AUSTIN | Project Updates Thread Part II

[StoOgE]

I think that the NIMBY cry has become a catch-all for any stand being made against new development.

Fighting to save an old Taco Cabana site or lop 10 feet off a building taking up an old Schlotzky's in NIMBYism. That is anti-development and anti-density.

Looking at the warehouse district or 6th street and asking about preserving our cities soul is not the same thing. Austin is still an increadibly special city - and we need development in the city, we need density. We need housing. We need skyscrapers.

But we also need Barton Springs and Dirty 6th and the warehouse district and SoCo, and Zilker.

NYC has a historical preservation committee with teeth and there is a reason for it. That city took a lot of losses that they will never get back.

The vast vast majority of stuff in Austin is not worth saving, but there is stuff that is fundamentally part of the history and fabric of our city and Dirty 6th with its shitty shot-bars that I've long sense outgrown is part of it. We can upscale 6th without sticking new boring glass boxes on top of historic buildings.

[myBrain]

HARD NO on opening 6th back up to cars. Ridiculous that our solution to crowding is to just to give the street back to cars.

It should be a permanent pedestrian plaza with all the trappings. Retail kiosks and seating in the center of the street, trees and landscaping, public art etc.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

I think that the NIMBY cry has become a catch-all for any stand being made against new development.

Fighting to save an old Taco Cabana site or lop 10 feet off a building taking up an old Schlotzky's in NIMBYism. That is anti-development and anti-density.

Looking at the warehouse district or 6th street and asking about preserving our cities soul is not the same thing. Austin is still an increadibly special city - and we need development in the city, we need density. We need housing. We need skyscrapers.

But we also need Barton Springs and Dirty 6th and the warehouse district and SoCo, and Zilker.

NYC has a historical preservation committee with teeth and there is a reason for it. That city took a lot of losses that they will never get back.

The vast vast majority of stuff in Austin is not worth saving, but there is stuff that is fundamentally part of the history and fabric of our city and Dirty 6th with its shitty shot-bars that I've long sense outgrown is part of it. We can upscale 6th without sticking new boring glass boxes on top of historic buildings.

Great point! I think we're nearing an area where we're becoming a bit more picky about what we're building/advocating for the future template, while also being focused on density. I think that's why there have been more debates on here lately re all that.

I am pro density through and through. I want Austin to be a city of tomorrow for America. Dirty 6th does need something though. The crime/homelessness is truly out of control over there. I miss going to Alamo showings and feeling safe walking home alone after dark (THROUGH ALLEY WAYS LOL).

[StoOgE]

Dirty 6th has real issues, but I am suspect that some of them are being caused/encouraged by developers who are now using the problems of dirty 6th to push for this zoning change.

Like, they own those buildings. They can push out establishments already if they don't want that clientele.

What they are doing is using the problems that really do exist on dirty 6th as a cudgel to upzone their property investments and make them worth more money than when they bought them.

We have to remember - developers in Austin may sometimes be doing something that is good for the city, but most of them are not from Austin, do not live in Austin and are just trying to extract maximum value for their investment. They don't really care if they leave the city a better place or not.

Its why we need city leadership to advocate for citizens interests in these things. If someone buys a property I am all for them doing what they want with that but we should be advocating for local owned business and restaurants like we did on 2nd street and we should be saving those core business and districts that have made Austin what it is.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by myBrain

HARD NO on opening 6th back up to cars. Ridiculous that our solution to crowding is to just to give the street back to cars.

It should be a permanent pedestrian plaza with all the trappings. Retail kiosks and seating in the center of the street, trees and landscaping, public art etc.

Exactly. The notion that a heavy pedestrianized area can be made safer by adding cars is crazy. That will do just the opposite. Also, I would think that turning much of this into a pedestrian plaza would attract more daytime uses.

Much of the area being talked about here is between Red River and I35. That has been the least trafficked part of E 6th ever since I can remember. It could definitely use some updates. Other than Easy Tiger and Emo's, I can't think of any businesses on that end of 6th that have ever become any sort of iconic Austin business.

If you look on a map, there appears to be enough parking space behind some some of these buildings to allow for some added height without disturbing the buildings much (if at all). One of the properties being mentioned here is just a parking lot without any buildings. Also, it would be good to better integrate some of this with the Waller Creek improvements coming from Waterloo Greenway.

I think we should see more of the details about this before poo-pooing it too much. There is an opportunity here for the city to engage on this and create something much, much better.

Edit: Hell, there may even be an opportunity here to lure Emo's, Easy Tiger, or whatnot back into downtown. If I were working on this, that would be part of my sales pitch.

[drummer]

I played some of my first shows on Dirty 6th and the surrounding areas. I like aspects of the raw feel to it all. To others' points, there are improvements needed, but some areas are special. Taco Cabana wasn't.

[We vs us]

Here's a map of the properties in question. Very much weighted towards the I-35 end of the strip.

[The ATX]

I'm OK with the portion of this project on the block closest to I-35.

