AUSTIN | Project Updates Thread Part II

[427MM]

So much of this is the cumulative effects of the longtime Nimbyism that has artificially capped heights at 60' on most of the limited amount of land that we actually allow any height at all. Hopefully through the rewrite of our land development code we begin to value transit, housing and tax base over fear of change and pro exclusionary zoning sentiment.

[psychlotron]

Apologies if this was covered before I joined the forum. I was just thinking about the stretch of Airport Blvd between Mueller and Crestview Station and I remembered reading about a plan to redevelop the Leif Johnson Ford car lot and other sites along Airport. Haven't heard any more about these projects for a long time. Were they cancelled? I was able to find a 2011 article from the Chronicle that names the projects: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news...g-for-takeoff/

[zrx299]

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

Enough mid-rises already. We need more high-rises...

Not everyone wants to live in a high rise, or Manhattan-ize every neighborhood.

There's nothing wrong with human-scaled development. Washington DC is a great example. It feels like a European city.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by zrx299

Not everyone wants to live in a high rise, or Manhattan-ize every neighborhood.

There's nothing wrong with human-scaled development. Washington DC is a great example. It feels like a European city.

We have plenty of options for midrises. Midrise apartment complexes cover the entire metro, and have no place in the urban core What we don’t have is options between this and downtown high rises. It doesn’t have to appeal to everyone, as you say.

[ATXboom]

Originally Posted by urbancore

We have plenty of options for midrises. Midrise apartment complexes cover the entire metro, and have no place in the urban core What we don’t have is options between this and downtown high rises. It doesn’t have to appeal to everyone, as you say.

We need a version of the NYC brownstone, or SF 3 story flat in Austin... something that allows family size sq footage on much smaller plot of land.

[clubtokyo]

What I would love to see is more 3 story town home/brownstone type homes/condo whatever you want to zone them as with rooftop patios. I feel like there are so many spots in and around Austin that with a rooftop patio you would have great views and privacy without a big yard. My dream

[KevinFromTexas]

Manchester, who developed the Fairmont Hotel, may purchase the Palm School property for development.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20190...or-development

Fairmont owner hopes to buy Palm School property for development

By Elizabeth Findell

Posted at 2:15 PM
Updated at 2:15 PM

Douglas Manchester, owner of the Fairmont, said in a news release Monday that he intends to use the land surrounding the Palm School for “potential commercial development.” He said he would leave the school itself in Travis County’s hands and would donate $5 million to its preservation.

[The ATX]

This permit for drilling test holes is probably for the River St. Hotel & Residences that first showed up for AULCC a few weeks ago. The permit states "West" when they are clearly referring to East Ave. along with Rainey St. and River St.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...rtyrsn=2019466

[enragedcamel]

Originally Posted by zrx299

Not everyone wants to live in a high rise, or Manhattan-ize every neighborhood.

There's nothing wrong with human-scaled development. Washington DC is a great example. It feels like a European city.

It's funny you bring up Washington DC, because Washington DC is, frankly, awful. The lack of density in the urban core has led to massive amounts of sprawl out to neighboring states.

The result?

https://wtop.com/traffic/2017/04/dc-...te-in-america/

Austin already has tremendous problems with transportation. The only long-term solution is to build upwards. Dense, walkable neighborhoods is how you become a world-class city. Can't do that by sprinkling boring mid-rises all over the place.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

It's funny you bring up Washington DC, because Washington DC is, frankly, awful. The lack of density in the urban core has led to massive amounts of sprawl out to neighboring states.

The result?

https://wtop.com/traffic/2017/04/dc-...te-in-america/

Austin already has tremendous problems with transportation. The only long-term solution is to build upwards. Dense, walkable neighborhoods is how you become a world-class city. Can't do that by sprinkling boring mid-rises all over the place.

As a former DC resident (85-94) who used to experience serious depression upon returning to DC from Europe (which I did several times while living there), Washington DC just does not feel like a European city. Sure the street layout is inspired by European (French) design but the execution is strictly American and mostly uninspired. Take a walk along upper Conn. Ave or Wisconsin Ave or most of the early 20th Century row house neighborhoods and tell me whether any of it reminds you of Europe. Georgetown, Capitol Hill, and maybe Dupont Circle/Logan Circle come closer to a Euro feel, but not really. Also DC is just too dirty and unkempt even in many of the nicer quarters. The Metro certainly has helped, and DC has come a long way in recent years. Maybe my impressions are a bit dated. Somehow I doubt it has turned into a mini London, Madrid, or Paris.

[enragedcamel]

Originally Posted by austlar1

As a former DC resident (85-94) who used to experience serious depression upon returning to DC from Europe (which I did several times while living there), Washington DC just does not feel like a European city. Sure the street layout is inspired by European (French) design but the execution is strictly American and mostly uninspired. Take a walk along upper Conn. Ave or Wisconsin Ave or most of the early 20th Century row house neighborhoods and tell me whether any of it reminds you of Europe. Georgetown, Capitol Hill, and maybe Dupont Circle/Logan Circle come closer to a Euro feel, but not really. Also DC is just too dirty and unkempt even in many of the nicer quarters. The Metro certainly has helped, and DC has come a long way in recent years. Maybe my impressions are a bit dated. Somehow I doubt it has turned into a mini London, Madrid, or Paris.

As someone who used to visit DC regularly, I fully agree. Any resemblance DC has to European cities is superficial.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Manchester, who developed the Fairmont Hotel, may purchase the Palm School property for development.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20190...or-development

And...they're backing off from buying it now.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20190...chool-property

[zrx299]

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

As someone who used to visit DC regularly, I fully agree. Any resemblance DC has to European cities is superficial.

