Officials: Growth, industry prompt need for more housing
A condominium development planned for downtown could help with housing needs as Taylor experiences more high-tech and industrial growth, officials said.
Metropolitan Development Co. and Derive Development Group July 10 announced the construction of a mixed-use community called The Ferguson, which will offer housing, shopping, eating and other amenities at 1300 W. Second St.
The announcement came during a ribbon cutting for the development’s sales gallery at 109 W. Fourth St.
“The housing product we’re offering here just doesn’t exist anywhere else in the Austin metro at these prices,” said Karla Dupre, Derive Development. “When you consider that Samsung (Austin Semiconductor) manufacturing facility is being built down the road, and over 45 new industrial and commercial projects are coming to Taylor, this is an investment in both lifestyle and future value.”
Pawel Hardej, principal of Metropolitan Development, is excited about constructing The Ferguson.
He also insisted gentrification will not take place in Taylor. “We want people to stay in their communities and not be forced out,” Hardej said.
The Ferguson will be a four-story structure with businesses on the first floor and residences on the other three, he added. Hardej encouraged small businesses to consider setting up shop at The Ferguson. “This will be an opportunity for small businesses to buy their space instead of rent,” he added. Dupre said her firm came to Taylor more than a year ago to see if the city would be the “right fit” for development. She believes it is.
“With the small-town charm and Samsung, we feel like there’s a need for condos here in Taylor,” Dupre said. “When we go into a market, we like to explore it to see if it’s a good fit and if we’re needed there. We want to be part of the growth and deliver housing that’s needed here.”
Dupre said groundbreaking for The Ferguson will take place in August or September. Once construction begins, Dupre said it will take 18-20 months to complete, which would put the completion date in 2027.
The Ferguson features 82 condos including two commercial spaces and six live/work storefront homes for sale or lease.
The first phase of residential condominium units is located on levels two, three and four in two historically styled elevator buildings to be constructed along Second Street.
“We wanted to build housing where you have existing infrastructure,” Hardej said. “Our mission is to build attainable- price housing.”
Hardej said his firm has developments in Austin, Fort Worth and San Antonio.
The businessman said Taylor is gaining prominence among cutting- edge operations as well as the University of Texas, which announced plans last year to build a campus in Taylor, and that makes housing an asset.
“As major employers like Samsung and University of Texas invest billions into this area, the need for smart, attainable housing has never been greater,” he said in a prepared release. “The Ferguson delivers on that need with highquality homes at price points that are simply no longer possible in downtown Austin.”
According to a recent story in the Press, Samsung and Tesla may be in talks to supply the latter with chips for its electronic vehicles, a possibility not lost on entrepreneurs.
“With Samsung, Tesla and many businesses moving in here from Korea, Canada, Europe, Taylor is experiencing an unprecedented resurgence—a return to its early 1900s vibrancy with contemporary conveniences,” Hardej said in the release. “Taylor is at the center of this economic boom, and now it’s also a place where homeownership is still within
reach.” The Ferguson is designed to “directly address the regional housing affordability crisis,” with condominiums starting in the mid $200,000s, developers said.
An artist’s rendering shows one possible look for The Ferguson in downtown Taylor on West Second Street. Illustration by Pappageorge Haymes
