Editor’s Note: Since publishing this story, we’ve heard back from developer Riverside Resources with some clarifications about these images. As it turns out, despite the renderings portraying the brick facade and swimming pool cantilevered out over the street only recently being uploaded to the portfolio of GDA Architects, that doesn’t make them new — they’re early…
Waterloo Park’s Scale Model Is a Glimpse into Austin’s Future
The transformation of Waterloo Park, located between Trinity and Red River Streets directly east of the Capitol, is the Waller Creek Conservancy’s first step towards making its ambitious vision for the restoration of the downtown creek’s greenbelt a reality. Last week’s groundbreaking event marked the beginning of a joint project with the City of Austin that, according to the conservancy,…
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…
A Closer Look at Plans for Block 71, Downtown’s Latest Transformation
Thanks to new city filings, we’ve got fresh renderings and more for the 36-story office tower and complex planned at Block 71, a 1.75-acre downtown block owned by the University of Texas and bordered by West Seventh, Colorado, West Sixth and Lavaca Streets. The site is also currently home to an office tower formerly used by the university, which will be…
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…
Rainey Street District Development Roundup: It’s Not Just Bars, You Know
Rainey Street is probably Austin’s most interesting urban planning experiment. The starting gun for the area’s rapid transformation was a 2005 rezoning of what used to be a working-class neighborhood of single-family homes, allowing commercial projects like bars and multifamily developments to rise. Now, the Rainey Street area is practically unrecognizable from its past life, and despite its…