The Charles in Austin, TX

The Charles is a 2,920 sq ft tenant improvement project located at 78 Rainey Street, Bldg 2, in Austin, Texas. This renovation and alteration work is registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) under the facility name 78 Rainey St Bungalows. The project is privately funded on private land for private use, with an estimated cost of $500,000.

MMD Architecture serves as the design firm of record for this build. The registered accessibility specialist is Justin K Walton. The owner of record is 80 Rainey Street Owner LLC. The project was registered with TDLR in October 2026, and the filing indicates a construction start date of December 2026. The status is listed as Project Registered, with plan review pending and completion targeted for April 2027.

Project Scale and Cost Context

The estimated cost of $500,000 places this project above the Travis County median of $300,000 for similar renovation and alteration filings. The cost per square foot is $171, which is above the county median of $103. The scheduled build window is 121 days, a duration close to the county median of 98 days.

MMD Architecture has three other TDLR-registered projects totaling $1,300,000. These include Amli in Austin ($500,000, project registered), Amli Building in Austin ($500,000, review complete), and Hurst Garage in Elgin ($300,000, inspection complete). The Charles follows a similar cost structure to the firm’s Austin-based filings.

Local Building Activity

City of Austin permit records show four permits on file at this street address, issued between March 2026 and August 2026. These include two plumbing permits, one electrical permit, and one building permit. The declared valuations on these permits total $1,000,000. The most recent permit entries reference the expedited review for remodeling two bungalows and the installation of an underground fireline and riser.

The surrounding ZIP code 78701 has a population of about 11,114 residents and 8,021 housing units. The median household income is estimated at $154,867, and the median owner-occupied home value is $653,600. Housing in this area is an even mix of owner- and renter-occupied. The Travis County unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in August 2026.