Austin's proposed tallest (in 4 yrs)

[Tnexster]

Another one...90 Rainey Street, 51 floors.

https://austin.towers.net/central-austi ... ew-towers/

[DPatel304]

I'm quite shocked. About a year or so ago, I was convinced that development in Austin was nearing its peak and that DFW will emerge as the true Texas powerhouse.

I do still think that 'tipping point' will occur, but I underestimated how much steam Austin would have left in its local economy.

[I45Tex]

That is nutso delightful lively, that they are moving the existing historic bungalow (now commercial) to the second floor of this new tower's lobby. The unheralded scoop about WeWork planning a nearly million square foot office tower at nearby Waller Park Place is something too. Still it's 6th+Guadalupe that would be the Lone Star State's first sixty-story building since 1987.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

I'm quite shocked. About a year or so ago, I was convinced that development in Austin was nearing its peak and that DFW will emerge as the true Texas powerhouse.

I do still think that 'tipping point' will occur, but I underestimated how much steam Austin would have left in its local economy.

Austin is kicking Houston's and Dallas' ass!

[I45Tex]

Keep chanting it man. Its (and every place’s) boosters act like momentary high percentage growth is going to lead to taking over the world, but it always turns out to be the low hanging fruit that gets harder to grab in a mature metro economy — those are built not for the population trend of the moment, but to better weather the obsolescence of the trend.

E04DAD0A-3BC7-483E-9BBF-FD732AAC4C09.jpeg

[I45Tex]

DFW is only 3x when we were 5x Austin’s size, but the actual gross GDP growth in DFW since 2001 was still 100 billion dollars a year more than Austin’s (+173 billion/yr compared to +73 billion/yr).

[DPatel304]

The numbers are absolutely in DFW's favor, which is really all that matters.

I'm just wondering where Austin goes from here. It seems they are running out of land in the urban core, from what I can see. It does seem like there are plans for some heavy re-development along East Riverside Dr across the Lake, so perhaps this next decade we'll see the skyline hop over to the southside, but I'm still not sure if that gives them a ton of land to play with there. The east side has some room to grow, but seems there is a lot of pushback on developments that try and build too tall, so I only expect a bunch of mid-rises in that part of town (I believe Google is building a 7 story building there, so that's probably the highest we'll see anything go).

[DPatel304]

Also, I just realized that 90 Rainey St will actually replace Container Bar and Bungelow. This isn't terribly surprising, as I figured it was a matter of time before the bars at Rainey St. started being replaced by high-rises. The area has been really fascinating for me, though, as it has followed a similar path to Uptown in Dallas, but in a much more condesned area and a much more condensed timeline. It very quickly went from a bunch of old run-down houses, to a cool/hip laid-back area with some neat bars, to party central, and now it seems the high-rises will take over the majority of the land there. This is essentially what we have been seeing with Uptown in Dallas, but it is taking a bit longer for the bars to be replaced in Uptown (mostly because Uptown is a much bigger area than Rainey St).

So I suppose this sorta answers my own question about where does Austin go from here, and one of those areas will be Rainey St. I feel like it's only a matter of time before each and every one of those bars is replaced by a high-rise.

[tamtagon]

Keep chanting it man. Its (and every place’s) boosters act like momentary high percentage growth is going to lead to taking over the world, but it always turns out to be the low hanging fruit that gets harder to grab in a mature metro economy — those are built not for the population trend of the moment, but to better weather the obsolescence of the trend.

E04DAD0A-3BC7-483E-9BBF-FD732AAC4C09.jpeg

Is my math correct here: the North Texas GDP increase so far this century has been a little more than 25% greater than the total Austin GDP? Or, another way to say it, so far this century North Texas has added Portland and Austin has added OKCity. I love that Austin is flourishing, but I hate that Austin might be losing what makes it special.

[Matt777]

Keep chanting it man. Its (and every place’s) boosters act like momentary high percentage growth is going to lead to taking over the world, but it always turns out to be the low hanging fruit that gets harder to grab in a mature metro economy — those are built not for the population trend of the moment, but to better weather the obsolescence of the trend.

