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Downtown Austin Miscellany

June 30, 2010 By 1 Comment

Below are a few photos from the past week.

The former location of Thai Tara has been razed…

W 6th @ Rio Grande - Former site of Thai Tara

In the Rainey Street district, next door to El Naranjo…

El Naranjo patio

We’re seeing progress on Icenhaur’s

Icenhauer construction

Icenhauer's construction

The lone house on Bierce Street…

This is the only house on Bierce Street

This billboard on W 5th Street is completely blocked from view by the bank building. It’s always been a curiosity to me.

This billboard is having an existential crisis

Filed Under: Austin photos, images, downtown austin

New Office Tower On Congress Ave?

June 28, 2010 By 4 Comments

909 Congress Ave - massing view showing interplay with view corridors

Jacob Dirr, with the ABJ, is reporting on a new office tower being planned for Congress Ave.

A 16-story, 88,000-square-foot office tower is being planned for the 900 block of Congress Avenue, a site currently occupied by three vacant buildings, according to city documents.

Located directly across from Little City, the derelict structures have been sporting plywood facades for years, and have been a general blight on downtown Austin.  My understanding of these properties was that there was tension amongst the ownership that inhibited combining all three into a develop-able tower, until recently.  According to the article, the developer, Dalton Wallace, will restore the facades as part of the building.

907-911 Congress Ave

From the applicant’s presentation to the Design Commission…

909 Congress is a mixed use office and retail project located mid‐block on the east side of the 900 block of Congress Ave. The site measures 69’ x 160’ and is composed of three lots 907, 909 and 911 Congress, zoned CBD‐H and the allowable FAR is 88,000sf. The project will consist of retail at the ground floor along Congress with one level of parking below grade and seven levels of parking above grade plus eight levels of office space. We will be restoring the three historic two‐story building facades and setting the tower back 10’ above the historic buildings. We will also be respecting the Capital View Corridor along Congress with an additional setback and remain under the Capital Dominance Cone height restriction. The parking access will be from the alley behind the site and will be serviced by two automobile elevators and valet staff. The above ground parking will be screened from view. The building will be located between two larger office buildings at 919 Congress and 823 Congress.

front view of proposed tower

Filed Under: Congress Avenue District, downtown austin

Downtown Austin Open Houses

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment


downtown Austin open house listings for Sunday, June 27th

  1. 800 W 5th St, Austin City Lofts #505, 2bd/2ba $530,000 2-4pm [AvenueOne]
  2. 360 Nueces St, 360 Condos #3011, 2bd/2ba $599,900 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
  3. 360 Nueces St, 360 Condos #1311, 2bd/2ba $429,900 1-3pm [Urbanspace]

When you’re done with the open houses, you can enjoy an afternoon on Lady Bird Lake by renting a canoe or kayak from at the Texas Rowing Center. Or, dine al fresco at Annie’s Cafe on Congress Ave for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Make sure to download my transactional report from May (registered members only) and discuss with a Realtor who lives and works in downtown Austin.

-Jude

Filed Under: austin open houses, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments

The Other Seaholm Project

June 24, 2010 By 5 Comments

The re-utilization of downtown Austin’s Seaholm Power Plant will happen.  When?  Not soon.  Why?  No $$$.  No surprise.

However, at Wednesday evening’s Parks Commission meeting, CM Chris Riley shared the opportunity to adapt the Seaholm intake structure (which sits on the lake) into something usable and complimentary to the trail.

An ordinance passed in 1985 required facilities such as this, owned by the city, immediately become park land upon termination or cessation of their existing uses.  Hence… PARD controls these buildings.

Furthermore, the 1987 Town Lake Park Comprehensive Plan states:  “…the building south of W. First Street that houses the cooling water intake for the power plant is ideally situated for conversion to lakeside dining.”  It goes on to suggest: “A water taxi stop will give additional access.”

OK, this is getting interesting, right?

PARD is strapped for cash, and PARD director Sarah Hensley is a progressive force.  There is reason to be optimistic that something can happen here, and we’re not going to have to wait 10 years to see it realized.

According to CM Riley, the use should be contextual, and specifically cater to the myriad people using the trail.  I understood this as concessionaires and open seating, rather than a proper restaurant as might be inferred from the plan.  This makes sense, considering there is little/no room for additional parking here.  Not a bad thing, IMO.

