Sachem selling acreage near South Congress

Sachem is better with beakers than bulldozers, so it’s leaving the development of its land in Southeast Austin to the real estate pros. 

The firm is selling 15 acres of land at 801 and 821 Woodward Street, not far from South Congress Avenue. Sachem is looking for a sale-leaseback on a 3.5-acre piece of the property, while the nearly 12 acres of undeveloped land that remains would be primed for building.

Adding to the development considerations, land-use law firm Drenner Group is seeking to rezone the properties for denser multifamily development and taller buildings. They are currently zoned for industrial use with room for some multifamily development possibilities. 

A study by STG Design found that the property could yield 837,000 square feet of residential development. Plans show potential for a five-story multifamily project over a two-story podium with more than 1,027 apartments. 

The properties are being marketed by a CBRE team of Charles Cirar, Colin Cannata, Bradley Bailey and Logan Reichle. 

The site, which backs up on a Walmart, is in one of Austin’s hotter zip codes, 78704. The median home sale price was $830,000 in January according to Redfin, down from its peak in August of around $1 million but still well above pre-pandemic levels. The development site lies about four miles from the Central Business District and 3 miles from South Congress’ main shopping drag. 

There are 127 development sites for sale in Austin, according to LoopNet, but only a few exist in the South Congress area. Most are clustered to the northeast and in the suburban areas further from downtown. 

Homes for sale sat on the market 59 percent longer in 2022 than the year prior, according to data from Realtor.com. Still, if a buyer chooses to develop the land as STG Design modeled, the project wouldn’t lack demand. Even as rising rates have turned some would-be buyers into renters, the fundamentals of the hot market — fast population growth, low inventory — remain in place.