The longtime industrial wonderland that was East St. Elmo Road looks to be completely transformed, soon enough, with mixed-use properties aimed at creative classers and the businesses they own/work for.
The proposed Saint Elmo Market District project (originally called "Saint Elmo Market") isn’t the latest one to be proposed for the development hot zone—south of Ben White Boulevard and east of South Congress Avenue—but, according to a Thursday Austin Monitor "Whispers" column report, developer Maker Brothers has closed on the land and recently announced that it will be moving forward.
The developer also revealed design changes that depart from plans made public a year ago, according to a recent Community Impact story; the same article noted that the project’s cost estimate jumped $30 million, to $150 million, in the past year, but that plans to include 40,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor public market space, 100,000 square feet of office space, a 400-unit apartment complex, a condominium development, and a boutique hotel remain.
A $3 million transformation of a former school bus factory into the public market constitutes Phase 1 of the project, which is expected to break ground at the end of the year, according to the same story; the multifamily development and parking structure will take place in Phase 2.