Austin | 82 Rainey | Feet ? | 3 Floors (Reduced from 9) | Proposed - Page 2

Echostatic · #21 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 12:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zrx299

Plenty of other lots downtown for high rise residential to be built on. Not a fan.

This is an office project, not residential.

Rainy's vibe was temporary and was always going to be temporary. When looking at projects in the area we should remember that Rainey was never meant to be an entertainment district. Without the 2008 economic crash Rainey would be just another outcrop of the CBD.

The ATX · #22 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 12:36 AM**

Both this project and 90 Rainey are at least trying to preserve the entertainment aspect of the district. That should be appreciated because they could just bulldozer the district like the awful Millenium Rainey project did.

Jdawgboy · #23 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 1:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zrx299

Between this and 90/92 Rainey they're effectively killing the vibe of the street.
Instead of freestanding open air converted houses, we'll now have a tacky facade of fake "storefronts" on this project and whatever abomination they do with Container and Bungalow.

Plenty of other lots downtown for high rise residential to be built on. Not a fan.

I feel ya buddy. Regardless if Rainey was meant or not meant to be an entertainment district, the fact remains that it is an entertainment district now and a popular one at that for many Austinites. It is apart of our city's culture so that should be more than enough reason for it to be preserved.

Oh and I don't think Rainey itself was expressly meant to be torn up with rows of highrises. I remember a rendering way back with the Downtown Austin Plan that the houses fronting Rainey would be preserved along with all the Pecan trees and would be surrounded by highrises. That was something that people wanted to see left alone.

zrx299 · #24 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 1:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echostatic

This is an office project, not residential.

Rainy's vibe was temporary and was always going to be temporary. When looking at projects in the area we should remember that Rainey was never meant to be an entertainment district. Without the 2008 economic crash Rainey would be just another outcrop of the CBD.

Then what exactly is the point of "Rainey Street Historic District" ?

Or is that just some unofficial moniker coined by realtors and developers to make it sound trendy to investors?

Echostatic · #25 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 1:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zrx299

Then what exactly is the point of "Rainey Street Historic District" ?

Historic designation that predates the area's redesignation to CBD. Pretty much useless nowadays and only really serves as a name.

427MM · #26 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 1:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zrx299

Then what exactly is the point of "Rainey Street Historic District" ?

Or is that just some unofficial moniker coined by realtors and developers to make it sound trendy to investors?

The charge to make it a "historic district" was led by one person with the primary goal of making sure the city's new convention center didn't land here. She was successful and I'm glad she was.

paul78701 · #27 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 4:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zrx299

Between this and 90/92 Rainey they're effectively killing the vibe of the street.
Instead of freestanding open air converted houses, we'll now have a tacky facade of fake "storefronts" on this project and whatever abomination they do with Container and Bungalow.

Plenty of other lots downtown for high rise residential to be built on. Not a fan.

With regard to the houses that will be included in it's design, I fail to see how this particular project is killing off any vibe. They are not currently being used for any businesses or whatnot that cater to the public.

zrx299 · #28 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 5:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul78701

With regard to the houses that will be included in it's design, I fail to see how this particular project is killing off any vibe. They are not currently being used for any businesses or whatnot that cater to the public.

Just because they are currently unused is missing the point. Instead of rehabbing them in their current form, as others have done on the street quite well and lucratively, they'll now be chopped up and cladded onto a tacky facade of this planned larger building.

Will people still go to the new incarnation once the dust settles? Maybe? Probably? Point being, whether the district happened by accident or not, what's there as a whole in its current form has become a pretty unique area.

I applaud the developers for at least attempting to incorporate whats there now (unlike Millennium) but that doesn't mean its not going to completely change things. Rainey certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea for entertainment, and I get that, but once you alter what it's become and what's attracting folks to that area, you lose something greater. You end up with just another disposable generic entertainment district that lacks any sort of character and uniqueness.

KevinFromTexas · #29 Posted **Mar 16, 2019, 7:47 PM**

I think this project is probably doing a better job of keeping the neighborhood intact than just about any other Rainey area project so far. Just short of putting skyscrapers on stilts to cantilever out over them, there's not much else you can do to protect the bungalows.

I didn't realize this area was being eyed as a possible "convention center district". Egads. That would have been a waste of the waterfront and the views of the river and hills.

zrx299 · #30 Posted **Mar 17, 2019, 5:15 PM**

That's going to be quite the imposing structure if it's taking up the 4 lots from 78-80-82-84.

Unbarievable is already juxtaposed right up next to 70 Rainey's massive parking podium.

The ATX · #31 Posted **Jul 12, 2019, 3:47 AM**

This one is still kicking - the site plan was withdrawn and resubmitted today. It is still nine-stories with underground parking.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...pertyrsn=92570

The ATX · #32 Posted **Sep 23, 2019, 8:19 PM**

This one has been severely scaled back. An "updated application" dated last Friday was added to the site plan and describes this as a three-story mixed use project with underground parking.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...pertyrsn=92570

kingkirbythe.... · #33 Posted **Sep 25, 2019, 12:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The ATX

This one has been severely scaled back. An "updated application" dated last Friday was added to the site plan and describes this as a three-story mixed use project with underground parking.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...pertyrsn=92570

That is very disappointing.

Echostatic · #34 Posted **Sep 25, 2019, 1:54 AM**

Well, at least the parking is underground. And the scale should be nice for the existing bungalows. But this will look as outdated as the Google Fiber building downtown before long.

enragedcamel · #35 Posted **Sep 25, 2019, 3:50 AM**

I really think downtown needs to implement minimum height restrictions.

paul78701 · #36 Posted **Sep 25, 2019, 3:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

I really think downtown needs to implement minimum height restrictions.

I could be wrong, but I think that may already exist. I think there is a minimum of two stories.

Geckos_Rule · #37 Posted **Sep 25, 2019, 5:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingkirbythe....

That is very disappointing.

Agreed. Particularly considering that this is the same developer as 70 Rainey, and looking at the quality and appearance of that building -- I was excited for what was going in here. Now, I'm not sure what the purpose of building a 3-floor office would be.