Brodie Oaks Shopping Center Transforming on South Lamar

Nothing beats shopping and dining in one of the many Austin, Texas outside shopping centers. One of the many outdoor shopping centers is Brodie Oaks, located right on the northeast corner of South Lamar Blvd. This regional community shopping center offers an assortment of retail and restaurants such as Hobby Lobby, Pinthouse Pizza, Sprouts and more. Barshop & Oles Company, the owner of the Brodie Oaks Shopping Center is following the Austin trend of revisioning their development.

Barshop and Oles is a predominate real estate developer in Central and South Texas. They are actively involved with over 2.5 million square feet of retail, industrial and mixed-used developments. On December 3, 2020, Barshop and Oles Company revealed their concept for the future of Brodie Oaks. This proposal is no small feat as it could cost up to $1 billion over the next 10 years. Brodie Oaks would transform to a mixed-use vicinity with 1,600 residences dwellings, 1.1 million square-feet of office space, 450 hotel rooms and 140,000 square-feet of retail and restaurants. The development team says the project would still have about the same amount of retail space.

According to the article written by Shonda Novak of the Austin American Statesman, the 3 million square-feet of development would compare to two Barton Creek Square malls in square footage.

The project construction will be built vertically rather than horizontally. For those who may not be familiar with the area, Brodie Oaks is a smaller area off of South Lamar and Capital of Texas Hwy. Currently the site consists of mostly single-story retail spaces. There is a two-story office building on the back side, all of which would be raised (Novak, Austin American Statesman)

How will this Affect Current Retail and Restaurants?

Construction is expected to begin till late 2022 or in 2023. Barshop & Oles is pursuing zoning for a planned unit development, or PUD, for the shopping center. A PUD allows developers flexibility under a variety of market conditions, which change over time. The Austin City Council would have the final say about the zoning change after review by many city boards and commissions. The current Brodie Oaks tenants have been informed of the future development and some have begun to vacate.

How will this affect the Greenbelt?

Even with all the new development and construction, Austin and its’ people take high regard of being nature friendly. Barshop and Oles executives say the redevelopment will comply with Austin’s Save Our Springs water ordinance.

The new development would convert almost 14 acres to green space, accounting for more than a third of the site. The project will aim to preserve all the heritage trees on site or transfer them and plans to connect to the Garton Springs Greenbelt. Trails, walkways and bike paths are in the works with the renovation.