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Paramount Theater: A Preferred Venue For Comics Filming Specials

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Comedy Central Filming Nick Swardson at Paramount Theater

We don’t spend much time in front of the television, but we never pass up Reno 911.  Nick Swardson plays Terry (nsfw).  Nick was in town last night at the Paramount to film his next DVD/Comedy Central special, “Seriously, who farted?”   In recent years several stand up comics including Jim Gaffigan, Demetri Martin, Ralphie May have chosen Austin’s Paramount Theater as the venue for filming their DVD or television specials.

Swardson would likely tell you he chose Austin because “he likes to party.”  For comics, Austin has the right blend of being a cool city, with an easy-going college town atmosphere, and a great theater – Comedy Central seems to have fallen in love with the Paramount’s proscenium-arch, the mezzanine seating, the balconies and ornate design making it the perfect setting for televised specials.

$0.10 Gas Tax Freakonomics

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Austin Gas Tax Freakonomics
Austin Gas Tax Freakonomics

A 2007 U.S. Census estimate places Austin’s population at 743,074 people.   We’ll use 0.85 as the multiplier to approximate the number of vehicles per capita in the State of Texas.  Assume the average car owner drives 12,000 miles a year and gets 24mpg.   That person will purchase 500 gallons of gas each year.  By employing a $0.10 gas tax per gallon, for the driver this equates to $50.00 per year, or only $4.17 per month.  But, the City could collect over $31.6MM in a single year. (The City could realistically expect much more from drivers passing through.)

$31.6MM is more than half the cost of Portland’s, Tampa’s, or Seattle’s budget for their street car system (article, pdf).  A real world case study in streetcar economics yielded enhanced property values, connectivity, 400 new businesses (90% locally owned), the majority of these businesses are owned by women and minorities.

Even I, an economic conservative, can identify with the social value generated by $4.17 per month towards paying for an Austin streetcar.  Food for thought for our next City Council.

-Jude

Ligne Roset Opening On 2nd Street

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As we scootered over to last night’s Urban Core Happy Hour at SoCo designs (sponsored by DANA, SoCo designs, and Barton Place), we noticed the construction paper had been taken down on the southwest corner of 2nd and Colorado, and a bright white room was filled with some of my favorite furniture.  Ligne Roset has arrived in Austin.

Ligne Roset is set to open its Austin store on April 16th, according to Forbes.  I’ve recently been pretty tough on 2nd Street’s tenant mix, but there is a special place in my heart for Ligne Roset and the Togo series.  Can’t wait for the grand opening.

SoCo designs
DANA
Barton Place

-Jude

The Challenges of Waterloo Park

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Headstone at Waterloo Park
Headstone at Waterloo Park

With vegetation, a natural creek bed, seclusion, and rolling hills, Waterloo Park has the “right stuff” to be the best park in Austin.  Flanked on the east and west by Red River Street and San Jacinto Blvd Trinity, respectively, Waterloo Park’s configuration runs north-south length wise between 15th and 12th streets, as Waller Creek meanders through it.

A couple weekends ago, we wanted to check out the “Birth of Cool” exhibit at the Blanton museum, and we decided to walk from our building (Sabine) along Waller Creek through Waterloo Park.

As we walked through Waterloo Park, we were overtaken with its beauty but disappointed in its care.  We found a littered creek, overgrown vegetation, and hazardous pathways.  One unmarked sinkhole in the middle of the pathway would have seriously injured anyone who didn’t notice it – easily three feet deep.

Waterloo Park sits in an industrial zone
Waterloo Park sits in an industrial zone

With all of its innate beauty, Waterloo Park is analogous to a gifted MVP baseball player, who somehow gets stuck playing for a losing team.

Waterloo Park sits underutilized inside an industrial zone of competing real estate interests: Travis County, State of Texas, University of Texas, and Brackenridge Hospital.

Tough location, eh?

Hospital parking garages to the east.  State of Texas parking garages to the west.  Social services and more parking garages to the north.  The neighborhood and urban fabric breaks down north of 11th Street.  Lack of coordination by the major real estate holders yields nothing of significant neighborhood value to draw a critical mass of pedestrians.

Waterloo Park is a great example of the results of poor urban planning and stakeholder coordination – the park is surrounded with parking garages (blight), is not integrated into the fabric of our neighborhood, and is often inhabited with drug addicts, drunks, and panhandlers.  As such, it remains a destination that few people care to visit.

Rail Stops Vs. Bus Stops

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Great quote via the Overhead Wire…

“Rail transit drives walkable urban places. I’ve never seen one dollar of real estate investment invested because of a bus stop. But if you have [rail] transit, it’s a different story altogether.” – Chris Leinberger

Permanence yields investment.  Bus stops come and go.  I would take it a step further and suggest that in several cases the presence of a bus stop could actually inhibit real estate investment.

Shoppers Prefer Smaller Grocers

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Consumer Reports [via Reuters] confirms our suspicion that mega-box grocers underwhelm, and it’s preferable to pay a little more for a pleasant experience.

“The few chains that were spotless, offered standout meat and produce, and had helpful and friendly staff and quick checkout” according to Consumer Reports.

David Buttross and Affordable Housing

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I met David Buttross for the first time this past Saturday at the Urban is Core candidate forum.  At the dais, David’s responses were refreshingly crisp and practical. Now, those won’t win him an Austin mayoral election, but the benefit of ‘underdog’ candidates, especially those who are as successful as David is, is to reality check the front running candidates.

For example, an issue that local politicians love to pander to but can’t quite solve is affordable housing.  Realizing the difficult reality of placing affordable housing where land is expensive, David’s message is clear:

You can’t have affordable housing:
1) Without density to increase housing stock
2) Without mass transit to connect people

I’ve always been frustrated by local politicians that call for more affordable housing and simultaneously denigrate density in their own neighborhood.  I’ve always held that you can achieve affordable housing by fixing onerous SF-3/McMansion zoning, mitigating NIMBY-ism by spreading affordable housing everywhere, then organically grow mass-transit to connect people to where they want to go.

-Jude

Austin Super Forum – Martinez and Spelman Prepared

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The Austinist has published Councilmember Mike Martinez’s and candidate Bill Spelman’s written responses to 22 questions in preparation for the Urban Is Core Super Forum this Saturday.

Generally, I find their responses encouraging.  Progressive on land use and transportation issues.  Realistic on social service issues.

Bill Spelman responds
Mike Martinez responds

UPDATE: complete list of responses below

Mayor:
McCracken: response
Leffingwell: response
Ingalls: response
Buttross: response
Strayhorn: No response

Place 1:
Riley: response
Cavazos: response

Place 2:
Martinez: response
Quintero: No response

Place 5:
Spellman: response

Place 6:
Cole: response
Osemene: response

Austin's McCracken and Leffingwell Rhyme Off At Mohawk

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You’ve heard of Lil’ Wayne?  How about Lil’ Leffy?  On April 21st, the Austin Chronicle is sponsoring “The Hustle For Mayor” candidate forum at Mohawk in downtown Austin.  Will we get to witness Lee ‘lil leffy’ Leffingwell and Brewster ‘Micky Crack’ McCracken grab the mic and spit the illest, most hunker-downest, sustainabilitized, verbal gymnastics ever heard in a mayoral election?

DJ Mel will be breakin’ necks from the tables.

This is happening.

Lil' Leffy v MC Crack
Lil' Leffy v Micky Crack