Leifer inches closer to mixed-use development in St. Elmo 

Details have emerged for Leifer Properties’ planned mixed-use development in South Austin’s rapidly-changing St. Elmo neighborhood.

The Connecticut-based firm wants to rezone an assemblage of old industrial properties in the area to make way for more than 1,000 multifamily units, 20,000 square feet of retail space and a brewery, the Austin Business Journal reported. 

Leifer recently secured recommendations from the Austin Planning Commission to rezone the properties at 300, 400, 436 and 440 Industrial Boulevard, along with 4211 Willow Spring Road, from industrial to mixed-use. If City Council greenlights the zoning — which would raise the maximum building height from 85 to 125 feet and the number of dwelling units from 400 to 600 — the developer plans to transform the 4.7-acre site into 700 multifamily units and more than 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Leifer is pursuing similar rezoning at 506 and 600 Industrial boulevard, where it plans to build 600 residential units, 13,000 square feet of retail and a brewery. It’s unclear if the residences will be condos or apartments.

The plan also includes 68 affordable housing units, reserved for families with incomes between 50 and 80 percent of the region’s median family income, which is $110,300 for a family of four in Austin, the outlet reported.

The project aligns with Leifer’s focus on value-add opportunities in high-growth markets. The firm is simultaneously collaborating with Intracorp Texas on a 3-acre project near South Congress Avenue and Oltorf Street, aiming to develop luxury apartments and retail. That’s expected to break ground in 2024.

The St. Elmo neighborhood has undergone a rapid transformation in recent years from an industrial district to a thriving mixed-use hub, anchored by the Yard, which houses St. Elmo Brewing Company, the Austin Winery and a Tesla showroom. 

Investment firm SomeraRoad recently acquired the unfinished St. Elmo Public Market at 4329 South Congress Avenue, with plans to convert the 42,000-square-foot building into a bar and arcade. 

Among the slew of residential projects in the neighborhood are the 275-unit Bishop Momo apartments and the 139-unit Congress Lofts at St. Elmo condo complex. 

—Quinn Donoghue

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