You might have heard by now that efforts by the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department to secure a permit allowing the new operators of the recently-renovated Zilker Cafe concessions stand to sell beer and wine in the area of Barton Springs Pool aren’t going so well. As advocates for fully enjoying the public realm, this comes…
transportation
West Avenue’s Most Mysterious Tower-Friendly Properties Hit the Market
It’s been three long years since we examined the interesting traces of what appeared to be very early plans for a tower development at the site of former downtown pizzeria Frank & Angie’s at 508 West Avenue, and in the following years we’ve seen a few changes at the corner of West Sixth Street and West Avenue — Hut’s Hamburgers closed, the Favorite Liquor & Wine…
10 Years and One New Skyline Later, Waterloo Park Returns on August 14
After closing to the public in 2011 for work expected at the time to last until 2015 but extended to comical length by the construction woes of the Waller Creek Flood Control Tunnel, followed by the development of a plan for the 11-acre park’s renovation by the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, the single largest greenspace in downtown Austin is finally, actually, really reopening for real on Saturday, August 14. Here’s how the…
Celebrate the Architectural Legacy of John S. Chase With This Documentary
John Saunders Chase, as both the first Black licensed architect in Texas and the first Black graduate of the University of Texas School of Architecture after the landmark Sweatt v. Painter case at the U.S. Supreme Court desegregated the university’s graduate school, remains one of the most notable UT alumni both historically and in his chosen field — though many of Chase’s buildings stand in…
First Tower Tops Out at Downtown Austin’s Former Brackenridge Site
The 17-story University of Texas office tower known as Block 164 currently under construction on a portion of the 14-acre former Brackenridge hospital campus is now officially topped out, and we don’t even need anyone associated with the project to confirm that for us — as of this week, there’s a tree sitting up there. If you’re familiar…
Austin’s Growth Helped Fund 200 Acres of New City Parks in 3 Years
First passed in 1985, Austin’s Parkland Dedication Ordinance has required new residential developments to dedicate a percentage of land for park use, pay a fee in lieu of an on-site park space, or both — and as the city’s growth continued beyond the wildest expectations of the 1980s, the ordinance saw its last update in 2016 , which added a parkland requirement for hotel…