Downtown Austin Blog

Waller Creek design up-to-bat for council approval

Jude Galligan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:52:58 +0000

An inspired master plan design for Waller Creek is inching closer to reality. It’s on the agenda for City Council this Thursday. It is a big step in a project I am a big fan of, and will be another transformative measure to propel Austin into the next 100 years. You may vaguely remember news [...]

DAB EXCLUSIVE: First Look at Broadstone On The Lake (former RunTex store)

Jude Galligan — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:26:01 +0000

Cities evolve. Few quite as visibly as Austin over the past couple of decades. We’ve got the first look at what’s coming to the site of the former RunTex store at S. 1st and Riverside Drive. Demo permits were approved last month, and fencing has been erected around the site. In its place, a six-story [...]

Lets Hug It Out: Rainey Street Traffic

Jude Galligan — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:56:54 +0000

With the increasing amount of construction happening in the Rainey Street District, I think we have seen the last of the Google Villages and such taking the neighborhood over – at least for a while. I’m going to lay out a summary of the transportation plan here first, then drop my two cents in the [...]

By The Numbers: Downtown’s Shrinking Inventory

Jude Galligan — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 18:35:09 +0000

The data supports what we all see – demand exceeds supply for downtown condos, especially dwellings priced under $500,000. May was the first month ever that both the average and median price per foot for a downtown resale was over $400/ft. At the extremes, asking prices for new construction high-luxury condos are approaching $1000 per foot, and [...]

Downtown News & Rumor Roundup

Jude Galligan — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:28:35 +0000

There’s been a smattering of interesting dining news recently: 1) The original Opal Divine’s on West Sixth Street will close on May 31st. They are currently working on a deal in the downtown area for a 5400-square-foot new Opal Divine’s. Look for an announcement soon on the exact location. Projected opening date is June 2014. (Dear lord, please don’t [...]

Colorado Tower scheduled for launch next month

Jude Galligan — Tue, 28 May 2013 12:30:51 +0000

Despite some ominous rumbling on the horizon that the project could be delayed indefinitely, I’m excited to share the news this week that Cousin’s magnificent Third & Colorado office tower is breaking ground next month. Cousin’s issued a press release Thursday announcing that the 29-story, 371,000-square-foot office tower will break ground early next month. The [...]

News & Rumor Roundup: Bike Share Delayed

Jude Galligan — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:10:21 +0000

Bike Share delayed? Sadly, it looks as if the bike share program in Austin is hitting some unexpected delays. KUT reported “the program has seen complications, and that a launch planned for this spring– which would’ve coincided with May as National Bike Month – will be delayed.” I’ve heard that some people who work at the city disagree [...]

First Phase of Green Water Construction Moving Forward?

Jude Galligan — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:18:03 +0000

Move over, Seaholm! The other massive redevelopment on Cesar Chavez, the Green Water Treatment Plant Redevelopment, is rumbling to life! Adding to the seemingly endless list of construction occurring downtown, it looks the Green Water Treatment Plant construction could be getting underway very soon. A site plan for a high-rise apartment on “Block 1” (110 [...]

Downtown News and Rumor Round-up

Jude Galligan — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:22:09 +0000

Rainey Street District hotel breaking ground next month? If you’ve been around downtown Austin since 2006, you’ve been hearing about the Hotel Van Zandt. It was a sister development to the Shore Condos, sharing the northern end of the site. Hotel Van Zandt was initially planned to be a $100 million, 29-story hotel and condo tower. The [...]

9th Annual Downtown Living Tour – May 19th, 2013 – Reserve Your Tickets

amber gugino — Sun, 05 May 2013 17:36:52 +0000

The 9th Annual Downtown Living Tour is a couple of weeks away. Produced by the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA), the tour is a great way to tour downtown living, at your own pace, all in one day! This year, although the tour will still be self-guided, the tour will also have shuttle service to [...]

Big News for Rainey Street District

Jude Galligan — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:49:55 +0000

By now you might have read the breaking news that the Sutton Co. is proposing to build a three-tower complex (including a 65 story tower!) across the street from Iron Works BBQ, with a tower that would be taller than the Austonian. What you may not realize yet is that Rainey Center, the dual tower [...]

Bank of America Drive Through at 5th & San Jacinto to Shut Down… What Will Replace It?

Jude Galligan — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:36:10 +0000

One of the most underutilized development sites in downtown Austin is about to transform. Categorize this discovery as random: because I am a customer of Bank of America, I received a letter stating the drive through at 5th & San Jacinto will be shutting down. That’s as official as it gets! This harks back to [...]

Austin’s Top Ten Coffee Shops: 2013

@JacobDirr — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:23:06 +0000

[Guest post by DAB Contributor, Jacob Dirr] Preamble: For years I secretly scoffed at what I perceived to be pseudo-intellectuals reading or working in coffee shops. You know who I’m talking about: Frasier Crane types who say things like “preamble” “scoff” and “perceive.” Then about two years ago today, I quit my day job and struck out [...]

Downtown News and Rumor Round-up

Jude Galligan — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:41:32 +0000

Leasing ABIA = urban rail? Getting better public transportation is so centric to the future of downtown, it always surprises me that there are not more occasions to write about it. In Austin, our current plan is called “urban rail” and it has almost become this amorphous type of buzz-word over the years. If you [...]

Tower Planned for 70 Rainey Street

Jude Galligan — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:55:58 +0000

Details are emerging for Riverside Resources’ planned multi-use tower at 70 Rainey St. across from the MACC. The firm, which also developed The Whitley and The Crescent, has filed an administrative site plan application to construct 182 multifamily units, and another 3,600 square feet of ground level restaurant and retail space. The 70 Rainey development, which encompasses [...]