A view of the building’s eastern side from I-35. Though this preliminary rendering shows an accurate height and general exterior appearance for the East Avenue tower, its developers Pearlstone Partners say more detailed and accurate renderings will be released later, and that this design is subject to minor changes as the project proceeds. Image: STG Design
A 41-story downtown Austin condo project could raise a total of 283 residences in a pretty tight corner of the ever-growing Rainey Street neighborhood starting next year. According to local real estate firm Pearlstone Partners, which is co-developing the building with New York-based investment group ATCO, groundbreaking for the district’s latest tower is tentatively scheduled in the first quarter of 2021.
The two properties at 82 and 84 East Avenue had a combined taxable value of $3.3 million in 2019, and although the details of any potential sale aren’t public, the land would likely go for a lot more than that.
Located on a 0.4-acre assembly of two neighboring tracts at 82 and 84 East Avenue — confusing addresses since they’re both along the section of East Avenue also functioning as the I-35 Frontage Road — the site of the tower project is currently home to the Phoenician Resto Cafe and an adjacent hookah bar. This property, sandwiched between the Camden Rainey Street apartment building and the newly-opened (and very weird-looking) Homewood Suites hotel, is actually just down the street from Pearlstone’s Natiivo “home-sharing” tower under construction even as we speak.
From this rendering’s perspective, we’re looking at the northeastern corner of the building from I-35. Image: STG Design
The as-yet-unnamed building will offer Austinites what Pearlstone CEO Robert Lee describes as “attainable” high-rise housing in the urban core — unlike most of the condo towers recently opened downtown with median purchase prices floating around $1 million or more per unit, Lee says Pearlstone anticipates unit prices at its East Avenue tower to range between $449,000 and $999,000.
“We’re targeting a buyer pool that found themselves priced out of downtown during the last development cycle,” Lee says. “It’s a price point other buildings aren’t generally matching in terms of volume — and the city definitely needs more of this.” Pearlstone, he says, would like to be seen locally as a “price-conscious” developer as the firm continues pursuing multifamily projects in the Austin market.
An aerial view looking east towards the Rainey Street area over I-35, with the tower project location circled. Rainey Street itself is located directly north of the site. Click for a larger view. Image: Bing Maps
The building’s local development team includes architects STG Design, landscape architects dwg., and civil engineers Wuest Group; with pre-construction services from national builders AECOM Hunt. Currently only known by its address of 82-84 East Avenue, according to Lee the tower’s name and brand identity, plus more detailed renderings of the project, will emerge in the coming months — but the developers expect to file a plan with the city for an initial completeness check this week.
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