The Centro project, located at 1401 East 6th Street and developed by local investment firm Riverside Resources, is preparing to launch its second phase. Towers Realty has provided a preliminary overview of the forthcoming plans for this East Austin project, which will include both apartments and retail space.
According to a blog post published on January 11, the first phase of the project is an office and retail development that spans an entire block. It boasts warehouse-inspired aesthetics courtesy of renowned architects Gensler and pedestrian-friendly landscape architecture by Nudge Design. A notable feature is a fully pedestrianized paseo on Onion Street, which links East Sixth and East Fifth streets.
The post also reveals that the second phase of the project, referred to as "Centro East," is now underway and anticipated to break ground within the year. The new building will primarily serve residential purposes and is expected to surpass the height of the Centro office.
According to further details in the post, Centro East's design includes nine floors facing East Fifth Street and seven floors on the side facing East Sixth Street. This discrepancy in floor count is due to differences in street levels. The plan also incorporates 260 apartments and 19,000 square feet of retail space divided between storefronts on both streets.
Towers Realty commented in their post, "We're not sure whether the Centro East block was always meant to be residential since back when the project was first announced in 2019, demand for office space around here seemed virtually infinite." However, they note that Riverside's decision to opt for a different approach with Phase 2 has proven fortuitous. "Bringing housing to this site, particularly transit-adjacent housing thanks to the adjacent Saltillo rail station just one block south, is a great companion to walkable urban additions like the new Onion Street paseo and the project's ample ground-level retail."
While no specific date has been set for the groundbreaking of Phase 2, the recent unveiling of Centro East's plans is promising. Towers Realty expressed optimism in their post, stating, "Long story short, we have a lot more faith in this project moving forward in 2024 than most of the office projects announced but still unbuilt over the last couple of years. Apartments aren't bleeding quite like offices around here just yet, but we'll see how the rest of 2024 treats us."
Towers Realty is a full-service brokerage based in Austin, Texas. Their blog page offers news updates and commentary on city life, real estate trends, and urbanist culture specific to the Austin market.