Well, that’s at least the general area. Image: Bing Maps / James Rambin
The Trail Foundation’s vision for an improved Hike-and-Bike Trail entrance — or trailhead, using the preferred hiker-and-biker parlance — in downtown Austin’s rapidly-growing Rainey Street District is finally taking shape this month. At a public engagement meeting held last weekend, the nonprofit showed off two possible design configurations of an upgraded entry point and park space surrounding the trail at the parkland located on the corner of Cummings Street and East Avenue, at the far south tip of the neighborhood — the precise spot can be seen on the map below:
If you recall, that location is right across the street from the former office building located at 44 East Avenue set to become the district’s newest and tallest condo tower project, also called 44 East Avenue — and thus the building’s very polite Canadian developers Intracorp are picking up some of the trailhead’s tab. Good job, Intracorp!
Click for a larger view. Image: The Trail Foundation / Austin Parks and Recreation Department
The two design options presented for the trailhead project aren’t hugely different in terms of features, but you’ll see some obvious shifts between the two. The first option, with its native pecan grove and gravel water access area at the shore of the lake, feels slightly more natural in its tone than the second option, which replaces the grove with a picnic area and installed what appears to be a more permanent, hardscaped bank area for water access at the water’s edge.
Click for a larger view. Image: The Trail Foundation / Austin Parks and Recreation Department
Either way, we really appreciate more areas from which we can launch our kayaks and such — despite the Trail Foundation’s ongoing efforts, there’s actually a surprisingly small number of easily-accessibly spots along the trail from which to access the lake at the moment, particularly for wheelchair users and other people unwilling to navigate — or “portage,” as they say — the sometimes challenging terrain along its banks.
A street view of the mostly-empty parkland at the corner at Cummings Street and East Avenue, where the trailhead and park area will go if everything goes according to plan.
The overhead layouts seen above don’t quite give us the same three-dimensional impression of what we could build in this space along the lines of something like the renderings for the Trail Foundation’s upcoming Drake Bridge Commons project, but it’s certainly not a bad start — we might get nicer renderings later anyway.
That means your responsibility at this stage is to click the Foundation’s survey and let them know which design you prefer. We always say this, but our readers can actually submit enough responses on these things to represent genuine influence over which option ends up happening in the real world, so flex that civic muscle we know you have if you’re still reading this far down and spend a few minutes filling this out.
Rainey Street Condos For Sale
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$1,927,500
44 East AVE #3401
Austin, TX -
$459,900
54 Rainey ST #319
Austin, TX -
$339,000
44 East AVE #2806
Austin, TX -
$612,500
44 East AVE #1708
Austin, TX -
$631,583
70 Rainey ST #2505
Austin, TX -
$1,828,570
70 Rainey ST #2506
Austin, TX -
$830,700
70 Rainey ST #2307
Austin, TX -
$548,382
70 Rainey ST #2803
Austin, TX -
$1,274,242
70 Rainey ST #1501
Austin, TX -
$1,319,242
70 Rainey ST #1801
Austin, TX -
$2,800,000
44 East AVE #4504
Austin, TX -
$735,184
70 Rainey ST #3105
Austin, TX -
$2,285,000
70 Rainey ST #2801
Austin, TX -
$1,300,000
44 East AVE #4005
Austin, TX -
$945,000
44 East AVE #1310
Austin, TX -
$594,999
603 Davis ST #1204
Austin, TX -
$475,000
54 Rainey ST #607
Austin, TX -
$1,130,000
70 Rainey ST #1602
Austin, TX -
$1,250,000
70 Rainey ST #1304
Austin, TX -
$925,000
54 Rainey ST #1018
Austin, TX -
$590,000
603 Davis ST #703
Austin, TX -
$669,000
54 RAINEY ST #918
Austin, TX -
$744,000
603 Davis ST #1102
Austin, TX -
$523,250
603 Davis ST #704
Austin, TX -
$580,000
54 Rainey ST #1013
Austin, TX
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$1,927,500Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,114 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths4 Baths
-
$459,900Lot Size175 sqft
Home Size756 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$339,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size481 sqft
BedsN/A
Baths1 Bath
-
$612,500Lot SizeN/A
Home Size793 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$631,583Lot SizeN/A
Home Size837 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$1,828,570Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,179 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$830,700Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,128 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$548,382Lot SizeN/A
Home Size663 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$1,274,242Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,697 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,319,242Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,697 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$2,800,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,858 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths4 Baths
-
$735,184Lot SizeN/A
Home Size837 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
$2,285,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,851 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$1,300,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,594 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$945,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,260 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$594,999Lot Size218 sqft
Home Size1,252 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$475,000Lot Size305 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,130,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,154 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$1,250,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,321 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$925,000Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,956 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
$590,000Lot Size175 sqft
Home Size1,176 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$669,000Lot Size262 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$744,000Lot Size218 sqft
Home Size1,597 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$523,250Lot Size175 sqft
Home Size1,252 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
$580,000Lot Size305 sqft
Home Size1,164 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
