AUSTIN | Economic Development

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

I'm not sure if this is the best thread to post this in, but I thought that those of you in Austin might find this article interesting.


Is Boise like Austin 20 years ago? Lessons from Texas’ capital city provide clues to Boise’s possible future

https://boisedev.com/news/2021/03/17...e-as-it-grows/

Not a very well researched article, and I find the analogy somewhat lacking.

I don't know where they got their "Austin’s metro area had 720,000 people in 1996" number. The link they provide shows that as the '95 value, but more importantly, just Travis + Williamson had 716k in _1990_ (so their source seems to be wrong).

but just as critically, at that point in 1990, Travis had just gone through a decade of 37% growth, and was about to enter a decade of 40% growth.

Boise's metro is about to finish a decade of <25% growth. While the city itself is sitting in the low teens, after another decade in the 2000s of 10% growth.

I don't see any indication that Boise is seeing growth anywhere comparable to what Austin was seeing in the 90s (or even now).


The article also uses "CodeNext" in 2019 and only interviews Tovo from the council, which just rubs me the wrong way.


" He said once a city hits 2 million residents and it doesn’t have an efficient transit system, the city’s growth stalls "

Luckily Austin didn't hit this quite yet, and hopefully won't until the PC rail can finish up.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Not a very well researched article, and I find the analogy somewhat lacking.

I don't know where they got their "Austin’s metro area had 720,000 people in 1996" number. The link they provide shows that as the '95 value, but more importantly, just Travis + Williamson had 716k in _1990_ (so their source seems to be wrong).

but just as critically, at that point in 1990, Travis had just gone through a decade of 37% growth, and was about to enter a decade of 40% growth.

Boise's metro is about to finish a decade of <25% growth. While the city itself is sitting in the low teens, after another decade in the 2000s of 10% growth.

I don't see any indication that Boise is seeing growth anywhere comparable to what Austin was seeing in the 90s (or even now).


The article also uses "CodeNext" in 2019 and only interviews Tovo from the council, which just rubs me the wrong way.


" He said once a city hits 2 million residents and it doesn’t have an efficient transit system, the city’s growth stalls "

Luckily Austin didn't hit this quite yet, and hopefully won't until the PC rail can finish up.

Austin's metro surpassed the 1 million mark during the summer of 1995.

Austin's population in the 1990 census was 826,227 (if my memory serves me correctly).

I believe the latest estimate for Boise's metro population is a hair under 750,000. So, Austin (31 years ago) was still bigger than Boise is today.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

That's either an optical illusion or a photoshop job. The Catherine's image wraps around the east-facing curtain wall on the building - not possible.

Originally Posted by Sigaven

There's no way the Catherine is reflecting off the Molar that big. I think that's a reflection from the window the photographer is looking out of.

No, that's definitely The Catherine. You can also see the Hyatt below it, as well as 422 on the Lake wrapping around The Catherine. I'm a little bit puzzled about how that happened considering the line of sight doesn't seem quite right for that to happen, but that is what you're seeing. Whether it's been photoshopped that way or not, I'm not sure, and honestly, I don't know why someone would spend the time photoshopping them in there. Also, the photo was taken from One Congress Plaza looking away from the river, so those buildings shouldn't be reflecting through the window the photographer was looking through.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021...y=90&auto=webp

[IluvATX]

Delete

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

No, that's definitely The Catherine. You can also see the Hyatt below it, as well as 422 on the Lake wrapping around The Catherine. I'm a little bit puzzled about how that happened considering the line of sight doesn't seem quite right for that to happen, but that is what you're seeing. Whether it's been photoshopped that way or not, I'm not sure, and honestly, I don't know why someone would spend the time photoshopping them in there. Also, the photo was taken from One Congress Plaza looking away from the river, so those buildings shouldn't be reflecting through the window the photographer was looking through.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021...y=90&auto=webp

Kevin,

They know it's the Catherine. They are simply saying that regardless of the small angling in the center of the tower - it's improbable to have that reflection from that specific angle. Additionally, the image seems to be looking down on the Catherine and Hyatt from a higher vantage point - higher than where the image is located on The Molar.

Furthermore, as GB has identified, the image wraps around the southeastern onto the east-facing façade. Not sure how that could happen.

[IluvATX]

Could this explain it?

[GoldenBoot]

^^^Plausible. However, I think the angle of 111 Congress (the building itself) is too acute to bounce that reflection onto The Molar.

Are not the windows on 111 Congress triangular? Maybe it was a reflection from the interior of 111 (from where the photo was taken) which projected said reflection?!?

[KevinFromTexas]

Yeah, I think it is being reflected through one of the southwest facing windows in One Congress Plaza onto the inside of one of the windows on the northeast facing windows.

If you look at the photo, the reflection isn't just wrapping around 405 Colorado, part of the reflection also appears on the garage area of 405 Colorado - an area of the building that isn't reflective. So it must be coming from inside One Congress Plaza's windows. And you can tell that it's a reflection rather than being photoshopped since 422 on the Lake appears on the left side of the Catherine in the reflection. That blank wall on 422 on the Lake is actually on the right side of the Catherine when looking south.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021...y=90&auto=webp

[kingkirbythe....]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Yeah, I think it is being reflected through one of the southwest facing windows in One Congress Plaza onto the inside of one of the windows on the northeast facing windows.

If you look at the photo, the reflection isn't just wrapping around 405 Colorado, part of the reflection also appears on the garage area of 405 Colorado - an area of the building that isn't reflective. So it must be coming from inside One Congress Plaza's windows. And you can tell that it's a reflection rather than being photoshopped since 422 on the Lake appears on the left side of the Catherine in the reflection. That blank wall on 422 on the Lake is actually on the right side of the Catherine when looking south.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021...y=90&auto=webp

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

WE HAVE A WINNER!



