Posting Language
Title
Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance granting additional floor-to-area ratio entitlements and increasing maximum building height to the project at 601, 607, 611, 615, and 619 West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 1801 and 1809 Rio Grande Street, 1800, 1802, and 1806 Nueces Street, and 602 and 604 West 18th Street in accordance with the Downtown Density Bonus Program under City Code Section 25-2-586(B)(6). Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.
De
Lead Department
Austin Planning.
Fiscal Note
This item has no fiscal impact.
For More Information:
Jorge E. Rousselin, Austin Planning, (512) 974-2975.
Council Committee, Boards and Commission Action:
February 2, 2026 - Reviewed by the Design Commission.
March 10, 2026 - Planning Commission recommended Applicant’s request.
Additional Backup Information:
Case Number: SP-2026-0048C.CP
The applicant is requesting additional floor-to-area ratio (FAR) (from 5:1 to 20:1) and maximum building height (from 120 feet to 445 feet) for a unified development that will consist of approximately 435 dwelling units, retail, and hotel uses.
The applicant seeks a total Bonus Area, defined by Section 25-2-586(A)(1) as “the gross floor area that exceeds the maximum floor-to-area ratio allowed with the site’s primary entitlement.” The administratively approved bonus area is a maximum of 3:1 FAR and 90 feet maximum building height (as permitted by Section 25-2-586(B)(3)). The requested bonus area above the administrative allowance of 3:1 FAR requiring Council approval is up to a maximum of 20:1 FAR and 445 feet maximum building height (as permitted by Section 25-2-586(B)(6)).
On February 24, 2026, the City Council rezoned the subject property from general commercial services (CS) district zoning and general commercial services-mixed use (CS-MU) combining district and General Office (GO) zoning to downtown mixed use-conditional overlay (DMU-CO) combining district zoning via Ordinance Nos. 20260224-077 and 20260224-078. The proposed conditional overlay (CO) will limit certain land uses on the site. As the current base entitlements exceed the administrative allowances through the Downtown Density Bonus Program DDBP, the applicant is seeking additional bonus area through the provisions of City Code Section 25-2-586(B)(6).
The applicant proposes to achieve 100 percent of the bonus area allowances through the following means:
1. Bonus area from 5:1 and 120 feet maximum building height to 20:1 FAR and 445 feet maximum building height on the north tract: Pay $1,775,758 in fees-in-lieu for affordable housing (to satisfy Section 25-2-586 (B)(6) and 25-2-586(E)(1)(b)(i)).
2.Bonus area from 5:1 and 120 feet maximum building height to 20:1 FAR and 445 feet maximum building height on the south tract: Pay $1,529,868 in fees-in-lieu for affordable housing (to satisfy Section 25-2-586 (B)(6) and 25-2-586(E)(1)(b)(i)).
With this, the applicant will meet the Code requirement to go above and beyond what is required to achieve additional bonus area allowance for community benefits pursuant to Section 25-2-586(B)(6)(d)(1).
All fees-in-lieu, totaling $3,305,446 will be paid into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.