Last week, we looked into the potential of a new “pocket park” space bound for the 0.27-acre city-owned tract at 64 Rainey Street, set to bridge the gap between the district’s iconic Mexican American Cultural Center and the main drag of Rainey’s nearby entertainment district — and while the City of Austin is currently conducting an official community engagement process for the site, we thought…
rainey street district
Connecting the Dots at Rainey Street’s Long-Awaited Pocket Park
As part of the upcoming expansion of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in the Rainey Street District of downtown Austin, we’re finally getting a park on the city-owned scrap of land at 64 Rainey Street. The fate of this 0.27-acre parcel became a hot topic of discussion starting roughly a decade ago, as the MACC and developers of the adjacent 70…
Inside Waterline, Downtown Austin’s Record-Breaking ‘Supertall’ Tower Plan
After nearly two years of leaked renderings, city permit filings, and other eyebrow-raising scraps of intel, the news is finally here in official form: the tower planned in downtown Austin at 98 Red River Street by developers Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential quietly broke ground on June 13 earlier this year — and when the 74-story building reaches its maximum height of…
Austin’s Mexican American Cultural Center Closing for Expansion This Year
The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) located at 600 River Street is an often-overlooked masterpiece of Mesoamerican-inspired modernist architecture, standing at the crown of downtown Austin’s ever-changing Rainey Street District and representing the historic working-class Mexican American character of the neighborhood prior to its rapid development starting in the 2000s. Designed by the late Mexican architect Teodoro González de León with Hispanic-owned…
New Downtown Austin Condo Tower Set to Rise on East Avenue Near Rainey
A permit filed with the city earlier this month indicates that local developer Pearlstone Partners is planning to build a 48-story downtown Austin condo tower at 62 East Avenue, located one block east of the rapidly-rising Rainey Street District — and the project would represent the firm’s third tower on East Avenue, joining the Natiivo and Vesper residential projects. The…
The Rainey Street District’s Trailhead Park Project Kicks Off This Summer
Three years and one pandemic after its first appearance in 2019, the long-awaited plan for a new “Trailhead” park providing enhanced access to the Hike-and-Bike Trail on the far south end of the Rainey Street District in downtown Austin is moving forward. The project’s development partners at the Trail Foundation nonprofit and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department expect to seek council…