The sprawling Austin American-Statesman complex has never been much to look at. Built in 1980, the nondescript building consists of more than 300,000 square feet of concrete and glass—an eyesore that would be easy to overlook, if not for its vast size. But what the structure lacks in architectural polish, it more than makes up for in topography. Situated on 18.9 acres of prime waterfront property, its white facade has long served as a backdrop to the city’s athletes on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, not to mention the summer suffusion of Mexican free-tailed bats that emerge from the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge at dusk.

And that’s what’s important. Not the journalists doing their civic duty inside, but the sights and sounds of Lady Bird Lake outside. Hence why, when the newspaper was bought by New York–based GateHouse Media for $47.5 million last year, its fate was sealed.

If the Cox family (former owners of the Statesman) and Endeavor Real Estate Group have their way, that squat building will be razed within the next few years to make way for a mixed-use project—including up to seven buildings, a waterfront park, and a potential outdoor amphitheater—covering the equivalent of 12 city blocks.

Consider it the story of Austin today. With so many areas reaching their development capacity, any underutilized space is being sized up for its profit and build-out potential. The city’s population is quickly closing in on 1 million, and Mayor Steve Adler expects that number to double before 2040.

“What’s important for the whole city to know is the development that’s happening downtown really is the economic engine for the city and the region,” Adler explains, “I often tell people that if they want a pocket park or a clinic in their neighborhood, they should be hoping for another downtown condo building; that’s what pays for these kinds of things.”

Whether Austinites are actually “hoping” for another crane dotting the cityscape remains a moot point, because the spread of condos and other high-rises will continue unabated. And that development doesn’t stop at the fringes of downtown. Chances are, your neighborhood already looks starkly different than a few years ago—which, the mayor argues, won’t compromise Austin’s trademark weirdness.

“We do change well and will continue to evolve as a city,” Adler says. “I believe we’ll continue to hold on to what makes this city special, which really comes from the people that self-select to live here.”

From the sprawl of boutique hotels and luxe grocery stores popping up along South Congress, to the mammoth sports stadiums farther north, these are the upcoming projects molding how we’ll live, work, and play in the Austin of tomorrow.

DOWNTOWN



INDEED TOWER. PHOTO COURTESY CAMPBELL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

Untethered by height restrictions, downtown has area developers competing for airspace like never before. But scarcity is also fueling rapid change. Downtown Austin Alliance’s “State of Downtown” report for 2019 cites that over 70 million square feet have been cultivated, meaning more than half its growth capacity has already been reached.

“What we also see are properties that were previously underutilized, that were simply parking lots, now being converted into these taller buildings,” explains Rodney Gonzales, Austin’s Assistant City Manager, “Which is great because from a downtown perspective, if you’ve got an underutilized parcel, it’s better to utilize that parcel than to tear something down.”

But it’s not all routine, rectangular leviathans climbing above the skyline. Block 185, the Indeed Tower, and the new SXSW Center will feature stunning engineering feats and designs meant to complement the existing downtown tapestry.

Indeed Tower

200 West Sixth Street

Initially called Block 71, this 554-foot tall, 36-story structure will have more than 700,000 square feet of office space. Currently under construction at the corner of Sixth Street and Colorado Avenue, Indeed is projected to be completed in 2021, where it will house the likes of TRS Investment Management Division and Teacher Retirement System of Texas. In addition to its 20,000 square feet of urban green space, the development will also repurpose Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall. The 1914 post office, designated on the National Register of Historic Places, will be converted into an urban market with 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Block 185

601 West Second Street

Projected to be the third-tallest building in Austin, Google’s new 35-story home is defined by its dazzling curved glass design. Scheduled to open in 2022, the 790,000-square-foot project from Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects is expected to have outdoor terraces, a fitness center, and ground level retail. Beyond the obvious aesthetic appeal of the building, Gonzales says its sail-like shape came from an inventive way to comply with the city’s waterfront overlay regulations, which limit proximity to Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake.

90-92 Rainey Street

Developer Kevin Burns (also the founder and CEO of Urban-space Real Estate + Interiors) has proposed a 51-story tower where Container Bar and Bungalow currently stand. Combining 290 apartment units with a 293-room hotel, Burns is also hoping to incorporate affordable housing as well as increased walkability (e.g., expanded sidewalks) with the Rainey high-rise. And good news for fans of the aforementioned cocktail bars: both are expected to migrate to the first two floors of the completed building.

The Quincy

93 Red River Street

Located across the street from the Hotel Van Zandt, this 30-story tower will have 78,000 square feet (or three floors) of office space, 10,360 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and 347 apartments (up to 11 affordable units) overlooking Lady Bird Lake. Will Marsh, Principal at Endeavor Real Estate Group, the firm behind the project, insists that it’s being built with the best interests of the neighborhood in mind. “It’s a true mixed-use tower at the gate of Rainey Street connecting downtown to the rest of the district.”

