A proposed 6.0102-acre planned unit development would mean big changes for the southwest corner of South Congress Avenue and Riverside Drive, including the possibility of a tower more than 500 feet tall. City Council heard details about the plans at its work session Tuesday.
Zoning Officer Joi Harden offered a development assessment, describing the PUD proposal as a mixed-use development of approximately 800 residential units, a 225-unit hotel, 200,000 square feet of office space, 90,000 square feet of retail use, 30,000 square feet of restaurant use and a 25,000-square-foot grocery store. She said the majority of the parking for the development would be achieved through a below-grade parking structure. The addresses slated for redevelopment are 500 and 510 S. Congress Ave. (the location of the four-decades-old karaoke bar Ego’s), 105 W. Riverside Drive and 407 1/2 Haywood Ave.
PUD applicants are required to participate in a development assessment before filing the actual request for zoning changes.
As Harden explained, the project is within the South Central Waterfront District, which staff is currently revising. One of those revisions will eliminate height limitations for the area, so the district can accommodate the requested height without a variance. Attorney Richard Suttle, who represents the PUD applicant, told the Austin Monitor there has been a shift in city thinking about the South Central plan because of the planned rail stations close to the property and at the nearby Statesman PUD.
He said the rail stations need the density, and the developments need the rail stations. “It’s a beautiful relationship,” he said. He opined that if the current rail plan is overturned in court, he fully expects the public to vote in favor of rail again.
Asked about the city’s requirement that the developer provide affordable housing, Suttle said, “What we’re trying to do, much like it was on the Statesman – there are multiple options, ranging from fee-in-lieu to on-site. What we’re trying to do is figure out the best way to get the most units in the area.”
Council Member Zo Qadri, who represents the downtown area and District 9, said the plan “gives us an immense opportunity,” noting that it aligns “with a lot of the vision that has been laid out for (the area).” He also asked if there were plans to provide low-cost space for local businesses. Mike Iannacone of the New York-based Related Companies told him the plan is to offer 5,000 square feet of commercial lease space for local businesses or nonprofits at an affordable rate for a period of 25 years.
As part of their demonstration of superiority, developers promised to incorporate electric charging stations within the parking garage for use by tenants and visitors to the development. Developers also are offering to improve pedestrian connectivity throughout the property by providing an elevated boardwalk and “trails along East Bouldin Creek that will create a connection between South First Avenue and South Congress Avenue as envisioned under the South Central Waterfront Vision Framework Plan (SCWFP). Therefore, the PUD proposes to remove existing impervious cover and improvements from the Critical Water Quality Zone and floodplain and incorporate several environmental/ecological enhancements throughout” the site.
In keeping with the city’s commitment to water reuse, the applicant states, “the PUD will provide 100 percent of the required water quality volume onsite with at least 50 percent of water quality volume to be treated using green water quality controls among those described in the (environmental manual), a reduction in maximum permitted impervious cover by 5 percent, rainwater harvesting, stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces that will be directed to landscaped areas equal to or greater than the required landscape area.”
As busy as the area is, it is no surprise to see this comment from an Austin Energy reviewer: “The substation that feeds the site is over capacity and currently can’t be served without a new substation.”