AUSTIN — Trammell Crow Company has announced plans to develop a 37-story office tower on Block 71, a downtown Austin parcel owned by the University of Texas System, according to reporting by Shonda Novak of the Austin American-Statesman.
The proposed tower would deliver approximately 665,000 square feet of office space, along with ground-floor restaurants and retail. Trammell Crow has signed a 95-year lease for the university’s 1.75-acre site, which is bounded by West Sixth, West Seventh, Colorado and Lavaca streets, just a couple of blocks west of Congress Avenue.
The project will preserve and rehabilitate a historic structure on the block: Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall, which served as Austin’s post office in the early 1900s. The building will be retained and adaptively reused as part of the new development, blending historic fabric with modern office construction.
Austin’s skyline has been changing rapidly, driven in part by the arrival and expansion of major technology tenants. Recent additions include a newly completed tower occupied by Google and another large building currently under construction that will be anchored by Facebook. The Block 71 proposal adds to that momentum, bringing significant new office inventory to the city’s core.
The location’s proximity to Congress Avenue, mixed-use amenities, and the university-owned site make it a strategic spot for large employers seeking downtown presence. The combination of preserved historic elements and a high-rise office tower is consistent with trends in Austin development that aim to balance growth with cultural and architectural preservation.
As with any major project, the development will be subject to permitting, design review and coordination with local stakeholders, including the University of Texas System, city officials and historic preservation interests. If approved and constructed as proposed, the Block 71 tower will contribute substantial new office space to downtown Austin’s inventory and further cement the area’s appeal to technology firms and other large tenants.
Oct. 2, 2017 Realty News Report Copyright 2017