A 22-and-a-half-acre section of East Austin is getting a modern transformation. In a bid to bring office, retail, and residential space to tech workers and families, architecture firm Steinberg Hart has announced plans for a new seven-building, urban mixed-use complex at the corner of East Riverside Drive and Highway 71, called East Riverside Gateway.
The site, a former mobile home park, currently hosts a storage facility, but once construction is complete it will be home to over two million square feet of space for housing, offices, a plaza, and shopping amenities. Four multi-family buildings totaling more than 1,100 residential units will be created to provide Austinintes with deluxe condos, family-oriented residences, and compact affordable housing. The three remaining buildings will be dedicated to office spaces and create a walkable connection to the anticipated Blue Line light rail from Project Connect.
Steinberg Hart president and Austin native David Hart expressed his excitement in a press release for the project, and hopes it brings a valuable transformation to the city.
“Building on over three decades of experience in the State of Texas, we are thrilled to be making our mark on the City of Austin with this iconic project, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of this city’s continued evolution,” he said.
To prioritize pedestrians, Steinberg Hart has planned walkable neighborhoods that “celebrate [their] connection to nature” and have committed to retaining the area’s heritage trees. A 3-and-a-half-acre park is also expected to restore the site’s native Blackland Prairie habitat while providing many outdoor activities such as a bike path, playground, outdoor pavilion, and more.
With the connection to the Blue Line, residents and non-residents alike will be able to travel easily to and from the complex. Those using personal vehicles to travel from farther away will have their choice from an estimated 4,000 parking spaces.
Asheshh Saheba, Mixed-Use Studio Leader at Steinberg Hart, believes the East Riverside Gateway complex will be a “central hub of activity” that brings a variety of Austinites together from any and all areas of town.
“Being involved from the earliest stages of master planning made for a truly holistic design process,” said Saheba. “We’ve thought about every aspect of the user experience at every scale: the size of the city blocks and their organization, the unit mix and the size of the office floor plates, and the Austinite taking public transit and walking home from this new rail station. East Riverside Gateway is a truly transformative vision of the future of Austin.”
The East Riverside Gateway project is currently in the entitlement phase and Steinberg Hart has submitted requests for a site development permit. Another, even larger development of 545 acres, much farther north and less price diverse, was also recently approved for development in Austin, highlighting the range of new construction planning early in 2023.
