Zoning changes show downtown northwest quadrant changing

With its collection of mostly historic homes-turned-offices, downtown’s northwest corner can often feel like a ghost town, at least compared to the rest of downtown. But a flurry of development activity over the past two years is set to make the area much livelier. 

According to a review of zoning requests and other development filings, over a dozen projects ranging from small-scale residential and offices to 30-plus-story towers are in the works or were recently completed in an area of just over half a square mile. 

Two apartment projects, Capitol Quarters and the Shoal, finished construction last year, and move-ins for the latter are scheduled this month. Both projects, owing to their unconventional styles, price their apartments more affordably than others in downtown. Capitol Quarters is a co-living project, where roommates share 3-bedroom units, and Shoal ATX contains micro-units ranging from around 350 to 800 square feet.

Weaver also plans a larger apartment building called Shoal Cycle at 812 W. 11th St. City Council approved a rezoning for that project in 2021, and the project is scheduled to be finished in 2024. 

Another project that stands out for its innovative design is Ashram, a six-unit condo project under construction 707 W. 14th St. that is notable for having only one staircase. Due to International Building Code regulations, nearly all multifamily buildings built in the U.S. must have two staircases, rendering many small developments unfeasible. But Ashram’s developer found that the IBC, as adopted by Austin City Council, allows three-story buildings to only have one staircase, making a sixplex feasible on the site. 

At least two downtown-style towers are also planned for the area – one called Annie B at 416 W. 12th St., formerly home to Delta Kappa Gamma, and another at 14th and Lavaca. 

In the past two years, 10 zoning requests and several Capitol View Corridor determinations have been filed. Next Tuesday, the Planning Commission is set to hear the latest zoning request, which could bring a multifamily project to the intersection of 12th Street and West Avenue.

The neighborhood’s residents generally welcome new development, which they hope will make the neighborhood more lively and livable. The Original Austin Neighborhood Association has supported recent rezonings – something that cannot be said for other neighborhood associations in many instances. According to former Council Member Chris Riley, a longtime goal of the association is to bring residents back to a once-residential neighborhood. 

But not everyone is pleased with the changes. Earlier this year, architect Donna Carter argued at a Planning Commission hearing that a rezoning at 815 W. 11th St. contributes to “death by 1,000 cuts” for the neighborhood’s character. 

Carter, owner of Carter Design Associates, argued that developers will justify future rezonings by pointing to rezonings that have been approved nearby, putting many historic buildings at risk. Others have aired concerns about historic character in the context of other rezonings, particularly the Delta Kappa Gamma rezoning, which led to the demolition of a well-regarded midcentury-modern building. Neighbors have also expressed concern over localized flooding. 

The lack of development in the area until recently – and the numerous requests for rezonings in the past couple of years – comes down in part to restrictive zoning. Most of the area is zoned for low-density office use, which until just recently precluded residential or mixed-use development.

City officials have long floated easing zoning restrictions in the area to allow for more mixed-use development. The 2011 Downtown Austin Plan recommended rezoning most of the area to Downtown Mixed-Use with varying height limits to encourage a walkable, mixed-use community. The failed Land Development Code rewrite would have put these changes into code. 

With incoming Council members, including Zo Qadri, the area’s new representative, generally expressing support for allowing more housing, there is a greater likelihood than ever that the long-contemplated zoning changes for the area could finally be put into code – and that the area could start to feel more like part of downtown.

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Posted In: Development, District 9