Micro apartment complex planned for artsy Austin district

For younger adults that want a place to live in a bustling area of Austin, Texas, a new apartment complex could be an option if they don’t mind tighter spaces.

This week, Transwestern Development announced plans to develop a micro-unit community, Indie Apartments, in the East Sixth district just east of downtown Austin.

The 55,814-sf property will have 139 units, with 350-sf, one-bedroom units and 520-sf, two-bedroom options. The fully furnished apartments save on space with built-in storage units, Murphy beds, hideaway kitchen modules, and convertible tables.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that rent will cost between $1,100 and $2,000 a month.

The apartments are just a block away from the Plaza Saltillo metro station and a few blocks east of an arts, food, and entertainment district, Sixth Street.

“Younger generations like Millennials have personal incomes that aren’t growing as fast as rental rates in most areas, yet they want to live in the middle of restaurants, bars, and entertainment areas,” Josh Delk, VP at Transwestern Development, said in a statement. “This project will answer that growing demand for more efficient, affordable living space that is located close to numerous amenities.”

The building, which also has a 2,500-sf restaurant, will be across the street from another Transwestern Development project. A 445,952-sf mixed-use complex will have a 94,500-sf office building,10,000 sf of retail space for three restaurants and a grocery store, and a 350-unit apartment building, named The Arnold.

“We strategically planned these two projects, Indie Apartments and The Arnold and its adjacent office building, to complement each other and provide a suite of amenities for residents of both communities,” Delk said. “The residential population in this area is a diverse mix—old and young, permanent residents, business travelers and visitors, etc.—so we have designed living spaces to cater to a variety of renters."

Construction will begin in June and the first units are expected to deliver in August 2017. Along with Transwestern Development, the Building Team includes Martines Palmeiro Construction (GC) and Wilder Belshaw Architects (architect).

The Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team announced that it has reached an agreement with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County on a $6.5 billion, 86-acre mixed-use development that will include a new 30,000-seat ballpark and an array of office, housing, hotel, retail, and restaurant space totaling 8 million sf.

Engineers | Sep 15, 2023

NIST investigation of Champlain Towers South collapse indicates no sinkhole

Investigators from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) say they have found no evidence of underground voids on the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse, according to a new NIST report. The team of investigators have studied the site’s subsurface conditions to determine if sinkholes or excessive settling of the pile foundations might have caused the collapse.

MFPRO+ Research | Sep 11, 2023

Conversions of multifamily dwellings to ‘mansions’ leading to dwindling affordable stock

Small multifamily homes have historically provided inexpensive housing for renters and buyers, but developers have converted many of them in recent decades into larger, single-family units. This has worsened the affordable housing crisis, say researchers.

Deciphering the Differences in Smart Lock Networks

Adaptive Reuse | Aug 31, 2023

New York City creates team to accelerate office-to-residential conversions

New York City has a new Office Conversion Accelerator Team that provides a single point of contact within city government to help speed adaptive reuse projects. Projects that create 50 or more housing units from office buildings are eligible for this new program.