Lamar Plaza to be Transformed into a Mixed-use Development

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Lamar Plaza, a famous 1950s shopping center, will be redeveloped into an ambitious mixed-use development. The home to important businesses such as South Austin Gym, Alamo Drafthouse and The HighBall nightclub will be transformed into a project with retail, residential and restaurant components.

The developer will be Greystar Real Estate Partners, which has already submitted its plans to Austin City Hall to transform the eight-acre site into a modern development. The plan calls for three mixed-use buildings, which will have 448 residential units, 47,000 square feet of restaurant space and 18,000 square feet of retail space. Plans also include three parking garages that will improve parking situation in the area.

The site’s architect is Boka Powell LLC, while the consulting architect is Michael Hsu. The new plans are currently under review. According to the Austin Business Journal, city staff officials believe that the proposed development doesn’t need to appear before the Planning Commission, as it complies with all zoning regulations.

In other news on mixed-use development, Cypress Real Estate Advisors got the green light to begin construction on a 707,414-square-foot mixed-use development at the 16.24-acre site of the vacant Cinemark Movie Theater adjacent to Barton Creek Square Mall.

The project will be developed in three phases, which will include 86 townhomes, 140 condo units within two buildings, and office and retail space. The developer expects to break ground on the first phase of the project by the end of this year, reported the Community Impact Newspaper.