downtown Austin's real estate and neighborhood blog
This picture captures so much of the vibrancy of our growing downtown. The photographer, friend David Gottlieb, has one of the best vantage points in the city: Spring condos.
The influx of people for SXSW – traffic be damned – reminds me of what a 24/7 vibrant city looks and feels like. And, we’re getting there. Checkout an even cooler picture…
I love this idea for downtown Austin. Convert two duck-in parking spaces in front of Royal Blue Grocery on Congress Ave, in order to improve the pedestrian experience and create a retail destination.
“Street patios” have been implemented before in other cities, successfully, under the badge of “parklet” or “pop-up” cafe.
Upon approval by Council, later this month, the initiative would be a partnership between the City of Austin and Royal Blue Grocery, with design coming from Studio DWG and civil engineering firm Big Red Dog.
The street patio in front of Royal Blue Grocery is just a trial run. If successful we could see more street patios in other parts of downtown. The results should provide more space for pedestrians and a cafe sitting area, similar to Jos on 2nd Street. WIN!
More pics after the jump. [Read more…] about Street Patio Experiment: Congress Ave @ Royal Blue Grocery
Another bar, ahem – excuse me – I mean to say a real restaurant (golly gee!) has finally opened in the Rainey District of Downtown Austin. Yes – reader – you may be sensing sarcasm. That’s because even though, yes, Javelina Bar has a kitchen and a menu – making them technically a restaurant – and even though the owners are touting that they are different than the other bars in the district because they have said kitchen – there’s no mistaking that this place totally feels more like a bar than a restaurant – I mean, it even has the word “Bar” in its name.
But – I will say, I think it’s a step in the right direction. A nice, large step in the right direction.
I visited the brand new establishment yesterday, had a couple of brews and a fairly delish veggie burger (they put queso on it, too!). Nice, clean, pseudo-rustic environment. Understandably, they were working out some kinks, but I will say, the food was alright and the service was super friendly (shout-out to bartender / server Amanda!).
So, here’s the menu – in all of its glory: [Read more…] about Javelina Bar: MENU, Pictures, Short Review, and a Call for Action
I spotted this while walking this morning in the burgeoning Railyard District.
Rivals Steakhouse is under construction at the southwest corner of 5th & Trinity. This comes after more than three years of vacancy, since property owner Tim Finley refused to renew Paradox’s lease.
This isn’t the neighborhood’s vision for highest and best use of a downtown corner property, but, overall, most of the surrounding loft owners are pleased that it’s no longer vacant.
I wonder what the economics of steakhouses are because there seems to be a lot of them. If you would have asked me ten years ago where to buy a good steak in downtown Austin I would have instinctively said “Sullivans”.
Transportation wonks: is there something different about the conceptual urban rail alignment depicted in the latest flyer from Project Connect?
The portion of the rail system south of 4th Street is showing that the preferred alignment (solid orange lines) is not Congress Ave, rather it’s humble ol’ Trinity Street.
On previous maps, I recall Congress Ave having the bold lines and Trinity Street relegated to a hypothetical dashed line. This is a subtle change on paper, but a potentially big improvement to ridership and economic impact.
I presume a Trinity alignment would have a stop at/near Waller Creek. Imagine connecting businesses and visitors to the Rainey Street district, Waller Creek, the Boat House, the MACC, the Convention Center. There’s greater density of residential and recreational use. There’s more [taxable] development opportunity along the Trinity alignment.
[Read more…] about A Smarter Route? Proposed Urban Rail Along Trinity Street
