Let’s make one thing clear from the get-go: “Sex Party Tree House” is an extremely funny combination of words, regardless of the context. Since coming across this phrase in a 1963 edition of the Austin American-Statesman, I’ll catch myself repeating it in my head, brain clapping like a trained seal, until all semantic meaning fades…
Apartments and Offices Make Good Neighbors for a Growing South Lamar
Hey, did you know that “vertical mixed-use” can mean something besides just apartments on top of a restaurant? It’s true! According to recent city documents, a mixed-use project planned by developer Ardent Residential will build 138,780 square feet of office space, along with 309 apartment units, in two separate buildings on a land assembly including 1303, 1311,…
A Field Guide to Austin’s Craftsman Architecture
If you’re interested in historic homes, you probably already know the Craftsman style. This architectural movement was one of America’s most popular for small houses or “bungalows” built between 1900 and the mid-1920s, meaning it’s well-represented in many of Austin’s central neighborhoods built around that period. This wide distribution around town makes it a no-brainer for Preservation…
Here’s the Travis, Bringing 50 Floors of Apartments to the Rainey Street District
Ever since the Villas on Town Lake condos at 80 Red River Street finally came down earlier this year, we knew it was only a matter of time until we’d see a progress update on The Travis, an apartment tower planned atop the former condo site by Dallas developer Genesis Real Estate Group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CZGcXvqQWg Genesis purchased the 2.3-acre property,…
In 1977, the ‘Tree Safeway’ Kept Austin’s Grocery Stores Weird
For more than 40 years, there’s been a grocery store at 715 Exposition Boulevard in West Austin, sitting on a 2.6-acre piece of land owned by the University of Texas System. The building opened as a Safeway in 1977, briefly became an AppleTree Market (remember those?) in the late 1980s, and finally a Randalls in 1994. Earlier…
Six Reasons Austin Should Go Big On Small Apartments
Coming up on Thursday, the 2019 version of the Austin City Council will start deliberating on one of the biggest decisions of this year: where to go now that CodeNEXT is dead . City Manager Spencer Cronk asked for direction from City Council on five questions , including how much we should allow “missing middle” housing (think: small multi-unit buildings…
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