CIM Plans Multifamily Highrise in East Austin, Seeks Zoning Change

CIM Group wants to replace two small office buildings in East Austin with an eight-story apartment building.

But first it needs a zoning exception from the City of Austin.

The Los Angeles-based firm is asking to raise the maximum height for its planned 145-unit apartment complex from 60 to 90 feet, the Austin Business Journal reported. The development site is at 1007 and 1021 East Seventh Street, within the Plaza Saltillo Transit-Oriented Development district.

The 28,000-square-foot lot was appraised in 2022 at just over $6 million, according to the Travis Central Appraisal District. The site currently consists of a converted house where Morales Law Office operates and a single-story office building occupied by the cloud computing consultancy Wursta, the outlet said.

The Planning Commission approved the request on March 14 because it’s near public transportation and it will provide “much needed housing for the city and the planning area,” a staff report said.

CIM, led by managing director Bradley Aaronson, promised that 10 percent of the 145 units will be deemed affordable, or priced within 60 percent of the area’s median family income, which was $66,180 in Travis County as of 2022.

The proposal has gotten pushback from

Organizations like the Guadalupe Association for an Improved Neighborhood have pushed back on the proposal because of concerns about the stress it would cause neighbors who have faced rising costs of living in the rapidly growing East Austin.

The developer should provide more affordable units if the building increases in height, association president Michael Guajardo said.

“There is no doubt that more housing does not result in affordability,” Guajardo told the outlet. “Our crisis is a lack of affordable housing, not a lack of housing. We are experiencing pressures imposed by Austin’s incredible growth. Many of our residents have been displaced by rising rents and property taxes.”

The request could go before the City Council on May 18.

—Quinn Donoghue