[austlar1]

I get what Jdawgboy is saying, but I wonder how realistic it would be to expect an organic music and club scene to emerge in the pristine confines of downtown new construction. That just doesn't conform to the way that these places usually come together. The original bar scenes on 6th Street, the Warehouse District, Red River, and finally Rainey St. happened because there were plenty of almost derelict and highly affordable venues there for the taking. Even the scene on W. 6th Street emerged out of somewhat similar (admittedly requiring larger investments) circumstances. Those days are gone. I have a feeling most new venues trying to open in the first or second floor of a new office building or mixed use complex would require huge capital investments for very risky undertakings. It would be sad to see all the action move out of downtown, but I think we are many years away from that becoming anything close to a reality. The current construction boom will most certainly subside at some point. When the dust settles there will still be a lot of entertainment options downtown. What happened in in the nightlife industry in downtown Austin from the mid 1980s until very recently was an almost unique set of circumstances. The resultant nightlife and the emergence of SXSW helped create a brand for Austin. There is no denying any of that, but Austin is now known for other things as well that might not be so compatible with a noisy booming club scene in the center of the city. All those people living in zillion dollar condos and high-rent highrise apartments need their beauty sleep so they can get out there and earn those 6 figure salaries needed to live downtown.