[austlar1]

I think maybe the fact that the parcels where these buildings have gone up were already large single parcels at the time they were developed is the main reason for the super large buildings. This allowed the developer to acquire a large building site with few of the complications that might come from assembling several smaller parcels. There are still a lot of large parking lots fronting outdated one story retail spaces on streets like Burnet and Lamar (both south and north) where these ungainly apartment house structures can be thrown up. We'll probably see more of them for the foreseeable future.

Here is my concern. There are plenty of once rather nice apartment complexes all over Austin that have gone downhill over a fairly short (15 to 20 years) time. Some of them were considered very desirable when built. Now many of them are plagued with crime, drug dealing, over crowding, and poor maintenance. There is no reason not to expect a similar trajectory for many of these huge stick-builds. I think that smaller buildings will be easier to maintain to a decent standard over time, and it will be possible for landlords to have more overall control of the environment which should make for a much more safe and pleasant place to live.