Austin Ranked 3rd In Terms Of Downtown Development Potential

AUSTIN, TX — A robust affordable housing stock, construction of more homeless shelters and creation of parks are among Austin residents' top wish-list items amid a central business district brimming with development potential, according to a new study.

COMMERCIALCafé, a nationwide real estate listings platform, outlined findings related to the 25 U.S. cities with the highest urban infill development potential, based on total developable vacant land available in each city’s central business district.
In tandem, the research included a nationwide survey of individuals living and/or working in the 25 cities studied, asking them what they want to have built in their city’s urban core, what they feel the city needs most at this time, and what they feel would be the most beneficial transportation development or improvement.
Among the study's key highlights:

• Though Austin has grown by more than 2 million square feet in the past 5 years, it's looking at a hefty 70 development-ready acres of land in its central business district alone, with over 800,000 square feet of office and 221 residential units expected to break ground in the near future;
• Even with construction pushing inventory numbers up, downtown Austin' development potential is yet to reach full blast and its denizens certainly think there's room for improvement, especially when it comes to housing, homeless shelters and parks;
• Affordable housing is of the utmost necessity in the U.S. – 82% of all respondents chose housing and homeless shelters as the most needed development projects, while 77% chose housing and parks as their most desired additions to the city;
• Walkability is the top infrastructure improvement highlighted in all 25 cities, with subway upgrades and bike lanes following suit.

The research indicates that more than half of this construction came in the form of hotels as housing, office space and parking structures were of secondary priority. "Although the city’s ###a href="http://www.austintexas.gov/page/downtown-austin-plan" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">2011 Downtown Plan acknowledges the locals’ increasing desire for sustainable downtown living, and although prime undeveloped land is still available, construction has been somewhat stifled by regulations that do not accommodate modern urban development needs," researchers said. "Perhaps when Austin runs out of city-owned, whole-block-sized parking lots to hand over, urban planning policies and practices will get a much-needed reexamination."

Overall in the South, researchers concluded, Texas is king with 208 acres of undeveloped land scattered across the central business districts of Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston, researchers wrote. The least-dense CBD in Texas, as well as on the 25-city list, is Dallas, with vacant lots in the urban core adding up to 86 acres, researchers found. For some perspective, consider this: During the past five years, 8.5 million square feet of property has been built in the Dallas central business district — second only to construction activity in New York City — with recent developments coming in the area of housing, office space, parking, retail, and hotels, according to the study.

For the full study, click here.

>>> Photo of downtown Austin streets running along Austin Convention Center by Tony Cantú