SXSW Center

1400 Lavaca Street

With a column-free design that resembles an undulating wave, the SXSW Center is being marketed as a “physical manifestation of everything Austin has to offer.” Besides the top three stories, reserved for the offices of the iconic music festival, the 13-story tower has leased 65,000 square feet to coworking-space company, WeWork. Building tenants can enjoy a 2,000-square-foot rooftop garden, electric-car charging stations in the attached 300-space garage, and a palatial ground-floor plaza designed around a grove of heritage oaks.

The Republic

401 West Fourth Street

Perhaps the most emblematic of downtown projects, The Republic was originally submitted as a 586-foot, 38-floor office tower. Months later, developers Lincoln Property Company and Phoenix Property Company made the unprecedented decision to go even bigger, changing the design to include an additional eight floors and more than 100 feet of building height. Facing Republic Square across from Fourth Street, the now-709-foot project is promising to compete with Frost Bank Tower and Indeed Tower as downtown’s signature edifice.

SOUTH CONGRESS



ST. ELMO PUBLIC MARKET. PHOTO COURTESY ANDERSSON/WISE.

Few local brands scream “TEXAS!” quite like H-E-B (pour one out for the now-Chicago-owned Whataburger). And the city’s oldest location of the beloved grocery chain is getting a South Congress–sized makeover. What does that mean? The store and its 550-slot parking lot, considered palatial when it debuted 62 years ago, is simply incapable of handling the daily traffic indicative of the booming neighborhood. Despite more renovations than any other location during that period, the 70,000-square-foot store location is at capacity.

Consequently, H-E-B is hitting the reset button. With construction scheduled for next year, the South Congress location will reinvent itself with more than 110,000 square-feet of grocery space, the company’s first beer garden, a 12-vendor food hall, and a live music stage for all that SXSW action come March. But that’s only a fraction of the evolution the street is due to experience over the next few years, with the expansion of SoCo’s main drag extending through several underutilized ZIP codes.

St. Elmo Public Market

4329 South Congress Avenue

A mixed-use development modeled after New York City’s Chelsea Market and Seattle’s Pike Place Market, St. Elmo will combine a massive apartment complex (386 units) with a 156-room boutique hotel, 103,830 square feet of office space, and a 40,000 square-foot public market. The first wave of announced tenants includes Salt & Time, Texas Hill Country Olive Company, Family Business Beer Co., a new concept from the owners of Lick Honest Ice Creams, and Mignette, a bakery and all-day restaurant from Olamaie executive chef, Michael Fojtasek. Although originally scheduled to debut in October 2019, the project will more realistically open in early 2020.

Hotel Magdalena

110 Academy Drive

Austin’s hippest hotelier, Liz Lambert (Hotel San Jose, Hotel Saint Cecilia), continues her revitalization of South Congress with her largest project to date. The first mass timber boutique hotel in North America, the 52,255-square-foot Hotel Magdalena will have 89 rooms scattered throughout its five stories, as well as a restaurant, event space, and seven condos for sale on its top floor.

Music Lane

1007 South Congress Avenue

Named after the small street that forms its eastern-most border, this $55 million-dollar mixed-use neighbor of the Hotel Magdalena consists of 163,000 square feet of space devoted to offices, retail, and restaurants on the former site of Doc’s Motorworks Bar & Grill. Designed to be a community gathering spot with views of the Capitol, Music Lane will include tenants like Gelateria Gemelli, Reformation, Le Labo, Merit Coffee, Nak Armstrong, Velvet Taco, and Soho House, the popular members-only social club that started in London.

SOUTH FIRST STREET



1600 SOUTH FIRST STREET. PHOTO COURTESY PSW REAL ESTATE.

Historically a sleepier, less-congested thoroughfare than neighboring South Congress Avenue, South First Street is going through a bit of an identity crisis. The food truck parks, art galleries, and quirky boutiques that once defined the area are being usurped by an influx of chic restaurants and mixed-used developments. And the residential duplexes and single-family homes around the Bouldin Creek neighborhood? Well, those changes are “already evident,” according to Ross Wilson, Austin/San Antonio Division President at PSW Real Estate, one of the driving forces behind the surge of South First development.

“If you’ve lived here for more than three years, [you] see the land values have skyrocketed with the adjacency to downtown,” he says, “And the new homes are very large because they effectively have to make that land value worthwhile. You can’t get away with building a thousand-square-foot bungalow anymore in Bouldin.”

Here, four other notable projects reshaping a commercial corridor that Money magazine named “one of the coolest neighborhoods” in 2018.

1600 South First Street

One of many PSW projects on the horizon, the firm has taken over the former space of Angel Funeral Home to build a four-story, mixed-use complex with 59 condos (including five affordable units) and 23,000-square-feet of retail space. To aid with pedestrian traffic along South First, the construction of the building was pulled back an additional 18 feet.

