Austin gives preliminary OK to new zoning near rail stops
Austin gives preliminary OK to new zoning near rail stopsAustin Business Journal
The Austin City Council on April 10 gave preliminary approval for new zoning plans at future stops on the commuter rail, due to begin service this fall.
The plans, which must be voted on a second time before they are final, are for half-mile radius areas around future rail stations at Lamar Boulevard and Justin Lane (also known as Crestview Station), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and at Plaza Saltillo in East Austin. Council members are expected to cast their final vote for the zoning in the coming weeks.
The station area plans were approved for transit-oriented development zoning creating denser, pedestrian-friendly zoning in those areas, many of them are currently zoned for commercial or industrial uses.
Several developers are signed up for TOD districts. Trammell Crow and Stratus Properties Inc. are partnering on a mixed-use development that will bring 1,000 homes and apartments to a 73-acre tract near the Crestview Station at North Lamar and Airport boulevards.
Former Dell Inc. executive Tom Meredith has signed on to develop a mixed-use project on 30 acres referred to as the Featherlite tract, between MLK Boulevard and 12th Street near the MLK rail station at Clifford Ave.
Other developers have expressed interest but held off commitments pending approval of the final TOD plans, says Sonya Lopez, a city senior planner.
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