Project Catalyst Documents Describe 97-Acre Development at East Riverside

A speculative rendering of the Project Catalyst site from a 2017 marketing video. Photo: JLL Austin

Exactly six months ago, we rolled out what little we knew about Project Catalyst, a massive potential mixed-use project at the intersection of East Riverside Drive and Pleasant Valley Road, basically next door to Oracle’s new Lakeshore campus. Since then, it’s been nothing but radio silence from the usual suspects, including real estate firm JLL and investment outfit Nimes Capital, which owns the various tracts of land in the area assembled for the project.

Over these last six months, whenever I asked anyone with skin in the local real estate development game about this mysterious plan, they were happy to admit that they knew more than they could tell me on the record. The punch line, however, was always the same — keep watching Project Catalyst. Now, I think I understand why.

A view of the Ballpark North Apartments. Project Catalyst, if built, will occupy this area. Image: Ballpark Apartments

This week, we’ve uncovered a series of rezoning applications and other documents associated with the various Nimes-owned properties currently occupied by the Ballpark Apartments, which will eventually be demolished as the individual tracts are assembled into a piece of land roughly 97 acres in size. If you’re having trouble visualizing that, it’s about one-third the size of the entire Domain. Here’s a handy comparison between the two:

Though the name doesn’t appear in these documents, they clearly outline phase one of what was previously called Project Catalyst, a mixed-use development described as an “urban village” and “dense employment node” independent from the downtown area and bolstered by the presence of Oracle next door.

And that’s just the first phase — as implied by some of the promotional material seen in our previous story, additional phases definitely seem possible. Here’s a map of the current tracts seeking rezoning:

The properties listed above all fall within the East Riverside Corridor Zoning District. The developers, through law firm Armbrust & Brown, are seeking to rezone all four tracts to the Corridor Mixed-Use (CMU) designation of the corridor plan, in order to standardize what they can build on the assembled land.

More importantly, this would make the properties eligible for the corridor’s development bonus standards, which grant new projects the right to exceed the zone’s normal required floor-to-area ratios and height limits in exchange for including certain amenities like affordable housing units and publicly-accessible open space.

That’s a lot of words just to say that if the rezoning happens and the project receives the development bonus, this 97-acre tract will be able to build to a maximum height of 160 feet. That’s not ridiculously high or anything — about 10 floors, give or take — but it’s taller than anything else in the area, and would seriously increase the density on this side of town.

A still from a 2017 Project Catalyst promotional video showing a street scene. This is just marketing, mind you, but knowing that possible 160-foot height limit certainly makes the mind wander, doesn’t it? Image: JLL Austin.

Speaking of density, there’s one more thing. In addition to these rezoning documents, we’ve found a Traffic Impact Analysis application filed with the city for the project. To perform this sort of analysis, you’ve got to know how many apartments, offices, stores, hotel rooms, and so on are planned, in order to estimate how much a given development will increase the number of cars on surrounding roads — which means we now know these numbers too.

If built as described in the document, Project Catalyst’s first phase will consist of:

4,709 apartment units
600 hotel rooms
3,987,300 square feet of office space
436,250 square feet of general retail space
60,000 square feet of medical/dental space

This, as you might have already noticed, is absolutely bonkers. What we’re describing here is a development larger than Plaza Saltillo, larger than whatever shows up at the Statesman site, even larger than the first phase of the Domain that delivered back in 2007. It’s possible that this first salvo simply reflects an optimistic best-case scenario for whatever version of Project Catalyst we end up with — but then again, if the developers are filing these numbers with the city for a traffic analysis, it would stand to reason that they reflect whatever’s actually being planned.

Another still from the 2017 Project Catalyst marketing video. Definitely speculative, but hey! Image: JLL Austin

The expected net total of trips per day listed in the document, by the way, is about 70,000 — seven times the existing traffic generated by the Ballpark Apartments. I’m sure that’s going to be a major point of contention for those who might oppose this rezoning, so the project’s definitely not out of the woods yet. Still, the city’s got plans for improving the East Riverside Drive corridor — confusing, strange, possibly mismanaged plans, but it’s something.

