AUSTIN, Texas — An old Home Depot lot has been sitting vacant in North Austin for more than 10 years.
That will change on Monday, as crews will start the demolition process of the lot, paving the way for a major redevelopment of a historic Austin neighborhood.
“The demolition is going to be such a big deal to the community – that this project is moving forward, that things are going to be happening,” Austin City Councilmember Chito Vela (District 4) said.
The demolition will mark the first phase of a redevelopment project for the St. Johns neighborhood that has been in the works for roughly 15 years.
"It's something that's needed for the community,” said community member Ken Ballage. “It's a great project with the City, and it's just a good day for St. Johns."
A plan to overhaul the 19 acres of land began in 2008, when the City bought the former Home Depot site.
"One of the reasons it's taken so long is because we haven't done a similar type of project, and there have been so many different thoughts and iterations of what we wanted to do ... We kept going back to the drawing board and again and again,” Vela said.
The City of Austin, the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA), private developer Greystar and the St. Johns community have been working in unison on the project.
The new site will have 526 housing units, with 50% of them considered affordable housing. To qualify for these homes, a household would need to hit the 50, 60 or 70% median family income level in Austin. For a family of four, they would qualify if the household income totaled $55,000, $66,000 and $77,000 per year, respectively.
The redevelopment will also include 15,000 square footage of commercial space, a clubhouse and an expanded park.
"The clubhouse building will both be an amenity for the residents that live in the space, but it's also sort of the front door to the project for the broader community,” said Ryan Lemmo, the co-founder of Lemmo Architecture & Design, one of the architecture firms working on the project.
The St. Johns neighborhood was founded by emancipated slaves in the decades after the Civil War, so leaders say people with ties to this area will receive priority for the low-income housing.
"People who have a historical connection, that maybe used to live in this neighborhood decades ago, if you have that historical connection to the community, you will be prioritized for that low-income housing,” Vela said.
After a year of demolition, crews expect construction to start summer 2024, with the first housing units ready by late 2025.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.