Highland Mall Redevelopment Update Thread

[M1EK]

Originally Posted by arbeiter

Since you never relent, I'm going to continue to say, god, you are unpleasant.

I'm going to continue to say, god, you're a real piece of work.

[M1EK]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

^True. I'd rather see it happen there since it's closer in, than to put it farther out. And something big like that wouldn't work farther out for the reasons you mentioned. Plus dense developments almost never happen on the fringe of the city for a lack of need to go vertical. If it's an issue of transportation infrastructure not being in place at Highland, even if it involves rail, well then, snap to it and build it.

You can see additional density on this tract with or without rail - but "snap to it and build it" is a bit naive, isn't it? I'd hate to have to continue to be 'unpleasant', but do you really think it's anywhere near that easy?

The property isn't very attractive even compared to Northcross because of where it is - hemmed in by loud highways rather than urban streets (even Airport Blvd is more like a highway). It is close, geographically, to downtown, but not close enough to compete with something like Mueller or East Avenue (both of which have far more attractive routes in than I-35).

[Danbo1957]

The Highland Mall track needs a major employer, like a large general hospital that would attract doctors' offices and medical support facilities. Throw in some light retail and some apartments and you have 10,000 people using the property daily.

[austlar1]

With any kind of economic recovery as part of the equation, the Highland Mall area becomes one of the great real estate development plays in Texas over the next 10 or 15 years. To insist that Highland Mall is not well located is akin to saying there is no sun up in the sky. It is at the heart of the local highway system but far enough away from the highway noise and congestion to be attractive for any kind of development. There is not likely to be much in the way of opposition to dense redevelopment of the site because there are no residential areas on three out of four sides of the site.

Finally, Airport Blvd between Mueller and Lamar will likely emerge over this same period as more of an urban boulevard and less like a highway. There are already signs that this is starting to happen at various spots along this route.

Development at Highland Mall, Mueller, and the Concordia site should serve to bulk up the urban core. Hopefully the mall will shutter itself soon enough and be demolished. That will free up the space for imaginative redevelopment. One possibility might be a medical center with hospital and medical school along with some other residential and office projects, perhaps some kind of private/public partnership Over time it would produce lots and lots of employment and encourage other nearby development, most likely along Airport Blvd. and in Lincloln Village, which is underutilized and sits between Highland and IH35. I am enough of a dreamer to imagine that one day this whole core from downtown to Highland can be linked by rail along or near IH35and fan out to various parts of the metro area.

[M1EK]

What evidence do you see of improvements on Airport Blvd?

It would be nice to get a major employer to locate there. It's not likely to happen - it's close enough in to be difficult to get to by car during rush hours; yet not close enough in to get the spillover benefits of downtown. (Northcross is far enough out that you could get there by car during rush hour without too much trouble).

Again, major employers typically locate along transit lines long after residential TOD has occurred. The residential TOD (true TOD, not just long-overdue upzoning that doesn't lead to more transit use) only happens after a rail line proves it's successful at attracting choice commuters because it delivers them within walking distance of their offices at the other end of the line.

That's not happening here (will probably never happen), so it's a non-issue.

Did any of you see the picture in the ABJ article about Highland Mall redevelopment? It's particularly telling that the only image showed huge amounts of surface parking. It wouldn't stop Austin folks from calling it "TOD", of course, but the rest of the world would rightly view it as TAD.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin...20/story1.html



That's a La Frontera in the making there, people.

[arbeiter]

Originally Posted by M1EK

I'm going to continue to say, god, you're a real piece of work.

I love how you said that speaking up at city council meetings in person was only for the freaks, yet you're the one who speaks up at city council meetings. Care to tell them what week of pregnancy the newest Austinite urbanist baby is in?

[M1EK]

"Citizens communications" is a waste of time - you will spend less time but have zero impact (you'll know when you need to be there, but nobody will listen). Signing up to speak on actual agenda items is less of a waste of time (takes a lot of time, but actually get listened to). And, no, I don't speak before council - I have a real job and a family - I email them occasionally and once in a while get a response.

Ignoring the inflammatory and obnoxious nature of your post and giving the moderators a chance to do right.

[austlar1]

What evidence do you see of improvements on Airport Blvd?

It would be nice to get a major employer to locate there. It's not likely to happen - it's close enough in to be difficult to get to by car during rush hours; yet not close enough in to get the spillover benefits of downtown. (Northcross is far enough out that you could get there by car during rush hour without too much trouble).

The above from a post by M1EK


OK. First Airport Blvd. The new apartments or condos along Airport at Mueller come to mind. The new landscaping in the neutral ground along Airport at Mueller stands out. A new coffee house futher up Airport in the shopping center that has the pool hall is a nice addition. A couple of well regarded ethnic dining spots are getting a little buzz. The advent of the new rail line to make things look a little slicker and urban. The new apartment construction up at the Lamar end of Airport along with the so called TOD at the same location is going to add to the mix. Average traffic moves at a stately 35 to 40 MPH rather than highway speeds. It is not a lot, but it is change in a good direction. Just remember what was happening on streets like S Congress or S First or lower Burnet Rd or Manor Road just a few years ago, and compare and contrast with today. All of these streets have become more urban and pedestrian friendly and filled with amenities. The residential area west of Airport around 51st and N. Loop has emerged as way hip and happening. Airport Blvd. has a bright future in that area.

How can you say that Highland is not convenient to auto traffic? There must be close to 400,000 car trips a day passing within 1/2 mile of some portion of Highland Mall as it exists today. I am talking about cars along 183, 290, IH 35, and various surface streets such as Airport. Compare that to Northcross and you lose big time.

