Featured Illustration (above): A multi-story apartment complex, retail center and a brewery/beer garden is proposed for this industrial lot east of South Congress Avenue. Images from Google Streets/Google Earth.
Posted: 10-10-19
By Edmond Ortiz
Austin (Travis County)–What has been an industrial lot in a neighborhood off South Congress Avenue could be the site for a proposed mixed-use project involving hundreds of new apartments, retail and a microbrewery/taproom.
The Austin Planning Commission unanimously voted Oct. 8 to approve a new future land use designation and rezoning for a 4.2-acre tract at 600 Industrial Blvd.
Austin-based investment company Keller Capital, under the name KC 600 Industrial LLC, wants to develop up to 400 multifamily units, 12,850 square feet of retail, and a 5,236-square-foot brewery and beer garden.
The residential and retail portions would make up one structure, and include a parking garage, courtyards and a dog park. The ground-level retail portion would face Industrial.
The brewery would be a separate building at the corner of Industrial and Terry-O. Big Red Dog is the engineer for the whole project.
The commission’s vote supports city staff recommendation to revise the property zoning. It’s currently Limited Industrial Services-Conditional Overlay- Neighborhood Plan. The proposed zoning keeps limited industrial and neighborhood plan, but adds Planned Development Area.
The future land use designation would change from industry to mixed use. The new development would be accessible from Industrial Boulevard and Terry-O Lane. The Industry Boulevard property currently includes a 100,000-square-foot warehouse.
David Hartman with Austin law firm Smith Robertson is representing Keller Capital through the city review process. He said the businesses that presently uses the warehouse will be given an opportunity to lease space in the new retail portion of the development.
Keller Capital’s representatives have talked with the South Congress Combined Neighborhood Plan Contact Team, a community group that strives to stay atop development issues in its area.
The contact team has not expressed opposition to the project, but did bring up several points of concern, including drainage, communications with the construction team, parking, lighting, noise and tree preservation.
The neighborhood group also asked for affordable housing, which they said is lacking in the immediate area.
According to Hartman, the developer is proposing 5% of the new apartments be affordable units at 80% Median Family Income (MFI) and another 5% of units be offered at 60% MFI.
Cantu said he and his neighbors feel if Keller Capital wants more height in its proposed residential construction, there should even more affordable housing than what they are proposing.
Cantu added that other developers who previously proposed mixed-use and residential projects had promised certain amount of affordable housing for the neighborhood, but never came through on their promises.
The rezoning would allow a maximum of 90 feet of new construction, but Hartman said his client is proposing to limit its maximum height to 85 feet.
“The number we’re looking at is 10% (of total units) at 60% at 85 feet,” Cantu added.
Hartman responded that given the proposed zoning the developer is seeking, no affordable housing component was required.
Encouraged by neighbors, Keller Capital is offering affordable housing but only to a certain limit. Hartman explained the estimated costs of a traffic impact analysis, drainage upgrades and other planned infrastructure improvements will not permit any more affordable apartments at the development.
“That’s basically what the project can bear,” Hartman added.
Keller Capital pledges other infrastructure upgrades, including water quality measures, bike lanes and sidewalks around the property. There also would be street trees, landscaping and rain gardens. Additionally, Hartman said there would be noise abatement measures employed around the new development.
While the commission’s vote for the rezoning and land use change was unanimous, some panel members said they must consider larger issues in the future when facing such proposed projects.
“As we move forward with cases like this, we need to keep in mind what median family incomes are particularly in these areas,” Commissioner Carmen Llanes Pulido said.
“They are lower than citywide (median incomes), so when we talk 80% rental, it is significantly more expensive than existing housing stock in the area. Even 60% is likely more expensive than existing housing in the area.”
Commissioner Todd Shaw said he theoretically is apprehensive at the idea of having a large scale residential development in the middle of an industrial area, but in this case, the proposed development serves as a compatible transition between the existing residences and the commercial sector.
The Keller Capital mixed-use project, which now heads to City Council, would be located in the St. Elmo industrial district, which as the city’s project document states, “becoming eclectic and more diverse. The wide variety of home improvement and music industry-oriented businesses makes it a vibrant district.”
Hartman said the proposed brewery/beer garden (called a winery in some city project documents) would fit right in because it will be close to three breweries – 512, Skull Mechanix and St. Elmo – as well as Still Austin distillery and Austin Winery.
City planning staff said there’s an increase in proposed developments that convert industrial properties into residential and mixed-use projects.
This can be good, planners and commission members said, so long as some of these newer developments provide some kind of affordable housing. Planners and commissioners also said, when it comes to redeveloping industrial areas, efforts should not significantly displace businesses occupying those industrial properties or the neighborhood residents who work at those companies.
edmond@virtualbx.com
