Gargantuan growth

New $3 billion project in Austin’s ‘second downtown’ is officially underway

Austin’s “second downtown” is about to get a whole lot bigger.

Work has gotten underway on a new neighbor for North Austin’s mixed-use Domain and Domain Northside developments. Construction just began on the first phase of Uptown ATX, a $3 billion, 66-acre master-planned neighborhood. The project will dramatically enlarge Austin’s so-called “second downtown,” along Burnet Road near North MoPac Expressway.

Uptown ATX, formerly known as Broadmoor, eventually will feature nearly 7 million square feet of offices, apartments, stores, and hotel space, as well as a new MetroRail station. The site already is home to IBM’s Austin campus.

Brandywine Realty Trust and Canyon Partners Real Estate are developing the first phase of Uptown ATX — a $328 million mixed-use project called One Uptown. The 5-acre first phase will offer:

A 14-story building with 348,000 square feet of offices.
341 apartments complemented by a resort-style pool, a 3,100-square-foot fitness center, and a 5,000-square-foot clubroom. The apartments will include units dedicated to affordable housing.
15,000 square feet of street-level retail.
A six-story parking garage.

“This community brings unmatched lifestyle and work experiences, and is intentionally designed to prioritize bold architecture, community connections, green space, walkability, and mass transit access,” Jerry Sweeney, president and CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust, says in a news release.

The office component of One Uptown is targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2023, with the apartments on track to be finished in the second quarter of 2024.

Uptown ATX is rightly termed "Austin's second downtown."

Courtesy of Brandywine Realty Trust

Uptown ATX is rightly termed "Austin's second downtown."

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Howdy, Neighbor

City of Austin checks in for new short-term rental rule debates

Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash

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Austinites may be friendly, but the city as a whole fosters many conflicting feelings about vacation rentals. A January memo from assistant city manager Veronica Briseño alerts the City Council that some proposed changes are coming regarding regulating short-term rentals (STRs).

The changes will have to go through several filters first: public meetings plus separate Planning Commission and City Council meetings in February and April. The memo says "the changes will apply to a significant number of properties throughout the City."

It's difficult to summarize or forecast concerns associated with STRs, because they vary widely depending on changing factors. It's not just who's visiting and how well they behave, but whether or not the homeowners are properly licensed, what each platform's changing policies are, and of course how well either can enforce these things.

Austin has taken swings at creating a system that works, but some court rulings have rendered them unenforceable. Here are some (not all) topics mentioned in the January memo and attached working ordinances:

Changing STR provisions to make them an additional (accessory) use to all residential uses, in zoning terms
Adding density caps on STR owners and operators
Allowing "existing STRs to continue provided that the STR does not become a nuisance and property ownership remains the same"
Making sure STRs fit into their quiet, residential neighborhoods
Avoiding increasing affordability issues
Giving more options for enforcement
Encouraging preserving rather than demolishing buildings in accordance with the HOME Initiative

Before any public meetings, there will be a virtual info session Tuesday, January 21, from 11 am to 1 pm. There will also be three more in-person sessions (listed in at the same link) January 22, 23, and 27 in various locations.

The first meeting scheduled is for the Joint Planning Commission and City Council on Tuesday, February 4, at 1 pm at City Hall. A full schedule of meetings publicinput.com.

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