The Triangle (parcel of land named known as such because of the shape of the lot) site is a 20+ acre parcel of land located at the intersections of 45th Street, Guadalupe Street and Lamar Boulevard in Austin, Texas. The property was owned by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) (which ceased operations on Sept. 1, 2004), and the TDMHMR Board determined that private commercial development would be the most beneficial use of the property for the State. In July 1996, TDMHMR selected Cencor Realty Services, Inc. to develop the property. A condition to development was that Cencor had to work with and take into consideration the community's desires and needs. Neighborhood groups and residents of the area were concerned that development would increase traffic, aggravate flooding and ruin the character of the neighborhood. After public meetings and a charette process failed to produce a consensus between the developer and neighborhood activists regarding the design the State created a Special Board of Review in the fall of 1998 to make a decision on the final plan.
Cencor originally envisioned a 275,000-350,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by a movie theater, grocery store and book superstore. Neighborhood activists wanted the development to be more residential and to avoid strip mall style parking lots and stores. Years of negotiations resulted in the elimination of large retail buildings in favor of multistory, mixed-use buildings and two smaller retail-only structures with approximately 115,000 square feet of retail space and 700+ apartments. A large surface parking lot was replaced by streets broken into blocks, and nearly 6 acres of open park space was preserved. Work on the project began in late 2003 with the first tenants moving in the second half of 2005.
From the guide to the Nancy Grantham Triangle Development Collection AR. 1999. 004., 1997-1998, (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, )
