A new 48-story residential tower may soon rise at 506 and 508 West Ave. in downtown, replacing restaurants Irene’s and Taquero Mucho. The Planning Commission last Tuesday voted unanimously to support a rezoning that would enable the developers to build taller than allowed under the site’s current zoning, following a series of delays due to […]
Central Business District
A zoning designation that describes the business district of downtown Austin.
Posted inCity Council
Council considers overnight concrete pour exceptions for South Congress HEB project
Among last week’s packed agenda, City Council debated a resolution that would grant the HEB redevelopment at Oltorf & South Congress a permit to pour concrete overnight. The project, which aims to open a new grocery by 2024, has the distinct potential to congest traffic at the intersection, thanks to lane closures for construction materials. To […]
Posted inDevelopment
City tries to get developers to embrace ‘great urban design’
While the most often discussed aim of density bonuses has been to create affordable housing, the city also hopes to use them as a way to encourage other community benefits, including superior design. “We’re trying to shift the narrative and shift the story and say great urban design is important,” Jorge Rousselin, who is the […]
Posted inDevelopment
Central Health taps Baltimore-based firm for Brackenridge Hospital redevelopment
Central Health has selected a firm to redevelop Brackenridge Hospital. The Central Health Board of Managers announced it’s chosen Baltimore-based Wexford Science and Technology to revamp the hospital, which closed its doors for good in May after more than a century of service in Austin. Brackenridge long served as a safety-net hospital for low-income patients, […]
Posted inDevelopment
High-rises to fill downtown Austin’s few remaining empty blocks
It’s hard to come by vacant land in downtown Austin these days, and the few empty blocks that remain are quickly being scooped up by developers. One of the area’s latest projects is at 308 Guadalupe Street. Earlier this month, Travis County closed on a $430 million deal to lease out the site in the […]
Posted inAustin
Hotel taxes key to ‘downtown puzzle’ to help area homeless
For all the interlinked pieces of the “downtown puzzle”-solving plan that Mayor Steve Adler unveiled Monday morning – and in a 20-minute speech he name-checked just about every relevant downtown Austin presence – the ambitious and far-reaching policy gambit boils down to one key transaction. That exchange would see hotel guests and their wallets as […]
Posted inAustin
Can an expanded convention center solve the ‘downtown puzzle’?
After months of research, city staff has come up with a few ways that City Council can find money to begin solving the so-called “downtown puzzle,” the expression used by Mayor Steve Adler to describe a host of potential downtown projects that could benefit the city. Those projects include expansion of the Austin Convention Center […]
Posted inDevelopment
Praise pours in for county’s downtown deal
Late Tuesday afternoon, the county formally announced its deal with Lincoln Property Company and Phoenix Property Company to ink a 99-year ground lease at 308 Guadalupe St., the empty block that was once eyed as the site for a brand new civil courthouse. County Judge Sarah Eckhardt told reporters that the Travis County Commissioners Court […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s high-end apartment market closes some of its vacancy gap
High-end apartments have come to dominate the rental market in downtown Austin. A few years ago, those developments saw a sharp drop in occupancy as new units flooded the market. Now the market seems to be on its way to stabilizing. These days, you can find luxury rentals in virtually every part of the city. In […]
Posted inDevelopment
Rainey Street condo developer to fund neighborhood traffic study
Yet another new high-rise condo complex could be coming to the Rainey Street neighborhood. But before it breaks ground, developers and residents are working to identify the top traffic needs in the area. The Austin-based Sutton Company wants to build new condos on a 2-acre plot of land at 80 Red River St. that is […]
Posted inPlanning
Planning Commission votes to break Rainey Street covenant
It’s one of the most densely populated parts of the city, with nearby access to bike trails, downtown, public transit and Interstate 35, but development fights in the Rainey Street District have a familiar villain: traffic. Last week, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to remove a restrictive covenant in the heart of the district that […]
Posted inAustin
Council OKs downtown restrooms
Downtown visitors and residents will no longer have to rely on street smarts or commerce to find relief in that area of town. On Thursday, City Council approved a resolution that will usher in the city’s first public restrooms, though they will be temporary for the time being. The resolution, which will lead to two […]