Plans crystallize for office tower on site of Hooters restaurant

By Will Anderson – Austin Business Journal

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More details have emerged for the high-rise planned on the site of the Hooters restaurant just south of downtown.

Stream Realty Partners LP announced Friday that it intends to break ground in the first quarter of 2019 on a 350,611-square-foot office tower at 401 S. First St. The building, to be called RiverSouth, would rise 15 stories, with 18,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level.

The 1.4-acre site is being built as a planned unit development, a zoning that will allow taller and denser construction. The property has been called the Snoopy PUD because the land is owned by the family of the famed “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz.

Stream has agreed to pay the city $3.1 million for infrastructure improvements and community benefits as it builds in the South Central Waterfront Initiative, a plan to replicate the density and walkability of downtown on the other side of Lady Bird Lake.

Stream is teasing amenities for RiverSouth such as a rooftop bar and lounge, an on-site fitness studio and locker rooms, bike valet and high-end interior finishes.

“With permanent and unimpeded views of downtown and Lady Bird Lake, RiverSouth will also offer easier access to what is becoming a more and more congested downtown, while still offering a short walk to the heart of the [Central Business District] and the amenities therein,” David Blackbird, Stream’s regional managing partner, said in a statement.

The other members of the development team are The Beck Group, Dwg, Big Red Dog Engineering, Cardno and MEJ & Associates.

Stream is still awaiting final site development permits from the city, which it expects to secure in the fourth quarter. The building should be finished in 2021.