Austin | Domain/North Austin

[N90]

The Domain in Austin reminds me of City Centre in Houston, just bigger.

[migol24]

Thank you, Syndic. Finally, some reason.

I agree with your assessment.

Honestly, I don't even hate it. I go there quite regularly and have friends that work in the bars and coffee shops. I have a strange fascination with shopping centers.

Houston gets criticized for it a lot, but I have a fondness to its endless shopping malls. It feels like some cyberpunk dystopian with endless digital billboards, a la Blade Runner. But only, it's shopping malls, not digital billboards, of course. It's not cool, but I take inspiration from it in some odd way. It's in the chaos that I find my sanity, and it inspires my writing. But I digress.

Looking forward to seeing it grow in some special way that doesn't give preference to vehicles. And it's all groovy. Cheers.

[Syndic]

I just fret for the future of The Domain. We need the city of Austin to take it over from the private owners (Simon and Endeavor) in order to make it legitimately urban. I don't know anything about how that would work. Would we have to buy it from them? Could we seize it? But until we turn these signs green instead of blue, we won't have control over it and it'll continue to feel different/separate/self-contained.


Over the next couple decades, we're going to have to do a lot of work to stitch together the cityscape around there in order to make it feel more authentic/cohesive.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by migol24

Thank you, Syndic. Finally, some reason.

I agree with your assessment.

Honestly, I don't even hate it. I go there quite regularly and have friends that work in the bars and coffee shops. I have a strange fascination with shopping centers.

Houston gets criticized for it a lot, but I have a fondness to its endless shopping malls. It feels like some cyberpunk dystopian with endless digital billboards, a la Blade Runner. But only, it's shopping malls, not digital billboards, of course. It's not cool, but I take inspiration from it in some odd way. It's in the chaos that I find my sanity, and it inspires my writing. But I digress.

Looking forward to seeing it grow in some special way that doesn't give preference to vehicles. And it's all groovy. Cheers.

I may not agree with you regarding the Domain, but I like you and your posts and someone with 1000+ posts is NOT a troll, I take exception to that characterization. MichaelB is also not a troll and has been on this forum longer than me. Please everyone, knock off the insults and personal attacks. They are ridiculous. If you want to read shitty thread killing posts, go back and read most of mine.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by the Genral

I may not agree with you regarding the Domain, but I like you and your posts and someone with 1000+ posts is NOT a troll, I take exception to that characterization. MichaelB is also not a troll and has been on this forum longer than me. Please everyone, knock off the insults and personal attacks. They are ridiculous. If you want to read shitty thread killing posts, go back and read most of mine.

True story. I don't even come on here to upset anyone. I come here because I have a genuine interest in Austin's development. There are things that I'm very excited about. And some I feel very meh about. I just happen to voice my opinions well on those things I feel meh about. I say they're voiced well because I don't even give much thought into them. It's like "oh well here's what I think" and it elicits so much responses. It's funny, really.

Anyways... this veered off topic too long. But, thank you for this comment.. I happen to like your shit posts a lot. They're oddly grounded in reality and always make me chuckle.

If we cross paths at the Domain, (because why not?) drinks are on me.

[Mopacs]

The spillover developments are starting to occur south and east of the original district. Much of those projects are along public city streets (Braker, Kramer, Burnet, etc.). Perhaps a little more organic in nature.

[Mopacs]

As for the internal road system at the Domain, I avoid them at all costs. Much prefer to just park in one of the peripheral garages and walk from there.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Syndic

I just fret for the future of The Domain. We need the city of Austin to take it over from the private owners (Simon and Endeavor) in order to make it legitimately urban. I don't know anything about how that would work. Would we have to buy it from them? Could we seize it? But until we turn these signs green instead of blue, we won't have control over it and it'll continue to feel different/separate/self-contained.

Over the next couple decades, we're going to have to do a lot of work to stitch together the cityscape around there in order to make it feel more authentic/cohesive.

The Domain proper (with that PDA zoning) is a small minority of the overall area. Something like 300 acres out of the overall 2300 (and possibly growing). As mentioned, the rest of that is being developed under the NBG zoning plan (which learned lessons both positive and negative from the original Domain). One of the improvements was the requirement for new roads to be added to help stitch together a bit more of a grid. Also maximum block sizes, requirements for pedestrian permeability, etc.

So I don't think the unique issues of the Domain threaten the overall district. But eventually they're going to run out of the entitlements/TIA trips from the original PDA plan. At that point, I expect a request for upzonings, which would be a good opportunity for planning additional public RoW.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by kingkirbythe....

1. 'Hey, I want to go out to eat.'


1. 'Okay. Second Downtown it is. Let's eat!'

It's more like

"Hey, let's grab some drinks downtown.

