Developer chosen for Statesman’s lakeshore site

Owners of the site where the Austin American-Statesman operates announced Friday that they will partner with Endeavor Real Estate to redevelop their tract of land on the south shore of Lady Bird Lake, the paper reports.

Members of the Cox family bought the land from Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises in 2015 and in early 2016 made a public call for developers’ “interest and qualifications,” via the law firm of Richard Suttle, trustee of the land in question and a longtime player in Austin development.

Endeavor was founded in 1999 and has since developed a number of high-profile local projects, including the original Domain as well as buildings that are part of that complex’s expansion, downtown’s Bowie apartment tower downtown, and others. It has also been chosen to develop the land around Saltillo Plaza, a central Eastside MetroRail stop and former railyard.

The 18.9-acre Statesman site is on a prime downtown spot, adjacent to the south side of the lake directly east of the Congress Avenue bridge—Austin's iconic "bat bridge," where thousands gather every summer to observe the world's largest urban bat colony emerge at night.

Developers and city planners have long eyed the site as a potential part of crafting a coherent development plan along the lake's 97-acre southern waterfront.

• Statesman’s owners pick Austin-based Endeavor as redevelopment partner [AAS]