Transformative infrastructure improvements like the multiple planned transit lines of Project Connect and the controversial expansion of I-35 through downtown don’t get built in a vacuum — they’re potentially highly disruptive during their construction, but the physical placement and accommodation of these projects in the limited space of downtown also implies more permanent changes to some parts of the…
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Commentary, analysis, and quick thoughts on almost everything in town.
Austin’s Mexican American Cultural Center Closing for Expansion This Year
The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) located at 600 River Street is an often-overlooked masterpiece of Mesoamerican-inspired modernist architecture, standing at the crown of downtown Austin’s ever-changing Rainey Street District and representing the historic working-class Mexican American character of the neighborhood prior to its rapid development starting in the 2000s. Designed by the late Mexican architect Teodoro González de León with Hispanic-owned…
Here’s What 13 Floors of Hotel Looks Like at East Fifth and Trinity
The plan by local hospitality firm White Lodging to develop a 13-story, 260-room hotel under Marriott’s Autograph Collection at the southwest corner of East Fifth and Trinity Streets is a good reminder that many of the setback requirements in Austin’s creaky old code are also metaphorically setting us back — like, as a city — since the ramifications…
Nearly 700 Homes Planned Across Two Towers Near Austin’s Convention Center
Recent permit activity for the Block 32 tower project, planned by an unknown developer for a half-block site at East Third and San Jacinto Streets a stone’s throw from the Austin Convention Center, indicates the development will contain two towers built next door to each other across two phases of construction. It’s not yet clear if these will be…
East Riverside Gateway Plans 2 Million Square Feet of Transit-Adjacent Growth
An approximately 22-acre site near the far eastern end of East Riverside Drive could see a massive mixed-use redevelopment with more than 2 million square feet of residential, office, and retail space planned adjacent to the upcoming Metro Center rail station of Project Connect’s Blue Line, expected to be built near here at the intersection of East Riverside Drive and East Ben White Boulevard….
Hey Austin, Maybe a 5-Story Building Next to a Train Station Isn’t the Move
A five-story office project in a fast-growing northwestern district of downtown Austin has recently entered the early stages of construction, as you might have already noticed from the various fences now raised around the northwest corner of West 15th and San Antonio Streets. As described in our coverage from over a year ago, the project will replace a roughly quarter-acre surface parking lot…