A current view of the Oracle campus construction site on South Lakeshore Boulevard. Photo by James Rambin.
It’s easy to forget that East Austin’s current boom extends south of the lake.
The traditionally underserved East Riverside area of town has rapidly gentrified over the last few years, and now thanks to the South Shore District and Lakeshore projects, upcoming Oracle campus, and countless other developments in various stages of realization, it appears the region is about to tip.
Thankfully, it appears the trees along South Lakeshore Boulevard won’t be damaged by the Oracle development. Photo by James Rambin.
Despite appearances, there’s more to East Riverside than a sea of apartments. There’s still a retail gap to close, but with mixed-use commercial spaces filling out and an H-E-B Plus open for business, this probably won’t be the case for long. The area boasts ample parkland, including Peace Point at Town Lake and the recently-updated Roy G. Guerrero Park, home of disc golf and the not-so-secret beach, with even more possible park improvements headed to the region in the near-ish future.
There’s land for the taking only a few blocks from the Oracle and South Shore District developments. Photo by James Rambin.
Long story short, the stretch of East Riverside from 35 to Ben White is experiencing rapid development like almost nowhere else in the city, and judging by the amount of upcoming projects set for the area, it might be almost unrecognizable a decade from now. Here’s a look at some big things going on in 78741.
The Waterfront, aka Oracle Campus
A drawing of the Oracle campus building. Photo courtesy of STG Design.
Tech giant Oracle’s new $300 million flagship campus, currently under construction near the south shore of Lady Bird Lake, is the elephant in the room. It seems like some smart folks at the company have read the tea leaves on what’s going to happen over the next few years to this side of Austin, and their forward-thinking approach could single-handedly accelerate the future of the district.
A view of the Oracle site from South Lakeshore Boulevard. Photo by James Rambin.
The area was already going places from the perspective of the apartment/condo/subdivision-industrial complex, but Oracle’s presence along with the existing semiconductor fabs further down Riverside might drive the development of a new tech-minded business district — and from an urbanist perspective, that’s certainly a more pleasant future to imagine than endless rows of mid-rise apartments, even if some of them have fast casual restaurants on the ground floors.
AMLI South Shore Phase II
A view of the AMLI South Shore complex facing East Riverside. Photo courtesy of CBRE.
It’s safe to say the existing AMLI complex on East Riverside is doing well, as the luxury apartment giant moves forward with its second phase of development on the south shore. The new development is set to squeeze seven townhomes, 178 apartments, and nearly 6,000 square feet of restaurant space onto the L-shaped plot of land surrounding the existing AMLI South Shore building at 1620 East Riverside, meaning we’re about to lose all that green space between the apartment and the lake. Space is tight, even on the east side.
Las Cimas
A rendering of the Las Cimas development at 2101 Montopolis. Photo courtesy of Weiss Architecture.
This mixed-use development designed by Weiss Architecture under construction at 2101 Montopolis is a unique take on the suburban cul-de-sac, with an enclave of 20 individual units clustered around a central street with a restaurant space at the end of the drive, along with a possible commercial space.
A rendering of the Las Cimas development’s commercial space. Photo courtesy of Weiss Architecture.
The residences include green systems such as rainwater collection, rooftop solar panels and a 5-star Austin Energy rating — plus, they’ve got a seriously unique look and concept, something that’s sadly a little hard to find in Austin lately.
Riverside Resolution
A rendering of the Riverside Resolution project. Photo courtesy StouseDesign.
There isn’t much online about this project advertised at 6625 East Riverside, which appears to house law offices, at least one residence, and a “meditation center and community hub” as described by designers StouseDesign. Whatever’s going on here, we just like the way it looks.
Home2 / Tru by Hilton
The current state of the Tru by Hilton site at 7717 John Glenn Way. Photo by James Rambin.
Hilton’s putting up two new airport-minded hotels at the very edge of the zip code, directly adjacent to Ben White. The Home2 concept is nothing new, but the Tru brand is new to the city, Hilton’s take on the budget-boutique trend designed to attract the millennial market. We’ll never argue with more affordable lodging close to downtown, even if the branding for the new chain is a little “How do you do, fellow kids?” for our taste.
