Mueller Area Development Updates

[H2O]

Originally Posted by DaveinWimberley

Personally, I prefer Montopolis. I would like to live within half a mile of a virgin tree and real grass. But I'm sure it's just a matter of time before Montopolis will look like this, too.

You have a problem with our trees having sex?

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by H2O

You have a problem with our trees having sex?

I do. It totally fucks up my allergies.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by Novacek

I do. It totally fucks up my allergies.

I really wish there was a like button on this forum!

[enragedcamel]

Originally Posted by Syndic

I mean, they're not taller in most other parts of town, so... weird flex.

It could have been made a mini-downtown IMO. Or even a second Domain, which has taller buildings.

[H2O]

It's sort of a mini-Domain. But remember, the Domain did not even exist when the Mueller plan was being formulated. Nor did the Triangle, West Campus or Saltillo. Everybody thought it was crazy to imagine denser, walkable development on the east side of 1-35, 5 miles from Downtown. And the original vision was much less dense than it is now. It was a good thing they built flexibility into the plan and allowed it to get more dense over time. But as far as I am concerned, it could be even more dense.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by H2O

It's sort of a mini-Domain. But remember, the Domain did not even exist when the Mueller plan was being formulated. Nor did the Triangle, West Campus or Saltillo. Everybody thought it was crazy to imagine denser, walkable development on the east side of 1-35, 5 miles from Downtown. And the original vision was much less dense than it is now. It was a good thing they built flexibility into the plan and allowed it to get more dense over time. But as far as I am concerned, it could be even more dense.

This is a good comment. The changes around us are so pronounced, it's always hard to remember that Austin still lives on a continuum, and that what we see around us now is the product of things baby steps in the past. I've always thought that one of the difficulties living here is that we constantly have to prove to ourselves that we can be a bigger city. Wow, look, we really CAN have a stadium. And hey, we really CAN vote ourselves a huge honking transit bill. We really CAN have big towers downtown. We really CAN have dense corridors lined with apartment blocks.

Lots of constant self discovery going on in this city.

[kingkirbythe....]

A Brighter Future’s On Deck for Mueller’s Historic Control Tower

https://austin.towers.net/a-brighter...control-tower/

Earlier this year, we learned that a 350-unit apartment and retail project by national developers Ryan Companies would finally fill the vacant lot surrounding the Central Austin neighborhood’s former control tower, one of the few signs left of Mueller’s past life as an airport. Though images and details of the new project emphasized its embrace of the historic tower as a centerpiece — with a pedestrian paseo cutting through the block to ensure the best views possible of its classic design by famed local midcentury design duo Fehr & Granger — the project’s announcement didn’t include much detail on how exactly the tower would fit into the new development beyond stating that it would be surrounded by an outdoor plaza space.


I like the path of A with the platform of B with the tower accessibility of C.

[427MM]

Parkside broke ground a few weeks ago. Excited to see this one really help fill out the area. If anyone happens to walk/ride by and can share a pic I'll send you virtual high fives!

[H2O]

No actual construction activity yet.

Edit: I was wrong! Excavation started since I last walked by sometime in the past week.

[DaveinWimberley]

Somehow Mueller reminds me of "1984" and "Brave New World" all rolled up into one - a place built for the proles, showcased by a former airport control tower which has been converted into a clinic where one can get their soma. There certainly isn't much else to do there.
Every time I drive through, I imagine how much better life would be in a place like Gallup, New Mexico or Pueblo, Colorado, maybe even Lubbock.

[drummer]

I wouldn't categorize Mueller in that way, personally. I've spent a lot of time in Mueller due to my son's hospital stays at Dell. Great park, some decent restaurants, the children's museum (Thinkery), and the HEB, among other things. I also have a handful of friends who live there. I imagine if you just drive through it seems boring, but I suppose you could say that about any neighborhood not in a downtown area. All things considered, Mueller could be a lot worse. It could be better, sure, but I like the area.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by DaveinWimberley

maybe even Lubbock.

huh..

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by DaveinWimberley

Every time I drive through, I imagine how much better life would be in a place like Gallup, New Mexico or Pueblo, Colorado, maybe even Lubbock.

Tell me you've never been to Lubbock without telling me you've never been to Lubbock.

[enragedcamel]

Mueller is boring as heck, and I say that as someone who lives less than 2 miles from it and visit it frequently. It's a real missed opportunity IMO. They could have made it a Domain 2.0, instead it's a bunch of single family homes and low-rise office buildings.

[Syndic]

Can we have a post in here without disinterested commenters coming in here and saying Mueller sucks? Just move on to the next thread guys. You don't have to comment on every one.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

Mueller is boring as heck, and I say that as someone who lives less than 2 miles from it and visit it frequently. It's a real missed opportunity IMO. They could have made it a Domain 2.0, instead it's a bunch of single family homes and low-rise office buildings.

Take your pick, some people prefer the quiet residential feeling of Mueller vs the more bustling atmosphere of The Domain (which we are getting 2 more basically, on South Lamar and on Riverside). So there's options to choose from based on the lifestyle you want, but at least Mueller's more tradtional single-family orientation is more dense and thoughtfully designed than your typical suburb.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by Syndic

Can we have a post in here without disinterested commenters coming in here and saying Mueller sucks? Just move on to the next thread guys. You don't have to comment on every one.

Without TOO much Mueller bashing, I will say that the contrast with The Domain is pretty instructive. Mueller does 1/2 of the density equation (building proximity) without doing the other 1/2 (building height). I wasn't around to watch the discussions about either place evolve to where they ended up . . . but I think Mueller could've pushed it, in retrospect.

Among other things Mueller is kind of an evolutionary point on the timeline of Austin's idea of itself as an urban environment. This is what we thought we should look like as a city, way back in 2004, or whenever.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Among other things Mueller is kind of an evolutionary point on the timeline of Austin's idea of itself as an urban environment. This is what we thought we should look like as a city, way back in 2004, or whenever.

I think this is the key point here.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

...It's a real missed opportunity IMO. They could have made it a Domain 2.0, instead it's a bunch of single family homes and low-rise office buildings.

Ummmm...I may be wrong. But, the redevelopment of Mueller began YEARS before there were even dreams of the original Domain.

If it were the same - I bet people would be complaining that its too similar to the Domain (or the like).

It is what it is...and I actually like it. It was never designed to be a hub of business and entertainment like the Domain. It was designed, mostly, for a mix of housing and a hospital - with some retail and businesses scattered throughout.

[clubtokyo]

I guess I am in the minority, lol. I like mueller!