Anvil Cloud Of Doom Looms Over Austin

downtown austin storm cloud

This ominous looking picture was shot from the Spring Condos, by downtown Austin resident David Gottlieb.  Check out our friends at Republic Of Austin for some more pics.
downtown austin storm cloud

Cinco De Mayo Party Worth Checking Out

Cinco De Mayo Puppy

If you haven’t made your Cinco De Mayo plans yet – I would check out this event at La Condesa / Malverde in Downtown Austin’s 2nd Street District.  It’s a hip spot with a killer vibe, and I always enjoy myself when I’m there. And there’s no cover, so there’s that….

Malverde has long been one of my fave places to go when I’m feeling a bit hip and want to enjoy a swanky view.  There’s always good music, good people, and good drinks.  The same goes for the restaurant below, La Condesa.  The interior finish out of the place is a reason to go to the restaurant in and of itself, IMO.

The event begins at 5pm (appropriately) at La Condesa.  There promises to be lots of yummy food and drink to enjoy.  Don’t siesta on this fiesta!

Flyer after the jump: [Read more...]

Downtown Austin Home Bicycle Tour (Free Tickets – $44 Value)

2011spring2colorBanner

We are awarding 2 free tickets ($44 value) to 1 lucky DAB reader for this AWESOME bike tour happening this Saturday, April 23rd, beginning at 9:30AM.  MEET UP AT WHOLE FOODS ON LAMAR.  Winner will also receive 2 FREE Downtown Austin Blog t-shirts (priceless?)! [Read more...]

Downtown Austin’s Railyard District Getting A New Neighbor?

whitely-paper-co

No, we’re not talking about the news of a rekindled T. Stacy building.  Last month it was reported that Riverside Resources was under contract to buy the Whitley Building at 301 Brazos St.  The downtown Austin development site is zoned Central Business District (CBD) with no Capitol View Corridor restrictions.  According to reporter Jacob Dirr’s Twitter feed, the local development firm is planning a 20-story residential redevelopment of the site.  Dirr’s tweet also links to a rendering of the building [Read more...]

Downtown Austin: Census Data In Perspective

2010 downtown austin census blocks

Anyone who knows what a construction crane looks like knows that downtown Austin experienced phenomenal growth between 2000 and 2010. The 2010 Census confirms what we could see: Census tract 11 (which includes the CBD and Rainey Street) more than doubled in population, from 2,386 to 5,512. And that excludes dense developments that most would consider part of “downtown,” including Gables Park Plaza, the Monarch, Spring and Nokonah, all within Census tract 12. Add these and Downtown’s growth was even more impressive. [Read more...]

“Welcome” to the Police State of 6ixth

Police Line Do Not Cross

It’s a warm and breezy Saturday night in Austin on Texas Relays Weekend. We did up a special store window at Wild About Music in Bob Marley + hip hop theme to welcome our 40,000-ish athletes, families and guests to town like every year. Daytime business was great, both Friday and today. But by 6pm things died off to nothingness and never revived by the time we normally close at 9pm. Totally deadsville. Absolutely not the norm for a weekend evening in Spring.  So we hit the street to see wazzup. [Read more...]

Waller Creek Groundbreaking Ceremony

waller creek tunnel ground breaking ceremony

Just got back from the ground breaking ceremony for Downtown Austin’s Waller Creek Tunnel project.  Not long ago Austin City Council officially adopted the Waller Creek District Master Plan (link).  This groundbreaking is milestone in downtown Austin’s revitalization.  The tunnel is expected to be completed in 2014, at which point 28 acres of downtown land [Read more...]

Downtown Austin Apartment High Rise To Get A Name Change

windsor-on-the-lake

Downtown Austin Blog has learned that the Legacy On The Lake apartment high rise will undergo rebranding as “Windsor On The Lake”, or to something similar.  Windsor Communities has purchased a controlling interest in the Rainey Street tower from Legacy Partners, and within the next couple of weeks we should expect to see new signage. Completed in 2008, Legacy On The Lake is a 187 unit LEED certified building.

Vote For Austin Bike Share

minneapolis bike share

We’ve got some momentum on this: improving last-mile and recreational transit by installing bike share hubs throughout Austin’s urban core.   DAB readers know this is something I’ve been passionate about for years.  The idea has the attention of multiple Austin City Council members.  Take five seconds and **VOTE NOW**!