AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[JoninATX]

first I've heard of it, but I doubt SXSW will move to San Antonio it's been in Austin for 25yrs... I just hope next year will be alot better I know we still have the ACL fest. in September but Austin has alot of work to do to accommodate all those people.

[KevinFromTexas]

My mom was complaining about the traffic, but once she caught wind of what SXSW means for Austin, she was cool with it. haha "It has a lot of economic impact to the city." Hell yes, it does.

I also wish these festivals were used as a way to encourage urban rail. People at those festivals will absolutely use it. Most of those people are coming from more urban places than Austin that have excellent rail in place, and they're used to using it.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

My mom was complaining about the traffic, but once she caught wind of what SXSW means for Austin, she was cool with it. haha "It has a lot of economic impact to the city." Hell yes, it does.

I also wish these festivals were used as a way to encourage urban rail. People at those festivals will absolutely use it. Most of those people are coming from more urban places than Austin that have excellent rail in place, and they're used to using it.

There also seemed to be more stars then there usually are. Maybe its cause I wasn't keeping up with it in past years but this year I saw many film openings like Paul and The Beaver. It also seems to be getting more recognition as the years go. I even saw Fader Fort headline the LA Times for their SXSW event.

If Austin keeps getting this hype growing year after year, I don't doubt that it will almost be a necessity to have urban rail. They should just propose it, approve it, plan it and build it already.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Downtown_Austin

I snapped this one on Saturday...

Beautiful pic!

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by migol24

Btw, a friend of mine who works at a restaurant in the 2nd st. district talked about some locals trying to get SXSW to move to San Antonio. Anybody else hear about that? That kinda surprised me a bit.

thats just funny.

[actham]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

15,000 people showed up for the free show on St. Patrick's Day. They even knocked down the fences to get in after the people at the gate turned them away because it was too crowded. It looked really busy. I've been there with 11,000 people at a concert, and it was packed then.

I was standing right outside the entrance when the fences went down. It was a little scary for a bit. We went in after things calmed down. I have to say that I don't understand why we were kept out. Everything was civil once we were inside.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by migol24

How dare you speak ill of the greatest filmmaker ever!

Just shows how good the book is.

I remember going to free concerts on Auditorium Shores that were non-SXSW. In the late 80's/early 90's I saw Huey Lewis put on a fantastic show, plus Joe Walsh, Chuck Berry, Poi Dog Pondering and lots of others. And all those shows were for the locals. I'm sure Austin still has outdoor concerts like that at other times of the year.

[KevinFromTexas]

There's Blues on the Green at Zilker Park. It's free and has increased in popularity. It started small, but has around 10,000 per show, and there's 5 of them over two months during the summer/fall.

[BevoLJ]

Whether it is Auditorium Shores, Zilker, Waterloo Park, or on/around campus there are TONs of popular free shows that draw lots of locals. Usually sponsored and payed for by Freescale, Dell or someone else to keep them free. Usually on the Auditorium Shores shows during the summer or other times like New Years Eve they will be free but pretty much always only let in 22,000 for some reason. I'm guessing either fire reasons, or insurance or something.

Given that South By had 50% more people that last year (over 200,000 not counting musicians and locals), and last year was also a huge increase over the previous year it is only showing more signs that it will continue to grow at a insane rate. They are going to have to change something to keep providing those large free shows in a safe way to keep the non-locals from rioting like we saw a bit of this year. Maybe move the large free shows like The Strokes to Zilker where the eastern main ACL stage is usually located.

At the current rate of growth of South By the possibility of 80,000 to 100,000 people wanting to see a main show is not out of the question just a few years from now. With Auditorium Shores usually capped at 22,000 things could get much nastier than what we saw this year. ACL gets over 180,000 people into Zilker so I would assume South By could do the same.

[hookem]

I don't know if SXSW would WANT to become any bigger...

But if they did, seems like we've got some good options to accommodate it here in Austin. At least the overflow of the outdoor shows. Do you realize we have 3 pretty large outdoor venues within walking distance from downtown? And they are all connected to each other by the hike & bike trail! Auditorium Shores, Zilker, and Fiesta Gardens. If they wanted to, they could have all 3 venues running at the same time -- that would be huge. I can't think of another other city in Texas has so many outdoor concert places so close to the downtown core.

[OU812]

Originally Posted by migol24

If Austin keeps getting this hype growing year after year, I don't doubt that it will almost be a necessity to have urban rail. They should just propose it, approve it, plan it and build it already.

My vote is for MONORAIL but that seems highly unlikely. What's so nice about monorail is that it doesn't have much of a footprint. So it wouldn't take up very much space on existing right-of-way, which of course is in limited quantity downtown. Not to mention there's almost no chance of train to pedestrian accidents.

