Austin | 500 S. Congress | 5 Towers | Up to 575 Feet | Floors | Proposed

[kingkirbythe....]

In a twist, NY developer approved for $65M purchase of prime South Congress property with redevelopment potential

The Related Cos. has until Sept. 30 to purchase six-acre South Congress Square site out of bankruptcy; just the tip of the iceberg for firm's Austin ambitions

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...ss-square.html

In a wild twist, one of the nation’s most prolific developers has emerged as the frontrunner to buy out of bankruptcy a six-acre South Congress Avenue site primed for redevelopment.

After the top two bidders for the South Congress site proved either unwilling or unable to timely close on the sales, The Related Companies LP, a New York-based developer with an estimated $60 billion portfolio, negotiated with a Chapter 7 trustee to make a $65 million offer.

Related was approved by a bankruptcy judge Sept. 15 to purchase the site for $65 million, provided it can close on the deal by Sept. 30.

An attorney representing the company, Josh Judd of law firm Andrews Myers PC, told ABJ Sept. 16 that his client is "not anticipating any problems" closing on the sale by the Sept. 30 deadline. Mike Iannacone, executive vice president at Related and the company's top local official, said Sept. 16 it was "too early to tell" what Related might ultimately do with the site, but noted it will likely be "a vertical mixed-use development of some sort."

Related has amassed a reputation as one of the most ambitious urban developers operating today. Its developments include Hudson Yards in New York, The Grand LA in Los Angeles and The 78 in Chicago.

If it gets this latest deal done, it would mark the third potential development site tied to the real estate giant this month alone. On Sept. 9, the firm announced plans to construct two towers near South Congress Avenue, just south of Lady Bird Lake.

[Echostatic]

This is personally the most exciting development proposal I've seen in years here. Maybe ever. This level of height and density south of the river, from a serious developer, and NOT on the Statesman site? Town Lake is going to end up looking like the Chicago River in a few decades. I feel like this actually has a better chance of moving forward than the Statesman project just because it's flown under the radar for so long.

Related built Hudson Yards in NYC. They can get big things done. They also have two other projects in the works on South Congress, One Ladybird Lake and 901 South Congress.

[lonewolf]

it's incredible how much the footprint of the school for the deaf harshes the vibe in this area.

if gibson, james and nellie were thru streets connecting congress and first..

if we had a 10 acre park+ampitheater...

if we built condos/apts and a littany of shops and restaraunts...

it's a whole new city

[The ATX]

At about 12:40 in this video of the EC meeting yesterday, there is an excellent fly through video of this project.

https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/298075

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by The ATX

At about 12:40 in this video of the EC meeting yesterday, there is an excellent fly through video of this project.

https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/298075

Interesting...the first presenter mentioned that Lake-Flato is working with Kohn Pederson Fox on this project. Kohn Pederson Fox designed Waterline. I also noticed that, in the video, they were calling this development "Bouldin Place." You can see that when the video flies by the northeast corner of the project.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

it's incredible how much the footprint of the school for the deaf harshes the vibe in this area.

if gibson, james and nellie were thru streets connecting congress and first..

if we had a 10 acre park+ampitheater...

if we built condos/apts and a littany of shops and restaraunts...

it's a whole new city

I would imagine the school could sell their land for $$$$ and rebuild a bigger, better campus somewhere else.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

I would imagine the school could sell their land for $$$$ and rebuild a bigger, better campus somewhere else.

Maybe. There is a high enough likelihood that the neighborhood will fight any development dense enough to make the economics work.

But, that land is prime for something.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Maybe. There is a high enough likelihood that the neighborhood will fight any development dense enough to make the economics work.

But, that land is prime for something.

One would think that they could at least sell the land along Congress. It could fetch a pretty penny and probably be redeveloped without affecting the school as it currently is.

[smallfrie]

Originally Posted by paul78701

One would think that they could at least sell the land along Congress. It could fetch a pretty penny and probably be redeveloped without affecting the school as it currently is.

Do those deaf kids pay property taxes? Are they an asset to the city? Why should they have a few feet of green space when a developer could build a some needle structures there?

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by smallfrie

Do those deaf kids pay property taxes? Are they an asset to the city? Why should they have a few feet of green space when a developer could build a some needle structures there?

WTF? Huh? I'm not suggesting that those kids should get screwed over or that they aren't any kind of asset. The site has a lot of green space. I'm just saying that they could raise some funds for the school by selling some of that Congress footage that I doubt they even use.

[Bblasa]

Thanks for posting the video, awesome find! I’m glad lake flato is behind this. fingers crossed with this developer one of their well crafted designs can finally be built without being tremendously value engineered

[jake.robs]

I'm getting Melbourne vibes from this possible future skyline and I'm here for it.

[clubtokyo]

Ohh nice! This looks solid!

[migol24]

This project is exactly how I wished the Domain would turn out. But I get hate on here for saying what I say about the Domain. Specifically the part where he says, "we're not building a walled garden here." It feels open and interacts with the environment.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by migol24

This project is exactly how I wished the Domain would turn out. But I get hate on here for saying what I say about the Domain. Specifically the part where he says, "we're not building a walled garden here." It feels open and interacts with the environment.

The "walled garden" comment is spot on. The Domain is built as an entity unto itself. It doesn't feel as if the flow into the adjacent neighborhoods was considered at all. This seems to be done with a fair number of these types of developments though.

[migol24]

The Chevron looks to be a part of the project in the video. But in the maps from earlier don't show it as being a part of the project. What's the deal with that?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by migol24

The Chevron looks to be a part of the project in the video. But in the maps from earlier don't show it as being a part of the project. What's the deal with that?

You're right. The Chevron is not part of the project according to the zoning change request map. But that video shows the Chevron site, and a building is on it.

The zoning change map:



The Chevron site in the video:

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by migol24

The Chevron looks to be a part of the project in the video. But in the maps from earlier don't show it as being a part of the project. What's the deal with that?

I believe the ABJ article on this mentioned that they are attempting to buy the Chevron site. So it would seem that they want to incorporate it, but it's not a done deal quite yet.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by paul78701

I believe the ABJ article on this mentioned that they are attempting to buy the Chevron site. So it would seem that they want to incorporate it, but it's not a done deal quite yet.

Oh, man. I hope it happens. My OCD would go out the roof watching that Chevron sticking out like a sore thumb. Lol

[KevinFromTexas]

That's a whole lotta brown. Are we trolling San Antonio now?