Council Advances Plan to Replace Dairy Plant With Housing

The new development will have a 60-foot setback from the nearby preserve (Map Data © 2023 Google)

At its final meeting until late July, City Council approved on second reading a rezoning request that would clear the way for redevelopment of the old Borden Dairy Plant – currently an industrial site located at 71 Strandtman Cove – into a mixed-use development that would bring 1,400 new apartments to the area. Endeavor Real Estate plans to build on the 21-acre site a 220-room hotel, more than 411,500 square feet of office space, and more than 100,000 square feet for restaurant and retail. (Endeavor was also behind the Domain, though this is a much smaller-scale project with a tenth as much retail space and a fraction of the housing units.)

Endeavor plans to set aside about 140 housing units for affordable housing, set either at 60% or 80% of the Austin median family income ($46,380 and $61,800 for a single person, respectively). In addition to that set-aside, Endeavor also entered into an unusual donation agreement with the nonprofit East Austin Conservancy. For every market-rate unit at the development, a donation will be made to the nonprofit – either $500 or $1,000 per unit depending on the income threshold set for the subsidized units.

Richard Suttle, the lawyer shepherding the development through the zoning process, hoped the case would be given final approval June 8, but concerns from Council members resulted in just the second of three required approvals. Alison Alter and Vanessa Fuentes both expressed concern about CM José Velásquez's recusal from the vote, given the development is in his district. Velásquez previously served on the board of the East Austin Conservancy, so he recused himself to avoid a conflict of interests. "It's very concerning to me that a zoning applicant can choose to enter into a discretionary agreement with a third party that results in representative voices being silenced," Alter said, adding that it could "open the door" for developers to enter into similar agreements "in any part of town" that would warrant the recusal of any CM. Suttle told the Chronicle that the donation idea didn't come until after first reading, and he didn't know Velásquez was involved at EAC – it is simply "the preeminent organization in that area that deals with housing and affordability."

In addition to the recusal, Fuentes and Alter asked Suttle about the development's proximity to the nearby Colorado River Park Wildlife Sanctuary. Endeavor agreed previously to a 60-foot setback from the preserve, in accordance with Planning Com­mission recommendations, plus dark sky and water quality protections, but Alter flagged that the type of setback in the current plan may allow things to be built within it. If the 60-foot space is designated as a "vegetative" setback, then nothing could be built inside of it, but if it were a "building" setback, Endeavor could use the space for the environmental controls they want and the Parks & Rec Dept. could build a public trail into the preserve.

Neighborhood groups like People Organized in Defense of Earth & Her Resources voiced concerns about the proximity of the development to the sanctuary, but Suttle pointed out that a mixed-use development would be subject to more environmentally friendly regulation than the current industrial zoning requires, and, in fact, there are currently no water quality controls on the site. "This is an industrial site," Suttle told Council. "It is not displacing anybody that currently lives there. It is, on average, more than 1,000 feet away from the river. It is more than 600 feet from the closest single-family [home]. It's not near a neighborhood, compatibility is not an issue. If not here, where?"

The project's third and final vote is scheduled for July 20, when Council returns from break.