AUSTIN Metro Update Thread

[audiomuse]

Absolutely love seeing Cedar Park densify!

[Urbannizer]

Velocity Crossing

Tons of new renderings for Velocity Crossing

https://www.velocityatx.com/

[drummer]

^ That's great. I wonder what other developments of this scale with the same or more density due to Tesla's (humongous) presence nearby.

Additionally, if HSR were to ever happen in Austin, I've always thought that a downtown station would be ideal, but it would more likely be placed near the airport (130/71) due to open space and perhaps more ROW available than trying to fit tracks over I-35 or something. Does anyone know of any planning for hopeful/future/potential HSR in the future?

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by drummer

^ That's great. I wonder what other developments of this scale with the same or more density due to Tesla's (humongous) presence nearby.

Additionally, if HSR were to ever happen in Austin, I've always thought that a downtown station would be ideal, but it would more likely be placed near the airport (130/71) due to open space and perhaps more ROW available than trying to fit tracks over I-35 or something. Does anyone know of any planning for hopeful/future/potential HSR in the future?

There has been an official study, for whatever it's worth.

https://railroads.dot.gov/environmen...texas-oklahoma


EIS is at least a step, but it would need somone with funding to step up.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by drummer

^ That's great. I wonder what other developments of this scale with the same or more density due to Tesla's (humongous) presence nearby.

Additionally, if HSR were to ever happen in Austin, I've always thought that a downtown station would be ideal, but it would more likely be placed near the airport (130/71) due to open space and perhaps more ROW available than trying to fit tracks over I-35 or something. Does anyone know of any planning for hopeful/future/potential HSR in the future?

I hope we would fight to get it downtown or at a light rail station. Middle of nowhere like Houston is doing is not great.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

I hope we would fight to get it downtown or at a light rail station. Middle of nowhere like Houston is doing is not great.

It would not be hard to extend the Blue line to where the HSR is thought to run near 130 but that is if prop A passes.

[drummer]

Man, I would agree with that best-case scenario on so many levels. However, I just don't know how feasible it would be for the tracking and a station location unless it were to be built directly over I-35 somehow....

The best compromise in my opinion would be by the airport since it would allow for existing regional highways and future transit options play double duty for personal and business travelers alike, not to mention workers. And yes, the blue line extension would be ideal in this scenario.

The layout would never happen here, but I've always found Shanghai Hongqiao Airport/Railway Station to be a fascinating concept.

[StoOgE]

If Austin does get HSR we would get a double stop like Schiphol and Amsterdam Centraal.

I'm not personally holding my breath for major investment in HSR in the US though.

[atxsnail]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

I'm not personally holding my breath for major investment in HSR in the US though.

Meaning Texas Central (Dallas-Houston) isn't a major investment? Or do you mean more that it won't happen?

[drummer]

Originally Posted by Novacek

There has been an official study, for whatever it's worth.

https://railroads.dot.gov/environmen...texas-oklahoma


EIS is at least a step, but it would need somone with funding to step up.

I missed this reply earlier. Thanks for the link, Novacek! I'll have to read through this later.

[undergroundman]

Originally Posted by drummer

^ That's great. I wonder what other developments of this scale with the same or more density due to Tesla's (humongous) presence nearby.

This one would be interesting if it came to fruition. A Crystal Lagoon would be fun. If anyone has half a billion dollars to throw at it...

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/FM-9...or-TX/8890197/

https://images1.loopnet.com/d2/4VDis...s/document.pdf

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by undergroundman

This one would be interesting if it came to fruition. A Crystal Lagoon would be fun. If anyone has half a billion dollars to throw at it...

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/FM-9...or-TX/8890197/

https://images1.loopnet.com/d2/4VDis...s/document.pdf

Wow, a lot of Austin development history down that rabbit hole on the Carpenter family: http://www.carpenteraustin.com/projects.html

111 and 100 Congress, The Westgate building, Barton Creek Country Club and neighborhood, St. Michael's School, Shadowglen, Austin's Colony and then near bankruptcy from the city's bait and switch on a new airport in Manor. Not sure about those futuristic projects near Bastrop but certainly a lot to unpack.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

Wow, a lot of Austin development history down that rabbit hole on the Carpenter family: http://www.carpenteraustin.com/projects.html

111 and 100 Congress, The Westgate building, Barton Creek Country Club and neighborhood, St. Michael's School, Shadowglen, Austin's Colony and then near bankruptcy from the city's bait and switch on a new airport in Manor. Not sure about those futuristic projects near Bastrop but certainly a lot to unpack.

