Austin Post Office May Go Condo

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Kirk Ladendorf, Kate Alexander

The U.S. Postal Service is seeking development proposals for its downtown site, opening up new possibilities for more residential development.

The Postal Service has set an Aug. 20 deadline for proposals for the site at 510 Guadalupe St. between West Fifth and West Sixth streets.

Already, one developer says it's very interested, and city officials say they expect more will make a bid for the block, especially given the shrinking supply of downtown land that doesn't have height restrictions.

"We absolutely plan to respond to it," said Billy Holley, a developer for Austin projects at Novare Group.

The Atlanta company, with local partner Andrews Urban LLC, is building the 430-unit condominium tower called 360 at Third and Nueces streets. The developers also are partners in a planned major renovation of the Austin Music Hall.

"Our goal is to support Austin's vision for a diverse and vibrant core, so it's definitely something we'll pursue," Holley said.

Mayor Will Wynn said he has been lobbying postal officials in Washington to put the land up for redevelopment, to help achieve the city's goal of having 25,000 people living downtown within 10 years.

"No block in downtown Austin has been more underutilized than the one occupied by our current post office," Wynn said in a statement Thursday. "I have desperately wanted to see it play its rightful role in the revitali- zation of downtown."

The post office, completed in 1996 at a cost of $6.2 million, is two stories high and occupies about a fourth of the block, with the rest used for parking. It's north of Republic Square Park.

"This is a prime piece of property that, if put in private hands could generate a building of high value to downtown and to the city and could build a great deal of tax base to the benefit of everyone," said Charles Betts, executive director of the Downtown Austin Alliance.

The Postal Service says that any proposals must include a plan for building a new post office on part of the property or within a block.

There will be plenty of interest, Council Member Brewster McCracken said, because the site isn't affected by the Capitol view corridor law, which limits development on some downtown sites to protect views of the Capitol from certain vantage points.

Some downtown leaders say they'd be happy to see something replace the post office, which has been criticized as an unattractive design.

"It's about time that something happens with that site," said Kevin Burns, owner of Urbanspace Realtors LLP and vice president of the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association. "It's a hideous block."

The block is pivotal to creating a vibrant downtown, Burns said, because it serves as a link between the high-rise residences on the west end and along the Congress Avenue corridor.

"We should have something spectacular there," he said.