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Downtown Thriving as a Live-Work-Play Community

Fred Schmidt | May 30, 2016 |

greenofficebuilding2
Artist’s rendering of the office tower now going up at the site of the former Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant in downtown Austin where Google will take more than 200,000-sf. CREDIT: Gensler Austin

Nice story in The Statesman about the vibrant community that continues to grow downtown – not just in terms of nightlife, but also new economy jobs and associated residents:  Austin’s Tech Scene Heats Up Downtown.

It’s worth pointing out however that all this has not “just happened” by itself.

It has been 15+ years in the making with great purpose by the likes of the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA), the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA), Mayors Kirk Watson, Will Wynn, Lee Leffingwell and their City Councils, the Downtown Austin Plan, and many more driving forces.

Except for weekday lunchtime and weekend nights on East 6th, it was a veritable ghost town when my team first opened an expanded Wild About Music down here in 1995, then started living here in 1999.

There’s still a ton of work to be done around issues of homelessness and vagrancy (two different matters), affordability (having only $50/ft rents and million dollar condos is not sustainable), traffic (a car-free zone?), and that IH-35 east-west barrier.

Dave Sullivan, longtime Austin civic leader during this big growth period, also just told me: “When I joined the City Planning Commission in 1994, software development was a prohibited use Downtown. I remember voting to change that in the late 90s. Seems incredible.”

Incredible indeed, Dave.


And a worthy update:  After this story published I received a note from a longtime steward of Downtown Austin’s evolution, Michael Knox, of the City’s Economic Development Department.  He filled in another 10 years of preparation that went into the creation of today’s Downtown before my timeline even picks up.  Mike says:

“I started working on downtown in 1988, when it was part of AustinPlan’s Sector 1.  Of course AustinPlan, the comprehensive plan update to replace Austin Tomorrow, was never adopted.

“In 1989 we (Jose Martinez and I) started working with the Downtown Commission, actively promoting a thing called R/UDAT.  The 1990 R/UDAT application we co-wrote was accepted, and in 1991 we got the R/UDAT team visit and report, followed in 1992 by “A Call to Action: R/UDAT Implementation” that, in 1993 gave birth to the Downtown Austin Alliance and the Austin Downton PID.  These efforts involved hundreds of dedicated Austinites.

“Downtown initiatives were kicked up a notch in 1997 when Kirk Watson became Mayor, and Assistant City Manager Jim Smith (now Aviation Director) and I put together Kirk’s first six downtown initiatives, including the Waller Creek tunnel, Downtown Design Guidelines and the Poleyard and AMLI developments.”

So there you go…another of Downtown Austin’s many unsung heroes.  We thank you, Michael Knox.

~Fred

Filed Under: austin lifestyle, austin news, downtown austin Tagged With: Atlassian, BigCommerce, business, downtown austin, Google, office, residential, tech, Under Armour

Waller Creek Project Newsletter

Jude Galligan | September 9, 2009 |

Latest Waller Creek Newsletter Is Available
Latest Waller Creek Newsletter Is Available (click for pdf)

Filed Under: downtown austin, waller creek Tagged With: downtown austin, waller creek

904 West Ave

Jude Galligan | July 15, 2009 |

904 West Ave - condo rehab
904 West Ave - condo rehab

Not much is being released about the 904 West Ave apartment-to-condo conversion.  The two-story complex originally constructed in the 1960’s should yield 22 units +/- depending on floor plans. The sign indicates the units will start at $160k and will be ready by the fall.  From the street it appears they are still in the demolition phase of construction.  No floor plans nor pricing have been released (I’ve inquired).

Located in the “Original Austin Neighborhood”, 904 West Ave part of a great downtown Austin neighborhood – equidistant to West 6th as are the 360 condos, Duncan Park is around the corner, and I would enjoy walking to Emerald City Press each morning.

Emerald City Press
Emerald City Press

Before he earned the position of Austin City Councilmember, Chris Riley had prepared an interactive map of OAN that includes the history of some great properties – very cool!

904 West Ave has a splash page, but not many details currently.

-Jude

Filed Under: downtown austin Tagged With: 904 west, downtown austin

[Part two] City of Austin v. Harry Whittington: the saga of a parking garage

Jude Galligan | December 5, 2008 |

by jude galligan

Who has legal claim to the Convention Cener parking garage?  The City of Austin or Harry Whittington?
Who has legal claim to the Convention Center parking garage? The City of Austin or Harry Whittington?

Part one begins here.

In 2003 Harry Whittington begins to win.  But, the City is proving to be just as stubborn with their appeals – just as Whittington had been between 2000-2003.

Whittington has postured himself along the following legal issues
1)    originally, the condemnation was incorrectly  processed
2)    on the second condemnation attempt, the City did not properly condemn the alley
3)    the City hasn’t demonstrated the condemnation was done out of necessity for a public purpose
4)    the City already has parking on 2nd & Trinity and the new parking lot and (later) chiller system are intended to benefit private sector, beginning with the new Hilton hotel, and specifically future developers

Chronology of events from 2003 to 2007 begins after the jump.

[Read more…] about [Part two] City of Austin v. Harry Whittington: the saga of a parking garage

Filed Under: buildings, city council, development, Real Estate, retail Tagged With: downtown austin, harry whittington, retail

City of Austin v. Harry Whittington: the saga of a parking garage

Jude Galligan | December 4, 2008 |

17k square feet of retail held hostage by the court

17,000 square feet of empty retail space rests at the base of the Convention Center’s parking garage. This retail space has the potential to add vibrancy and day time services to the Entertainment District.  This is the only retail space within a few hundred feet of the 555, the Sabine on 5th, the Hilton, the Hilton Garden Inn, and the Convention Center.   So, why hasn’t this space been filled?

After the jump:  Part 1 of the chronology of City of Austin v. Harry Whittington
[Read more…] about City of Austin v. Harry Whittington: the saga of a parking garage

Filed Under: buildings, development, downtown austin, entertainment district, Real Estate, retail Tagged With: downtown austin, retail

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