Why is This Luxury Development Focused on Water Quality?

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Houston—Multifamily development, construction and property management company Morgan has broken ground on Pearl Lantana, its latest Pearl luxury apartment development. The 444-unit development is located in southwest Austin at 4601 Rialto Blvd., and is slated for a late 2016 completion.

Pearl Lantana will offer a peaceful, park-like setting separated from downtown Austin by miles of greenbelt, and will deliver dramatic downtown Austin views. Residents will be able to choose from a selection of one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury residences ranging from 660 to 1,676 square feet.

Getting the development to groundbreaking stage was not without its hurdles.

“Not only did the site require a re-zone and amendment to the future land use map for the area, it is also located within the Barton Creek Watershed, specifically the Edward’s Aquifer Contributing Zone,” Carter Bechtol, Houston-based Morgan’s executive vice president, told MHN.

“Given this, we were limited [in] the amount of impervious coverage on the site to 25 percent. We worked with the neighboring communities and the city of Austin to entitle a low-density project that focused on stringent water quality standards and the preservation of much of the site’s existing trees and brush. The low density of the site also benefits the project’s future residents with a park-like setting on 46 acres surrounded by full-growth trees. On top of the existing landscape, we will add hundreds more newly planted trees.”

In addition, he said, Morgan worked with the Oak Hills Trail Association to ensure a multi-purpose trail would be placed on the site to tie into the neighborhood’s current and future trail system. “The portion of the trail on our site is just a fraction of the overall vision created by the city of Austin,” Bechtol added.
Apartment homes at Pearl Lantana will feature upscale touches such as open floor plans, high-end wood-style flooring, walk-in closets, contemporary track and pendant lighting, under-mount sinks, kitchen islands in select units, USB outlets and patios or balconies.

Resort-style pools with poolside cabanas, platinum athletic club with private spin bike studio, e-lounge, club room, outdoor areas, grilling station and kitchen are among the luxury amenities offered to Pearl Lantana residents.

“Southwest Austin, specifically along Southwest Parkway, is a very attractive area because of its proximity to downtown and to highly-ranked public schools in the Austin Independent School District,” Bechtol said. “In addition, a number of tech companies have offices there, including AMD, Solar Winds and Freescale, which are all just minutes away from the project.”

Pearl Lantana will be designed and managed in accordance with Morgan’s successful “Pearl” brand. That brand is a highly specialized product focusing on the needs of individual submarkets, offering amenities besting the competition by focusing specifically on the identified needs of today’s residents, Bechtol added.

“Morgan’s goal with the Pearl brand is to strive for excellence, focusing on the multifamily product that is truly unique, plus customer service to tenants through Morgan’s esteemed property management platform,” he said.