Up and down South Congress Avenue, from just south of Riverside Drive to Milton Street, the signs of change are everywhere.

A number of projects that started construction in the past year or so are well underway and new ones are being added to the mix on one of Austin's signature streets.

The newcomers will include the new flagship store for Kendra Scott jewelry, a local tenant with a new concept for the former vintage store Uncommon Objects and a mixed-use project planned for the lot next to Vespaio restaurant.

The sight of towering cranes bear testament to the continuing evolution of a part of South Austin that not too long ago, even into the late 1990s, was a red-light district.

Within the past two decades, the area has undergone a transformation, one that has accelerated in recent years with trendy new chains and mixed-use projects replacing local merchants, including one that was there for decades.

Twomey Auto Works was a fixture on South Congress for 28 years. The collision repair shop disappeared seemingly overnight, razed this month as part of an upscale mixed-used development going up next door called Music Lane that will bring in new retail, office and restaurant tenants, including a Soho House, a members-only club for the well-heeled.

Passers-by can’t miss the giant hole that marks the Music Lane site, where an underground parking garage is being built that will have nearly 500 parking spaces.

Don Twomey, right, and son Tanner Twomey pose at Twomey Auto Works on south Congress Avenue on Aug. 14. After 28 years on that site, the shop has relocated.



Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman

Another four-story mixed-use project -- to be known as the Muse -- is rising on the other side of Don Twomey’s former location. The auto body shop has since moved about four miles south, to 4930 South Congress Ave., south of Ben White Boulevard.

“It was a nightmare for a year,” Twomey said of the construction that now flanked both sides of his auto shop and that he said gobbled up the free street parking near his shop. “It was a huge inconvenience. We couldn’t wait to get out of there.”

For their part, developers behind some of the new South Congress projects say they are optimistic that the quirky, eclectic character of the avenue will be preserved, despite the addition of new upscale national tenants.

When Uncommon Objects relocated last year, property owner Gary Sharpe said several large national brands wanted to lease the space.

But Sharpe chose to stay local — the new tenant is Maufrais, a retail and event space being launched by husband-and-wife team Sean and Lauren Greenberg. Sean Greenberg has long-time ties to the Avenue — his family has run Allens Boots on South Congress since 1977.

“It was essential to me that this space be re-imagined as a homegrown business,” Sharpe said.

A new mixed-use project, Music Lane, left, and a new Liz Lambert Hotel, The Magdalena, right, are under construction on South Congress Avenue on Thursday September 13, 2018. JAY JANNER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Jay Janner/Jay Janner

Eric DeJernett, senior vice president with commercial real estate firm CBRE Inc., was involved in the transactions that will bring Maurfrais, Kendra Scott and future Hummingbird project to South Congress. DeJernett said “a unique offering of shops, restaurants and entertainment” is vital to South Congress’ long-term success.

“Austin is changing, but we’re trying to keep the local flavor and heart and soul of South Congress,” DeJernett said. “People are invested in keeping it interesting and cool. Visitors do not want to shop at stores they have at home or can easily find online.”

Matt Green, managing partner for the KOR Group in Austin, which has a mixed-use project under way on South Congress, echoed that sentiment.

“South Congress is coolest corridor in town,” Green said. “We’re seeing the next generation of sophisticated retailers and restaurants thrive on South Congress.”

Here’s a status report on some of the new projects underway along South Congress:

Music Lane

Music Lane, a $55 million mixed-use project that will stretch from Academy Drive north, will include the former Twomey Auto Works site at 1009 South Congress Ave. The project’s construction footprint is shown in the photo at the beginning of this story.



“We have completed excavation and are under way with building construction,” said Kevin Tiseo, director of development and construction for Turnbridge Equities. The project is expected to be ready for its first tenants to occupy in the fall of 2019.

Music Lane will have three buildings with retail, office and restaurant space, along with almost 500 underground parking spaces. Soho House -- a trendy, members-only social club -- plans to open its first Texas location in the project.

Gelateria Gemelli, a gelato and coffee shop, also has signed on as a tenant. Music Lane’s developers are Clark Lyda and Austin Pfiester, along with Turnbridge Equities.

The Muse is shown under construction on South Congress Avenue on Sept. 13, 2018.