Uh, there's too much traffic (event is shutting it down, too far, etc.). Let's go to Rock Rose instead."

Unquestionably the Domain area is for many people fulfilling the functions of a downtown. Whether that's residential, special events, job center, or commercial.

It's "second downtown", not "Second Downtown"

I think it'll be interesting to see what dynamic develops if/when Robinson Ranch eventually develops, and what form it takes. That's potentially a lot of residential where the North Burnet area is way closer for them (by road or transit) than Downtown proper.

[IluvATX]

The Domain reminds me of South Park in Charlotte. It’s a neighborhood also centered around a Simon mall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SouthPark,_Charlotte

[drummer]

Originally Posted by Novacek

It's "second downtown", not "Second Downtown"

This is a good clarification.

And yes, I think a lot of people from the suburbs, with whom I interact on a daily basis (especially those who aren't from Austin or have been here <5 years), consider anything Domain and/or Mueller as "downtown" because it's more of an urban feel than the burbs. Doesn't make it right.

And I second, third, and fourth the need for respectful discourse across the board. I've been grateful to be apart of this forum for a number of years now and have always appreciated the variety of opinions and inputs - and usually it's been a very pleasant experience.

[Syndic]

Originally Posted by Novacek

I think it'll be interesting to see what dynamic develops if/when Robinson Ranch eventually develops, and what form it takes. That's potentially a lot of residential where the North Burnet area is way closer for them (by road or transit) than Downtown proper.

This is one of my favorite things to consider. That is such a massive plot of land and it could radically change the landscape of (mainly north) Austin. I would hope it's not turned into a bunch of shitty apartment complexes. Those developers are like vultures when any decent-sized plot of land opens up. I'd hope the Robinson family takes an interest in making actual worthwhile places. Something with the density level of Mueller would probably be good. Of course, I'm always wanting better density but want to stay realistic.

You're totally right. The North Burnet area (which is what we should probably start calling it instead of The Domain) will magnify in importance in a huge way. I mean, it's already begun but I anticipate this whole industrial area being transformed in the next 10-20 years. And, yes, that should definitely include parts of the JJ Pickle campus. However, unlike the Domain and Mueller, this redevelopment could be more organic and decentralized, since it's not owned by one single entity. I think the city will need to be very careful with how things progress in this area. A master plan/vision would be nice.

[Syndic]

By the way, when I drove by it looked like construction might've started on the Q2 Stadium transit stop. Unless it was just more Google Fiber installers. They've been busy all over north Austin.

[ATX2030]

Drilling truck taking core samples this morning in the parking lot of the Lights Fantastic at 7532 Burnet Rd.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by Syndic

You're totally right. The North Burnet area (which is what we should probably start calling it instead of The Domain) will magnify in importance in a huge way. I mean, it's already begun but I anticipate this whole industrial area being transformed in the next 10-20 years. And, yes, that should definitely include parts of the JJ Pickle campus. However, unlike the Domain and Mueller, this redevelopment could be more organic and decentralized, since it's not owned by one single entity. I think the city will need to be very careful with how things progress in this area. A master plan/vision would be nice.

You are only about 15 years late to the party!

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/de...g_reg_plan.pdf

https://www.austintexas.gov/page/north-burnetgateway

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/de...way/nbg-np.pdf

[Syndic]

Oh yeah. I did know about that actually. I just wonder how much that Master Plan is actually influencing things in the area.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Syndic

Oh yeah. I did know about that actually. I just wonder how much that Master Plan is actually influencing things in the area.

Stuff that's explicit in the plan seems to be being followed pretty well. So for instance, the Broadmoor/Uptown development is dedicating the new public street where the plan calls for it. Similarly, when they built Q2 the road to the north (Aguilar Street) was already in place because it was required to be put in when that parcel on its north developed as apartments.

[Mopacs]

Lots of apartments going up along 183 on the southern periphery of this area... the Waterford complex in particular. Very prominent. The gaps will certainly fill in to the north before long.





https://obrienarch.com/project/presi...erford-austin/

[randalls]

Originally Posted by IluvATX

The Domain reminds me of South Park in Charlotte. It’s a neighborhood also centered around a Simon mall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SouthPark,_Charlotte

Yes, I grew up in Charlotte and can confirm the Domain has a similar feel. Domain has a much larger footprint though.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by IluvATX

The Domain reminds me of South Park in Charlotte. It’s a neighborhood also centered around a Simon mall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SouthPark,_Charlotte

I third this. When I was at USC, SouthPark was the closest decent shopping.

It reminds me of a number of places, as it is a rather common model, to one degree or another:

Domain (Austin)
SouthPark (Charlotte)
Cherry Creek (Denver)
Atlantic Station (Atlanta)
La Cantera (San Antonio)