South Lamar Boulevard Eyed for New Mixed-use Project
By Cody Baird, Austin Business Journal
Map Created with Google My Maps
A new mixed-use project is in the works for South Lamar Boulevard, with plans for residential, office, restaurant and retail space.
SoLa Mixed Use, as the project is currently known, is being developed by Austin-Based Seamless Capital, according to a site plan application filed with the city. It could include hundreds of apartments and more than 100,000 square feet of office space across two buildings.
Right now, Austin is experiencing record-high office vacancies and increased multifamily vacancies brought on by a rush of development in recent years but this project may come online during an upswing.
Seamless Capital didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the site plan application, the first building would be eight stories tall and consist of 387 multifamily units totaling 452,531 square feet. The second would rise five stories and consist of 102,440 square feet of office space and 4,480 square feet of retail space.
The project would take place on multiple lots — at 2700, 2706, 2708, 2710, 2714 and 2800 S. Lamar Blvd., and 2800, 2801, 2803 and 2805 Skyway Circle — totaling about five acres. Existing buildings at those locations include commercial retail properties and duplex residences.
At the end of 2024, the vacancy rate for multifamily properties in Austin was 15.2%, compared to 6.5% at the end of 2021, according to CoStar.
The increase has been fueled largely by a pandemic-era construction boom amid an influx of new residents to the metro. That boom resulted in a huge supply of apartments that has driven down rental rates.
About 32,000 rental units were delivered in Austin in 2024 and 21,000 were delivered in 2023, according to CoStar data. Those years far outpace 2019 just prior to the pandemic, when slightly more than 10,000 units were delivered.
Meanwhile, office vacancies in Austin hit an estimated record high of 17.6% to start the year, according to CoStar.
Part of that trend stems from a rush of development downtown beginning in the 2010s that resulted in several new towers, which now are drawing tenants away from older towers. Another major factor is uncertainty regarding office needs in the post-Covid world, in which hybrid and remote work are commonplace. In addition, the large amount of office space in Austin available for sublease has increased competition for tenants, even though space up for sublease isn't reflected in vacancy rates because it's technically leased.
