Tall & Urban News

Despite uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on demand for office space, a developer is moving ahead with plans for a 47-story office tower in downtown Austin.

Austin-based Manifold Real Estate is seeking city approval to build the high-rise on half of a city block east of Congress Avenue at 320 E. Second Street, near the Austin Convention Center

This week, the city of Austin’s Design Commission, an advisory committee, recommended that developers be granted a so-called density bonus that would allow for a bigger project than permitted under current zoning rules. A final decision on the density bonus is up to the city’s Planning and Zoning Department.

The Austin office of Gensler, a global architecture firm, is designing the tower. It would have 17 floors of parking above ground and three levels below ground.

The project would have public open spaces, outdoor cafe seating and public art focused on local artists and musicians, as well as an area where weekly social events could be held along Second Street.

Richard Suttle Jr. is the Austin attorney representing Manifold in getting the required city approvals to build the project.

Suttle said that, despite the pandemic, “there is strong interest in Austin and the downtown office market, both from the investment side and the tenant side.”

Local brokers, however, have said leasing activity has slowed substantially in recent months, and the latest quarterly office market reports show a rise both in the Austin area’s office vacancy rate and in the amount of sublease space hitting the market.

Suttle said Manifold will continue discussions with the city regarding the potential expansion of the Convention Center, “with the objective being a mutually beneficial project.”

For more on this story, go to Statesman.