LifeFamily Church is pursuing a major redevelopment of its 19-acre LifeFamily Mueller property, proposing to convert the site into a mixed-use community centered on multifamily housing. The congregation is exploring a plan that would substantially change the current use of the land and introduce a large-scale rental component in one of Austin’s better-known neighborhoods.
According to reporting from the Austin Business Journal, the church has filed an application outlining a vision for 880 multifamily units on the property. The residential component would be accompanied by approximately 15,000 square feet of space dedicated to religious assembly, allowing LifeFamily to maintain a significant worship presence on-site as the land transitions to a more intensive, mixed-use program.
The application indicates that redevelopment of the LifeFamily Mueller site would involve demolition of existing improvements. While the proposal sets out the size of the residential program, it does not clarify how many of the planned units, if any, would be income-restricted or reserved as affordable housing. The filing also states that the church does not intend to use tax credits or other forms of government funding in support of the project, signaling a privately financed approach to the redevelopment.
The contemplated project is part of a broader pattern of large Austin landholdings being repositioned for housing. The Housing Authority of the City of Austin is advancing plans for a new affordable housing development on the 19-acre St. John’s site, while The NRP Group has teamed with Austin ISD to redevelop the former Anita Ferrales Coy school property into an affordable multifamily community. These initiatives, together with the LifeFamily proposal, illustrate how public, institutional, and faith-based landowners are reevaluating existing sites for higher-density residential use.
Local observers note that redevelopments of this type have become a favored strategy for some developers seeking to manage high land costs in Austin. By starting from underutilized or legacy sites instead of pursuing raw land acquisitions, sponsors aim to deliver new housing in locations that are already seen as desirable while attempting to keep eventual living costs more contained. The LifeFamily Mueller concept aligns with this trend, combining a new rental community with continued religious use on a single, reconfigured campus.
