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Archives for 2015

The Bridge Connection: Adding Grid To Downtown Without Roads

Caleb Pritchard | December 17, 2015 |

Take a look at the original layout of Austin — what we now call Downtown Austin, the grand cultural and economic gemstone in the greater Violet Crown — and you will see a street grid that is so thoroughly connected that it makes Frank Sinatra look like a friendless schlub from District 6.

But the intervening century-and-a-half has not been so kind to our great municipal waffle iron. Look at it now and witness so many strange ruptures that break apart once-fully connected streets.

old austin planSome fissures can be blamed on nature. Take the strange case of San Antonio Street at W. 7th, for example, an odd diversion necessitated by a fairly steep cliff.

Other fissures are entirely man’s fault — although you’re entirely excused for believing that the hulking Austin Convention Center and its permanent (and possibly growing!) dominion over Neches, W. 2nd, and W. 3rd streets is actually an act of divine terror.

Finally, there are fissures whose blame is shared by both nature and man. While nothing short of a zip-line* could patch San Antonio Street back together and, indeed, only divine terror could address the Convention Center, there are extremely exciting developments happening to stitch back together one of the most unfortunate examples of this third category, and on Thursday we saw one of the more satisfying fruits of those efforts.

shoal creek bridge
Shoal Creek Pedestrian Bridge at W4th & Rio Grande

Behold!  A newly-set pedestrian bridge spanning Shoal Creek at the convergence of W. 4th and Rio Grande streets.  After it arrived by truck from Alabama on Wednesday afternoon, Austin Public Works crews spent all day Thursday setting into place the $675,000 glorified gangplank  (which shouldn’t be confused with the nearby Butterfly Bridge that will soon reconnect W. 2nd Street across the creek).

The bridge is a key part of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt Trail Improvements Project, an ongoing $4.5 million effort to rehab a truly rad pedestrian and bike trail that runs *almost* the full of length of Downtown. Once the project is completed in October 2016, the missing parts of the trail south of W. 5th Street will be in place and you’ll be able to walk, jog, or cycle from Pease Park all the way to the Hike and Bike Trail on Lady Bird Lake without having to tangle with car traffic.

shoal-creek-bridge-map

On the street level, though, the new pedestrian bridge gives pedestrians and cyclists a new option to cross the creek in area that has seen and is continuing to see some of the most exciting development in town. Opposite of W. 4th and Rio Grande, will rise Austin’s tallest skyscraper, The Independent. Adjacent to that residential tower is the 360 Condominiums, the Green Water redevelopment site, the new Downtown Central Library, and Seaholm — a dense blend of residential, commercial, and cultural destinations.

Naturally, the new pedestrian bridge won’t be shouldering the load all by itself. Helping out is the existing pedestrian bridge over Shoal Creek on W. 3rd Street as well as that aforementioned Butterfly Bridge that will carry cars, pedestrians and cyclists).

Along with the newly created Walter Seaholm Drive and the eventual reconnection of West Avenue to W. Cesar Chavez, one key section of the Downtown grid is slowly reemerging from a badly needed cosmetic update that, as this section of town always does, badly puts the rest of Austin to shame.

-Caleb
(*Zip-line supporters can find the contact information for District 9 Council Member Kathie Tovo’s office here.)

Filed Under: downtown austin

Signals of progress at Waller Park Place

Jude Galligan | November 30, 2015 |

Small signals are often precursors of BIG news.

This past weekend, fencing was observed being erected around the site of Waller Park Place, the largest private development ever proposed in downtown Austin.  Demolition permits were issued back in August for the vacant structures along Red River Street.  The new fencing is a sure sign that site prep is about to begin.

The 3 acre site in the Rainey Street District stretches from Cesar Chavez to Davis Street, hugging the eastern bank of Waller Creek along the way.

-Jude

waller-park-place-demolition-signal2

waller-park-place-demolition-signal1

 

Proposed three-tower Waller Park Place at Red River & Cesar Chavez

Filed Under: austin condos, development, downtown austin, Rainey Street District, waller creek

Maufrais

Jude Galligan | November 19, 2015 |

Maufrais

[Editors note: I’ve always wanted to know the story behind the ubiquitous “Maufrais” stamped into the sidewalks of downtown Austin.  Rob Hafernik wondered the same back in 2008.  Below we’re reposting Rob’s article, originally published at Texas Escapes, and reveals some history about one of Austin’s most long-lived and mysterious brands… a legacy that began over a century ago.]

I’m a curious kind of guy. When I walk the dog, I wonder about the things I see along the way.  Everyone in Austin is familiar with the word “Maufrais”, but almost no one knows what it means. There are poems about it, and blog entries wondering about it. There are even people who think “Maufrais” is as mysterious as crop circles.

