Activists protest rezoning Borden Dairy site near 183 and Colorado River
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Activists gathered in east Austin Wednesday to demand more studies be done before Austin City Council allows a local real estate company to transform the current home of the Borden Dairy Plant near U.S. Highway 183 and the Colorado River.
According to our partners at the Austin Business Journal, Endeavor Real Estate Group, known for The Domain and Saltillo, wants permission rezone the 21-acre site off Levander Loop in order to construct 1,400 residential units, more than 400,000 square feet of offices, more than 100,000 square feet of retail space and a 220-room hotel.
ABJ reported Endeavor wants to change the property's zoning from industrial to mixed-use with a height limit of 120 feet, which would allow buildings of 10 stories or more. The Austin Planning Commission voted March 28 in favor of the change. Council will consider that change Thursday.
The activists, including the social justice group PODER and Colorado River Conservancy, said Wednesday they are not against developing the site all together.
They said no environmental impact study has been conducted by the city to determine the effects of a project of this scale on the neighboring community.
“...[This] site and others further east don’t have the legal protections other riverfront areas in Austin have. Riverfront redevelopment on this scale should not proceed without a plan for protection of the river corridor, impacted wildlife, and nearby neighborhoods," Valerie Menard, project director for the Colorado River Conservancy, said in a press release.
KXAN has reached out to Endeavor Real Estate Group for comment.