yeah, I was there earlier... It's very impressive. I was with my friend from SF who said we have the best parklet she's ever seen. I hope Congress Ave businesses create more of them.

Yeah, I hope so.

Visa USA plans to build Austin computer center, add 794 jobs

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...ter-add/nTCnh/

11/19
 

SkyHouse Austin - 264 feet - 23 floors

http://i.imgur.com/tRbvv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Kkecz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LQFxE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Q8565.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1Ycxr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PDWR2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CS6z5.jpg

Callaway House - 205 feet - 17 floors

http://i.imgur.com/Pe73X.jpg

2400 Nueces - 181 feet - 16 floors

http://i.imgur.com/vabBJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tUj0G.jpg

The project in the foreground is a midrise apartment building in the East Avenue/University Park development.

http://i.imgur.com/MhEl7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/diERV.jpg

http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/c...2F83B80A08.jpg

Crappy iPhone photo of that new development across from the pedestrian walkway over lake Austin. I don't remember the name of it exactly but I'm sure you guys will. I was just in Austin yesterday and it's crazy how much construction is going on everywhere in Austin. Exciting times for the city for sure.

That's the Gables Apartment Tower. It's 223 feet with 18 floors. It should be just a bit taller than its crane. Right now we have 10 highrises under construction. The tallest is the 408 foot JW Marriott on Congress.

I just can't see that gondola system being efficient enough. They'd be a combination of a) too slow, b) too small (too few people in each car) to really be any good as a public transit system. Maybe just as a connector from downtown to Zilker/Barton Springs, sure.
Plus, there will be breakdowns. You can count on that with any mechanical device. You can get off a train, bus, etc. You're stuck up there on a gondola.
Again, it seems cool, but I just can't see it working well enough.

another seaholm shot
 

so...this giant truck was spotted at seaholm today from my window. Anyone have any info on what this is? Are they starting soon??????
http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...y/photo-91.jpg

Walked by the courthouse this past weekend. Actually starting to look good at ground level.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8479/8...b46371b6_c.jpg

......

I hope the Rainey Street development will prevail...
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...op-future.html

KVUE had a story with video on that project.

Two downtown parking spots become Austin's first street patio
by Heather Kovar / KVUE News and photojournalist David Gardner
November 20, 2012

Looks nice. Hope it lasts after the one-year trial period.

Yeah, I hope so to.

Mueller Town Center has an official name now called " Aldrich Street".

http://muellersilentmarket.com/wp-co...Aldrich-St.jpg

http://muellersilentmarket.com/2012/...t-town-center/

The amount of thought going into attempting to create a neighborhood with character and authenticity at Mueller is inspiring. Let's hope it comes off that way once executed.

Sidenote: I thoroughly appreciate the use of normal-sounding street names in this development and I feel that will assist in it feeling like a been-there-forever district. Aldrich Street, Simond Avenue, McCloskey Street, even Zach Scott Street, etc. ...these all sound way more real to me than the stupid shit mass homebuilders peddle like Soft Seafoam Drive, Inspiring Dew Lane, Lone Stallion Chase, Via Rosa Rojo, blah blah blah. (FYI, I totally made that whole second batch up :P).

Very very nice!

I love spending time on the Austin forum because there's so much more going on! I wish some of yall's downtown momentum would rub off on downtown San Antonio :/ lol

My sister lives on a Nijmegen Drive in "one of those neighborhoods". The street is named after the Dutch city. It's pronounced Ny-meg-gan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nijmegen

All the streets in my neighborhood are named after deserts. Libyan, Mojave, Sahara, Gobi, etc.

I'd rather street names be named after historical figures or places (local or not) than some cheesy name like Oak Glen or Whispering Pines.

One of my "favorites" is Piedras Blanco Dr. near William Cannon and McKinney Falls Pkwy.

On a somewhat similar note of infelicitous names, I've always wondered what the reasoning was behind the Bastrop subdivision with all the Hawaiian names (e.g., Keanahalululu Lane).

I must confess that I live in one of "those neighborhoods" at the moment. All of the streets in my area are named after influential authors; Orwell, Zola, Fitzgerald, Tolstoy, Kafka, Huxley, etc. Then there's some really bad, stereotypical names; Chinati Mountain Trail, Limpia Creek Drive, Candelaria Mesa Drive, Quitman Mountain Way. It's really awful. The authors thing is kind of cool, but what's with these other names? It seems like a mix of branding strategy and laziness.