Another high-rise development is destined for yet another downtown Austin block.

The Episcopal Church has selected Austin-based Cielo Property Group to partner in developing a church-owned block, with plans calling for a large mixed-use project, along with a permanent home for the church’s historical archives.

Cielo Property Group, a commercial real estate investment and development firm, released conceptual renderings of what a mixed-use project might look like on the site, known as Block 87 and bounded by Seventh, Eighth, Trinity and Neches Streets.

A tower could rise somewhere in the 30-story range, with the mix of uses not yet determined, said Rev. Canon Lang Lowrey III, the asset manager for the property who is representing the church in its search for a development partner.

The project could include residential, office, restaurant and retail uses, Lowrey said.

"We wanted a partner who knew Austin and was trusted by the community," Lowrey said. "Cielo is an Austin-based company led by people who really care about making the city a better place. This, combined with their vision and ideas for the property, made Cielo our top choice."

The project will require approvals from the city of Austin, Lowrey said, and height on part of the tract will be limited by rules protecting views of the state Capitol dome.

Lowrey said the church hopes to break ground in 2018.

The land — one of the few remaining privately owned, undeveloped downtown blocks — is now used as a revenue-generating parking lot.

The church bought the block in 2009 with plans to build a national archives facility. The new 67,000-square-foot home of The Archives of the Episcopal Church will include research, exhibit and public space. The facility will serve as a national gathering place where Episcopalians and others can study and celebrate the history, beliefs and work of the church, as well as provide a cultural amenity for the broader Austin community.

"We see this as a mission and a ministry more than we do anything," Lowrey said.

Bobby Dillard, founding partner of Cielo, a firm with a number of high-profile projects in Austin, said Cielo is honored to be the church’s choice for the project.

"We understand the importance of this project to the church and its members, and we’re excited to have the opportunity to bring even more positive change to the northeast area of downtown Austin where many exciting things are already happening," Dillard said.

Dillard said Cielo is in the early stages of designing the mixed-use project, but like Lowrey said that the concepts are preliminary. Financial details were not released.

Block 87 is in a part of downtown that is undergoing rapid change. New hotels have cropped up; a medical school has opened; a teaching hospital under construction; improvements to Waller Creek and Waterloo Park in the works; and the University Medical Center Brackenridge is slated for redevelopment.

Block 87 also is near a homeless shelter and the Austin police station, but Lowrey said the church and Cielo don’t view those as a negative.

"It’s a great piece of property," Lowrey said of Block 87. "Certainly (the area) needs to be revitalized, but (Austin Mayor Steve Adler) has a good plan" to address that, which he said the church and Cielo intend to support.

Lowrey said "a good percentage" of the block is affected by a Capitol view corridor, so any development, he said, will need "to be done carefully to maximize space." Dillard said a high-rise tower is envisioned for the southwest corner of the tract.

Mark Duffy, director of The Archives of the Episcopal Church, said in a written statement: "Years of thoughtful planning have led to this remarkable partnership to achieve the Episcopal Church’s goal of a permanent research facility for its historical archives. We are excited by this next step for the Archives in setting down deeper roots in the Austin community where church life, education, research and cultural engagement are valued and affirmed as gifts."