[KevinFromTexas]

I'm glad to hear they won't cancel the free shows. The free concerts are great for families who want to participate. Not to mention they're good for inviting everyone and giving them a chance to be exposed to the concert experience. I know the free SXSW shows did that for me when I was growing up. I also think having the free shows will keep SXSW on the general public's good side. I'd rather not have a lot of people whining about the traffic and noise without anything to show for it. Free shows at SXSW allowing the general public to participate should be viewed as a good bargaining chip to getting the public's support of some urban rail and a better transportation network. It's also a hell of a good PR campaign when it comes to showing the benefits of public transit and alternative forms of transportation like bicycles. The bike racks at these festivals usually have several thousand bicycles chained up to them.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/creative/2011/03/sxsw-free-shows-will-go-on.html

SXSW: Free shows will go on

Austin Business Journal - by Sandra Zaragoza
Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 3:34pm CDT

Sandra Zaragoza
Staff Writer

The number of overcrowded venues at this year’s South by Southwest music festival had some speculating that SXSW organizers would consider limiting free shows. But contrary to some media reports, SXSW leadership said it’s not planning to cut back on freebies.

“There have been inaccurate reports that SXSW is planning to work with the city of Austin to limit free events next year,” said Roland Swenson, managing director of SXSW. “SXSW has long offered a number of fun and exciting free-to-the-public events for the Austin community, and will continue to do so. Other groups will undoubtedly also present free events during SXSW.”

[jowens]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

ACL gets over 180,000 people into Zilker so I would assume South By could do the same.

The 180,000 figure is a 3 day total. The capacity for ACL Zilker is at 80,000. They sell 75,000 tickets per day and the other 5,000 is for artist comps and media passes. The capacity had been at 65,000 for the past 5 or 6 years and 3C Promotions raised it 75K this last year.

[BevoLJ]

Ya, but South By's music part is 6 days, so if South By continues to grow like it has been it could double that and Zilker would work. I also wouldn't mind seeing C3 play a bigger roll in it. They are from Austin and while Lollapalooza and ACL do have a few major acts from big labels their fest still do a great job featuring indie musicians so I think they they could still fit in well with South By.

[KevinFromTexas]

Barton Springs could use a rail line. It would be great for the festivals there. Not just the music festivals, but there's the kite festival, 4th of July and trail of lights/tree.

[KevinFromTexas]

The article says they're planning to have it open late next year. Man, construction on this thing is going to be fast! Don't blink or you'll miss it.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/s...3/23/council_to_vote_on_zoning_chan.html

Congress Ave. hotel project headed for City Council vote

By Shonda Novak | Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 01:01 PM

The Austin City Council is expected Thursday to approve a zoning change for a 26-story boutique hotel proposed for Congress Avenue — a project that would be the first new hotel on Congress in 45 years.

Mike McHone, a consultant helping the owner to get the city entitlements for the project, said the hotel could open in late 2012.

[ROCrot]

Originally Posted by migol24

There also seemed to be more stars then there usually are. Maybe its cause I wasn't keeping up with it in past years but this year I saw many film openings like Paul and The Beaver. It also seems to be getting more recognition as the years go. I even saw Fader Fort headline the LA Times for their SXSW event.

If Austin keeps getting this hype growing year after year, I don't doubt that it will almost be a necessity to have urban rail. They should just propose it, approve it, plan it and build it already.

We took the MetroRail on Saturday evening, and it was absolutely heavenly not having to drive, maneuver around (including dodging other cars and pedestrians), and then having to find parking (only to wind up far away or some other inconvenience).

[hookem]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

The article says they're planning to have it open late next year. Man, construction on this thing is going to be fast! Don't blink or you'll miss it.

Because it's so thin, maybe they'll just put up the crane...

... and glass it in.

[Raining Inside]

Originally Posted by OU812

My vote is for MONORAIL but that seems highly unlikely. What's so nice about monorail is that it doesn't have much of a footprint. So it wouldn't take up very much space on existing right-of-way, which of course is in limited quantity downtown. Not to mention there's almost no chance of train to pedestrian accidents.

Shut up. The only place monorail ever worked at was Disneyland/World.

[JoninATX]

Hutto CO-OP

Designs call for mixed uses at co-op district
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By Samantha Bryant Friday, 11 March 2011


HUTTO — Plans are moving forward to transform the Hutto co-op district into a municipal center. City Council announced its intention Feb. 3 to issue bonds in March for $630,000 for the full design of an interim city hall building and civic green.

The city also plans to request proposals for a private partner to develop the center and surrounding property this spring.

Micah Grau, City of Hutto finance director, said a private developer’s role is a necessary step in putting the plan into action.

“We are looking for that private partner to not only see how they can help us build our city facilities that are included on the site, but also develop the additional acreage that is going to be over there,” he said.

The development could include a mixture of retail, residential and office space, Grau said. Civic buildings could also be constructed there.

http://impactnews.com/georgetown-hutto-taylor/377-city/11869-hutto-co-op