Just last week, the Austin City Council waived up to $202,747 indevelopment fees for CLB Partners Ltd., the developer, because theproject fits into the city's Smart Growth program. The money is amix of fees for streets and infrastructure improvements, licensingand inspections.

Smart Growth is what has drawn employee-rich operations such asComputer Sciences Corp. to the Downtown, where it is moving into atwo-building complex. The program also helped lead Intel Corp. toput an office building a few blocks from the Austin City Loftsproject. The CA-based chipmaker, however, halted work on thebuilding earlier this year.

The project is to have 62 flats and 20 two-story loft homes withthe bottom four stories devoted to parking and retail. The unitswill range in size from 1,100 sf to 2,800 sf. It will be situatedon the northwest corner of Fifth and West streets on the banks ofShoal Creek. The company operates a sales office near the site.