MaufraisSidewalkAustinTX1RHafernickThe reason for this mystery is that the word is stamped into half of the concrete in Austin. Just in the space of one good dog walk, I see the word a dozen times or more. Now, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that it must be the name of a concrete company, but enquiring minds want to know more. These days, enquiring minds are as addicted to search engines as Wimpy is addicted to hamburgers.

[Read more…] about Maufrais

Filed Under: austin lifestyle

Historic Downtown Sampson Building Will Host New Co-Working Space

AG | November 5, 2015 |

Co-working in downtown Austin has arrived, and competition is delivering flexible work spaces that are incredible.

WeWork is set to expand through to two additional floors (close to 1,000 new desks) in their current building right around the time of the opening of the 25,000 square foot Galvanize space in the Seaholm development.  Capital Factory, the original downtown Austin co-working/incubator/accelerator concept, is a major player in the market, as well.

Those large concepts look impressive, but aren’t a fit for everyone looking for a quieter space to be productive.  The result is that there are new co-working concepts leveraging smaller spaces in historic buildings.

As I walk into the space on the top floor of the Sampson Building on Congress Avenue, I am immediately struck by the quiet – audibly and visually.  The lack of distraction, hectic bustle, and co-working “flair” sets a much different tone than what I’m used to seeing in the other downtown Austin concepts (wework and galvanize), and the atmosphere is just one of the ways Open-Source Co-Working is trying to set itself apart from its larger competitors.

I’m a sucker for a historic building.  The patina and beauty that comes from being in a building like the [Read more…] about Historic Downtown Sampson Building Will Host New Co-Working Space

Filed Under: downtown austin

What’s the haps at the Green Water?

Jude Galligan | October 29, 2015 |

Adding new street grid, a mix of uses, and an attractive new “butterfly” bridge over Shoal Creek, downtown Austin’s Green Water Treatment Plant (GWTP) redevelopment is one of the most significant projects underway.

There are several pieces to the GWTP puzzle, and even us inveterate downtowners will benefit from a refresher.  The site is visibly made more complex with concurrent redevelopment of Seaholm and the new Austin Central Library to the west, and Third+Shoal to the north.

The Green Water Treatment Plant four-block redevelopment, for many years, was a concept of “what could one day be” and for years was not.

GWTP in 2009. POV looking south. Photo by AustinTexasDailyPhoto
GWTP in 2009. POV from 360 condos pool deck, looking south. Photo by AustinTexasDailyPhoto

Built in 1925 and decommissioned in 2008, the Green Water Treatment Plant was Austin’s first water treatment facility. In 2008 the City of Austin sought developers for public-private partnership to redevelop the site, as part of broader 2nd Street District, and selected Trammel Crow because they proposed the most dense and ambitious plan for the site.

Some environmental issues stalled the redevelopment for a while, but now remarkably there are three distinct projects underway, plus one more wildcard to-be-determined.

The four blocks of GWTP redevelopment. Cesar Chavez @ San Antonio
The four blocks of GWTP redevelopment. Cesar Chavez @ San Antonio

Northshore (Block 1)

block1-trammell-crow
rendering of Northshore apartments

Construction on the first phase of redevelopment is the Northshore, a three-tiered mixed-use tower that bills itself as “the ultimate luxury living experience” with approximately 440 luxury apartments, along with 50 affordable units and more than 40,000 square feet of office and retail space. Construction is wrapping up, and the project is expected to open soon.

http://www.northshoreaustin.com

500 W. 2nd Street (Block 23)

500w2nd-office

One block up from Northshore is the the 500 W. 2nd Street office tower. Construction started December of 2014 on this 29-story, 500,000 square foot office tower that will have two ground-level restaurants. The lobby of 500 W. 2nd Street promises to be a striking experience from both the inside and out, by way of 26-foot tall frameless glass wall. Google made headlines by becoming the first tenant to sign on at the project and will occupy almost half the building by its completion in 2017.

http://500west2nd.com

Austin Proper Hotel & Residences (Block 188)

austin-proper-hotel1

This 32-story Austin Proper hotel and condo tower (now taking reservations) is the most recent to make the news, having just been announced this summer.  The project will include 243 hotel rooms, plus another 94 condo units ranging in size from 850 square feet to 6,000-square-feet penthouses.  Construction is scheduled to start in November.

Home

To-Be-Determined (Block 185)

block185-waiting

The last phase of Green Water is still up in the air, and please tip your editor if you know.  Trammell Crow is being tight lipped. The master plan calls for another residential tower, hosting 295 units, and a little more retail. It’s unknown if the residential units will go up for sale, or for rent, but I’m hopeful that the market will support a condo development.

Honorable mention: Third + Shoal

It’s worth noting that the four-block development butts up to one other major development to the north, which is not part of the Green Water redevelopment: Third+Shoal (slideshare), at 208 Nueces. Construction of the 349,000-square-foot, 28-story office building is scheduled to be completed in early 2017, following the demolition of the underwhelming Austin Music Hall.

-Jude

third-shoal-office

Filed Under: downtown austin

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