E04DAD0A-3BC7-483E-9BBF-FD732AAC4C09.jpeg

Is my math correct here: the North Texas GDP increase so far this century has been a little more than 25% greater than the total Austin GDP? Or, another way to say it, so far this century North Texas has added Portland and Austin has added OKCity. I love that Austin is flourishing, but I hate that Austin might be losing what makes it special.

Losing? It's already lost. Everything about today's Austin culture is so contrived. It feels manufactured. There's no denying the massive hype around it, especially among millennials, but as a millennial I feel it represents the worst of our generation.... "If it ain't instagrammable, it ain't worth it." Not to mention the quick and merciless gentrification that the millennials will fight elsewhere but didn't make a peep about in their precious Austin.

Not to mention the insane smugness that immediately consumes every person who moves there.

Any Austinite will criticize Dallas' culture and say that Austin is more authentic, but I find that to be false. Anyone that does not fit the new wealthy, millennial, hippie on the weekends only, instagram life mold is not welcome in Austin. Dallas may have it's problems, but there's a place for everyone here and nobody is going to tell you who you have to be. Sure we have historical segregation problems, but at least South Dallas hasn't been completely emptied out and sold to the highest bidder. Yet, at least.

[tamtagon]

^Ya, Austin has been under siege for decades.... Quackenbush left the drag long gone (some would say the drag left the drag), Poodle Dog closed years ago, Deep Eddie is now a brand a vodka I can buy in Georgia. Wholefoods went so corporate it got bought out. for the record, I use to shop at the original wholefoods when it was in a converted house or whatever. Even back then, as good as it felt to live in Austin, the pretentious in Austin were just as bad as the ones in Dallas.

Threadgills is there and LaLa's is still open, right? so maybe there's hope. Some of my Trapper acquaintances are playing SXSW again this year; those I asked about Austin last year said they loved the place. We'll see this year.

[flyswatter]

Looks like Rainey is about to become as soulless as South Lamar and West 6th.

[DPatel304]

Losing? It's already lost. Everything about today's Austin culture is so contrived. It feels manufactured. There's no denying the massive hype around it, especially among millennials, but as a millennial I feel it represents the worst of our generation.... "If it ain't instagrammable, it ain't worth it." Not to mention the quick and merciless gentrification that the millennials will fight elsewhere but didn't make a peep about in their precious Austin.

Not to mention the insane smugness that immediately consumes every person who moves there.

Any Austinite will criticize Dallas' culture and say that Austin is more authentic, but I find that to be false. Anyone that does not fit the new wealthy, millennial, hippie on the weekends only, instagram life mold is not welcome in Austin. Dallas may have it's problems, but there's a place for everyone here and nobody is going to tell you who you have to be. Sure we have historical segregation problems, but at least South Dallas hasn't been completely emptied out and sold to the highest bidder. Yet, at least.

Completely accurate. I lived in Austin from 2015-2017 and this was my experience as well. It's a shame because the city itself is great, but the attitude of many of the people there just left a bad taste in my mouth. Honestly, I got the sense that, on some level, they realize they have lost their uniqueness/weirdness and so, to compensate, they really try and force "Austin vibe" (or lack thereof) on to people.

[ContriveDallasite]

It is really impressive seeing the amount of highrises sprouting in Austin. But, downtown Austin is turning in to what Amazons HQ in Seattle is. A boring but "hip" see of glass. The uniqueness of Austin was that it had a thriving CBD with unique and alternative outlooks, but the corporatization of what made it cool has killed the whole charm of the place.

Pretty soon it will become just like Dallas or Houston with a nice river and a large urban University campus.

[DPatel304]

Pretty soon it will become just like Dallas or Houston with a nice river and a large urban University campus.

That's exactly what it is today. Some people say the last of the 'weirdness' died when Leslie died, and I'd say that sounds about right to me.

[tamtagon]

I haven't spent more than a couple hours at a time in Austin in over a decade, but I really think that weirdness is still there, just not as easily noticed since there's so much more non-weirdness.... and the proliferation of non-weirdness is thoroughly dependent on the weirdness, a marketing campaign of banal product that'd evaporate if the oddities were absent.

