Looking north towards downtown from the self-storage facility at 1515 South Lamar Boulevard that could soon become an apartment development. Photo by James Rambin.
According to new city filings, the Security Self Storage facility located at 1515 South Lamar Boulevard might soon be storing selves instead, in the form of a 328-unit apartment project by multifamily mega-firm Fairfield Residential, which owns numerous communities around the country — though none in Austin, until now.
An exterior elevation for the 1515 South Lamar Boulevard apartment project. Image: Fairfield Residential / Looney Ricks Kiss
More elevations for the 1515 South Lamar Boulevard apartment project. Image: Fairfield Residential / Looney Ricks Kiss
For the most part, this new project, which is simply referred to in these documents as South Lamar Apartments, seems like business as usual for a “Texas donut” apartment development in 78704. It’s a five-story building designed by Memphis architecture firm Looney Ricks Kiss — what a name, am I right — with 65 studios, 190 one-bedrooms, and 73 two-bedroom units wrapped around a garage structure providing 460 parking spaces and room for 46 bikes. But there are a few interesting details related to its location that make it worth taking a look at — plus, more housing is more housing, and that’s always newsworthy!
A more detailed look at an exterior elevation for part of the 1515 South Lamar Boulevard apartment development, showing what appears to be a giant mural planned for one of its walls. Image: Fairfield Residential / Looney Ricks Kiss
The shape of the 3.9-acre property at 1515 South Lamar Boulevard where this apartment project is planned. Image: Travis Central Appraisal District
The shape of the 3.9-acre property is pretty great for a storage facility, but it’s not ideal for a vertical mixed-use building, with only roughly 100 feet of actual frontage along South Lamar Boulevard. In fact, a large portion of the site is hidden from the street behind retail strip centers to the immediate north and south.
The property’s small stretch of frontage will contain the building’s only retail space, with 1,746 square feet facing the street along with a small patio — I’ve got to assume that’s going to end up being a restaurant of some kind, though I guess we can’t rule out some kind of alfresco artisanal vape shop. Despite the lack of retail space that traditionally puts the “mixed” in “mixed-use,” the building’s maxing out its potential as a VMU-zoned project on the South Lamar Boulevard corridor, with an FAR of 2:1 and height of 60 feet.
A mural by local artist Luis Angulo on the side of the retail strip center directly south of the 1515 South Lamar site, where apartments may soon rise. Photo by James Rambin.
That VMU zoning, intended to create density along Austin’s major transit corridors, is kind of a point of contention among some of South Austin’s single-family neighborhoods, with Zilker Neighborhood Association president Jeff Jack weighing in on the topic on this very website last year. South Lamar Boulevard alone has seen a fairly consistent boom in mixed-use development along the corridor over the last decade, with nearby projects like Gibson Flats, Lamar Union, and Post South Lamar all opening their doors within the last five years.
A map of the two nearby VMU projects likely in the works on South Lamar Boulevard, located at the storage facility at 1515 South Lamar Boulevard and the Genie Car Wash at 1311 South Lamar Boulevard. Image: Google Maps
There’s still more development to come for the region, with another mixed-use project that appears to be heavily associated with Atlanta real estate firm Wood Partners in the planning stages at the 1300 block of South Lamar Boulevard, a site occupied by Genie Car Wash and a few other businesses just a stone’s throw north of the Fairfield site. Previous reports indicate the project will contain 226 multifamily units along with retail, but for now, the carwash remains — still, I wouldn’t spring for the yearly pass if I were you.
Homes for sale in 78704
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$699,900
905 Cardinal LN #A
Austin, TX -
$369,000
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$345,900
4004 Banister LN #208
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$500,000
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$789,999
210 LEE BARTON DR #408
Austin, TX -
$675,000
1005 S 3rd ST
Austin, TX -
$695,000
513 E Monroe ST #A
Austin, TX -
$975,000
2003 Alta Vista AVE #2
Austin, TX -
$1,425,000
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$719,900
1611 Drake AVE
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$324,500
3114 S Congress AVE #210
Austin, TX -
$395,000
1101 Hollow Creek DR #2210
Austin, TX -
$464,900
1900 Barton Springs RD #2047
Austin, TX -
$365,900
1900 Barton Springs RD #1042
Austin, TX -
$650,000
1500 Dexter ST
Austin, TX -
$1,190,000
2409 S 6th ST
Austin, TX -
$225,000
2020 S Congress AVE #2121
Austin, TX -
$450,000
2416 Little John LN
Austin, TX -
$520,000
2607 Wilson ST #B
Austin, TX -
$1,995,000
900 Jessie ST
Austin, TX
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$699,900Lot Size5,750 sqft
Home Size2,115 sq ft
Beds3 beds
Baths3 baths
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$369,000Lot Size1,046 sqft
Home Size1,048 sq ft
Beds1 bed
Baths2 baths
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$345,900Lot Size41,862 sqft
Home Size989 sq ft
Beds2 beds
Baths2 baths
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$445,000Lot Size3,790 sqft
Home Size1,586 sq ft
Beds2 beds
Baths3 baths
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$315,000Lot Size1.87 ac
Home Size576 sq ft
BedsN/A
Baths1 bath
-
$485,000Lot Size7,144 sqft
Home Size2,128 sq ft
BedsN/A
BathsN/A
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$279,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size746 sq ft
Beds2 beds
Baths1 bath
-
$450,000Lot Size8,843 sqft
Home SizeN/A
BedsN/A
BathsN/A
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$500,000Lot Size12,067 sqft
Home SizeN/A
BedsN/A
BathsN/A
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$789,999Lot Size654 sqft
Home Size1,600 sq ft
Beds2 beds
Baths2 baths
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$675,000Lot Size7,667 sqft
Home Size956 sq ft
Beds2 beds
Baths1 bath
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$695,000Lot Size4,313 sqft
Home Size1,580 sq ft
Beds3 beds
Baths3 baths
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$975,000Lot Size7,057 sqft
Home Size2,450 sq ft
Beds3 beds
Baths3 baths
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$1,425,000Lot Size13,243 sqft
Home Size3,325 sq ft
Beds4 beds
Baths5 baths
-
$719,900Lot Size6,186 sqft
Home Size1,193 sq ft
Beds3 beds
Baths2 baths
-
$324,500Lot SizeN/A
Home Size860 sq ft
Beds1 bed
Baths1 bath
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$395,000Lot Size2,135 sqft
Home Size1,318 sq ft
Beds3 beds
Baths2 baths
-
$464,900Lot SizeN/A
Home Size900 sq ft
Beds1 bed
Baths1 bath
-
$365,900Lot SizeN/A
Home Size887 sq ft
Beds1 bed
Baths1 bath
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$650,000Lot Size4,792 sqft
Home Size936 sq ft
Beds2 beds
Baths2 baths
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$1,190,000Lot Size6,622 sqft
Home Size2,432 sq ft
Beds5 beds
Baths3 baths
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$225,000Lot Size959 sqft
Home Size650 sq ft
Beds1 bed
Baths1 bath
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$450,000Lot Size6,273 sqft
Home Size1,008 sq ft
Beds3 beds
Baths1 bath
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$520,000Lot Size3,006 sqft
Home Size1,080 sq ft
Beds2 beds
Baths3 baths
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$1,995,000Lot Size7,231 sqft
Home Size2,944 sq ft
Beds4 beds
Baths4 baths