You can even see the Long Center a little bit and its parking garage.

[StoOgE]

There was a second shooter from the grassy knoll that looked like the Catherine.

[We vs us]

Joe Rogan wants to open a new comedy club here; he’s trying to buy the One World Theater out in Bee Caves Road.

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/lo...5-ef8ec663b576

[N90]

Surprised they haven't added Drew Houston in Austin's list yet.

On April 6, Forbes released its 2021 list of the world’s billionaires. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, landed at No. 2 globally with a net worth of $151 billion. He sat at No. 31 in last year’s ranking.

Now at No. 2 in Texas is Walton, whose net worth is $61.8 billion. That puts her at No. 17 on the global list.

Walton is the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton; as of December 2020, the Walton family still reigned as the richest family in the U.S., with Alice Walton's wealth accounting for a little over one-fourth of the family fortune.

The only other Texan who comes close to Musk and Walton in the Forbes ranking is Michael Dell. The chairman and CEO of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies boasts a net worth of $45.1 billion. That places him at No. 30 on the global list and No. 3 in Texas.

In all, the Forbes list features 64 Texas billionaires collectively worth $460.1 billion. (What pandemic?) Among the state’s metro areas, Dallas-Fort Worth leads with 27 billionaires, followed by Houston (17), Austin (10), and San Antonio (3).

https://fortworth.culturemap.com/new...bes-elon-musk/

[ATX2030]

Silicon Valley Is Flooding Into a Reluctant Austin

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ey-transplants

[ATX2030]

6 VCs talk the future of Austin's exploding startup ecosystem

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/6-vcs...133643226.html

[undergroundman]

Austin-based Oracle considering $1.2 billion expansion in Nashville

https://www.statesman.com/story/busi...on/7222597002/

It's interesting that at one point, Elison said the Austin campus will eventually employ up to 10k people. It currently only employs 2,500 people, with an announcement to open a campus in Nashville that will employ up to 8,500. Added together, it's 11,000 employees. Were those 8,500 initially meant for Austin?

I wonder if Oracle is having second thoughts about Austin. Shots rang out at Fiesta Gardens, across the river from the campus, earlier in the month during a car club meet while families celebrated Easter at the park. Kxan reported that residents at a nearby high end condo had been complaining about the car club meetings for some time. And then add to that, the homeless mess on Riverside. There have been shootings and assaults that have occurred within that homeless camp.

Ultimately, Oracle has a responsibility to provide a safe environment for its employees. Kxan also did a piece on employees working at local shops on Riverside and how the homeless camps have impacted them. One female Sally Beauty employee said she's constantly dealing with shoplifting and felt unsafe walking to her car without an escort every night. If Oracle wants their employees to live and work late around their campus, it's got to be a safe environment. The southeast area has always been a crime center in Austin. I kinda think Oracle thought their presence would turn that around a lot sooner than it has.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by undergroundman

Austin-based Oracle considering $1.2 billion expansion in Nashville

https://www.statesman.com/story/busi...on/7222597002/

It's interesting that at one point, Elison said the Austin campus will eventually employ up to 10k people. It currently only employs 2,500 people, with an announcement to open a campus in Nashville that will employ up to 8,500. Added together, it's 11,000 employees. Were those 8,500 initially meant for Austin?

I wonder if Oracle is having second thoughts about Austin. Shots rang out at Fiesta Gardens, across the river from the campus, earlier in the month during a car club meet while families celebrated Easter at the park. Kxan reported that residents at a nearby high end condo had been complaining about the car club meetings for some time. And then add to that, the homeless mess on Riverside. There have been shootings and assaults that have occurred within that homeless camp.

Ultimately, Oracle has a responsibility to provide a safe environment for its employees. Kxan also did a piece on employees working at local shops on Riverside and how the homeless camps have impacted them. One female Sally Beauty employee said she's constantly dealing with shoplifting and felt unsafe walking to her car without an escort every night. If Oracle wants their employees to live and work late around their campus, it's got to be a safe environment. The southeast area has always been a crime center in Austin. I kinda think Oracle thought their presence would turn that around a lot sooner than it has.

Nashville has way higher violent crime rates than Austin. We live in the US, and unfortunately, violent crime is present everywhere. As are homeless people. I don't think anything you referenced would have impacted a decision to expand or not expand in Austin.

If I had to guess, it may be related to the insanely high cost of housing here due to people like those in the luxury condos you mentioned built in historically low-income areas.

[undergroundman]

Oh com'on man. The only crimes that happen in Nashville are scorned women digging their keys into the side of pretty little souped-up four-wheel drives, carving their names into the leather seats, taking a Louisville slugger to both head lights, and then slashing a hole in all four tires.

[We vs us]

Yeah, IMO that's a bet on a cool secondary city that's more affordable than the coasts. Crime and prevalence of homelessness almost certainly don't enter into it.

Interestingly enough, the Nashville proposal puts them in a midrise campus along a body of water (here, the Cumberland River).



https://www.wsmv.com/news/davidson_c...097f200dc.html

[WesternSon]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

If I had to guess, it may be related to the insanely high cost of housing here due to people like those in the luxury condos you mentioned built in historically low-income areas.

THIS. Austin is probably 15-20% higher costs for housing than Nashville. Also, they will have way less competition for talent in Nashville than here.

Good riddance - we are bursting at the seems and don't need to win any and everything.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by undergroundman

Oh com'on man. The only crimes that happen in Nashville are scorned women digging their keys into the side of pretty little souped-up four-wheel drives, carving their names into the leather seats, taking a Louisville slugger to both head lights, and then slashing a hole in all four tires.

Well played.