[We vs us]

I think it definitely matters what part of 6th we're talking about. These properties are decidedly not in the center of the Dirty 6th Experience. In the time I've seen them they've mostly been restaurants, offices, stores. Not the hard charging vomitoriums closer to Brazos.

[kingkirbythe....]

Does This Austin Duplex Look Illegal?

https://austin.towers.net/does-this-austin-duplex-look-illegal/

The duplex seen above, located on Avenue C in the cherished Hyde Park neighborhood of Central Austin, is one of many older residences providing this district’s eclectic historical charm. Constructed in 1931 during the neighborhood’s largest period of growth, its exterior appearance reflects the modest, but stylish architecture of this area’s many bungalows originally built for working-class buyers — the only difference you’ll notice from the street is the two front doors.

Although it could use a new roof, you’d have a hard time convincing any resident of Hyde Park that the property lacks the intrinsic “neighborhood character” inspiring such fierce historic preservation efforts in this part of town. In fact, we think many people wish new development in their neighborhoods looked a bit more like this. There’s just one problem — this duplex is illegal to build almost everywhere in Austin.

Why? As you’ll discover with most questions about why Austin looks (and costs) the way it does, the answer is zoning. When developer John Carleston built the Avenue C duplex in the 1930s, the city’s current zoning regulations didn’t exist. The systems of land use in place at the time were far more concerned with keeping minorities out of white neighborhoods like Hyde Park rather than the more granular design restrictions like minimum lot sizes, setbacks, or residential compatibility we see in the code now — ironically, these features keep those same neighborhoods segregated today by preventing apartments and other more affordable housing types from being built.

[Urbannizer]

803 West Avenue

Planned multifamily residential. Two homes on site (both currently used as office) would be demolished.

[StoOgE]

Whats going up on West Avenue in that weird triangle median near Rainey?

[migol24]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

Whats going up on West Avenue in that weird triangle median near Rainey?

Do you mean East Avenue?

[chinchaaa]

Love seeing the housing going in this neighborhood. This is a great area to be flipped into residential corridors.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

Whats going up on West Avenue in that weird triangle median near Rainey?

If you mean East Ave, it’s probably the new Austin Energy power station.

[Urbannizer]

A Downtown Micro-Apartment Project Stirs to Life on East Ninth Street

https://austin.towers.net/a-downtown-micro-apartment-project-stirs-to-life-on-east-ninth-street/

Roughly six years after the first appearance of the plan, a “micro-housing” apartment project by 70 Rainey developers Sackman Enterprises appears to be moving forward at 703 East Ninth Street, a 0.76-acre land assembly at the southwest corner of East Ninth Street and the I-35 Frontage Road stretching west to the edge of Waller Creek.

With its permit approved by the City of Austin last month and the a license agreement for the site currently in review, the project’s reappearance with active updates to its development timeline this year marked the end of a long period of inactivity — even prior to the pandemic, the wait for this plan was longer than usual due to the site’s location directly adjacent to Waller Creek, with the building apparently only able to be permitted by the city after the completion of flood control improvements including the famously troubled Waller Creek Tunnel.

[kingkirbythe....]

Alamo Drafthouse owners bought an old school and promised affordable housing. Years later, there is none.

https://www.kut.org/austin/2022-05-20/baker-school-austin-isd-leagues

For a moment, the possibilities for a former school building in one of Austin’s most coveted neighborhoods seemed endless.

A contemporary arts center with space for restaurants. What about a community theater? The 4-acre spot in Hyde Park, several groups suggested, could be used to build homes public school teachers could afford.

Even in 2017, the Austin Independent School District knew it couldn’t pass on an offer to help house teachers in a city where homes regularly sold for more than $400,000. (Five years later, they sell for much more.) After receiving nearly a dozen bids to buy the old Baker School in Hyde Park, AISD sold the property to the owners of the Alamo Drafthouse who said they would restore the old building and build a block of affordable homes.

But years after the sale, there is no affordable housing on the Baker School plot — and no plans to build any. So, how did AISD sell a piece of public land on a promise that never materialized? One way to explain it involves the City of Austin, a movie theater company hamstrung by the pandemic and a school district left rethinking how it should manage valuable property.

[StoOgE]

To defend the League's a bit here - they literally have had to sell off almost all of their assets in the last 18 months. Im not sure dunking on them for failing to make good on a promise is the way.

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

To defend the League's a bit here - they literally have had to sell off almost all of their assets in the last 18 months. Im not sure dunking on them for failing to make good on a promise is the way.

Excellent point.

[AustinYIMBY]

Just heard that all of the state agencies that are currently occupying the Hobby Building will be moving to the two new buildings finishing up construction at the capitol complex. All tenants are expected to be moved by the end of the calendar year, and then the building is slated to be sold for development. The revenue from the sale will be used to pay off some of the bonds used to fund the capitol complex construction projects.
Not sure if this is “news” but if not, a reminder that the Hobby Building’s days are numbered.