A view of the Ballpark East Apartments currently on the Project Catalyst site. Image: Ballpark Apartments

The affordable housing provided as part of the development bonus requirements could certainly provide an opposing argument in favor of the project, though the developer might avoid this requirement by paying a fee-in-lieu for affordable housing built elsewhere. Additional benefits of the development as described in these documents include the reclamation of up to 9 acres of space previously classified as impervious cover, along with additional connectivity to the Country Club Creek Trail leading into the adjacent parkland.

Still, we’re working with extremely incomplete data here until we get our hands on some actual plans, since looking at the numbers can only get us so far. I guess that means, for now, Project Catalyst remains mysterious — but it’s a little less mysterious than it was six months ago.

78741 Real Estate

1411 Town Creek DR #10 , Austin

Home size: 1,919 sq ft
Lot size: 1,611 sqft
Year built: 2018

3 beds
4 baths
$629,000

6211 Walker LN , Austin

Home size: 750 sq ft
Lot size: 14,026 sqft
Year built: 2018

1 bed
1 bath
$1,200

2703 Mulford CV #B , Austin

Home size: 1,096 sq ft
Lot size: 8,799 sqft
Year built: 1973

3 beds
2 baths
$1,875

2505 Parker LN #A , Austin

Home size: 1,372 sq ft
Lot size: 10,236 sqft
Year built: 1978

3 beds
2 baths
$1,900

6211 Palm CIR , Austin

Home size: 1,092 sq ft
Lot size: 7,100 sqft
Year built: 1971

4 beds
2 baths
$1,950

7206 Cordelia CT , Austin

Home size: 1,618 sq ft
Lot size: 5,662 sqft
Year built: 2015

3 beds
3 baths
$349,900

1909 Townesouth CIR , Austin

Home size: 1,830 sq ft
Lot size: 14,766 sqft
Year built: 1979

0 beds
0 baths
$300,000

7404 Cayenne LN , Austin

Home size: 2,088 sq ft
Lot size: 4,399 sqft
Year built: 2006

4 beds
3 baths
$311,900

2217 Maxwell LN , Austin

Home size: 1,884 sq ft
Lot size: 6,969 sqft
Year built: 2016

3 beds
3 baths
$409,900

1300 Parker LN #102 , Austin

Home size: 400 sq ft
Year built: 1969

0 beds
1 bath
$860

Photo of Austin, TX 78741 (MLS # 8531031)

