Charlotte-based Asana Partners announced on Feb. 4, 2026 that it had bought The Arboretum. Its stated plan was to rework the 197,105-square-foot open-air center at Great Hills Trail and Research Boulevard into a "premier shopping destination," with site work starting in summer 2026 and finishing by early 2027. As of this fall, the most visible changes are inside individual tenant suites, not in the shared spaces between them. A Pilates studio opened in September. A chicken restaurant opens in early November. A Raising Cane's is on file with the state. The patios and reworked event space are still on the calendar for later.
For people in Great Hills, this changes what to expect over the next few months. The center is being refilled one storefront at a time before it gets redesigned as a whole.
What the owner promised, and when
Community Impact's March report laid out Asana's first round of plans for the property.
- Common areas reconfigured to host live music, pop-up retail and community programming
- New patios for outdoor dining
- Better connections and wayfinding across the property
- New storefront signs and other upgrades
In the same article, Asana managing director Brad Kantrowitz described the company's approach this way:
"Great neighborhood centers have evolved into community gathering spaces. The Arboretum exemplifies this model, and our focus will be on bringing that to life through physical improvements and a thoughtful, long-term merchandising approach to the shopping and dining experiences offered here."
Asana already knows Austin. Community Impact notes that the firm owns commercial space at The Triangle in Central Austin. In late August, the Austin Business Journal reported that the upgrade plan is "now in motion." The early-2027 finish date from the original announcement is the only completion target on record.
The change you can already walk into
The City of Austin's issued building permit data shows the work at 10000 Research Blvd. so far. The 2026 permits cover tenant spaces, including fitness studio work at Unit 124 and retail work at Unit 250. Unit 124 turned out to be the first new arrival you can see.
JETSET Pilates opened at Ste. 124 on Sept. 11 with preview classes and held its grand opening Oct. 3. Across Great Hills Trail, more is on the way:
| Business | Address | Status as of mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| JETSET Pilates | 10000 Research Blvd., Ste. 124 | Open since Sept. 11 |
| Crunch Fitness | 8716 Research Blvd., Ste. 100 | Scheduled to open Oct. 28 |
| Tumble 22 | 9761 Great Hills Trail, Ste. B | Scheduled to open Nov. 7 |
| Raising Cane's | 9830 Great Hills Trail | Registered with TDLR; projected Oct. 5, 2026 start, April 29, 2027 completion |
These openings cover two needs, places to work out and quick meals. Crunch Fitness is adding a Pilates studio for its top-tier members, so the two fitness openings overlap a bit just up Research Boulevard from each other. Community Impact's October roundup says Tumble 22 is "heading for the Arboretum" with a menu of chicken sandwiches, tenders and sides.
Raising Cane's is the slowest of the four. Its listing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation describes a 3,252-square-foot building with the status "Project Registered." That status means paperwork, not a groundbreaking. On the state's projected schedule, the building wouldn't be finished until late April 2027.
The anchors haven't moved
The long-time tenants are all still here. The Arboretum's current directory lists Barnes & Noble, Estancia, Café Du Bliss and The Cheesecake Factory. Community Impact's March article also counts Pottery Barn, ATX Optometry and Ao5 Gallery among the center's local and national tenants. LOFT and Alexia Gavela Bridal appear in the directory too.
This matters for the redesign. Kantrowitz talked about a "long-term merchandising approach," and the current lineup is the starting point. The new arrivals so far have been added alongside the old tenants, not in place of them.
The gathering space already exists on Saturdays
Asana's top goal is to turn common areas into places for events, pop-ups and community programming. The center already hosts something close to that every week.
The Arboretum Food & Artisan Market sets up every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Juliet Kitchen parking lot at Great Hills Trail and Jollyville Road. Organizer Penny V Productions says it hosts more than 50 vendors a week, selling organic vegetables, local meats, gluten-free and vegan goods, hot food, coffee, baked goods, flowers and plants, dog products and artisan wares. That's already the mix of pop-up retail and community activity the redesign plans to build, running before any new patios are poured.
The market adds two weeknight events this season:
- Halloween Market: Thursday, Oct. 29, 4 to 8 p.m.
- Holiday Market: Thursday, Dec. 10, 4 to 8 p.m.
Both are on Thursday evenings, so they reach the after-work crowd that a Saturday morning market misses. The Halloween Market falls one day after Crunch's scheduled opening, so that week brings two new reasons to be on this stretch of Research Boulevard.
Gateway is going through the same thing
The Arboretum isn't the only shopping center on this stretch with a new owner. Edens, the investment firm that owns Springdale Shopping Center, announced in January that it had bought Gateway Shopping Center, about a month before Asana's announcement. Edens senior vice president Michael Hale told Community Impact that the firm plans to upgrade Gateway's gathering areas, fill key vacancies such as the former Saks Off 5th space, and keep tenants like Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack, Ulta, Best Buy and Regal Cinema.
Both new owners describe the same goal: more shared space and more reasons to stay after the errand is done. Within one winter, the two biggest shopping centers on Great Hills' side of Research Boulevard came under new owners with similar plans.
Getting there on the new 183
The way people get to The Arboretum changed this year too. The 183 North project opened its northbound express lanes on Jan. 2, 2026, and the northbound MoPac connector on Jan. 31. KVUE reported that the southbound express lanes and southbound MoPac connection opened Feb. 28. Each direction now has two tolled express lanes and four non-tolled lanes.
One detail matters for anyone heading to Great Hills. According to the project's express lanes guide, if you enter the 183 Express Lanes from the MoPac Express Lane, you bypass Loop 360, Great Hills Trail and Braker Lane. To reach The Arboretum, leave the MoPac Express Lane and take the existing direct connector to the regular US 183 lanes. Express tolls change with traffic, and the price posted on the sign before you enter is the price you pay.
Construction isn't finished around Great Hills Trail. The project says finishing work, including asphalt, sidewalks and frontage-road features, will continue through the rest of 2026. Its current closure list includes a northbound left-turn closure south of Great Hills Trail, a northbound lane closure from Great Hills Trail to Braker Lane, and a southbound right-lane closure from the Braker Lane on-ramp to Great Hills Trail. If you're driving to the Halloween Market or the Tumble 22 opening, check that list first.
The Arboretum's new tenants, its planned patios and the last stretch of 183 work all land between now and early 2027. If you live near Great Hills and want to know what The Arboretum's makeover could mean for your street, Meryl Hawk can walk you through it. Meet with Meryl.