Yep. These same people have been promoted grandiose plans on this property for decades. The latest was anchored by a Hollywood scale movie studio complex and commercial amphitheater. This tract has significant flood plain and other environmental constraints that have made development difficult. Since they have been working at the State to kneecap Austin's annexation powers and create a Super MUD, they might be closer to realizing their vision.

[drummer]

Some fun stats with analysis from N90, taken from part of a discussion in the DFW City Compilation page. Some overlap with Austin and Austin metro discussion, so I figured I'd cross-post it here.

Originally Posted by N90

Downtown Ft. Worth to Downtown San Antonio = 268 miles

DFW CSA: 8,057,796
Waco MSA: 273,920
Killeen/Temple/Ft. Hood MSA: 460,303
Austin MSA: 2,227,083
San Antonio CSA: 2,571,266

That’s a combined population of 13,590,368 people in a 270 mile north-south corridor along I-35. That would be the 5th most populous US state. It’s not the Northeast Corridor but it’s pretty populated and a part of the fastest growing area in the US (which is the Texas Triangle).

Originally Posted by N90

DFW is exactly halfway between Austin and OKC. 190 miles north of DFW is OKC and 190 miles south of DFW is Austin.

The two big differences there is that between DFW and Austin there’s a sizable Waco area and Killeen/Temple/Fort Hood area with a combined population around 700k people. But between DFW and OKC there isn’t a major source of population, just casinos and resorts and empty land. But what that direction lacks in population it makes up with growth as DFW is growing northward and OKC is growing southward.

San Antonio’s favored direction of growth is north. Austin is both north and south. I don’t know about the Killeen or Waco areas, and then there’s DFW. With how expensive Austin is and becoming, I expect development to reach the Killeen area and for Killeen to grow into Waco.

If DFW grew as intensely southward then everything from DFW to San Antonio would be one continuously developed corridor.

Also another way to look at that corridor is from OKC all the way down to either Monterrey or Saltillo, Mexico. I-35 in the US is renamed to 85D in Mexico and runs through Monterrey and then there’s Saltillo nearby. We tend to forget but Monterrey is pretty damn huge, growing and urbanizing rapidly, and pretty tied to TX. Laredo is on the border and is growing swiftly on both the US and Mexico sides.

[drummer]

A friend posted this article on LinkedIn and it has a quick mention of Bastrop in there related to city planning.

https://www-bloomberg-com.cdn.amppro...e-grid-is-back

[Armybrat]

I have heard that Monterrey has more in common economically & maybe culturally with San Antonio than it does with Mexico City.

[nixcity]

I have heard that Monterrey has more in common economically & maybe culturally with San Antonio than it does with Mexico City.

That is a fair assessment, I mean they even have at least one HEB.

[N90]

Monterrey metro area population in 2015: 4,689,601

https://www.citypopulation.de/php/mexico-metro.php

In 2020 it's easily gotta be above 5 million now. That makes it one of the big dogs in North America and certainly in Mexico, along with Mexico City and Guadalajara. It's also one of the fastest growing places of its size in North America, so it's rank and profile by population will only continue to go up.

San Antonio is in the center of three big dogs with Dallas to the north, Houston to the east, and Monterrey to the south. Downtown Houston is 197 miles from Downtown San Antonio, Downtown Dallas is 274 miles from Downtown San Antonio, and Centro Monterrey is 297 miles from Downtown San Antonio. SA's in the nexus and crossroads of these 3 big dogs.

[Armybrat]

Incredible growth down there, just like the Austin area.
When I lived there in 1960-61 the population was under 800,000.

[freerover]

The TxDot High Speed Rail study actually goes from Oklahoma City to Monterrey Mexico passing through DFW, Austin, San Antonio and RGV. Unlike the wall, Mexico would have to pay for their portion though.