Two decades after purchasing a 19-acre property at I-35 and St. Johns Avenue, the city of Austin plans to begin construction on the site this week.
The two-year buildout process will be guided by a 2020 vision plan shaped by community input. The mixed-use community will include more than 500 housing units, retail space and an expanded park with a splash pad. In the meantime, the St. John Pocket Park has been closed during construction.
Christine Freundl, who is overseeing the redevelopment for the city, said 70% of the apartments will be set aside for families making between 50% and 80% of the area’s median family income. For a family of four, that ranges from $67,200 to $106,800, according to city data.
The development will also include 15,000 square feet of commercial and retail space with about 5,000 square feet marked at below-market rental rates.
Fruendl believes the project will serve the community’s need for affordable places to live, recreate and shop.
“I think being able to see it come to life over the next two years is going to be kind of amazing,” she said. “You set a community vision in 2020, and the council adopts it, and then in 2028 it is built. And so I think that’ll be an amazing process to watch.”
Michael Minasi
/
KUT News
The sculpture honors the St. John Regular Baptist District Association. It was made up of a group of pastors who purchased the land for an orphanage and school back in the late 1800s. A new art piece will be added as part of the redevelopment.
The redevelopment of the site is a long time coming.
In 2006, Austin voters approved bond money to purchase the land. The city originally thought it could be used to expand public safety facilities, but Freundl said the location wasn’t ideal. In 2017, city leaders began working with the community to create a plan for the property that would honor the history of the neighborhood.
St. Johns has been a hub for Austin’s Black community since at least the late 1800s, when a group of pastors with the St. John Regular Baptist District Association purchased about 350 acres of land to open an orphanage and school. They later sold the land to individual Black families to build their homes.
Freundl said the city plans to honor that history with a public art piece.
The project is set to be complete by 2028. Freundl said the hope is that the apartments are ready to accept tenants by the end of next year.
Support for KUT’s reporting on housing news comes from the Austin Community Foundation. Sponsors do not influence KUT’s editorial decisions.