The Amaya’s Condo Redevelopment is Austin’s Feel-Good Project of the Year – TOWERS

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A collection of the Amaya redevelopment as part of a feasibility study by Logan Architecture showing the site’s unique location on the corner of a huge freeway interchange. Image: Logan Architecture

A zone change approved by the Austin City Planning Commission this week will allow the Amaya family to stand behind the local Tex-Mex institution Amaya’s Taco Village redeveloping their 1.2 acre restaurant site on the very edge of the North Loop neighborhood near the southwest corner of I-35 and Highway 290, with plans for a five story mixed use building that is an estimated 80 condominiums.

Such a drastic change in the site of a popular neighborhood store would normally cause controversy, but alongside the approval of the city, the project has easily caught on with the people Nordschleife neighborhood association and the area’s Neighborhood Plan Contact Team, for the simple reason that it gives the Amayas the financial security to continue operating their beloved restaurant here, run by the family patriarch Roberto Amaya, as long as you want – the Taco Village moves into a new room on the ground floor, described by its project architect Andrew Logan from Logan architecture as the centerpiece of the new building, the overall design of which is inspired by the history of the restaurant and has “a unique Austin style”.

A depiction of the Amaya redevelopment showing the restaurant area with condominiums rising north from the perspective of Reinli Street. Image: Logan Architecture

It won’t be the first move for the restaurant, which has occupied multiple locations in the area since opening in 1976, but it is a significant change for the land itself, which is currently largely covered by above-ground parking. The rededication point that was unanimously approved this week as part of the approval agenda adds a mixed-use designation to the property – and clears the way for the 60-foot residential building planned here next to the restaurant and a second small retail space on the ground floor, plus structured parking spaces the back of the site.

I can’t even imagine what it would be like to live upstairs with Amaya, it’s too good, it’s like staring straight into the sun

– Paula Forbes (@paulaforbes) September 8, 2021

Now that the family has cleared their building hurdles, all that remains for the project is the actual construction – there is currently no set schedule for construction, but we already believe this uniquely family-oriented plan is the brightest example of a positive one new development we’ve seen lately in a city known to be suspicious of growth and change. Receiving a Tex-Mex staple and providing financial security to its operators while maximizing the use of their property and bringing more housing to the area in one great looking package? It’s downright heartwarming.

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The Amaya’s Condo Redevelopment is Austin’s Feel-Good Project of the Year