5 Projects That Will Change Central East Austin
Central East Austin was a no man's land for hot development as recently as a decade ago. Vertical mixed-use was barely a concept. More apartments were out of the question to local residents. And the city still struggled to locate restaurants and houses, even on city-owned property.
Central East Austin may never compete with Downtown, but it has developed its own portfolio of major projects that will reshape the landscape.
Plaza Saltillo
First up is Plaza Saltillo, which occupies a series of distressed blocks once shopped by the city as a candidate for a federal neighborhood revitalization zone. Leave it to Austin to tout transit-oriented development for a city that has seen only one spur of a potential rail line built.
The project, a partnership of Endeavor Real Estate and Columbus Realty, includes Central East Austin's first office tower, as well as 800 apartment units and more than 100K SF of retail space. Endeavor predicts the project will be delivered in the second quarter of 2019.
Tyndall on Robertson Hill
Apartments, and even upscale apartments, abound in East Austin. The Tyndall on Robertson Hill is close enough to call itself Downtown Austin, but it is definitely on the east side of Interstate 35. The Tyndall is a clear departure for East Austin: a large-scale condominium project at almost Downtown price points.
The project represents a turning point in East Austin real estate: long-term high-end investment. The mid-rise RiverView, off Riverside, attempted a large-scale condominium concept, but ended up joining the rental market.
The Tyndall will stand out in a market where nearby development — including Eleven and Eastside AMLI — took the safer rental route, as pointed out by Towers Austin when it broke ground in 2015. The 176-unit property should be delivered by the first quarter.
Edgewick
Momark had a hand in The Tyndall, and it also was a partner on Edgewick, located in a tight urban community off Wickshire Drive. Edgewick, an urban gated community of detached condominiums, is the template for urban development espoused by the newest version of Austin's land development code.
Momark CEO Terry Mitchell is well-known for advocating affordable workforce housing and zoning options in Austin.
"I believe it is essential to have quality communities that serve our residents and that make our community work," Mitchell told the Austin Business Journal in 2012. "My mother was a school teacher who changed people's lives. People like her, who are sacrificing to make our country a better place, need quality places to live."
Chestnut Commons, Gabardine and Edgewick are all a partnership between Momark and Austin-based Benchmark Development. Momark-Benchmark also developed Downtown's Austonian tower.
Main Street Hub
The focus in Central East Austin has been retail and residential, but Main Street Hub's announcement of its relocation from Downtown to East Austin signals the community's attractiveness for live-work space.
Main Street Hub will consolidate Austin and New York City personnel in one building. As Colliers International noted in its third quarter office market forecast, rising rental rates and a lack of large blocks of office space has incentivized companies to look to areas outside of Downtown for space.
The building is slated for East Sixth Street between Chicon and Robert Martinez streets. That puts Main Street in the midst of a number of new high-end apartment developments. The new Main Street Hub headquarters will be a 114K SF building, set to open in 2019.
The Waterfront
Oracle's new $200M Austin campus, The Waterfront, is a 560K SF, Class-A office development set to open in the first quarter. The campus will be a clear competitor to Apple's digs in Northwest Austin. Oracle already has purchased the Azul Apartments next door as potential workforce housing.
Such large-scale development has led some to speculate on a mysterious project known as Project Catalyst, which would be almost adjacent to the Oracle campus. The project could potentially demolish a cluster of four older apartment projects along Riverside Drive used for student housing, according to Towers Austin. A promotional video envisions a large mixed-use development along the lines of The Domain in North Austin or Uptown in Dallas.
