Albion West End, the 30-story tower planned by Koplar Properties and Albion Residential at the corner of Lindell and Kingshighway, is finally moving forward.
The highly anticipated project was initially unveiled on February 22nd 2022 and navigated a lengthy approval process and elevated interest rates and material costs. More recently, people passing by the site have noticed geotechincal testing drills on site drilling in several locations. This stage of the development process occurred in the months leading up to the project's unveiling, but the move to have more intensive testing done makes sense as the project nears a formal construction start.
On Tuesday (January 28th 2025), the City's LCRA will officially designate the Koplar-Albion development team as the developer of the property. In early 2023, the Board of Aldermen approved a bill that issues a 10-year, 75% tax abatement for the tower.
The plans for Albion West End have changed slightly since the initial project unveiling. When the Preservation Board took up the project in May 2022, a change was made that saw the project shift southward just a little bit in order for the setback on Lindell to be more in-line with the neighboring structures. The project was also pushed westward just a bit towards Kingshighway.
Official figures given in the latest LCRA resolution also show that the unit and parking space count changed. Initial reporting from February 2022 stated that the building would have 293 apartments and 340 parking spaces. Revised numbers for the Albion include 305 apartments (+12), 308 parking spaces (-32), and a $145 Million (+$15 Million) price tag. A 1500sf commercial space is also included.
Albion West End is designed by Chicago-based Hartshorne Plunkard Architects.
