By most accounts, Frank Erwin was not a very nice guy. As longtime power broker of the state’s Democratic Party and chairman of the University of Texas System’s Board of Regents in the 1960s and ’70s, to the UT counterculture Erwin embodied every imaginable stereotype of The Man. His efforts against the era’s student protest…
Redevelopment Planned for Six-Acre Site on South Congress
An application for a planned unit development (PUD) at an approximately six-acre land assembly on South Congress Avenue could represent the next step towards building out the South Central Waterfront planning area directly south of the river near downtown Austin. Filed with the city earlier this week, the PUD concerns a collection of three adjacent tracts located around…
The Statesman Redevelopment’s in Trouble. Why Not Make It Taller?
The redevelopment of the 19-acre waterfront site at 305 South Congress Avenue formerly home to the headquarters of the Austin American-Statesman by local firm Endeavor Real Estate Group is in a bit of a rough patch, if you haven’t heard. As if recent concerns about the health of the real estate market weren’t enough, a new lawsuit filed…
Here’s a New View of the Downtown Austin Hotel Planned at Fifth and Lavaca
The 30-story downtown Austin hotel plan proposed by local hospitality firm Merritt Development Group at the southeast corner of West Fifth and Lavaca Streets is set to appear before the city’s Design Commission tonight, seeking a ruling on its compliance with the design requirements of the Downtown Density Bonus Program. That’s great news for us, since it means we’ve…
Austin Preparing To End Parking Mandates Citywide in 2023
A draft resolution set to appear on the agenda of Austin City Council’s upcoming May 4 meeting would initiate an amendment to the city’s Land Development Code removing minimum parking requirements citywide, a long-awaited urban reform intended to reduce carbon emissions, create safer streets, and promote the development of affordable housing types while reducing sprawl. Introduced by Council Member Zohaib “Zo”…
How the State of Texas Demolished a Downtown Austin Neighborhood
This morning, the Texas Facilities Commission celebrated the groundbreaking for Phase II of its Capitol Complex Project, the next step of a planning effort by the State of Texas to reshape its considerable land holdings north of the Capitol grounds with additional office space for state employees, a central pedestrian plaza, and thousands of underground parking spaces replacing…