Villas Starts 30-story Student Housing Near UT Austin

Villas Student Housing is off and running with its eighth project near the University of Texas at Austin.

The Austin-based firm, led by CEO Brad Zucker, has started construction on a 30-story, 199-unit building with 670 beds at 2313 Rio Grande Street, where popular bar and restaurant Cain & Abel’s stood for 32 years before relocating earlier this year, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

The development, designed by architecture firm Rhode : Partners, is set to be completed in summer 2025. It hasn’t yet been named. An indoor/outdoor fitness center, a resort-style pool and spa and a full-length basketball court are planned. The development will have two levels of below-ground parking and three levels of above-ground parking.

The West Campus area isn’t typically known for large residential towers, but that’s likely to change over the next few years, now that buildings are allowed to rise up to 300 feet. LV Collective, for instance, completed the 30-story Waterloo Tower at 2400 Seton Avenue last year.

Villas’ most recent West Campus project is Villas on Rio, a 19-story, 279-unit apartment building at 2111 Rio Grande that opened in 2021. The firm has also delivered the 102-unit Villas On Nueces, 92-unit Villas At San Gabriel and 150-unit Villas on Guadalupe.

Cain & Abels moved to 907 West 24th Street, where it reopened last month.

Villas was founded in 2000 and has delivered 4,000 beds, according to its website. All of its developments are in Austin.

LV Collective, formerly known as Lincoln Ventures, also has a 30-story student housing building under construction in Austin. Its Waterloo Tower, at 2400 Seton, has 241 units and nearly 800 beds. It was the first development to take advantage of the city’s density bonus, and it will have some affordable units.

—Quinn Donoghue