The new Rainey Street District location of the Cambria Hotel brand by Choice Hotels International finally broke ground yesterday at 68 East Avenue, four full years after its first announcement — and although the Cambria is part of a chain just like its neighbors directly to the north at the baffling Homewood Suites by Hilton and the upcoming Fairfield by Marriott, respectively located at 78 and…
Austin’s Tallest Tower Gets a Tiny Bit Taller at Sixth and Guadalupe
UPDATE: We’ve heard from the tower’s developers that they’re ditching the “X” and rebranding the tower with the name Sixth and Guadalupe. As the preeminent media source for coverage of tower names in downtown Austin, we are fascinated to learn the rationale behind this change in the near future. Sixth and Guadalupe, the mixed-use tower now under construction…
Austin’s Red Line Parkway Initiative Kicks Off 32-Mile Urban Trail Campaign
A longtime effort to construct an approximately 32-mile urban trail following the path of the Capital MetroRail Red Line from downtown Austin to Leander finally hopes to hit its stride this year, as the nonprofit Red Line Parkway Initiative launches its “Project Parkway” capital campaign seeking $250,000 in initial funds to develop new segments of the trail — several small stretches…
Hanover Republic Square is Downtown Austin’s Remarkable New Normal
With a number of towers currently in various stages of realization throughout downtown Austin, many of which push our local limits for height or architectural flair to a new normal, it’s surprisingly easy to overlook a 44-story building hitting its full height in the center of the city — that’s the case at the Hanover Republic Square apartments,…
Embracing the Bittersweet Beauty of Congress Avenue’s Hyatt Centric Tower
After celebrating its official topping out earlier this summer and dismantling its crane late last month, we’re finally able to get a good look at the 31-floor hotel tower set to open early next year but already standing tall at the corner of Eighth Street and Congress Avenue, formally known as the Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin but…
Apartments and Offices Preparing for Liftoff at South Lamar Carwash Site
A South Austin office, residential and retail project planned for an assembly of adjacent properties between 1301 and 1401 South Lamar Boulevard appears to be moving forward in earnest this month, a 3.88-acre redevelopment which will replace locations of Genie Car Wash, Austin’s Automotive Specialists, and Jiffy Lube with two buildings containing a total of 134,623 square feet of office space along with…