The property owners of 517 S. Lamar, currently home to Trek Bicycle Lamar and CareNow emergency medical services, are proposing a planned unit development with about 400 multifamily residential units, about 10,000 square feet of retail and/or restaurant space, and underground parking. Jerry Rusthoven, assistant director of the Housing and Planning Department, presented a development […]
South Lamar
A major thoroughfare in South Austin, South Lamar is a primary route to and from downtown, as well as one of the city’s main corridors.
Posted inPlanning
Unadopted South Lamar Corridor Plan influences Planning Commission appeal
A subpar neighborhood traffic analysis did not stop the Planning Commission from granting an appeal for a 60,000-square-foot mixed-use project at 2010 South Lamar Blvd. during its Jan. 10 meeting. Due to the site plan not meeting city code with its driveway on South Lamar, the applicant, Frontier Realty LLC, was forced to move the […]
Posted inDevelopment, Planning
South Lamar zoning error may have fix on the way
A costly mistake by the city may soon be fixed for one South Lamar business owner, but if the most recent Planning Commission meeting is any indication, the rezoning might not go down without a fight. Planning and Zoning Department senior planner Andy Moore explained that in 2014, WhichCraft Beer Store applied for a site […]
Posted inCourts
Court denies injunction against Foundation Communities
How much havoc can one neighbor wreak on a $20 million affordable housing project backed by federal, state and local governments and nonprofits? Potentially, quite a bit. On Tuesday, Foundation Communities avoided potential disaster for its Bluebonnet Studios on South Lamar when Judge Rhonda Hurley denied an injunction that would have stopped construction on the […]
Posted inDevelopment
Planners approve extended hours for Odd Duck
After postponing 12 other public hearings Tuesday, the Planning Commission approved a request for a late-night permit to serve alcohol from Odd Duck, a restaurant on South Lamar Boulevard. The conditional-use permit, which allows the eatery to stay open until 2 a.m., seven days a week, puts the Odd Duck in line with neighboring bars […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall, Development
Planning Commission to revisit Lightsey 2
Despite still being in the early stages of development, PSW Real Estate’s Lightsey 2 project continues to provoke outrage in South Austin. And despite approving the preliminary plan at an earlier meeting, the Planning Commission will now take another look at it and consider reversing that decision. Last week, Planning Commissioners took the unusual step of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Planning
Neighbors lose fight against Lightsey plan
As an illustration of how heated the discussion about the South Austin Lightsey 2 project has become, Planning and Development Review Department Director Greg Guernsey opened the meeting by clarifying that his staff had not taken graft and that he found the suggestion “repulsive.” Typically, commissioners have little discretion when voting on preliminary plans that […]
Posted inDevelopment
Environmental Board hears Lightsey 2 project
Though it is still in the early stages, South Austin’s Lightsey 2 project made a detour to the Environmental Board last week, where developers were advised to be more creative with their plans. Citing “ongoing concerns” with drainage, off-site flooding, fees-in-lieu for water-quality controls and issues with Heritage Trees, Chair Mary Gay Maxwell made a […]
Posted inDevelopment
Staff plans for South Lamar development mitigation
A memo distributed last week by the City of Austin Planning and Development Review Department director Greg Guernsey lays out a set of recommendations from city staff designed to mitigate some effects of development on neighborhoods in the South Lamar region. This comes after a resolution from Council Member Laura Morrison called on staff to […]
Posted inDevelopment
Development headed to Environmental Board
A controversial South Austin development is on hold for at least another month, after the Planning Commission opted to take the unusual tack of sending the development’s preliminary plan to the Environmental Board for comment. The PSW Real Estate development at 1805 Lightsey Road has come under fire at the Board of Adjustment and during […]
Posted inDevelopment
South Lamar development problems get closer look
Development in the city’s South Lamar neighborhood may be approaching a tipping point. A recent report could have the city scrambling to make sure it doesn’t capsize. “Are we just going to give up on this neighborhood, or are we going to figure out how to make it work?” asked Council Member Laura Morrison. City […]