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Spotted: New Bar Coming to Rainey Street Neighborhood

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No, not that one.  Or that one.  Not these, either.  Another one…

East Avenue Lounge, located along frontage road at 90 N IH-35 (aka East Ave), has posted their TABC application notice.  This is an interesting property.  It faces I-35. It has an upper and lower porch. In fact, it’s the only legacy two story structure in the area – a defining characteristic that hopefully will be embraced with creative uses and design. The proprietors will likely benefit from lots of “on the way home” traffic.  While inside the boundaries of downtown Austin’s Rainey Street neighborhood, this structure is located outside of the Rainey Street Historic District.



View Rainey Street District in a larger map

Reminder: Couple Important “Future of Downtown” Presentations – This Evening & Tomorrow Morning

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DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN TOWN HALL — Waterfront and Core District.  A final draft plan review and presentation by city officials before heading to City Council.

Will include:  District issues and priorities. Location, type, and mix of uses within the district, including priority uses. Development sites and projection of potential growth and capacity. Development standards (e.g., allowable and conditional uses, density, impervious cover, etc.). Form-based standards (related to building typologies, height, massing, setbacks, compatibility standards, ground level uses, parking and service treatments, etc.). Recommended density. Historic and Cultural Resources. Parks and open space improvements. Transportation and streetscape improvements. Infrastructure improvements. Implementation Program.  This is the whole “big picture” look for Downtown.

Wed, June 2nd, 5:30-8:00pm.  Waller Creek Center, 625 E.10th St, Room 104 (light refreshments served).

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DAA ISSUES & EGGS FORUM — The Capitol Complex Redevelopment Plan.  A conceptual overview and presentation by state officials.

The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) has announced that it plans to re-imagine the future of state government’s presence in the heart of  Austin.  This new plan could triple the amount of space at the Capitol  complex, add 7  million square feet of space to downtown, and include joint development with private interests  where parking lots or garages currently exist.

Thur, June 3rd, 7:30-9:00am.  St. David’s Episcopal Church, Sumners Hall, 301 E.8th St (tacos, juice and coffee if you get there early).


The New Capitol Complex Vision – What Else Is So Important About This?

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As a clued-in DAB reader, hopefully you already know about the recent announcement of a very exciting vision and plan to potentially redevelop some 20 or so blocks of Downtown Austin land  surrounding the Capitol.  It’s land owned by the State, most of it terribly underutilized and poorly built out today.  The plan could transform the area into as much a 7 million square feet of new office and mixed use space.

Info on the plan has been well covered by both the Austin Chronicle and the Statesman.  And Chris Bradford does a nice job of discussing the economic impact aspects in his Austin Contrarian blog.  Obviously getting so many blocks onto the tax rolls would be a huge boost to the local economy while also bringing alive the virtual “dead zone” of downtown space between the Capitol and UT.

But the one further exciting possibility to work into this equation that I have not seen explored yet: the opportunity for new housing.  AFFORDABLE HOUSING, to be specific.

This has started to be investigated somewhat as part of the planning work being done around the Waller Creek Tunnel & Redevelopment project.  Now, this Capitol redevelopment plan raises the possibility of really connecting these pieces into a solution of great possibilities.

The target properties are all those hideous parking garages that line San Jacinto and Trinity streets.

And the target population to serve should be:  State office workers, of course.  But also downtown service and support industry workers like bar and restaurant staff, hotel housekeepers, retail clerks, musicians and artists.  And also UT and ACC students, too (that would help take some pressure off of over-development of multi-unit housing along the East Riverside corridor where the EROC Neighborhood Association is fighting for survival of what SFR neighborhoods they have left).

Jude is better qualified than I to comment about the supply versus demand of half-million-dollar-plus condos within the CBD,  But I am a business owner who works in and close to the aforementioned “service and support” infrastructure that provides downtown with its excitement, vibrancy and great economic vitality in this area.

In that capacity I can say that we have a massive missed opportunity right now to build out a whole neighborhood of mid-rise,  mixed-use buildings that has as its core focus affordable housing.  I’m talking smaller studio, 1BR and 2BR rental units that can lease for $500-$1,000 per month.

That would give us places to house our critical service industry workers, students and state office support staff within walking distance of the places where they work, study and play the rest of their dayparts.  Right now, these folks are having to live in far north or south Austin, thus adding to the traffic congestion on local roads or having to add hour-long bus rides in two directions to their already long and hard days.  (Not that Cap Metro runs any bus service after midnight when loads of these folks get off of work or leave our multiple downtown entertainment districts.)

If you would like to see and hear more about the Capitol Redevelopment vision/plan, the Downtown Austin Alliance is hosting a forum next week — June 3rd, 7:30am — where you can have a close up look and hear directly from the folks involved with the project.  It’s early in the morning but you can do it!  🙂  Free and open to the public but an RSVP is requested to make sure there are enough breakfast tacos and OJ on hand to reward your attendance.  Details can be found here.

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WHAT: Downtown Austin Alliance, Issues & Eggs Breakfast Forum
TOPIC: Capitol Complex Redevelopment Plan
WHEN: Thursday, June 3, 2010; 7:30am breakfast, 8:00am presentation
WHERE: St. David’s Episcopal Church, Sumner Hall, San Jacinto betw. 7th & 8th
RSVP by June 1 to:  rsvp@downtownaustin.com  or call (512) 381-6270

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New Downtown Office Tower Announced Next To Gables

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Francisco Vara-Orta gets the scoop on plans for a new downtown Austin 15 story office tower, next to Gables Park Plaza at Lamar and Cesar Chavez.

Dubbed Park Plaza, the planned 15-story tower will feature 189,000 square feet of predominately Class A office space off the northeast corner of West Cesar Chavez Street and Lamar Boulevard — next to the newly opened Gables Park Plaza residential complex. Gables owns the 1.8-acre tract where the new office building is planned, and has contracted with Capital City to build and lease the structure, which will also include approximately 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Dirt could turn as early as October.

Nothing gets built until enough lease agreements are in place, but with a location like this that could happen soon.  As it is envisioned, no variances are needed.

This is the second, (maybe third) office project announced in this district of downtown this year.

Is 2nd Street Getting A Movie Theater?

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AMLI is rumored to have signed a lease with an operator for a 3-4 screen movie theater to take the space above Malaga and Z Pizza.  We’re told the theater will serve food and drinks (including liquor), and the menu would consist of items from restaurants located in the 2nd Street district.  It’s clear from the photo above that the space isn’t very deep, and it’s possible that part of the venue would extend over the sidewalk.

We don’t know who the operator is, but we do know it’s not local favorite Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. The addition of a destination venue like this, and the wrap-up of the W-Hotel’s construction will be a breath of fresh air for neighboring retail on the 400 block of W 2nd Street.

Downtown Austin’s 2nd Street District retailers have been hit hard with the economic downturn, and the venues on 400 block have struggled to keep up with the foot traffic found just two blocks over where Jos, Estilo, and DWR are located.  Many pedestrians end up not walking beyond the W Hotel construction site.