The Trail Foundation, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to the upkeep of the city’s Hike and Bike Trail, celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony last night commemorating the start of construction on a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge for the stretch of the trail underneath the north end of the Congress Avenue Bridge. According to the foundation, the bridge is planned…
Getting to Know East Austin’s Chestnut Plaza
It’s kind of cliche at this point to mention how much a particular area of East Austin has changed. Still, if the breakneck pace of development on this side of town continues, it’s in our best interest to make this growth as smart as possible. That’s the intended goal of the Transit Oriented-Development (TOD) known as Chestnut Plaza emerging around…
What Does a Branded City Look Like?
It’s both ironic and instructional that South By Southwest 2018 presented a panel on “Branded Cities” as part of its growing Cities Summit programming. After all, during the nine days in mid-March when the hydra-headed conference takes over our central city, the branding iron of commerce is hot in downtown Austin and beyond. Empty lots sprout into promotional…
VIDEO: Implosion Brings Down Ashbel Smith Hall in Downtown Austin
Ashbel Smith Hall, a 10-story office tower formerly occupied by the University of Texas System at downtown Austin’s Block 71, is officially no more. Its unfortunate pedigree as perhaps one of the ugliest buildings in the city certainly didn’t tarnish the spectacle of the tower’s implosion at 8:00 a.m. this morning, the first demolition of its type Austin’s seen in more…
East Riverside Drive’s Apartment Boom Continues With Aspen Heights Project
Developer Aspen Heights Partners plans to break ground this summer on Aspen Heights Riverside, a $42 million, 325-unit market-rate apartment complex off East Riverside Drive, on what is mostly vacant land. Located in the 1700 block of Willow Creek Drive, the project’s been making its way through the city’s review process since last June. The site…
Two East Austin Affordable Housing Projects Vie for State Tax Credits
Two affordable housing multifamily projects in East Austin are competing for a 9 percent housing tax credit from the state, but only one is likely to get it. That doesn’t mean, however, that only one of the projects will get built — the weaker candidate determined by the Texas Department of Housing and Consumer Affairs’…