Congress Ave. Set for Major Projects

A development team made up of two brothers is hoping to build an apartment complex that would include office and retail. Wesley and Jerry Pearson are eyeing a tract which currently houses an auto care center, small office and retail building just down from the Austin American-Statesman building. The City Council approved a zoning change during its last meeting that would allow for a dense, mostly residential project to be built at the 311 – 315 S. Congress Ave. site.

The Austin Business Journal reports the proposed plan for redevelopment includes 488 residential units, 30,000 square feet of office space and 7,500 square feet dedicated to pedestrian-oriented uses on the ground floor. Under the new zoning, the buildings could have a maximum height of 480 feet.

Another project in the area includes the planned Statesman unit development — called 305 South Congress — which could add 1,478 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of office space, a 275-room hotel and 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space across six buildings.