Evidence of the Texas condo boom is popping up in Hill Country.
New Braunfels is getting its first downtown condo project, a mixed-use development called The Neue, the San Antonio Business Journal reported. City Council approved $2.2 million in sales tax incentives for the project, which is being developed by Gillum Development and Seal Family Properties.
Deputy City Manager Jordan Matney told council the project “most likely not moved forward” without the boost from the city, the outlet reported. The incentives package will provide a $700,000 reimbursement for public improvements and $1.5 million for the developer after the project receives its certificate of occupancy. The city estimates the project will provide a $1.58 million net benefit to the city over a decade.
The four-story project will rise at 699 West San Antonio Street, which is currently home to an 18,000-square-foot retail and warehouse building built in the 1950s. The Neue will feature 43 condo units and about 5,000 square feet of ground-level retail and office space.
New Braunfels is about 33 miles northeast of San Antonio. It’s known for its German heritage. It draws visitors who like to tube or float along the Comal and Guadalupe rivers. Like other towns in the region between Austin and San Antonio, New Braunfels’ population is growing rapidly. Since 2000, its population has surged from 38,000 to more than 100,000 people.
The development of The Neue speaks to Texas’ burgeoning condo market. Unlike cities like New York and Miami, the Lone Star State doesn’t have many condo buildings, as luxury buyers have traditionally favored the ranch.
Developers in the Houston area are testing the waters. Howard Hughes Holdings is developing the state’s first standalone Ritz-Carlton condo building in The Woodlands. When construction started on the 111-unit project, 69 percent of the units were pre-sold. Since the Ritz was announced, Sunny Bathija’s Satya shared plans to develop a standalone St. Regis condo tower in Houston’s Rice/Military neighborhood, and Deiso Moss announced it’s building a Ritz-Carlton condo tower and hotel in Uptown/Galleria.
– Jess Hardin
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