One of South Lamar’s sleepier stretches is on deck for a serious makeover. Stonelake Capital Partners says it plans to turn a roughly 5.2-acre site at 1700 S. Lamar Blvd. into a mixed-use project with apartments stacked over street-level retail, replacing a long-underused business park. The property cleared a key rezoning hurdle in 2025, and neighbors have already been pressing the developer for design tweaks and protections as the plan inches toward construction.
According to the Austin Business Journal, Stonelake is preparing to start work and has outlined plans to swap out the South Lamar Business Park for new housing and retail. The firm, which lists a slate of Sun Belt projects on its Stonelake Capital Partners site, owns the land and is moving the proposal through Austin’s review process.
Rezoning and project terms
The site picked up crucial zoning changes last year under case C14-2024-0163, which applied DB90 entitlements to the South Lamar frontage and a conditional overlay to the western tracts. According to City of Austin planning documents, Stonelake agreed to a 75-foot building setback along the western property line, internal trash rooms, and an 8-foot fence along the shared perimeter, all required before certificates of occupancy can be issued. City staff recommended CS-V-DB90 for the Lamar-facing parcel and CS-V-CO for the western parcels so the project could add density while limiting certain uses.
Neighbors pushed for setbacks and trash fixes
Neighbors who weighed in during the rezoning say they secured tangible concessions, including the deep setback and trash-handling requirements. As reported by Austin Monitor, adjacent homeowner Sharlene Leurig told commissioners she valued the back-and-forth with the developer, saying, “I appreciate that commitment.” Supporters at the Planning Commission countered that the business park is underused and that stacking more homes near transit fits the South Lamar corridor’s future.
What DB90 means for height and affordability
The DB90 combining district lets a developer add up to 30 feet on top of base zoning height, up to a maximum of 90 feet, in exchange for income-restricted housing and other community benefits. The ordinance that created DB90 lays out minimum affordability requirements and lets builders meet them either with on-site units or through a fee-in-lieu, according to City of Austin records. That framework is what allowed staff to back extra density at the South Lamar site while tying it to protections for nearby homes.
For people living and driving along South Lamar, the project offers the promise of new apartments and ground-floor shops on a busy corridor, along with the noise, dust, and detours that come with a large construction site. Stonelake says it aims to start work soon, but final site plans and building permits still have to move through city review before heavy equipment rolls in. We will be watching city filings for site plans, demolition permits, and a clearer construction timeline.