MLS # 8531031 , Austin

Home size: 1,507 sq ft
Lot size: 1,176 sqft
Year built: 2008

4 beds
3 baths
$2,400

2520 Elmont DR #105A , Austin

Home size: 625 sq ft
Year built: 1972

1 bed
1 bath
$940

2002 Kenneth AVE #B , Austin

Home size: 1,189 sq ft
Lot size: 7,927 sqft
Year built: 1984

2 beds
2 baths
$1,450

1902 Crooked LN , Austin

Home size: 1,953 sq ft
Lot size: 14,549 sqft
Year built: 1969

3 beds
2 baths
$2,300

2701 Mulford CV , Austin

Home size: 1,100 sq ft
Lot size: 14,244 sqft
Year built: 1973

3 beds
2 baths
$1,600

2124 Burton DR #112 , Austin

Home size: 661 sq ft
Lot size: 1,306 sqft
Year built: 1973

1 bed
1 bath
$950

4500 E Oltorf ST #C-303 , Austin

Home size: 850 sq ft
Lot size: 2,439 sqft
Year built: 1985

2 beds
1 bath
$1,350

2002 Kenneth AVE #A , Austin

Home size: 1,189 sq ft
Year built: 1984

3 beds
2 baths
$1,495

1509 Arcilla St , Austin

Home size: 1,961 sq ft
Year built: 2018

3 beds
3 baths
$448,785

1507 Lawrence St , Austin

Home size: 1,978 sq ft
Year built: 2018

4 beds
3 baths
$450,105

6807 Idea Rd , Austin

Home size: 1,978 sq ft
Year built: 2018

3 beds
3 baths
$474,070

2109 Maxwell LN #A , Austin

Home size: 1,516 sq ft
Lot size: 3,049 sqft
Year built: 2004

3 beds
2 baths
$325,000

1502 Arcilla St , Austin

Home size: 1,978 sq ft
Year built: 2018

3 beds
3 baths
$456,155

1709 Lawrence St #5 , Austin

Home size: 1,982 sq ft
Year built: 2018

3 beds
3 baths
$489,900

6805 Idea Rd , Austin

Home size: 1,982 sq ft
Year built: 2018

3 beds
3 baths
$449,560

1411 Town Creek DR #10 , Austin

Home size: 1,919 sq ft Lot size: 1,611 sqft Year built: 2018

3 beds 4 baths $629,000
6211 Walker LN , Austin

Home size: 750 sq ft Lot size: 14,026 sqft Year built: 2018

1 bed 1 bath $1,200
2703 Mulford CV #B , Austin

Home size: 1,096 sq ft Lot size: 8,799 sqft Year built: 1973

3 beds 2 baths $1,875
2505 Parker LN #A , Austin

Home size: 1,372 sq ft Lot size: 10,236 sqft Year built: 1978

3 beds 2 baths $1,900
6211 Palm CIR , Austin

Home size: 1,092 sq ft Lot size: 7,100 sqft Year built: 1971

4 beds 2 baths $1,950
7206 Cordelia CT , Austin

Home size: 1,618 sq ft Lot size: 5,662 sqft Year built: 2015

3 beds 3 baths $349,900
1909 Townesouth CIR , Austin

Home size: 1,830 sq ft Lot size: 14,766 sqft Year built: 1979

0 beds 0 baths $300,000
7404 Cayenne LN , Austin

Home size: 2,088 sq ft Lot size: 4,399 sqft Year built: 2006

4 beds 3 baths $311,900
2217 Maxwell LN , Austin

Home size: 1,884 sq ft Lot size: 6,969 sqft Year built: 2016

3 beds 3 baths $409,900
1300 Parker LN #102 , Austin

Home size: 400 sq ft Year built: 1969

0 beds 1 bath $860
MLS # 8531031 , Austin

Home size: 1,507 sq ft Lot size: 1,176 sqft Year built: 2008

4 beds 3 baths $2,400
2520 Elmont DR #105A , Austin

Home size: 625 sq ft Year built: 1972

1 bed 1 bath $940
2002 Kenneth AVE #B , Austin

Home size: 1,189 sq ft Lot size: 7,927 sqft Year built: 1984

2 beds 2 baths $1,450
1902 Crooked LN , Austin

Home size: 1,953 sq ft Lot size: 14,549 sqft Year built: 1969

3 beds 2 baths $2,300
2701 Mulford CV , Austin

Home size: 1,100 sq ft Lot size: 14,244 sqft Year built: 1973

3 beds 2 baths $1,600
2124 Burton DR #112 , Austin

Home size: 661 sq ft Lot size: 1,306 sqft Year built: 1973

1 bed 1 bath $950
4500 E Oltorf ST #C-303 , Austin

Home size: 850 sq ft Lot size: 2,439 sqft Year built: 1985

2 beds 1 bath $1,350
2002 Kenneth AVE #A , Austin

Home size: 1,189 sq ft Year built: 1984

3 beds 2 baths $1,495
1509 Arcilla St , Austin

Home size: 1,961 sq ft Year built: 2018

3 beds 3 baths $448,785
1507 Lawrence St , Austin

Home size: 1,978 sq ft Year built: 2018

4 beds 3 baths $450,105
6807 Idea Rd , Austin

Home size: 1,978 sq ft Year built: 2018

3 beds 3 baths $474,070
2109 Maxwell LN #A , Austin

Home size: 1,516 sq ft Lot size: 3,049 sqft Year built: 2004

3 beds 2 baths $325,000
1502 Arcilla St , Austin

Home size: 1,978 sq ft Year built: 2018

3 beds 3 baths $456,155
1709 Lawrence St #5 , Austin

Home size: 1,982 sq ft Year built: 2018

3 beds 3 baths $489,900
6805 Idea Rd , Austin

Home size: 1,982 sq ft Year built: 2018

3 beds 3 baths $449,560