The Planning Commission recommended a rezoning for a proposed development at 500 South Congress that would include 950 residential units, 225 hotel rooms, 600,000 square feet of office space, and over 125,000 square feet for retail and dining. Developer Michael Iannacone's plan involves changing the zoning from commercial liquor sales to Planned Unit Development, which allows for large developments under specific conditions. City officials highlighted benefits like improved transit access, pedestrian-friendly design, affordable housing, and restoration of Bouldin Creek, while also ensuring the preservation of the iconic karaoke bar, Ego's, as part of the project.
The rezoning requested by developer Michael Iannacone, president of the Texas division of global real estate developer Relation, is from CS-1, or commercial liquor sales, to PUD, or Planned United Development. Planned Unit Developments allow for large developments outside the bounds of what would usually be possible under the city’s land development code, but only under certain conditions. In order to get the zoning, the would-be developer has to prove that their plan would produce something measurably better than what would be possible under the usual standards.
In their more than 110-page report recommending the project, city staff cited benefits like transit access, walkability, a proportionately large number of affordable housing units and the project’s sustainability features, including plans to clean up and restore the section of Bouldin Creek that runs through the property as features that satisfy that requirement.
Bar-going Austinites may be happy to learn that Ego's will likely be preserved through a part of the plan that will offer low-cost rent for some of the retail space on the property, which Iannacone said would allow for "the next incarnation" of the beloved dive, which has been serving patrons since 1979. "I wanted there to be a place where you could get a $5 beer," Iannacone said.
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