AUSTIN: JUDGES HAVE SPOKEN - BEST NEW BUILDINGS IN AUSTIN CROWNED

This 50-story tower — the fourth-tallest in Austin for the time being — provides a substantial amount of new condominiums in a city starved for housing.

Towering over Rainey Street, 44 East Ave also makes good use of its proximity to the Butler Hike and Bike Trail and Lady Bird Lake. For those reasons and more, the high-rise was honored as the top new multifamily development at ABJ’s 2023 Commercial Real Estate Awards gala.

The view from 44 East Ave

The building offers 309 condos with prices ranging from $800,000 to $1 million, and also includes 13 homes for sale to purchasers who meet the city of Austin’s affordability income requirements. Habitat for Humanity is involved in the process.

The new ground-floor restaurant on Cummings Avenue, Bacalar, will be a new pedestrian magnet in the area, as well as a chance for Austin chef Gabe Erales to serve up authentic Mexican food — it will include a walk-up window selling food and beverages along the trail at hours when most retail establishments do not operate.

Intracorp is the developer, and Tulsa-based Flintco LLC served as general contractor on the project, while Austin-based Urbanspace Real Estate + Interiors oversaw condo sales.

A partnership between the developers and the Trail Conservancy yielded $2 million worth of improvements to the Rainey Street trailhead to Waller Beach Park.

Brad Stein, president of the Texas division of 44 East Ave developer Intracorp, pictured in January 2021 in front of the tower under construction.

Inside the building’s one- to four-bedroom residences, homeowners will find refined, subtle and timeless architecture created by Page.

More than 13,000 square feet of common areas and amenity spaces provide a multitude of gathering spaces, all designed by the award-winning Michael Hsu Office of Architecture. Outside, “green” exterior walls and massive heritage trees blend seamlessly with the lake, park and Austin’s downtown.