Image: Cherrywood Coffeehouse / Instagram
A rezoning application now pending with the city for a 4.4-acre East Austin property could point to major new development in the Cherrywood neighborhood, which may eventually replace a number of popular local businesses along 38th 1/2 Street. This is understandably a bit of a jumpscare for residents of this charming enclave, but let’s take some deep breaths and unpack exactly what’s going on over here. Serenity now!
Based on public records, the rezoning request is being sought by local land use firm Drenner Group on behalf of the property owners for the contiguous tracts at 1230 East 38th ½ Street, 1400 East 38th ½ Street, 1402 East 38th ½ Street, and 1406 East 38th ½ Street. This includes the 75-unit Alma Cherrywood apartment complex, a warehouse belonging to Westbank Dry Cleaning, Cherrywood Coffeehouse, the Monarch Food Mart convenience store, and the GC Cleaners & Laundry. This change would remove a conditional overlay on the tract limiting the height of new construction to 40 feet, allowing potential development to rise 60 feet here instead.
An aerial view of the adjacent tracts now seeking rezoning along 38th 1/2 Street, including the Alma Apartments on the left and businesses like Cherrywood Coffeehouse towards the right side of the assembly. Image: Google Maps / James Rambin
That’s potential redevelopment, clearly in a very early stage — this rezoning effort appears to be the work of local firm Narrow Road Group, which now owns the Alma Cherrywood apartment property and is working on a redevelopment plan that could build approximately 250 new apartments at this land assembly. This would obviously not be great news for fans of Cherrywood Coffeehouse, a beloved neighborhood mainstay for 15 years and counting, along with the other local businesses here — on a personal note, I’ve been a fan of the Monarch Mart and its eclectic lineup of products since the 2003 launch of Nelly’s “Pimp Juice” energy drink.
But there’s hope for this popular retail node, according to the Cherrywood Neighborhood Association, which has been in communication with the developers since last year on the vision for this area’s increasing density. As part of the neighborhood’s efforts to collaborate on the scope and scale of the project planned here, the rezoning case for the property has been postponed from the agenda of today’s Planning Commission meeting until February 27, to allow for further discussion between the applicants and neighborhood stakeholders. The letter submitted to the Planning Commission requesting the postponement displays a fairly nuanced perspective on development for an Austin neighborhood association, a category of institution we’ll just say is not typically known for a sense of open-mindedness about change — and according to the CNA, the developers have pledged to honor the existing leases of the businesses on these properties (emphasis ours):
The CNA has a long history of trying to shape the inevitable changes in the density and character of our neighborhood, with special consideration of changes along the transportation corridors that transect our area. We are not opposed to change in our neighborhood. Cherrywood is a central neighborhood in a housing-strapped city, and CNA supports increasing density of new structures and population in balance with preservation of existing structures and character.
The properties impacted by this zoning request are important to the Cherrywood neighborhood. Currently the properties include the Alma Apartments, 74 unsubsidized, market affordable units, an increasing rarity in central Austin. The properties also include three locally owned businesses that have been a part of the Cherrywood neighborhood for many, many years: Cherrywood Coffeehouse (previously Pato’s Good Tacos in the 1980s-2002), Monarch Mart, and G&C Cleaners (previously Delwood Cleaners, we believe dating back to the 1960s or before). We are especially grateful for the applicants’ repeated commitments to honor the existing lease agreements (including the provisions for extensions of the leases) for these local businesses. If these leases are honored, it is our understanding redevelopment of the properties would likely not occur within the next 10 years.
So that’s the big takeaway here, at least for now — the rest of the letter discusses the neighborhood’s desire for affordability, its interest in preserving local business, and the possibility that the Delwood Shopping Center next door to this site could also someday redevelop in concert with this tract, Brodie Oaks style. It’s all forward-thinking, mostly positive stuff, and we obviously don’t begrudge the neighborhood for wanting to hang on to iconic local businesses like Cherrywood Coffeehouse. Considering that the retail portion of the site only occupies a fraction of the potential development area, we would love to see the neighborhood support even greater height for development here, perhaps even through the PUD process, which could allow the developer to meet its goals while preserving the businesses at the corner. Rather than your usual knee-jerk NIMBYism against growth and change, this is the sort of compromise that actually creates better places with density, and it seems like the CNA is at least somewhat willing to play ball:
A neighborhood association also has the responsibility of long-range vision. We believe the parcel adjacent to the Alma Apartments to the west, currently occupied by the Fiesta complex (over 12 acres and with over 500’ of rail line frontage), may also pursue redevelopment within the next decade as major transportation projects in the area unfold. The future redevelopment of the four parcels in this case, especially the Alma Apartments, will influence the overall potential of the much larger adjacent parcel and the entire area. Our great preference, aside from the case at hand, is that this larger grouping of parcels be thoughtfully and ambitiously planned together. Depending on the actual site plan and circumstances, the CNA can support greater height and density in this location, and we believe the City and community will be better served being patient until a future development plan is established.
It’s true that the widening of I-35 through this area could potentially motivate the Brodie Oaksification of large strip retail centers in this area like Delwood, and it would definitely be preferable to see these adjacent sites all redeveloped at the same time into a cohesive vision. If the developers indeed plan to honor the leases of the existing businesses at this collection of properties, we might get a few years to think about it — the real estate equivalent of taking a deep breath.
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