Trammel Crow Plans Project on Former Water Treatment Site

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

An old water treatment site in downtown Austin could be transformed into a $500 million real estate project, a vision that the city council made public a week ago. The city and Trammel Crow envision a pair of high-rise apartment complexes, an office tower, a hotel and a wide array of retail space at the location, according to The Austin-American Statesman.

Construction work could start as early as this year, with Trammel Crow as the developer. The publication says that the company would pay $42.4 million for the 4.4 acre site currently owned by the city.

The developer plans 1.75 million square feet of development, divided as follows:

• The 826 apartments spread throughout two towers, each at least 30 stories tall;
• The 17-story hotel housing about 200 rooms;
• The 28-story office tower housing 456,000 square feet of space.

Moreover, the project will also include 82,000 square feet of retail space and 2,700 parking spaces, as reported by The Statesman.

The new development will not only change the face of the southwest part of downtown, but it will also generate $112 million in property taxes and $9.6 million in sales taxes for the city over 30 years. Among other benefits that the project could bring to the city are $250,000 for improvements of Shoal Creek, a $375,000 contribution for public art and a $150,000 donation to support on-site music programs. The agreement is scheduled for a city council vote on April 5.

In other local real estate news, the city council approved an $8.6 million economic development grant for Apple Inc. Although this makes $35 million in incentives that the tech giant has already received, Travis County still has to decide whether to give an additional $6 million, according to the Austin Business Journal. If Apple decides to build the $304 million campus in Austin, it is expected to add 3,600 jobs to the area.