Maybe because my introduction to North Texas was through the Art and Music Departments at NTSU in Denton, I've regarded that highly touted weirdness so pleasantly housed in Austin as somehow unfair to the mirror lifestyles found in greater abundance and variety in North Texas.

It's different now, and normal to think it's not as good; more than likely, though, it is just as good.

[DPatel304]

The 'Keep Austin Weird' slogan was created as a way to get people to support local businesses, and that's it. It seems people started taking it literally, and, if you compared Austin to the rest of Texas 15-20 years ago, I suppose it would be considered (comparatively) weird/unique. I'm not as familiar with the coastal cities 15-20 years ago, but, from what I hear, you'd find plenty more weird/unique things in those major cities than Austin, which doesn't surprise me. I suppose we're just arguing personal anecdotes at this point, but, after living there two years, I genuinely did not see much that made the city weird/unique. I met a bunch of people who were trying really hard to convince me Austin was weird, unique, etc.., but I couldn't actually see the weirdness/uniqueness for myself. I did think that Leslie being a local celebrity was pretty weird, although, these days, I'd be surprised if a lot of current Austinites even knew who he was. Eeyore's birthday was another thing I experience that I felt was weird, but, outside of that, I didn't see a whole lot.

Maybe you may run into the occasional weirdo from time to time, but isn't that any major city? If you have a population of 1million+ people, you're bound to run into something strange at some point in time. If Austin is still considered weird, that I'd argue that so is Dallas and Houston.

Maybe I'm just heavily biased though..haha. Truthfully, I used to love Austin way more than Dallas back in college, but, once I moved there, I started to realize that I probably was just buying into the hype. As I talked to more people in Austin, I was convinced that the allure of Austin was just primarily due to all the media hype it gets. Plenty of people in that city telling me how much better Austin is than Dallas, but, when I actually asked directly why that is so, I couldn't get a straight answer back, or their answer indicated that they really knew nothing about Dallas. It's a fine city and I enjoyed my time there, I'd probably just be less bitter if they weren't such Dallas haters..haha.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

People hate Dallas anywhere u go. Lots of stereotypes. Nonetheless, Austin's downtown I would say is superior to that of Dallas and Houston. The amount of residential going up is crazy! Not to mention Class A towers with big tenants.

Having UT nearby really is the difference. Their downtown scene can survive without really having residents in the core.Now though, Austin is really getting a lot high end luxury apartments and is well ahead of Dallas and Houston in residential in the downtown.

Something Dallas and Houston have had to do from ground zero just to catch up.

[DPatel304]

Hats off to Austin for their insane amount of growth, but really this is just due to the fact that they have a smaller urban core. I don't really know the exact numbers of how many rental units, sq footage of office, hotel rooms, etc, were built in the urban cores, but I'd be shocked if Austin exceeded Dallas/Houston in those measures. But yeah, if you straight up compare Downtown to Downtown, then Austin wins, but that means you have to ignore the insane amount of growth in Uptown and Victory Park, which are very much a part of our urban core.

But yes, good point about UT. That University brings in young people in droves. Young people who move there without cars, and will rely on biking, walking, and public transit to get around, and many of whom will stick around after college. It's a fantastic asset to the city, and has made quite a difference to their Downtown area.

[tamtagon]

Among it's peers, Dallas is unusual in the absence of a large university in/near the downtown area.

[DPatel304]

I suppose SMU would be the closest, but that's really not super close, and there's also UTSW which isn't as large, but close enough to Downtown and still growing.

I take it, in this area, we're basically just never going to be able to change this fact? It's not like we can just build a university Downtown, as people generally tend to go for Universities that have very long histories. Have there ever been cases where a campus might pick up and move? I feel like I already know the answer to that one, but just curious if Downtown Dallas has any hope in changing this. If it were up to me, I'd probably just move one of the existing DFW colleges to The Spire or The Fair Park area and just call it a day. Obviously that's not realistic and not feasible, and never going to happen, but think it would still be pretty cool.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Among it's peers, Dallas is unusual in the absence of a large university in/near the downtown area.

