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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$450,000
40 N Interstate 35 Highway #5C1
Austin, TX -
$995,000
54 Rainey Street #1118
Austin, TX -
$459,000
603 Davis Street #1908
Austin, TX -
$795,000
603 Davis Street #1502
Austin, TX -
$595,773
70 Rainey #2009
Austin, TX -
$365,000
54 Rainey ST #519
Austin, TX -
$649,000
54 Rainey Street #1207
Austin, TX -
$849,000
70 Rainey Street #2507
Austin, TX -
$1,095,000
603 Davis Street #102
Austin, TX -
$815,000
54 Rainey Street #1018
Austin, TX -
$535,000
MLS # 8828702
Austin, TX -
$568,382
70 Rainey Street #2903
Austin, TX -
$629,000
54 Rainey Street #914
Austin, TX -
$3,684,000
70 Rainey Street #3203
Austin, TX -
$449,000
54 Rainey Street #408
Austin, TX -
$385,000
54 Rainey Street #703
Austin, TX -
$695,000
54 Rainey Street #1212
Austin, TX -
$599,900
54 Rainey Street #521
Austin, TX -
$795,900
603 Davis Street #1202
Austin, TX -
$600,000
54 Rainey Street #101
Austin, TX -
$798,000
44 East Avenue #1407
Austin, TX -
$1,010,000
44 East Avenue #3704
Austin, TX -
$449,000
40 N Interstate 35 Highway #3C4
Austin, TX -
$579,000
40 N Interstate 35 #6D3
Austin, TX -
$1,752,995
54 Rainey Street #1222
Austin, TX
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$450,000Lot Size872 sqft
Home Size1,288 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
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$995,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,956 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$459,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size923 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$795,000Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size1,597 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$595,773Lot SizeN/A
Home Size718 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$365,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size756 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$649,000Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$849,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,128 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,095,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,910 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$815,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,956 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$535,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size663 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$568,382Lot SizeN/A
Home Size663 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$629,000Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$3,684,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size3,684 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths5 Baths
-
$449,000Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size893 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$385,000Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size865 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$695,000Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$599,900Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$795,900Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size1,597 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$600,000Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size1,294 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$798,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,221 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,010,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,258 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$449,000Lot Size1,307 sqft
Home Size1,459 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$579,000Lot Size1,307 sqft
Home Size1,533 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,752,995Lot Size436 sqft
Home Size2,418 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths3 Baths
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