Image: City of Austin
Image: City of Austin
The community engagement process for the design of a new downtown electrical substation at 55 East Avenue on the edge of the Rainey Street District has reached a conclusion — of the three themes put to a vote a couple of months ago, Austin Energy announced yesterday that the “modern” design option for screening the facility eventually won out. Here’s what that looks like, if you don’t recall:
A board from Austin Energy’s substation presentation showing the “Modern” design option, which eventually won out over other options in the engagement process. Image: City of Austin
We also had an opportunity to vote on a name, and despite the bold submissions of Sparky McSparkface, Volty McVoltface, and Subby McSubstation, the simple, yet sufficiently-descriptive Rainey Street Substation took the gold. Austinites taking the survey also submitted landscaping preferences, which included some interesting options like artificial boulders and succulents — but in the end, natural boulders and landscaping with native grasses and wildflowers were the clerar winners. Per Austin Energy, finalized renderings of the substation and its chosen design features will come out by the end of the summer.
Survey respondents went with the natural boulders and native plants presented in these landscaping options. Image: City of Austin
The modern design is attractive and likely the best choice of the three options presented — the system works, folks! — but the most important feature of this substation will be its improvements to the sidewalk and streetscape of East Avenue, a section of the Rainey Street District currently rivaling the actual Rainey Street itself for upcoming development and future potential, not to mention its own access and mobility concerns.
If we seem weirdly invested in this seemingly mundane piece of infrastructure, it’s because the conditions that led to its placement at 55 East Avenue didn’t anticipate the current growth patterns of the neighborhood — the city bought the site in 1999 — and now the downtown substation’s design must do its best to not completely screw up the street-level experience in a small corridor with multiple hotels and at least one condo tower in the works on either side of it.
Image: Austin Energy
By improving the sidewalks, and screening the station with some “colorful metal elements” alongside other landscaping, seating, and so on, the intent is to elevate a traditionally ugly facility to something that arguably improves the district, or at least doesn’t do anything to seriously harm it. Some of the survey responses highlighted in Austin Energy’s report make it very clear this is a priority for residents, with at least one person politely begging the city not to “make it an ugly eyesore like the Seaholm substation.” The pressure’s on!
We’d much rather have you folks reading our site instead of NextDoor, which as far as we can tell is a social network designed to make you hate your neighbors. Image: City of Austin
Not to brag, but this very site shows up quite a bit in the community engagement report — turns out the forms embedded in our two articles on the substation captured more than 200 survey responses alone, meaning our readers had a significant influence on which design eventually won the day. Did you know you could actively shape the future of downtown just by reading our blog? Just one more reason to subscribe to our newsletter!
Rainey Street Condos For Sale
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$1,518,000
44 East AVE #2001
Austin, TX -
$1,650,000
44 East AVE #3207
Austin, TX -
$365,000
603 Davis ST #1106
Austin, TX -
$825,000
603 Davis ST #1902
Austin, TX -
$790,000
603 Davis ST #1302
Austin, TX -
$1,848,570
70 Rainey ST #2606
Austin, TX -
$879,300
70 Rainey ST #2807
Austin, TX -
$563,273
70 Rainey #1709
Austin, TX -
$633,000
44 East AVE #1908
Austin, TX -
$961,910
44 East AVE #1410
Austin, TX -
$449,900
54 Rainey ST #319
Austin, TX -
$339,000
44 East AVE #2806
Austin, TX -
$631,583
70 Rainey ST #2505
Austin, TX -
$1,828,570
70 Rainey ST #2506
Austin, TX -
$830,700
70 Rainey ST #2307
Austin, TX -
$548,382
70 Rainey ST #2803
Austin, TX -
$1,200,000
70 Rainey ST #1501
Austin, TX -
$1,319,242
70 Rainey ST #1801
Austin, TX -
$2,800,000
44 East AVE #4504
Austin, TX -
$735,184
70 Rainey ST #3105
Austin, TX -
$2,200,000
70 Rainey ST #2801
Austin, TX -
$1,300,000
44 East AVE #4005
Austin, TX -
$594,999
603 Davis ST #1204
Austin, TX -
$1,250,000
70 Rainey ST #1304
Austin, TX -
$669,000
54 RAINEY ST #918
Austin, TX
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$1,518,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,032 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$1,650,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,993 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$365,000Lot Size175 sqft
Home Size809 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$825,000Lot Size305 sqft
Home Size1,597 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$790,000Lot Size218 sqft
Home Size1,597 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,848,570Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,179 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$879,300Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,128 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$563,273Lot SizeN/A
Home Size718 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$633,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size793 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$961,910Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,260 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$449,900Lot Size175 sqft
Home Size756 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$339,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size481 sqft
BedsN/A
Baths1 Bath
-
$631,583Lot SizeN/A
Home Size837 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$1,828,570Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,179 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$830,700Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,128 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$548,382Lot SizeN/A
Home Size663 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$1,200,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,697 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,319,242Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,697 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$2,800,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,858 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths4 Baths
-
$735,184Lot SizeN/A
Home Size837 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$2,200,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,851 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$1,300,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,594 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$594,999Lot Size218 sqft
Home Size1,252 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,250,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,321 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$669,000Lot Size262 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
