Jacob Dirr, with the ABJ, is reporting on a new office tower being planned for Congress Ave.
A 16-story, 88,000-square-foot office tower is being planned for the 900 block of Congress Avenue, a site currently occupied by three vacant buildings, according to city documents.
Located directly across from Little City, the derelict structures have been sporting plywood facades for years, and have been a general blight on downtown Austin. My understanding of these properties was that there was tension amongst the ownership that inhibited combining all three into a develop-able tower, until recently. According to the article, the developer, Dalton Wallace, will restore the facades as part of the building.
From the applicant’s presentation to the Design Commission…
909 Congress is a mixed use office and retail project located mid‐block on the east side of the 900 block of Congress Ave. The site measures 69’ x 160’ and is composed of three lots 907, 909 and 911 Congress, zoned CBD‐H and the allowable FAR is 88,000sf. The project will consist of retail at the ground floor along Congress with one level of parking below grade and seven levels of parking above grade plus eight levels of office space. We will be restoring the three historic two‐story building facades and setting the tower back 10’ above the historic buildings. We will also be respecting the Capital View Corridor along Congress with an additional setback and remain under the Capital Dominance Cone height restriction. The parking access will be from the alley behind the site and will be serviced by two automobile elevators and valet staff. The above ground parking will be screened from view. The building will be located between two larger office buildings at 919 Congress and 823 Congress.
This building has become a haven for derelicts and transients to use for sleeping and other sorts of illegal activities. 909 Congress Ave has a door in the alley which cannot be locked and allows persons to enter the empty structure and possibly commit various acts (vandalism, fire, theft etc) which affects the surrounding building.
Looks like a nice addition to downtown Austin.
Downtown skyline would look a lot better if some of these highrises put some lights on the top, something like Austonian, Monarch…
Spring really needs to do something, after all that hype about high-end condos, you can’t even locate the building in the night!
Downtown Houston was like that several years ago but the city administration did a great job in convincing the building owners to help in making the downtown look better.
My first office was in 911 Congress. The studio space held after parties during Austin Film Festival.
It looks nice, its good to see people at least spending money on proposals. It is quite a bit of parking, but its a good looking building so you wouldn’t know it from looking at it.