Only a year and change after its groundbreaking ceremony in August 2019, downtown Austin condo tower project Natiivo is officially topped out. Its 33 floors, rising at 48 East Avenue on the edge of the forever-growing Rainey Street District, will operate under a unique “home sharing” ownership model its developers at Pearlstone Partners and Newgard Development Group describe as a “first-of-its-kind, innovative concept…
Here’s How Austin’s Fixing Up Fiesta Gardens, Lakeside Lagoon and All
The City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department kicked off a virtual community engagement process for the rehabilitation of longtime city-owned East Austin event venue Fiesta Gardens earlier this week, a project overseen by preservation-minded local architects Clayton Korte to bring a variety of improvements to the 54-year-old facility that’s often rented for weddings, quinceañeras, and family reunions. But…
Widening I-35 to 20 Lanes in Downtown Austin is the Anti-Project Connect
It’s never been more widely understood in the history of transportation infrastructure that adding lanes to highways does not solve the problem of traffic congestion. The phenomenon of “induced demand,” a catch-all phrase used to describe the complex relationship between multiple effects causing traffic to rapidly fill expanded highway space, has filtered through somewhat to the general public — and efforts…
This Year’s Drive-Through Trail of Lights is a Secret Austin History Lesson
As Austin prepares to celebrate a very different holiday season this year in the shadow of the ongoing pandemic, the much-loved Trail of Lights at Zilker Park is providing its own version of social distance by transitioning to a drive-through event, meaning we’ll be idling, not walking, past its giant lighted displays and other seasonal decorations. Due to COVID-19…
Here’s How Austin’s Fixing Up the Historic Zilker Park Clubhouse
The historic Zilker Clubhouse, originally built for the City of Austin as a lodge for the Boy Scouts of America in 1934 by New Deal-era jobs programs including the Civil Works Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, now boasts one of the city’s most impressive public skyline views west of Mopac. But despite this handsome little building’s popularity as a…
Here’s How Austinites Are Using (Or Not Using) Uber and Lyft in the Pandemic
Last week, we asked our readers to weigh in on their experiences with rideshare services like Uber and Lyft during the pandemic, to see how things were going after nearly eight months of safety precautions for both riders and drivers. We’ve seen usage patterns drop during this period for downtown dwellers who used to take advantage of…