Jay Janner/American-StatesmanThe Muse at SoCo

A building at the front of this apartment complex -- formerly known as CityView -- was razed to make way for a new four-story project that will have three floors of office space atop ground-floor retail. The building, at 1007 S. Congress, should be completed by the spring of 2019, with tenants expected to open by the late fall of 2019, said Andrew Joblon, managing principal of Turnbridge Equities, a real estate investment and development firm with other offices in Austin, Los Angeles and New York.

In addition, the amenities and fitness center at the 217-unit Muse apartment complex have been revamped.

This is a ground-level look at the construction site for the Magdalena, a Liz Lambert hotel that is being built at Music Lane and Academy Drive just off South Congress Avenue.

Jay Janner/American-StatesmanThe Magdalena

The Magdalena, a Liz Lambert hotel under construction at Music Lane and Academy Drive with a projected fall 2019 opening. Its 86 rooms will make it the largest hotel to date for Lambert’s Bunkhouse hospitality group. Architect Lake | Flato is designing the hotel, drawing inspiration from Barton Springs and Austin’s 1970’s lakeside culture.

Joann’s is a new restaurant going in at the former site of the Snack Bar on South Congress Avenue.

Jay Janner/American-StatesmanJoann’s

Joann’s is a new restaurant going in at the Austin Motel, replacing the former Snack Bar that operated there until closing in 2016. An opening date has not yet been finalized.

Inspired by California diners and Austin’s Tex Mex fare, Joann’s will have an all-day menu of tacos, sandwiches and salads, grilled meats and seafood from a pecan-burning grill. Also on the menu will be updated takes on Mexican favorites like house-made tamales with green chorizo, picadillo enchiladas with ranchero sauce and green cabbage slaw. Drinks include daily juices with optional boozy add-ins; rojo, verde and rosado sangritas; cocktails emphasizing mezcal and tequila and an extensive beer and wine list.

Named for Lambert’s mother, Joann’s is a collaboration of Bunkhouse and Austin’s McGuire Moorman Hospitality.

Saint Vincent, a three-story mixed use project, is under construction on South Congress Avenue.

Jay Janner/American-StatesmanSaint Vincent

Saint Vincent, a three-story mixed-use building under construction at 1327 S. Congress, site of the former St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, is on track to be completed in January. The Kor Group is teaming on the project with Drake Real Estate Partners, based in New York.

Matt Green, managing partner in Austin for the KOR Group, said he’s not yet ready to announce any retail and office tenants, the first of which are due to occupy their space in the first quarter of 2019.

National retailer MadeWell, a women’s apparel store owned by J. Crew Group Inc., has opened in the former thrift store space on the site, a brick building dating to the 1950s.

The former site of Uncommon Objects on South Congress Avenue will become home to Maufrais, a locally owned shop.



Jay Janner/American-StatesmanMaufrais

When long-time tenant Uncommon Objects relocated last year, many expected the funky 5,000-square-foot space they left behind at 1512 S. Congress Ave. would be taken over by a national chain. Instead, Austinites Sean and Lauren Greenberg are launching Maufrais, which will initially operate as a pop-up shop, with plans to add a coffee bar, customizable Stetson hats and accessories, housewares, art exhibits and an event space.

“Opening a shop right next door to my family business is something I never dreamed possible,” said Sean Greenberg, whose family operates Allens Boots on South Congress. “I’m very proud to carry on the tradition of local South Congress merchants in this new era of retail.”

Thislot in the 1600 block of South Congress Avenue will be the site of Hummingbird, a three-story mixed used project.

Jay Janner/American-StatesmanHummingbird

Currently home to a couple of pop-up shops, this property at 1608 S. Congress Ave., next to Vespaio restaruant, often becomes a weekend bazaar filled with street vendors.

Now plans are in the work to develop the land, and according to the city of Austin’s permit database, the proposal calls for a three-story mixed-use project.

Property owner Gary Sharpe said specific plans for the site haven’t been determined.

Work is ongoing on a new flagship store for Kendra Scott jewelry on South Congress Avenue.

Jay Janner/American-StatesmanKendra Scott flagship store

The site at 1701 S. Congress Ave. was formerly home to Hill Country Weavers, a yarn and fiber arts shop that occupied two bungalows at South Congress and East Milton Street for 22 years before relocating.

Now the site has been transformed into a new flagship store for Austin-based Kendra Scott.

The new store will feature jewelry collections, home decor and a Color Bar, which lets customers create custom jewelry pieces from by choosing a stone, metal and shape.

There will also be an in-store café called Sips & Sweets and valet parking.

The company, which was founded in 2002 by designer Kendra Scott, will continue to operate the original South Congress location.