Envision Crestview Station

Courtesy of Trammell Crow Co.

The new 20-acre Midtown Commons broke ground this week; it will be Phase I of Crestview Station, Austin's first privately built transit-oriented development. As such, the "new urban village" designed around a transit stop offers a picture of Austin's desired land-use future.

Nestled between a transit line – the new Capital Metro commuter rail (to the left of the buildings) – and Lamar and Airport boulevards, Midtown Commons is rising at the North Lamar/Justin Lane Red Line rail stop. It will include 316 apartments (renting for about $1.50 per square foot), plus ample retail and office space.

High Street Residential, a New Urbanist subsidiary of real estate development company Trammell Crow, works on urban infill projects and is partnering with Stratus Properties for v v Midtown Commons. It could take up to seven years for the next two to three phases of the 73-acre Crestview Station to be built out. Single-family houses, included in the next phase, are estimated to start in the mid-$200,000s. High Street Residential speaks the New Urbanist speak and is developing TODs around the country. It holds up Crest­view Station as an example of its mission to "support smart growth, green buildings, and environmental programs by developing sustainable facilities with human-scale characteristics."