AUSTIN | Misc. Discussions - No Politics

[Echostatic]

Originally Posted by Echostatic

Almost all of Austin besides Downtown has new 3D imagery on Google Maps/Earth dating to November 2023. It's very high quality and I like the fall colors.

Everything in white has the new coverage, red doesn't.

The red area of this map now has updated 3D imagery from December 2023 in extremely high quality.

[ahealy]

I thought this BBC vid on cooling off urban centers was pretty neat. Insane how asphalt, concrete and glass can raise the temps by 30 degrees!

I think we're already on the partially on the way to this for certain areas (i.e. Waterloo Greenway). The freeway being demo'd for the old river and trail seems like something Austin might do in 100 years or so. Amazing....

https://bbc.com/reel/video/p0jc280t/...ce-heat-stress

[Tyrone Shoes]

found this on you tube. It's listed as 515 Congress.

[Green Country]

Office market stats for Austin CBD, per Transwestern, 1st Quarter, 2024:
Total occupancy: 69.3%
Net absorption for the quarter: Negative 197,571 square feet
Current inventory: 17,500, 577 square feet
Under construction: 1,659,680 square feet

year-end 2023:
Total occupancy: 71.4%.
Net absorption CY 2023: Negative 25,631 square feet.
Current Inventory: 17,267,751 square feet
Under Construction: 2,127,105 square feet (12.3% increase in supply).

[Green Country]

Aparment market stats for Downtown Austin, per Transwestern:

1st Quarter, 2024:
7,434 units in 44 projects
Vacancy: 13.1%
Trailing 12-month absorption: 320 units

[The ATX]

Great news! Rents keep getting cheaper.

[DougRockstead]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

No one is saying close the school. So dramatic.

Nobody has said, that anyone said, the school would be closed. What a dramatic and hyperbolic response.

We are saying the school in that location has become a mainstay. Why not move Zilker park, or Pease Park, or....

We are saying the school was put there to give children who attend school at that campus access to the amenities in that area. I used to live next door at the apartments by egos. I remember seeing all those kids walking around signing to each other. just like we have the TSVBI school up by the triangle.

If you want to bump some rich person out of their home in Barton Hills and develop that, knock yourself out. Let these kids have their school where it exists.

I do think the most acceptable idea is to build shops along congress. But to raze that campus for high rises?!?!?

tacky idea.

[IluvATX]

Originally Posted by DougRockstead

Nobody has said, that anyone said, the school would be closed. What a dramatic and hyperbolic response.

We are saying the school in that location has become a mainstay. Why not move Zilker park, or Pease Park, or....

We are saying the school was put there to give children who attend school at that campus access to the amenities in that area. I used to live next door at the apartments by egos. I remember seeing all those kids walking around signing to each other. just like we have the TSVBI school up by the triangle.

If you want to bump some rich person out of their home in Barton Hills and develop that, knock yourself out. Let these kids have their school where it exists.

I do think the most acceptable idea is to build shops along congress. But to raze that campus for high rises?!?!?

tacky idea.

+1. I agree with retail along Congress and nothing more. Then again even that stretch of Congress is nice, shady, and quiet as is.

[Armybrat]

Originally Posted by DougRockstead

Nobody has said, that anyone said, the school would be closed. What a dramatic and hyperbolic response.

We are saying the school in that location has become a mainstay. Why not move Zilker park, or Pease Park, or....

We are saying the school was put there to give children who attend school at that campus access to the amenities in that area. I used to live next door at the apartments by egos. I remember seeing all those kids walking around signing to each other. just like we have the TSVBI school up by the triangle.

If you want to bump some rich person out of their home in Barton Hills and develop that, knock yourself out. Let these kids have their school where it exists.

I do think the most acceptable idea is to build shops along congress. But to raze that campus for high rises?!?!?

tacky idea.

Totally agree.
Seems some developers are hellbent on raping any large space like TSD, Camp Mabry, Muny, the UT property on Town Lake, etc….

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by DougRockstead

Nobody has said, that anyone said, the school would be closed. What a dramatic and hyperbolic response.

We are saying the school in that location has become a mainstay. Why not move Zilker park, or Pease Park, or....

We are saying the school was put there to give children who attend school at that campus access to the amenities in that area. I used to live next door at the apartments by egos. I remember seeing all those kids walking around signing to each other. just like we have the TSVBI school up by the triangle.

If you want to bump some rich person out of their home in Barton Hills and develop that, knock yourself out. Let these kids have their school where it exists.

