Parallel Company, an Austin-based development firm, started construction in September on an 18-story, 558-bedroom student housing community on Nueces and 21st streets that will begin leasing in late spring 2020.

Parallel principal David Pierce said in an email that the new housing community will be Parallel’s third high-rise in West Campus, following MUZE and University House. MUZE is located across the street from the location of the future housing community and was finished in August. Pierce said the 2020 Nueces development, which is not officially named yet, will offer street-level townhomes as well as 25 different apartment floor plans and 153 fully furnished units.

“High-rise townhomes are limited in availability in West Campus and Austin,” Pierce said. “(The housing community will) offer a number of shared bedroom, shared bath options for those residents wanting to share expenses and live closer with their friends.”

Although it’s less than two months into the 2019-2020 school year, students are already beginning to look for West Campus housing for 2020-2021, said Morgan McClure, West Campus Living real estate agent.

McClure said students are stuggling to find housing within their budget in West Campus. She said students should begin looking early due to the competitive market.

“The tech industry has had a lot to do with (Austin’s population growth),” McClure said. “The rates are going up because more people are living here now. But what’s so expensive to the people that were born and raised in Austin is a great deal to people who have been living in Silicon Valley. That’s in turn made West Campus more expensive as well.”

Anna Richards, radio-television-film senior, said she transferred to UT her sophomore year and moved to the Riverside area instead of West Campus. She said the expense of West Campus living and how early students began signing leases surprised her.

“I didn’t expect that people would start looking for (next year’s) housing in September and October,” Richards said. “At the school I transferred from, people waited until late in the spring to sign leases.”

Pierce said the rate of Austin’s growth combined with the walkable community makes West Campus an attractive neighborhood to develop university-focused properties. He said the new housing community will have significant outdoor space and be
environmentally friendly.

“UT represents the future of urban campus housing in dynamic cities where (city and university) work in harmony,” Pierce said.