Search the Community

Austin (Travis County) — Plans regarding the construction of a 50-story office tower in downtown with the working name Fourth & Brazos continue to develop. The Design Commission was expected to vote on a density bonus for the project, but their Oct. 25 meeting was postponed due to a lack of quorum. VBX first reported on the project in January of 2020 when Cielo Property Group closed on a deal to acquire the Brazos Lofts at the southeast corner of Brazos and East 5th streets in hopes of redeveloping the site with a tower development. The project is located at 216 East 4th Street which is currently home to the 35,000-square-foot Brazos Hall and a small office building. According to a memorandum submitted to the commission last month, the proposed 50-story tower would have a project area of 813,000 square feet on a lot area of 35,371 square feet. The building height, (705 feet), would include 18 levels of above grade parking. The tower would have 765,000 square feet of office space and 48,000 square feet of retail space. Cielo is requesting a Floor-to-Area ratio (FAR) of 23:1. The maximum allowed under the current zoning is 8:1. This is an increase in FAR of 15:1 (530,565 SF). A ground floor site plan shows four retail/restaurant areas near the tower’s entrance lobbies. A pedestrian paseo would split the building from East Fourth Street north to the alley between the southern and northern half of the block. The project will also include outdoor plaza space at the ground level in hopes of enticing the public to visit and adding open space to downtown, according to the application. The outdoor space will employ “pedestrian-friendly natural materials as well as greenery at the street level to promote Austin’s unique character and build a strong connection between the built environment and the outdoors.” The Fourth & Brazos tower would also benefit from Capital Metro’s plan to construct the 8.2-mile Blue Line, a light rail transit corridor that will be routed down 4th Street directly in front of the building. The project team consists of the local design studio Perkins & Will, Austin-based Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, Austin-based civil engineers Garza EMC and landscape architects at Ten Eyck, also out of Austin. Richard T. Suttle, Jr. with the law firm Armbrust & Brown, PLLC is representing the project to the commission. https://www.virtualbx.com/construction-preview/austin-cielo-properties-proposing-to-develop-downtown-50-story-office-tower/