RiverSouth

401 South First Street

It’s hard to imagine, but the 1.4-acre triangular tract that once housed a Hooters on the corner of South First and West Riverside Drive will soon become a 350,611-square-foot, 15-story office tower overlooking Park Shores. Projected for a 2021 debut, RiverSouth will have 18,000 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space, as well as a full-service rooftop bar, on-site fitness center, and seventh floor green roof to recapture rainwater.

900 South First Street

Pieced together from six individual parcels of land across from the Texas School for the Deaf, PSW is transforming the space into a four-story mixed-use project with 63 condos (some costing over $1 million) and 22,000 square feet of retail, office, commercial, and restaurant space. The 4.5-acre property will also have 23 detached single-family homes (ranging from 1,250 square feet to 2,500 square feet), in an area dubbed Bouldin Court.

1207 South First Street

Austin’s days of being flush with food truck parks could soon be a thing of the past. That’s particularly true on South First, where mobile eateries such as Bombay Dhaba and Little Thai Food will have to find a new place to perch. Their current home, catty-corner to El Mercado, is being converted into a five-story, 5,000-square-foot mixed-used project with retail and residential components.

NORTH AUSTIN AND SURROUNDING AREAS



MLS STADIUM. PHOTO COURTESY FC.

Austin has become so large that local government is now approaching its potential like a conglomerate of cities. If downtown or South Congress feels tapped, just build another farther down I-35, right? For example, when considering the growth of The Domain and the surfeit of tech companies expanding into Central Texas (Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, just to name a few), Mayor Adler extols the virtues of stretching the urban core into numerous metro hubs.

“I’m excited about developments like out at The Domain, which are giving our city more than one downtown urban core area,” he says. “Everybody doesn’t have to just focus on one, because we can create multiple downtown areas in our city.”

City limits can’t even contain the growth, with surrounding suburbs like Round Rock and Pflugerville (ranked the third fastest-growing city from 2016 to 2017) offering more budget-friendly opportunities for housing, colossal tech campuses, and even indoor water parks.

Austin FC Soccer Stadium

10414 McKalla Place

The future home of Austin FC will cost a reported $240 million and employ about 100 full-time workers when it opens in 2021. Two Oaks Ventures, the owner of the highly anticipated Major League Soccer team, is building the 20,500-seat stadium with “Austin’s love of indoor/outdoor spaces” in mind. That means features like a supporters’ bar with food trucks, beer taps, and areas for fans to gather. On the 24-acre grounds there will also be a designated four-story building with 130 affordable housing units.

Apple Campus

Robinson Ranch

Having outgrown its current campus at West Parmer Lane and Delcour Drive, the tech giant is planning a new 133-acre, $1 billion facility less than a mile down the road. With 12 buildings and 2 million square-feet of office space, Apple will be able to accommodate up to 15,000 employees (they employ roughly 6,200 workers today). Scheduled to open in 2021, the new campus will clock in as its second largest facility yet, dwarfing those in Boston, New York, and Portland, Oregon.

Domain 11

11501 Domain Drive

More than 2,000 VRBO (formerly HomeAway) employees will step into new offices at this 16-story, 315,000 square-foot tower located just a stone’s throw away from Whole Foods Market and Rock Rose Boulevard. Outfitted with outdoor parks, jogging trails, and worry-free bike storage, Domain 11 offers several amenities that encourage work-life balance for employees. Aligned to look like it’s sliding past Domain 12, the building’s “energetic” design gives the overall impression of glass-paneled ships passing in the night.

Domain 12

11800 Alterra Parkway

At 17 stories, Domain 12 will stand as the tallest building at The Domain. Facebook—which already employs 700 people at 300 West Sixth Street, and who has leased more than 230,000 square feet at the Third + Shoal skyscraper—is rumored to have leased the entire 320,000- square-foot building.

The Pecan District

Billed as the “future western gateway into Pflugerville,” this $1.2 billion, 47-acre development at the corner of West Pecan Street and South Heatherwilde Boulevard will be parsed out in 10 construction phases, most to be completed by 2025. Among its 67 walkable acres will be 862 residential units, 135,000 square feet of retail, and 321,000 square feet of office space, plus restaurants and hotels. The first phase recently broke ground with The Elliott, a 272-unit apartment complex, due to open its doors in 2020.

Kalahari Resorts and Conventions

3001 Kalahari Boulevard

Round Rock can soon claim the country’s largest indoor waterpark (a whopping 223,000 square feet) at this upcoming African-themed park, entertainment, and convention facility. The Wisconsin-based chain, named after the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, will build its latest complex on 350 acres—spanning a 1,000-room hotel, five restaurants, a spa, and an 80,000-square-foot adventure park featuring thrill rides, climbing walls, an indoor zipline, and more.