A portfolio of two adjacent commercial properties recently offered for sale against the I-35 frontage road near the Swede Hill area of East Austin reminds us once again of the ample opportunities for downtown-adjacent infill development near the highway in this area — and as the so-called Innovation District begins taking shape directly across the interstate around the former Brackenridge hospital complex and…
East Austin’s Huston-Tillotson University Seeks National Historic Designation
With its local history dating back to 1875, you might be surprised to discover that Huston-Tillotson University predates the University of Texas as Austin’s first institution of higher learning — and this East Side cultural landmark, originally founded as the segregated city’s only college for African Americans, should soon receive its due recognition with admission to the…
Meet the Avenir, East Austin’s Latest Downtown-Adjacent Apartment Tower
Since we consider ourselves the vanguards of building name and building color -related media coverage in the downtown area, it’s our pleasure to bring you another late-breaking dispatch regarding the branding of the 15-floor, 387-unit East Austin apartment tower developed by Lennar Multifamily Communities and JH West 12th Street Partners, now rapidly approaching completion at a former bingo hall between East 11th…
The Long Road to a Residential Tower at Downtown’s Former Carmelo’s Site
Three long years ago, Houston-based developer Allen Harrison Company showed off a few renderings of a residential tower designed by local architects and tallness enthusiasts Rhode Partners for the shuttered site of longtime downtown Italian restaurant Carmelo’s at 504 East Fifth Street, a plan that attractively balanced new development with both the preservation needs of the historic building on the property and the…
Okay, Maybe Most of Austin Doesn’t Want To Move ACL From Zilker After All
After calling attention last week to the surprising results of the Zilker Vision Plan’s first community survey, which indicated that a considerable number of Austinites would like to see the Austin City Limits Music Festival moved from Zilker Park to another location more accommodating of its large crowds, we got a front-row seat to the intensity of local debate surrounding…
A Brighter Future’s On Deck for Mueller’s Historic Control Tower
Earlier this year, we learned that a 350-unit apartment and retail project by national developers Ryan Companies would finally fill the vacant lot surrounding the Central Austin neighborhood’s former control tower, one of the few signs left of Mueller’s past life as an airport. Though images and details of the new project emphasized its embrace of the historic tower as a…