With the Texas Lottery Commission reportedly completing its move to fresh digs in the George H.W. Bush Building of the Capitol Complex project earlier this summer, it appears yet another downtown Austin block formerly occupied by a state agency is contemplating its future — a site plan filed with the city earlier this week indicates the easily-overlooked Grant Plaza office complex at 611…
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Commentary, analysis, and quick thoughts on almost everything in town.
Pay Your Final Respects to Downtown Austin’s Long-Suffering Hobby Building
It’s a remarkable work of 1980s postmodern architecture, and it’s also full of rats. Cobble those two truths together and you’ve got a nearly complete understanding of the William P. Hobby, Jr. State Office Building at 333 Guadalupe Street, a downtown structure of great ambition and eclectic design widely disliked by its tenants anyway —…
With Dart Bowl Bound for Demolition, Highland Lanes Could Redevelop Next
The building formerly home to longtime Austin landmark Dart Bowl received the green light for demolition this week from the city’s Historic Landmark Commission, with the former bowling alley at 5700 Grover Avenue to be replaced by a 247-unit apartment project from developers OHT Partners — but recent city filings indicate the family partnership behind Dart Bowl’s legendary…
Meta or Not, the Sixth and Guadalupe Tower Is Officially Topped Out
Five long and difficult years after its first announcement, the Sixth and Guadalupe tower has finally “topped out” — reaching the structure’s maximum height of 865 feet, for now holding the title of tallest building in the city. Developed by a partnership of Kairoi Residential, Lincoln Property Company, and DivcoWest, the tower now finds itself in a remarkably different world from when it broke…
Congress Avenue’s First Residential Tower Plan in Years Takes Shape, Maybe
A plan to construct a 55-story tower containing multifamily residences behind historic storefronts on Congress Avenue would be the first new residential building on the so-called Main Street of Texas since the completion of the Austonian condos in 2010 — but the proposal faces scrutiny from the city’s Historic Landmark Commission due to this important downtown corridor’s…
Inside Victory Plaza, a Modernist Office for the Modern Austin on Burnet Road
Passing through some of the city’s most treasured neighborhoods, Burnet Road represents a major axis of growth through Central Austin — and while we’re fond of almost any effort to add density on this corridor, there’s one project we find particularly inspiring as a model for downright graceful development in the region. Victory Plaza, an office building…