
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
-
$859,900
MLS # 5725120
Austin, TX -
$1,550,000
903 Garden Villa Court
Austin, TX -
$375,900
3734 Valley View Road #B
Austin, TX -
$4,150,000
2104 Ann Arbor Avenue
Austin, TX -
$475,000
1133 Hollow Creek Drive #102
Austin, TX -
$1,300,000
508 Lockhart Drive
Austin, TX -
$2,150,000
2406 ROCK TERRACE Circle
Austin, TX -
$635,000
1120 Gillespie Place #2
Austin, TX -
$425,000
830 Banister Lane
Austin, TX -
$2,850,000
121 El Paso Street
Austin, TX -
$565,000
1600 Barton Springs Road #6208
Austin, TX -
$475,000
3604 Clawson Road #201
Austin, TX -
$475,000
4004 Banister Lane #312
Austin, TX -
$339,000
2215 Post Road #2059
Austin, TX -
$350,000
3018 S 1st Street #212
Austin, TX -
$1,250,000
MLS # 2980166
Austin, TX -
$925,000
2306 La Casa Drive #B
Austin, TX -
$1,225,000
500 E Live Oak Street
Austin, TX -
$1,100,000
1100 Fieldcrest Drive
Austin, TX -
$850,000
4007 Clawson Road #2
Austin, TX -
$549,900
1600 Barton Springs Road #1108
Austin, TX -
$515,000
3600 S Lamar Boulevard #312
Austin, TX -
$1,275,000
803 N Terrell Hill Drive
Austin, TX -
$965,000
2615 Carnarvon Lane
Austin, TX -
$665,000
210 Lee Barton Drive #314
Austin, TX
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,523 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size7,515 sqft
Home Size2,414 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size2,004 sqft
Home Size589 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size9,497 sqft
Home Size3,683 sqft
Beds5 Beds
Baths5 Baths
-
Lot Size10,041 sqft
Home Size664 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size5,881 sqft
Home Size1,184 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size13,068 sqft
Home Size2,519 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size4,095 sqft
Home Size925 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size2,004 sqft
Home Size968 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size6,805 sqft
Home Size3,116 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths5 Baths
-
Lot Size480 sqft
Home Size743 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size2,327 sqft
Home Size996 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size41,862 sqft
Home Size989 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size1,525 sqft
Home Size610 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size2,043 sqft
Home Size761 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size4,857 sqft
Home Size2,116 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths4 Baths
-
Lot Size4,343 sqft
Home Size1,719 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size7,009 sqft
Home Size1,300 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size7,349 sqft
Home Size1,290 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size4,509 sqft
Home Size1,300 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths4 Baths
-
Lot Size480 sqft
Home Size743 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size933 sqft
Home Size919 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size10,163 sqft
Home Size1,620 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size7,401 sqft
Home Size1,379 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size393 sqft
Home Size1,016 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
Leave a Reply