AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin City Council finally gave the green light for the $1 billion redevelopment project of the Brodie Oaks shopping center on South Lamar Boulevard in South Austin. It has been in discussion for years and has been postponed several times.
“I know it’s been a long time coming and it’s been difficult, but I appreciate your hard work and the development team for addressing the concerns we had. And [we] look forward to the next steps to make sure this is done very responsibly and effectively,” Councilmember Ryan Alter (District 5) said during Thursday’s meeting.
The redevelopment project has been the center of controversy for several environmental groups. They have voiced their concerns about runoff from the development going into the nearby Barton Creek Greenbelt, traffic safety and the height of the new buildings.
"We also know that skyscrapers are neither affordable nor climate-friendly,” said Bill Bunch with the Save Our Springs Alliance. “The additional concrete and steel that it takes to go up that high generates and requires enormous amounts of carbon to produce that enhanced steel and increase concrete levels.”
Texas developer Barshop & Oles announced its plans for the billion-dollar development that would turn the shopping center into a mixed-use project back in December 2020. The redevelopment will create 140,000 square feet of retail space, 1,700 residential units with almost 200 of those being affordable and 13.7 acres of green space.
But environmentalists have still been concerned about the overall impact of the project.
Alter said that after talking with residents, he actually felt more confident moving forward with the project.
“Almost unanimously, people are very excited about this development,” Alter said.
He said the project will be done in an environmentally-friendly manner and will actually do the opposite of what some environmentalists have been worried about.
“Right now, you have runoff that is going from this, basically, pure asphalt site into the creek,” Alter said. “Now we have the ability to have SOS-level water quality on site and not have that runoff that’s happening right now.”
Councilmember Leslie Pool (District 7) also praised the project, saying this redevelopment will set the foundation for future Planned Unit Developments, or PUDs.
During a council meeting in May of this year, a representative from the planning company Lionheart Places laid out a potential timeline for the project. It said PhaseI permitting could start by 2024, Phase I construction by 2025 or 2026 and Phase I operation by 2027.
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