Austin continues to grow skyward, even on its outer edges.
The Austin Zoning and Platting Commission has pushed through a recommendation to allow taller commercial buildings in the future EastVillage — a $1 billion, 425-acre mixed-use development by Reger Holdings LLC.
The motion passed unanimously last week, the Austin Business Journal reported, along with an additional recommendation that City Council consider increasing fees on the project to support affordable housing efforts and the preservation of green space.
“The focus of this amendment is to increase the height,” said Michael Whellan, an Armbrust & Brown PLLC partner who was representing Reger at the September 21 meeting. “This is being done to meet the demand in the area, including the Samsung [fabrication plant].”
There is, of course, a catch to this height amendment. In exchange, developers have promised to contribute $1 million to the city’s affordable housing fund and to dedicate new parkland. This is the first affordable housing commitment attached to the project since the New York-based developer announced it in 2019.
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Whellan told the ABJ that the 157 acres promised for open parkland is three times the residential requirements, adding that Reger would be “really investing in the community in a meaningful way.”
There’s another hiccup: traffic. In its recommendation, the commission asks the city to consider an expansion of Gregg Lane, which has been a frequent subject of public safety concerns over the years. Jack Gullahorn, who owns property nearby and is founder of lobbying and public affairs group Professional Advocacy Association of Texas, told commissioners that expansions would be required at Howard Land and Gregg Lane to accommodate the increased traffic.
“I have no beef with the developers at all on this,” Gullahorn said. “It is not their job to include the roads. Frankly, it’s the city’s and county’s job to make sure the roads are included.”
Whellan confirmed that a meeting has been scheduled between the developer, county leaders and Gullahorn, as a representative of the community.
Upon completion, EastVillage could have more than 2,000 apartments, nearly 500 single-family homes, three hotels, more than 500,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space and more than 1 million square feet of office space, plus more than 150 acres of parks and around 5 miles of trails. While the full buildout of EastVillage could take five years or more, the first phase, including 312 apartments, could open before the end of 2022.
— Maddy Sperling