I do think the most acceptable idea is to build shops along congress. But to raze that campus for high rises?!?!?

tacky idea.

zilker and pease park are public amenities. which means they are available to everyone. comparing razing those to tsd is a non sequitur.

tsd serves about 473 students. it's a great school. it's a wonderful thing for the deaf community. i would love to see it continue to flourish.

however

a 69 acre suburban like campus located right there is...a very, very, very generous allotment. especially given the aforementioned fact that it serves less than 500 students.

we all know that area, we all know how large an effect 3 or 4 more cross streets between s first and soco would have. we all know the instant tens of millions of dollars would be generated per year on re taxes if we repurposed that lot. we know we could fit thousands of apts, subsidized housing and condos on that lot. which would be HUGE for walkability and create necessary mass for mass transit.

if TSD really values that location, then by all means let's built a dense, appropriate urban campus for them. if they really value having a sprawling campus, then lets build them one in a much more appropriate location.

having it continue as is will just be kneecapping the city and its potential

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

zilker and pease park are public amenities. which means they are available to everyone. comparing razing those to tsd is a non sequitur.

tsd serves about 473 students. it's a great school. it's a wonderful thing for the deaf community. i would love to see it continue to flourish.

however

a 69 acre suburban like campus located right there is...a very, very, very generous allotment. especially given the aforementioned fact that it serves less than 500 students.

we all know that area, we all know how large an effect 3 or 4 more cross streets between s first and soco would have. we all know the instant tens of millions of dollars would be generated per year on re taxes if we repurposed that lot. we know we could fit thousands of apts, subsidized housing and condos on that lot. which would be HUGE for walkability and create necessary mass for mass transit.

if TSD really values that location, then by all means let's built a dense, appropriate urban campus for them. if they really value having a sprawling campus, then lets build them one in a much more appropriate location.

having it continue as is will just be kneecapping the city and its potential

exactly. enough with the dramatics people.

[Armybrat]

TSD serves the State of Texas Deaf community.
What’s next, Huston-Tillotson?
It only serves 1,100 students - and its 24 acres of prime real estate is closer to the Capitol.

[ohhey]

1. Parks are open space specifically set aside for that purpose. The purpose of a school is to provide education. Comparing the two is a false equivalence. Educational campuses can be reconfigured to add density and/or reduce underutilized land, to be more suitable for their locality, and to be more harmonious with the surrounding landscape, community, and infrastructure (UT does it regularly). This can happen without directly detracting from the educational mission (not so with parks).
2. Huston-Tillotson may be marginally closer to the capitol, but why is proximity to the capitol important? TSD is closer to the urban center of gravity in downtown and that seems more relevant (although here too only marginally closer, and therefore also not of much import).
3. The Huston-Tillotson campus is a fraction of the size of the TSD campus and serves more students. That doesn't really bolster your argument at all.
4. The Huston-Tillotson campus is presently in a much less prime location than TSD, and it's less disruptive to connectivity between and within neighborhoods.
5. Huston-Tillotson is privately owned land. TSD is state owned.
6. Is there any reason to believe Huston-Tillotson won't, at some point in the future and of their own accord, want to re-organize their campus too? Like TSD most of their buildings are of little or no historical or architectural significance and could be replaced without loss of overall historical significance of the place itself (location of campus).

What am I missing? Why is talk of changing TSD such a bad thing?

[dilliam]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

Totally agree.
Seems some developers are hellbent on raping any large space like TSD, Camp Mabry, Muny, the UT property on Town Lake, etc….

Ridiculous response. There are plenty of valid reasons why people would want to develop Camp Mabry, Brackenridge, etc. We are a growing city and things will change. Equating that change/development to "Raping" is insane.

[LiveattheOasis]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

TSD serves the State of Texas Deaf community.
What’s next, Huston-Tillotson?
It only serves 1,100 students - and its 24 acres of prime real estate is closer to the Capitol.

Should never force anyone to have to do anything. Concordia chose to sell their land and make a move. Makes sense that an urbanist would think a large allotment of land could be used in a more utilitarian fashion.

I don't think anyone is forcing anyone to move.

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

TSD serves the State of Texas Deaf community.
What’s next, Huston-Tillotson?
It only serves 1,100 students - and its 24 acres of prime real estate is closer to the Capitol.

huston-tillotson is a private institution which purchased the land upon which it sits and pays taxes on it. forced relocation would require state enacting eminent domain which i guarantee you has a 0% chance of happening.

TSD is a state institution, does not own the land upon which it sits and does not pay taxes. its employees are paid by the taxpayer. if we wish to repurpose that land we have every right to voice that. no eminent domain would be required.

i am beginning to think a lot of people don't know this.

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

Should never force anyone to have to do anything. Concordia chose to sell their land and make a move. Makes sense that an urbanist would think a large allotment of land could be used in a more utilitarian fashion.

I don't think anyone is forcing anyone to move.

again, concordia, private institution. entirely different ballgame and not relevant to this discussion

although now that you mention it there are many lots around concordia that are beautiful and would be a very suitable place for a new suburban TSD campus IMO.

[foreverrushing31]

Or even better than building up another suburban TSD - find a way for it to cooperate with the developers and integrate it to the overall plan. It would be really cool to have a more urban, connected TSD.

[Echostatic]

Look no further than East Austin to find former educational land being used for dense housing. https://austin.towers.net/affordable...-district-site

Austin ISD recognized the value in their underutilized urban land. There's no reason TSD couldn't do the same.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

huston-tillotson is a private institution which purchased the land upon which it sits and pays taxes on it. forced relocation would require state enacting eminent domain which i guarantee you has a 0% chance of happening.

TSD is a state institution, does not own the land upon which it sits and does not pay taxes. its employees are paid by the taxpayer. if we wish to repurpose that land we have every right to voice that. no eminent domain would be required.

i am beginning to think a lot of people don't know this.

I almost posted this earlier. We own the land.