Endeavor plans East Austin mixed-use

One of Austin’s real estate titans could transform a chunk of the rapidly growing East Side with a massive mixed-use development.

Endeavor Real Estate Group aims to redevelop the 71-acre site at 71 Strandtman Cove, currently home to Borden Dairy Company. The complex would have 1,400 residential units, about 400,000 square feet of office, more than 100,000 square feet of retail and a 220-room hotel, the Austin Business Journal reported. 

Endeavor’s request to rezone the property from industrial to mixed-use, allowing for buildings that rise 10 stories or higher with a height limit of 120 feet, recently won approval from the Austin Planning Commission. Austin City Council could give final approval, although the matter hasn’t yet been scheduled.

The land is valued at about $14 million, according to Travis County Appraisal District. KKR and Colorado-based Capitol Peak Partners acquired all Borden assets for about $340 million in 2020, the outlet said.

If approved, the development would be one of the largest in East Austin, an area that’s seen seismic growth and considerable change over the past decade. Endeavor, whose CEO is Kirk Rudy, is no stranger to ambitious mixed-use projects. The developer is at the helm of massive ventures like the Domain and South Park Meadows.

The Planning Commission approved the zoning request under the condition that no more than 75 percent of the site has impervious cover — a measurement of man-made surfaces that don’t absorb rainfall. The commission also required a 50-foot setback from the rear of the property, which borders the Colorado River Park Wildlife Sanctuary.

Commissioners who voted against the proposal said a project of this magnitude should be more carefully considered. Commissioner Grayson Cox said the development should be reclassified as its own site-specific zoning, citing “a huge change in use and intensity.”

Those in favor of the proposal said it would accommodate the continued growth and influx of new residents into East Austin.

“Getting 1,400 homes to replace a milk factory seems like a really great thing,” commission member Greg Anderson told the outlet. “I am really excited to see a lot of housing get built in a part of Austin that is just as desperate for housing as most other parts of Austin.”

—Quinn Donoghue