I don't really know where to put this as we don't have a general discussion thread but this question has been nagging at me.
Are we building interesting places?
I'm not just talking about interesting-looking architecture but actual places for us to go and enjoy ourselves.
Of course it's possible that some of these buildings will have nice restaurants that aren't so insanely expensive that we can experience one in a while, but other than restaurants and high-end boutique stores, what are we really getting with all of this development?
I can really only think of 3 projects under development that I could consider "interesting places":
- Waterloo Park (and the adjacent Brackenridge area)
- The MLS stadium at McKalla Place
- The UT basketball/event arena
Those are the only three places I could see myself visiting very often.
I know I can't expect every development to be something I could enjoy but I just wonder if we could be getting
more out of all this development; more stuff that benefits Austin residents and enriches our lives, like museums, music venues, event spaces, theaters, or quirky little shops.
I'm just afraid of downtown Austin developing into too much of a clean, safe, stale, yuppie environment. I hope developers start taking risks with their ground-floor spaces. Even a
slightly different kind of establishment could stand out amongst the rest of the homogeneity these days.