The expansion of I-35 through the center of Austin has the potential to transform the city, for better or for worse. At the moment, there is no single element of the city’s built environment with a larger impact on the way we navigate the downtown area and beyond — engaging with the highway, whether as a driver or…
At East Riverside Gateway, a New Neighborhood Waits for the Train
The East Riverside Gateway project planned by local real estate firm PlaceMKR would bring roughly 2 million square feet of mixed-use development to the intersection of East Riverside Drive and Highway 71 in Southeast Austin, creating a seven-building complex containing more than 1,000 residential units and three office towers connected by a walkable streetscape of ground-level retail. The plan is…
South Congress Avenue’s Residential Parking Nightmare Is Almost Over
A new parking strategy set to be implemented in the South Congress area by the Austin Transportation Department could finally dunk the district’s residential permit parking system into the trash where it belongs. Although it’s been in the works for years now, speaking as certified haters of the city’s approach to residential permit parking we really want to…
It’s Time to Brodie Oaksify Austin’s Sprawled-Out Shopping Centers
If you’re not familiar with the plan by local developers Barshop & Oles to reimagine the roughly 37-acre Brodie Oaks shopping center in South Austin, you’d better catch up with our coverage of the subject, since we think it’s a model for how to upgrade struggling retail districts all around Austin. Once you’ve grasped the significance of the project, the rest of this article…
Here’s Our First Look at the Downtown Austin Condo Tower at 14th and Lavaca
The 32-story residential tower planned by local developer Pearlstone Partners is set to bring approximately 220 new residences to the southwest corner of West 14th and Lavaca Streets near the Capitol in downtown — but we still haven’t gotten a look at the as-yet-unnamed building’s appearance from architects STG Design. Let’s fix that: At first glance, we think the tower’s handsome…
Bouldin Village Trades Height for Affordable Apartments on South Lamar
Bouldin Village, a 375-unit apartment development planned on South Lamar Boulevard near the southern edge of the Zilker neighborhood, is about to become a case study for Austin’s recently updated vertical mixed-use development regulations allowing extra height in exchange for income-restricted affordable homes. Proposed by local real estate firm Narrow Road Group under the guidelines of the so-called VMU2 ordinance passed…