How can you help?  Keep the discussion moving, and share the idea with your friends.  Send a note to city council that you want to see these buildings put to public use.

-Jude

Filed Under: austin lifestyle, austin parks, austin recreation, lady bird lake, urban planning

Wallspace With Permission – Austin’s Untapped Canvas

June 23, 2010 By 6 Comments

After last night’s public briefing on the boardwalk design, i rounded the corner at city hall and noticed a painted wall with the website “placingroutes.org”. This morning I checked them out, and was delighted to discover what Placing Routes is about.

idea —> proposal —> permission —> realization

simply put, the business owner has a wall/space and the artist has an idea/concept. from there, a mural, a sculpture, a piece of art is born.

CASH mural at Wahoos. This awesome pic is from Austin Texas Daily Photo

Artists paired with buildings.  Have an artistic idea for a wall space?  Artist or building can bring an idea to the table.  Take permanence off the table, and you open up a world of opportunity, especially in downtown Austin.

A few years back, I helped to launch Wallspace Media, an advertising company that did this with projection.  We obtained permission to utilize wallspace, and did our thing.  You see this with graffiti artists, too, who developed the concept of “permission walls”.  Walk down E 5th, and across from Cafe Mundi you’ll see a massive amount of artwork on the back of an aging warehouse.  All done with permission.

As you walk around town, you’ll notice the potential for this.  Stark surfaces everywhere have the potential to bring vibrancy to the community, and energy to those who see it.

Filed Under: austin art, austin lifestyle

Boardwalk Public Briefing

June 21, 2010 By 1 Comment

There’s lots of discussion and unanswered questions about the proposed Boardwalk in Lady Bird Lake.  This is your chance to become more informed. June 22, 2010 – Parks and Recreation Board, in the Boards & Commissions Room (1011), City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St. beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Filed Under: austin parks, downtown austin Tagged With:

Downtown Austin Open Houses

June 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment


downtown Austin open house listings for Sunday, June 20th

  1. 710 Colorado St, Brown Building #3i 1bd/2ba $367,000 12-2pm [Urbanspace]
  2. 603 Davis St, The Shore condos #1603 2bd/2.5ba $640,000 11-2pm [Urbanspace]
  3. 54 Rainey St, Milago Condos PH #2 2bd/2ba $890,900 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
  4. 54 Rainey St, Milago Condos PH #5 2bd/2.5ba $499,900 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
  5. 800 W 5th St, Austin City Lofts #505, 2bd/2ba $530,000 2-4pm [AvenueOne]

When you’re done with the open houses, you can enjoy an afternoon on Lady Bird Lake by renting a canoe or kayak from at the Texas Rowing Center. Or, dine al fresco at Annie’s Cafe on Congress Ave for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Make sure to download my transactional report from May (registered members only) and discuss with a Realtor who lives and works in downtown Austin.

-Jude

Filed Under: austin open houses

5 MAJOR ISSUES OF CONCERN ABOUT THE “BOARDWALK” PROJECT

June 18, 2010 By 15 Comments
Boardwalk Pic-Battleship Rest Area

Part 2 of 3 Parts (click here to read Part 1 – The Overview of the project and its design)

1. It is not a “boardwalk”. Look closely. It is an elevated concrete human highway. 14-feet wide, 6-feet above the water, up to 70 feet out from shore. Built of concrete and steel. Out over the open waters of our beautiful and naturally pristine lake/river.

Existing LBL Trail in front of Hyatt Hotel

2. Cheaper alternatives exist. Either fully on land, closer to land, or a combination of both. With specifications that start with the minimum specs of the existing Trail: the Hyatt Regency segment, 5 to 6 feet wide, between the First Street and Congress Avenue bridges. This CAN be built across nearly the entire 1.2 mile stretch. For far less cost. However the necessary analysis and conceptual design work has never been done. The necessary conversations have never been had.

3. The “full project cost” could actually be over $20 million. Nearly $4.3 million has already been allocated toward consultants and design over the past two years out of existing city budgets of which $2.4 million has been spent or obligated to date. Plus the $16 million more now sought for construction. All for 1.2 miles of roadway. This road should be paved with gold.