You all missed my point.
The European comparison was simply about scale and layout, not whether DC equals Paris, Prague, London, or insert-other-city.

It feels European to me because it's limited to mid rise buildings of 7 stories (give or take).
That's human-scaled development, not soulless 70-story utilitarian 400sqft shoeboxes in the sky everywhere like some Chinese cities.

The only way to ever truly stop sprawl and wasteful suburbia is by population controls on a country and global basis. That's it. There is no other way (other than totalitarian regimes taking away personal freedoms).
World population as a whole is already exponentially overpopulated by several billion ...but that's not a conversation or reality that anyone wants to face up to.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by zrx299

You all missed my point.
The European comparison was simply about scale and layout, not whether DC equals Paris, Prague, London, or insert-other-city.

It feels European to me because it's limited to mid rise buildings of 7 stories (give or take).
That's human-scaled development, not soulless 70-story utilitarian 400sqft shoeboxes in the sky everywhere like some Chinese cities.

The only way to ever truly stop sprawl and wasteful suburbia is by population controls on a country and global basis. That's it. There is no other way (other than totalitarian regimes taking away personal freedoms).
World population as a whole is already exponentially overpopulated by several billion ...but that's not a conversation or reality that anyone wants to face up to.

Uh, USA's population growth is already below replacement level. Every other country is following in turn as they modernize and industrialize.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by zrx299

You all missed my point.
The European comparison was simply about scale and layout, not whether DC equals Paris, Prague, London, or insert-other-city.

It feels European to me because it's limited to mid rise buildings of 7 stories (give or take).
That's human-scaled development, not soulless 70-story utilitarian 400sqft shoeboxes in the sky everywhere like some Chinese cities.

The only way to ever truly stop sprawl and wasteful suburbia is by population controls on a country and global basis. That's it. There is no other way (other than totalitarian regimes taking away personal freedoms).
World population as a whole is already exponentially overpopulated by several billion ...but that's not a conversation or reality that anyone wants to face up to.

I more or less got your point. I just felt compelled to editorialize about DC's relative lack of European charm. I agree that mid-rise development throughout central Austin, including many buildings with a large number of family sized units and amenities for families (which is how it is done in Europe in many instances), is the only way Austin is going to be able to increase density in core areas enough to justify costly expenditures for good transit options and provide a traditional urban experience. There must be realistic housing options for a mid range market in order to slow the spread of sprawl and encourage more families to remain in the city. Some of it might not be ideal. For example, there is talk of utilizing Barton Square for affordable housing. A redeveloped Barton Square (it is bound to happen in some form or fashion in the next decade) could be made into something rather urban and village-like. It would be largely disconnected from the street grid, but it offers great proximity and could be well served by public transit. Nimbys will fight tooth and nail to keep 7 or 8 story buildings out of their neighborhoods, so finding good locations for this type of development will be tricky. An aerial survey via Google of various western Canadian cities show how this might be accomplished. Take a tour.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Uh, USA's population growth is already below replacement level. Every other country is following in turn as they modernize and industrialize.

Right, but much like the rest of the world we are generally fleeing rural areas and moving to larger cities. So the cities are still growing rapidly.

[lzppjb]

Anybody know what's being built south of town on I35 south of Onion Creek? They've scraped a large area clean on the west side of the highway. I can't find an address to search, and it's Travis County, not CoA.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by austlar1

As a former DC resident (85-94) who used to experience serious depression upon returning to DC from Europe (which I did several times while living there), Washington DC just does not feel like a European city. Sure the street layout is inspired by European (French) design but the execution is strictly American and mostly uninspired. Take a walk along upper Conn. Ave or Wisconsin Ave or most of the early 20th Century row house neighborhoods and tell me whether any of it reminds you of Europe. Georgetown, Capitol Hill, and maybe Dupont Circle/Logan Circle come closer to a Euro feel, but not really. Also DC is just too dirty and unkempt even in many of the nicer quarters. The Metro certainly has helped, and DC has come a long way in recent years. Maybe my impressions are a bit dated. Somehow I doubt it has turned into a mini London, Madrid, or Paris.

I'm in DC every 6 weeks or so for business, so get a chance to see a lot of it as it is right now. They have definitely made strides in making it more urbanist, if not more European. The metro is very good, a lot of it is inviting to those of us who like to walk/wander around in a big city, and there's a lot of greenspace to break up the monotony. DC has taken many of the big steps that all major American cities have made in the last decade or so -- if you travel the country, you'll be hard pressed to find a city that HASN'T recommitted itself in some way to being less car-oriented and more friendly to visitors and residents alike. And DC's definitely part of that.

But no, it's still not particularly Euro. Cars are still important, and there's still a lot of sprawl from what I can tell. The Metro still needs some help. Biking is common but not prevalent, they could plant more trees for shade, etc. etc. etc. My response is that it's improving visibly, but also has a way to go.

I also think that the height limitations are an artificial constraint on the market, and warp it in unexptected ways. For instance, those constraints have definitely pushed certain businesses that require more space out to Arlington and Reston and Gaithersburg, et al. where they can build out relatively uninterrupted. I guarantee that's one reason why Amazon is building right across the river in VA -- they can expand upwards.

[The ATX]

I updated the tallest projects list in the development links sticky thread.

[Armybrat]

Has there been any news of development in the SE quadrant of the county around the airport & F1 track areas?