Are you old enough to remember when people cared about Newsweek? If so, you might also recall January 1986, when the magazine’s late arts and architecture critic Douglas Davis called Austin’s newly-booming skyline part of a “riot of wretched excess” breaking out across cities worldwide. The culprit?
design
At Least 12 Mobility Upgrades Planned for the Rainey Street District
As far as we can tell, the “comprehensive mobility study” of the Rainey Street area recommended by Austin’s Design Commission back in May hasn’t wrapped up yet, but that apparently doesn’t mean the city doesn’t already have some plans of its own for fixing up the area’s patchy sidewalks and other mobility infrastructure. This is great news for the neighborhood’s residents…
Centro Office Project Heads for East Austin’s Booming Saltillo District
A mixed-use development planned a stone’s throw from the Plaza Saltillo Station of the Capital MetroRail Red Line will construct an estimated 300,000 square feet of office space and 25,000 square feet of street-level retail space in its first phase — and once the project is completely built out, it could span nearly two full…
Central Austin’s Concordia Redevelopment Finally Filling Its Gaps
The planned unit development (PUD) agreement between developers and the city for the redevelopment of Concordia University’s 22-acre former campus, located on the west side of I-35 between East 32nd Street and Concordia Avenue, passed all the way back in 2007. But a successful deal doesn’t plunk down buildings overnight, especially when its master developers are
Austin’s Finally Fixing Up John Treviño Metro Park — But Not Too Much
Only twenty scant acres smaller than Zilker Park, the 330-acre tract of former ranchland at the edge of District 1 now known as John Treviño Jr. Metro Park is perhaps the second most underutilized park space in far East Austin. The first, of course, is Walter E. Long Metro Park, but the almost bizarrely ambitious
Long-Delayed East Avenue Apartment Tower Might Be Back in the Saddle
Ever heard of the downtown Austin “Panhandle?” We’ve used this charmingly western-tinged name from time to time for the weird little peninsula of the 78701 ZIP code between I-35 and Lady Bird Lake south of Cesar Chavez Street, most of which is occupied by the Rainey Street District. Look, it’s a little panhandle! This minor geographic…