Far South Congress Booms, including a Florida Apartment Developer's First Foray into Austin

Austin Business Journal by Erin Edgemon

Florida-based apartment developer PointOne Holdings has partnered with The NRP Group to build its first community in Austin.

Construction is expected to start in the next few weeks on the 308-unit apartment development, dubbed The Knoll at South Congress, on 13 acres at 8103 and 8121 S. Congress Ave. The clubhouse and the first apartments will deliver in June 2020 with the complex fully opening by the end of 2020, according to PointOne and NRP.

“While this is PointOne’s first community in Austin we have been targeting this market for some time because of its strong economy and job growth,” Ben Colonomos, principal at PointOne Holdings, said in an email. “Our development partner, The NRP Group, has been an ideal partner to enter Austin with as they have a proven track record here, opening six multifamily communities in as many years, and have been successful differentiating their product amongst sophisticated competition.”

The NRP Group is the general contractor on The Knoll at South Congress. The company will also manage the complex. JHP Architecture in Dallas is the architect, and LJA Engineering is the civil engineer.

PointOne, a real estate investment and management firm, declined to release projected rental prices for the units but said they would be competitive with other apartment communities in the submarket.

The average price for an apartment in Austin is $1,263 a month, according to Apartmentdata.com.
Amenities at The Knoll at South Congress will include a fitness center, resort-style pool with outdoor grilling areas, a dog park and spa, attached garages, a community sky-lounge, package concierge service and bike storage. High-end finishes for the apartments include stone countertops, stainless steel appliances and electronic unit entries.

While this is PointOne’s first project in Austin, Cleveland-based NRP has been building multifamily complexes in Texas for years. It has delivered more than 8,000 apartment units in the San Antonio area in recent years, earning the 2019 Developer of the Year nod in the San Antonio Business Journal’s inaugural Building San Antonio Awards.

NRP has developed and constructed Austin apartment complexes such as Addison at Kramer Station near The Domain, Bridge at Harris Ridge in North Austin and The Terrace at Walnut Creek in Northeast Austin.
Colonomos said the Austin project is a departure from PointOne’s previous business strategy of acquiring and renovating value-add properties. In the last 18 months, the company has shifted to new construction investment opportunities.

Although far south of the stretch of South Congress known to most tourists, The Knoll at South Congress is coming to a high-growth area already teeming with multifamily and retail.

It will be just north of Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. and flex creative space is being built nearby at The Collective at 7601 S. Congress, a six-building development where Last Stand Brewing has leased space.
Further south, near South Congress Avenue and East Slaughter Lane, an H-E-B grocery store and South Congress Station retail center are both under construction. The new grocery store is expected to open in late 2019 or early 2020.

Anchored by a Gold’s Gym, tenants for the 53,000 square-foot shopping complex South Congress Station include Pet Supermarket, a Schlotzsky’s eatery and Deca Dental.