East Pecan Street, now called Sixth Street, has remained a prominent corridor in downtown Austin since the city’s incorporation in 1840. Its historic, Victorian-style buildings have mostly remained the same, but the street’s social function has continually evolved. Almost 20 years ago, January 30, 1999 was a notable night in the history of both Sixth…
Austin, It’s Time to Pick Your Favorite Design for Downtown’s New Substation
Hey, remember when we talked about Austin Energy’s new downtown substation — bound for 55 East Avenue smack in the middle of some pretty cool upcoming development — and how it doesn’t necessarily have to suck? We’ve arrived at the actually fun part of that process, voting on your favorite of three design options. These three configurations for screening and beautifying…
At San Jacinto Center, Austin’s ’80s Boom Built the Four Seasons Hotel
Though we’re getting taller all the time, skyscraper development in Austin really boomed during the 1980s. Between 1980 and 1987, 12 buildings with 15 or more floors opened in the downtown area, including the cluster of earth-toned towers — One American Center, One Eleven Congress, 100 Congress, 301 Congress, and San Jacinto Center — that defined…
The Rainey Street District’s Next Tower Is Called ‘The Quincy’ for Some Reason
How do you name a building? More importantly, how do you name a building good? Here in Austin, we’ve seen some common trends — sometimes buildings receive names from the intersection where they’re located, and generally when developers go down this path, the word “and” connecting the two street names gets replaced with something a…
Meet Hanover Republic Square, Bringing 44 Floors of Apartments Downtown
We’ve been waiting for a while to get a better view of apartment developer the Hanover Company’s tower plan at the southwestern corner of Fifth and Lavaca Streets in downtown Austin, but the wait is over, y’all. Thanks to new city filings for the building’s inclusion in the Downtown Density Bonus Program, we’ve got our hands on the first renderings and other information on Hanover…
In East Austin, Historic ‘Hepcat’ Home Has a New Lease on Life
A historic East Austin home is still the exact same home as before — it just happens to be sitting 17 blocks north of its original address. That’s the latest news out of local real estate firm Cielo Property Group, which announced in a press release today that it has donated the historic house formerly…