(Credit: KLBJ staff)
A controversial mixed-use development planned for Riverside Drive near Pleasant Valley has been approved by the Austin City Council. Known as 4700 Riverside, it will sit on 97-acres of land currently consisting of five apartment complexes.
Once complete, owner Presidium and Nimes says it will off 4700 residential units, of which, anywhere from 400 to 565 of them will be made available for tenants making 60-percent or less of the median family income. Along with residential units, 4700 Riverside is also expected to provide millions of square feet of office space, hundreds of hotel rooms, and retail.
As part of an agreement reached this week with the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, Presidium and Nimes has also agreed to contribute $1.75-million toward Austin’s battle against homelessness. 100 people who are currently homeless will be housed immediately in units that are in the current apartment complexes. They will be allowed to live in those units until demolition in 2024.
4700 Riverside has been the subject of intense criticism from activists, most notably from the group known as ‘Defend Our Hoodz,’ which has been responsible for multiple disruptions of official city meetings. The group argues the development, which it calls ‘Domain on Riverside,’ will gentrify the Riverside area and force many of its longtime residents out with rising costs of living.
Construction of the new development is expected to be performed in multiple phases over the next two decades.
