Plans for a mixed-use project on an increasingly busy Central East Austin corridor are moving toward city approval.
Local developer Geyser Group seeks rezoning of the two properties at 3117 and 3121 East 12th Street, just east of Airport Boulevard, to add more taller and denser building on the site. Geyser seeks the addition of Vertical Mixed-Use zoning to build an 80- to 100-unit multifamily development with ground-floor retail on the sites, which total about one acre. Geyser has also requested the removal of a 40-foot height limit on the properties, part of the current compatibility requirements for the sites. VMU allows buildings of up to 90 feet tall. The designation would also make a VMU density bonus available, which would require some affordable units.
At its May 23 meeting, the city Planning Commission voted 9-0 to support the rezoning. Some neighbors spoke against the move, objecting to the scale of the project and making the case that it should follow the Rosewood Neighborhood Plan, which would kick in the compatibility requirement limiting building height on the properties to 40 feet.
Objecting neighbors also feared that the Geyser Group would sell the mostly land vacant land rather than developing it. The group has not presented specific plans for the project, maintaining that it wants to get the rezoning approved before moving forward.
Geyser Group has been active in the Rosewood neighborhood, recently buying property at 2900 Oak Springs Drive to build housing under Austin's Affordability Unlocked program. It was also involved in early stages of the Springdale Green office project and is building the 363-unit project Goodwin apartments nearby, at 3706 Goodwin Avenue near the intersection of Springdale Road and Airport Boulevard.
