Residential Plan Seeks a Sweet 90 Feet on East Seventh Street

Image: Google Maps / James Rambin

A rezoning case on the agenda for next week’s City Council meeting could bring extra height to an East Austin apartment project planned near downtown — and we think that means something! Scheduled for a public hearing at Council’s upcoming meeting on April 20, the case concerns a 0.65-acre assembly of adjacent properties at 1007 and 1021 East Seventh Street, both currently occupied by office uses. The site is located inside the Plaza Saltillo Transit-Oriented Development planning district, which would normally allow a base height of 60 feet — and if the rezoning request for the properties moves forward, that limit would be amended to allow a 90-foot building instead. 

The developers of the property at California-based real estate firm CIM Group plan to build a 145-unit apartment building at the site, with approximately 15 of those units, or 10 percent, income-restricted to tenants earning 60 percent of less of the median family income. That’s nearly downtown-style density on such a small tract, only made possible by rising 90 feet instead of 60 — the site is about a quarter-mile from downtown at most, making the argument for taller buildings pretty straightforward.

City Council previously approved the increase of the base maximum height allowed on several properties located within the Plaza Saltillo TOD. A property along E. 6th Street was approved for a maximum 90 foot building height by City Council in August 2021. A property along E. 5th Street was approved for a maximum 85 foot building height by City Council in November 2021. Another property along E. 4th Street was approved for a maximum 85 foot building height by City Council in April 2022.

— Staff Report, 1007 and 1021 East Seventh Street

Beyond the details of this rezoning, which doesn’t include snazzy renderings or much more info about the proposed building at this stage, what’s remarkable to us about this case is its indication that 90 feet is becoming the new normal for multifamily buildings around the city. For years, we were used to the typically five-story apartment structures provided by the central city’s ubiquitous 60-foot height limits, but zoning programs like VMU2 and Affordability Unlocked are pushing these buildings taller in exchange for on-site affordable units, and in a transit-rich region like the Saltillo TOD it’s a pretty easy choice. 

Bouldin Village Trades Height for Affordable Apartments on South Lamar

We wonder if the average Austinite will even notice that a lot of the newer residential buildings around town are rising 30 feet taller than before, or approximately eight floors instead of five. Some people have strong opinions on this, but if you already don’t like a 60-foot building, we doubt 50 percent more height is going to translate to 50 percent stronger dislike. If anything, think of it as visual evidence of our city’s ongoing housing shortage — but also a sign that we can do something about it.