[M1EK]

I don't see any changes on Airport other than different tenants in the same strip malls - Crestview is more on Lamar than Airport. Airport still feels more like an old highway than an urban street (even after some attempted facelifts over the years like the bike lane / shoulder). I'm not comparing to the way South Congress was 15 years ago; I'm comparing to the way Airport Blvd was 15 years ago. No real difference. And Mueller doesn't count - it's miles away from Highland.

The residential area west of Airport is largely separated from Airport itself (the railroad tracks are a big barrier in this area). And it's not turning hip and happening; they're actually regressing in the area in many ways (having a NIMBY battle over redeveloping the closed Howard nursery among other things). Very close to my home; I keep up to date on those guys - it's not changing very much at all.

Highland is 'convenient' to auto traffic in the Texas sense of the word - as long as you don't mind a choked frontage road and/or a bunch of turnarounds. It's kind of isolated by the 290/2222 intersection from downtown and points central, though. During the rush hours it's close enough in to be as much trouble as downtown for suburbanites, yet way too far out to be considered 'downtown' and benefit from being able to walk to all that stuff. (The existing auto traffic there is more of a negative for a possible future employer than a positive - that's the kind of logic more typically used to attract retailers, but even that obviously wasn't working well here, or we wouldn't be having this discussion, would we?)

[austlar1]

What could I have been thinking, M1EK? What kind of foolish vision was I having? You are right! Of course, you are right! Just so damn right! How could anybody be more right? You are the rightest person I have ever encountered! Awesome! So perceptive, and so damn right! Why don't more people just realize how frigging right you always are? You must be taking right pills. I must have been taking wrong pills. Anybody who has ever disagreed with you has been taking wrong pills. It is so sad to think how deluded I have been ever to question how right you are. If there is a God, I hope I am forgiven for ever thinking that you were wrong. No, wait! Of course there is a God, and HIS name is M1EK! How blind I have been, but now I have seen the light!

[M1EK]

Dude. You rule. Heaven forbid anybody should disagree with you and point out exactly where they disagree.

[arbeiter]

I think the only thing that will turn off the flow of central Austin development is if developers develop a huge distaste for it, or find that it was not worth the effort. So far, I don't see any evidence that even in this downturn, anything was a boondoggle. Once Mueller is done, Highland Mall will look a lot more attractive.

In the meantime, perhaps Highland Mill will just sit there and become a dead mall, or deader than it is. But I highly doubt that it will just stay that way. Within 10 years, it is likely to be something quite different; in 5, probably not.

[SecretAgentMan]

This is a redevelopment concept sketch I did many years ago before it was obvious the mall was failing. I did it for fun and was inspired by all of the under utilized parking areas - even at Christmas when the mall was pretty busy.

My idea was to retain the existing enclosed mall and add a mix of uses to the parking lots. The gray rectangles are parking structures wrapped with VMU (brown) and multi-family (orange) buildings as well as commercial pad sites (red) to help better define the perimeter roads.

It isn't a pure new urbanist scheme that relies on complete redevelopment, but it illustrates how you could add substantial square footage and the vitality of a mix of uses without substantial impact on the existing uses.

At this point, I would go with a more aggressive repositioning, but I think it shows how much potential the site has.

[Lady Jaye]

Things could change if they wanted to! I lived in Albany New York for 3 years, and see both sides of what could happen to a mall! 2 malls in the capital region, one Colony Center, and the other Latham Circle Mall. One took the initiative to bring in new stores and most restaurants, while the other sat there and did nothing, and according to the article below is deaader than Highland Mall!!

Highland Mall management can reverse their trend, they are in the heart of the city, right off the highway, they can reverse their trend!!

http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany...780800^1797269

[PartyLine]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_Dallas

[PartyLine]

Also they Revived Memorial City Mall in Houston

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_City_Mall#Revival

[MichaelB]

So I was in Highland Mall today ( don't laugh and don;t ask). Lets just call it DOA! I mean really dead. At 10:30 am there were maybe 20 shoppers there. I was incredibly aware of how many employees there were doing NOTHING! There are so many empty stores. None of the "higher end" stores are there anymore. Not even Banana Republic! Neither Dillard's store was open.

Pull the plug!

[breathesgelatin]

I worked at the Highland Mall Macy's until about a week ago. I got transferred to the Domain Macy's.

10:30 AM is a slow time for the mall - it's just opened. The highest volume time at the mall is around lunchtime. Then, we get a significant number of people coming in for their lunch hours from UT and the state offices. That's almost always when I had my largest sales.

Anyway, as far I know the Macy's is still doing alright. I do have doubts about what will happen after Dillard's closes completely.

I did have a tremendous number of shoppers from Crestview when I worked at Highland (I know where are our shoppers are from, generally, because I have to check driver's licenses)...

Anyway. I usually agree with M1EK on most things, but I will say I do think Airport Blvd. has gotten nicer. I have lived very near Airport for all of my time in Austin (Manor Rd for three years, now Crestview for one year), and I have seen changes along it too, I think.

I guess I'm the only Highland Mall booster on here. It's just a nice place to work. I really liked our customers.

[PartyLine]

I would think people that live in the Mueller Development would shop there especially at Macy's and Dillards since that's the closest mall to there with those stores.

[MichaelB]

I think it is a really useful location for the center of the city. That particular Mall has just seen it's day. It is time to use all that property (especially those vast surface parking lots that were empty) is a much better way.