Austin Suburb Selects Griffin Swinerton to Renovate Downtown

One of the nation’s fastest growing suburbs is enlisting a new developer to bring its downtown space up to code as it welcomes in a steady influx of new residents.

Liberty Hill’s city officials selected San Francisco-based Griffin Swinerton, a joint venture of Griffin Structures Incorporated and builder Swinerton Incorporated to head up the downtown facelift. The joint venture will officially function as though they were city staff, according to the Austin Business Journal.

The responsibility extends beyond listening to what the community wants and then delivering. Griffin Swinerton will be tasked with actively soliciting community thoughts as well as evaluating public infrastructure needs and evaluating the markets for financing. The target date to begin the revamp is 2028.

Liberty Hill adopted a masterplan for preserving their downtown’s historic roots and creating an enticing atmosphere for business in 2024. Officials tied to the joint venture told the outlet that the initial vision is to build a central gathering place for all ages with a focus on walkability. Parking upgrades could be on the table, as well as districts tailored to a specific industries.

Griffin Swinerton was tasked with a similar project in a different Austin suburb recently, and they’ve also been tapped to build the 29-acre Downtown East project in Pflugerville.

Liberty Hill is one of many Austin area suburbs that have been experiencing a massive population boom over the past few decades. The city tripled in size since the 2020 census pegged the city’s population at 3,700. To meet with the demand, both the city and private developers have been scrambling to add retail, office buildings, and to modernize their downtown areas.

Sutton Natalie, a new 21.5-acre retail development due southeast of Hwy 29 and Butler Farms Boulevard, could be getting off the ground in the new year. Pohl Jensen, the Sutton Natalie developer, recently brought Target and Costco to the Liberty Hill area.

— Hunter Cooke