Development in downtown Austin supposedly happens in cycles, where a lot of buildings get announced all at once, a select few of them slooooowly come together, and by the time they’re finished, a new wave of building announcements wipes our memory of the last one. Of course, the more you follow downtown projects, the more the concept of…
News
Austin real estate news combined with editorial and opinion.
The Scarbrough Building, Austin’s First Tower, Is Getting a Sidewalk Cafe
The Scarbrough Building at Sixth Street and Congress Avenue is downtown’s first skyscraper, completed back in 1910 when its eight floors were more than enough to earn that title. Despite being built in a era of astonishingly low car ownership per capita compared to current rates, the tower doesn’t do much for the pedestrian at street level…
Proposed Student Housing Complex Would Surround Historic Freedmen’s Building in West Campus
According to plans filed with the city, a student housing development in West Campus planned by local developer Johnson Trube & Associates would surround the historic Franzetti Store building at 2402 San Gabriel Street, better known as bar and barbecue restaurant Freedmen’s. Public city documents prepared for tonight’s meeting of the Historic Landmark Commission give us a better look…
36-Story Office Tower Planned Downtown at UT-Owned Block 71 Site
Block 71, a 1.75-acre downtown site owned by the University of Texas and bordered by West Seventh, Colorado, West Sixth and Lavaca Streets, was home to one of the university’s administrative offices until the completion of the school’s new office building at 210 West Seventh Street. Since 2015, UT sought plans from developers for an office tower…
Project Catalyst, Oracle’s East Riverside Neighbor, Might Be the Next Domain
We’re mere months away from the completion of Oracle’s corporate campus on South Lakeshore Boulevard, and as the East Riverside corridor gentrifies, there’s been some concern about the area’s relative lack of retail options in comparison with the massive boom in multifamily housing stretching nearly to the airport. As I touched on earlier this year, it’s a gap many developers are probably…
Convention Center Bombshell
Previously, I have been skeptical of a convention center expansion. As a member of the Visitor Impact Task Force, I came around to a positive recommendation after the Task Force recommended ways to make expansion a positive for the city: Incorporating expansion as part of a larger tower to share costs and add activity when the convention center isn’t being used. Keeping…