Austin: Developer Proposing Mixed-Use Office Tower Adjacent Saltillo Plaza Station
Feature Illustration: An artist rendering of the proposed mixed-use office tower by Perkins & Will.
Posted: 1-12-2022
by Art Benavidez
Austin (Travis County) – The Austin office of a national commercial real estate developer is awaiting a zoning amendment to build a six-story, mixed-use office tower next to the Saltillo Plaza Station.
Stream Realty Partners is seeking to amend the Saltillo Plaza Transit Oriented District (TOD) plan on a 0.99-acre property that would allow for a building height of 85 feet. Without the amendment, the maximum height for new development would be capped at 60 feet under the area’s density bonus program.
City staff recommended approval, however, the Planning Commission tabled the hearing to give the neighborhood residents more time to review. The case will now be heard at the commission’s Feb. 8 meeting.
An advantage of the amendment, as noted by a neighboring business that filed a letter in support, would be the ability to pull back the building line from the boundary to provide an open space.
“From what I understand, the new development will pull back from its property lines to create green space and opportunity for pedestrian and bicycle interactivity with the structure,” said Austin Nelsen, owner of Distribution Hall, 1500 E. 4th St. “Creating as much density as possible on a site close to the train station seems critical to us, and if it’s possible to do this by going vertical and creating green space around the new development, this seems like a win-win for the neighborhood.”
Center view of the proposed office tower, showing the pedestrian bypass that separates the ground floor. Illustration by Perkins & Will.
Richard Suttle with the law firm Armburst & Brown, PLLC submitted a letter to the commission that states the proposed development will involve a six-story office building with ground floor restaurant uses, along with underground parking with an entrance onto 4th Street.
A ground floor rendering shows a paseo bypassing the building, along with a rain garden, a restaurant with an outside deck, bike shop, meeting room, commercial space, fitness center, fitness lounge, locker room, loading bay and office/retail space.
The Lance Armstrong Bikeway is to the north. The design of the building is recessed to allow a pedestrian atmosphere around the building. There is a 25-foot-wide paseo between the two buildings running north and south from E. 4th Street and the Lance Armstrong Bikeway.
A proposed restaurant along Navasota Street side with a deck around a heritage pecan tree that will be preserved. Some concepts for the retail areas include a coffee shop and bike shop on the ground floor.
Concept site plan by Perkins & Will.
Stream Realty has the property under contract. The lot, immediately adjacent to and south of the transit line, has been the home since 1994 of Texas Coffee Traders, 1400 E. 4th Street. Texas Coffee Traders operates a wholesale and retail coffee roasting business in an old warehouse.
The project name simply refers to the address, 1400 E. 4th Street. Architectural services are being provided by the Austin office of Perkins & Will.
VBX Project ID: 2022-040F
art@virtualbx.com
