Catellus Plans to Develop 221 Additional Homes at Mueller Site

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

East Austin will see new residential projects with the development of 221 additional homes, townhouses and condominiums at the Mueller site. The new residences will be built by David Weekley Homes, Standard Pacific Homes, Streetman Homes and a fourth one to be announced soon, according to The Statesman.

Catellus Development is the developer of Mueller site, which sits on Austin’s former airport site, now transformed into a 711-acre mixed-use project. The first homes are expected to be ready for residents by the end of next year. With the building of these additional homes, the number of residents at the Mueller site will be brought to more than 1,600. The Statesman reported that the 221 new homes will include:

• 30 yard houses to be built by David Weekley and Standard Pacific
• 76 row houses by David Weekley and Streetman
• 42 garden homes by David Weekley
• 24 condominiums by Standard Pacific
• 35 row houses by Streetman
• 14 houses by a yet-to-be-named builder

At present, the Mueller site represents one of the best-performing subdivisions in Austin. The 10- to 15-year public-private project between Catellus and the City of Austin is slated to have 5,500 single-family and multifamily homes, a town center and 4 million square feet of commercial space when finished.

It appears that the residential sector in Austin and Central Texas, in general, continues to defy economic crisis, as builders started 1,760 homes between July and September, 376 more compared to the same period in 2010, according to Residential Strategies Inc. The Statesman reports that this is the first time since late-2006 when starts are outpacing closings. Experts believe this could indicate that the housing market in Central Texas is in recovery mode and could continue to grow due to two main factors: economic and job expansion. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the Austin area produced 15,500 net jobs since August 2010, a 2 percent growth rate compared to the previous year.

Project image of Mueller mixed-use development, courtesy of Catellus