro=caitlyn@towers.net

Looks good.  If they can figure out some way to connect to the other side of Lamar via cap/cover or walkways that go under the road then they’d have more room on the other side of the road to grow assuming this is done.  Maybe we’ll actually see one of these ‘next Domain’ projects actually work assuming they can expand.

[Guest Lobo]

^

Good point, that strip center (other than target) with the southern-oriented facade across Lamar...that thing's days are numbered as well.  

[Armybrat 40815]

Interesting side note for that area...

My son’s ex-gf’s sister bought a half interest in the Broken Spoke and is continuing to keep it open. I thought that joint would be redeveloped.

[bolverk 29646]

2 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Interesting side note for that area...

My son’s ex-gf’s sister bought a half interest in the Broken Spoke and is continuing to keep it open. I thought that joint would be redeveloped.

I don't know all the ins-and-outs, but the development agreement for the mixed-use projects on either side of it included provisions that the Broken Spoke would be kept whole.

[Armybrat 40815]

Well, it ain’t the same without the old bus.

[bolverk 29646]

Hill's Cafe getting redeveloped.

https://austin.towers.net/a-south-congress-mixed-use-project-builds-on-the-legacy-of-hills-cafe/

The 2018 closure of Hill’s Cafe, a longtime South Austin staple for chicken fried steaks and live music with roots on South Congress Avenue dating back to 1947, served as yet another indicator that the city’s dense development was boldly venturing south of Highway 290, anchored by the nearby St. Elmo district’s ongoing transformation from industrial neighborhood to trendier industrial neighborhood. But the mixed-use project announced three years ago replacing the cafe atop its sprawling 14-acre property at 4700 South Congress Avenue ultimately fell through, which ended up being a pretty good deal for the ghost of Hill’s Cafe — an all-new plan for the site by local developers the Sutton Company now hopes to bring the restaurant back.

“It won’t be the same as the old building,” says Sutton co-owner Mac Pike. “But we’re doing our best to revive it.” This revival extends all the way to the project’s name — The Hills at South Congress, which will eventually bring a reported 400 multifamily residences, 100,000 square feet of office space, an 180-key hotel, and 40,000 square feet of retail to the large tract across two phases of construction.