We’ve known some flavor of office tower project was headed for the Horizon Bank building located at the northwest corner of West Fifth and Nueces Streets in the “financial district” of downtown Austin since last month, thanks to the reliable canary in the coal mine of city development filings. Though much of the tower’s mystery remained intact at . ….
Here’s How We Fix Rainey Street
Last week, we found out traffic woes and other mobility headaches in the Rainey Street District have prompted the City of Austin’s Design Commission to recommend conducting a comprehensive mobility study for the neighborhood. The end goal of the study would use its gathered data and other community input for crafting a “Rainey Neighborhood Mobility Plan,” which…
What’s Next for Waller Creek?
We’re big fans of the Waller Creek Conservancy’s ongoing mission to restore and redevelop the stretch of Waller Creek running through downtown Austin — which, if all goes well, should eventually transform 35 acres of the under-appreciated creek’s narrow riparian corridor into a connected series of parks and trails spanning more than a mile in total length. We’re…
Solving Austin’s Housing Affordability Crisis in 3 Easy Steps
If you recall, the City of Austin’s attempt last year to rewrite its land development code, which dates back to the mid-1980s, fell apart with the demise of what was then known as CodeNEXT. It’s complicated and we won’t explain it all here, but what’s important is, we’re trying again! Last week, our beloved City Council…
Austin Has a Street Harassment Problem
Almost every woman in Austin has a list. Mine includes the guy who hangs out near my office and tells women who walk by, “I know you like to party with a dick in your mouth.” Then there’s the group of men on the Capital Metro Route 2 bus who talked about my anatomy and what they’d like to do with it for six stops. There’s the bros who caught up with me on a scooter, making jokes you might expect about “riding.” Men in cars making “blow job” signals towards me on Congress Avenue as I was texting my editor about this story. This is all from the past few weeks alone.
East of the Capitol, Symphony Square’s Getting Taller Very Carefully
We’ve said this before, but the region of downtown Austin sandwiched between the eastern edge of the Capitol grounds and I-35 is one of the city’s most interesting areas for potential growth. There are projects in the pipeline both in and around it, but for clarity’s sake let’s focus on the box formed by East 15th and East 11th…