Existing LBL Trail pedestrian crossing over Longhorn Dam

4. This project does not “complete” the trail gap. It will lead users east along the shoreline to the Longhorn Dam. That dam has a narrow and dangerous sidewalk crossing – where two strollers can barely pass each other over the Dam – alongside heavy traffic flow on Pleasant Valley Road. Clearly a “Pfluger-style” pedestrian bridge needs to be built parallel to the west side of the dam. A very expensive bridge. Then there is another “gap” on the North Shore around the former Holly Power Plant. Those segments? Not addressed.

5. The cleverly packaged and named “Boardwalk” is itself a hazardous solution for the need it is trying to fill and the improved safety it is attempting to yield. True, the existing sidewalk-based trail routing along Riverside Drive has a challenging crossing at IH-35 and some close proximity to road traffic. Interestingly, though, no ped-bike-vehicle accidents statistics have ever been produced. Folks know they must be very careful getting through there. But the 14-foot wide Boardwalk over-design intentionally promotes high-speed, two-abreast, bicycle traffic…in two directions…out over the open river waters…in direct conflict with pedestrians, strollers, wheelchairs, dog-walkers, and others who would also be on the same pathway. There is nowhere to jump out of the way of danger. There is no easy way to reach injured parties. There is no shade out in the open water.

Some folks have been asking how this project came to be?  Good question.  Please read on…

[Read more...]

Filed Under: austin lifestyle, austin parks, austin recreation, austin transit, city council, downtown austin, lady bird lake, life in austin, urban planning

Friday June 25th: I-35 Makeover Groundbreaking Ceremony

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I-35-Groundbreaking-Celebration-Invitation

PROJECT BACKGROUND & FACT SHEET

In 2004, a diverse group of citizens, businesses, and neighborhood leaders formed the I-35 Makeover Coalition to help transform this area into a public asset. They began working for a safe, clean and attractive gateway reconnecting downtown to East Austin. This area was a broad boulevard called Eastside Drive until postwar era, when IH-35 was built over it in a series of elevated and buried sections.

The Makeover Coalition provided the support necessary to improve this connection between downtown and the east side of Austin. The coalition obtained a grant of $250,000 from Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) to help fund the landscape portion.

City Council approved two funding sources for this project. They first approved a resolution in March, 2005 explicitly supporting the use of parking revenue from the City-managed IH-35 parking lots for the IH-35 Makeover Project. In March of 2007, City Council passed a resolution setting aside $1.5 million to be provided by the future issuance of non-tax supported certificates of obligation.

These funding sources have allowed the City to move forward with the IH-35 Makeover Project, which will include reconstructing the parking lot areas, with curb and gutters to improve drainage in the area. The concrete will be cleaned, signs removed and replaced, and specialty lighting fixtures will enhance the safety, comfort, and aesthetics of the area.

The lighting project will be done through the City’s Art in Public Places Program and will be programmed LED lights in arches over the parking lots. A computer-generated illumination will create a show as well as create safe lighting.

The project is expected to start in June and take approximately seven months, at which time TXDot will begin the landscape improvements funded through the KAB grant.

More of DAB’s coverage of the I-35 Makeover

Filed Under: 6th Street Historic & Entertainment District, austin transit, downtown austin, life in austin, urban planning

PARD vs. Pease Park

June 16, 2010 By 4 Comments

I’m REALLY late to the discussion on this.  A neighbor was chatting about Pease Park losing disc golf. So I pulled up the Statesman article from June 3rd.  WOW!  I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

I don’t even play disc golf, but I was left speechless for a minute.  Disc golf is one of the reasons Pease Park is a destination.  Activity is what draws people into parks.  Think about Waterloo Park – little activity, little use, taken over by vagrancy.  As best as I could tell, PARD made an executive decision [with little to no public input] to remove the disc golf course.

I’m normally sympathetic to PARD’s challenges and the hard decisions they need to make to keep Austin’s parks clean and accessible for the citizens of Austin.  But, this decision truly baffles me.  It’s frustrating to see reasons cited like “compacted soil” as sufficient cause to eliminate one of the best nontraditional uses of public space, something that is core to the spirit [and brand] of Austin, IMO.

I love this quote from Matt Odam’s post...

“The city should consider shutting down the Arboretum and tearing up the parking lots so there is much less runoff into Shoal Creek…”

Filed Under: austin lifestyle, austin parks, life in austin
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