After roughly 11 years of hemming and hawing, it looks like the 27-story hotel tower long prophesied at the northeast corner of 12th and Red River Streets in downtown Austin is taking at least a baby step into the real world. A demolition permit for the approximately 5,900-square-foot building dating back to the late 1940s currently occupying the corner at…
historic preservation
Austin’s Single-Family Zoning Reform Heads for Public Hearing
Changes to Austin’s zoning code introduced by City Council this summer are headed for a number of public hearings over the next few months — and although we believe these amendments reforming the city’s widespread single-family zoning largely responsible for our local housing affordability crisis are an inspiring step in the right direction, we’re also expecting to see a lot of homeowner opposition to these and other upcoming changes…
Austin’s Weirdest Tower Is Officially Under Construction at La Vista de Lopez
“Keep Austin Weird” isn’t a great slogan, since it puts pressure on people who live here to act like they’re extraordinarily quirky and different from people in other cities — and that’s usually much more annoying than weird. But every now and then, Austin sees an authentically very weird thing worth celebrating, and this is…
The Frio Apartments Preparing to Rise Against a Widening I-35
The planned redevelopment of the former Concordia University campus , a 22-acre site located just west of I-35 in the Hancock neighborhood of Central Austin, has taken 16 years to grow to its current crop of apartment, office, and retail buildings. That’s a bit longer than we expected when the city approved the Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning for extra density at the…
Demolition Pending for Downtown Austin Hotel Planned at Fifth and Trinity
Demolition could kick off as soon as later this month in downtown Austin at the southwest corner of East Fifth and Trinity Streets, clearing a path for a hotel project by well-known local hospitality developers White Lodging. Those guys aren’t available for comment, but the city’s recent approval of the demolition and excavation permits for the roughly half-acre assembly…
Austin’s Citywide Elimination of Parking Mandates Heads for the Finish Line
The news back in May that Austin’s City Council voted to eliminate citywide parking mandates made waves across the nation, cited by a number of publications as evidence that these outdated requirements for parking — which drive up the cost of housing and harm walkable urban design — were finally falling out of fashion. This is broadly true, but speaking as some of the city’s more notable pedants we’re forced to remind you that Austin…