Seattle doesn't have one. They're doing just fine. Dallas will be okay.

[I45Tex]

Among it's peers, Dallas is unusual in the absence of a large university in/near the downtown area.

Seattle doesn't have one. They're doing just fine. Dallas will be okay.

Good point, although Seattle University feels very nearby when you're there. But since You-Dub's enrollment is 46,000 and SMU's is 12,000, their both being a five mile walk from city hall doesn't end up being precisely the same

[I45Tex]

Re: weirdness, if anyone likes thoughtful power-pop and has not heard the 1997 album Kontiki by Austin group Cotton Mather, it's certainly not poser-pop:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W5H5mbNL7FI

[Tnexster]

Getting to Know 44 East Avenue, Raising the Roof in the Rainey Street District

https://austin.towers.net/getting-to-kn ... -district/

[Tivo_Kenevil]

So does the college town have more 400+ ft condo towers than the other 2 "major" cities in the state?

Seems like Austin has surpassed Both Htown and Big D.

[tamtagon]

Almost seems like you're trying to pick a fight. Maybe not, hopefully not. Contentedness settles in to learn Austin has finally matured into more than a college town & state capital. San Antonio still has the best, realest downtown of any big city in Texas yet by virtually all measures common to this forum, San Antonio is struggling to keep up. I suppose Austin can only look to Atlanta as a guide of the future; neither of these A-towns have a really good museum or symphony and both have world class traffic problems.

[DPatel304]

So does the college town have more 400+ ft condo towers than the other 2 "major" cities in the state?

Seems like Austin has surpassed Both Htown and Big D.

Yes, Austin is winning the race of which city in the state of Texas that has the most condonominum towers that are at least 400 feet in height.

Almost seems like you're trying to pick a fight. Maybe not, hopefully not. Contentedness settles in to learn Austin has finally matured into more than a college town & state capital. San Antonio still has the best, realest downtown of any big city in Texas yet by virtually all measures common to this forum, San Antonio is struggling to keep up. I suppose Austin can only look to Atlanta as a guide of the future; neither of these A-towns have a really good museum or symphony and both have world class traffic problems.

San Antonio lagging behind might eventually turn into their advantage though. There are still a lot of reasons to move to Texas, but people who want to come for a low cost of living might be more attracted to places like San Antonio or Fort Worth. I think as Dallas/Austin/Houston continue to grow, San Antonio and Fort Worth will look like very attractive options for the more budget minded transplant. The beauty of both of these cities is they are still very close to Dallas or Austin (respectively) as well.

It also helps that you have articles like this popping up:
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/ ... 685512.php

I realize a single article from a no-name site isn't going to mean anything, but I feel like there has been a lot of media hype praising Austin these past 15 years and that's really contributed to its appeal, but I do think, with all things that are 'trendy', something new will come about that might steal the spotlight.

[muncien]

If any Texas city could use a good pressure washing, it's San Antonio. I love San Antonio's architecture, and the river gives them endless opportunity to spread out. But, it seems every time I go there, it gets dirtier and dirtier than I remember before. Here's to hoping they get that place cleaned up. Some landscaping standards (outside of the river walk) wouldn't hurt either.

[tamtagon]

If any Texas city could use a good pressure washing, it's San Antonio. I love San Antonio's architecture, and the river gives them endless opportunity to spread out. But, it seems every time I go there, it gets dirtier and dirtier than I remember before. Here's to hoping they get that place cleaned up. Some landscaping standards (outside of the river walk) wouldn't hurt either.

I've also noticed what seems like stray dogs everywhere!

[Tivo_Kenevil]

New Google building will be Austin’s first starchitect-designed tower


https://austin.curbed.com/2019/4/2/1829 ... sign-pelli

[DPatel304]

Despite (or perhaps because of) the rapidity and scale of Austin’s long, recent boom—the open floodgates of tech money, the tripling down on tourism and ensuing hotel glut, and the luxury residential towers necessary for a city suddenly full of rich young people—the skyline has remained stubbornly pedestrian.

Sure, there are exceptions (The Independent, the not-even-new Frost Bank Tower), but not enough for a city that wants to be taken seriously.

I found this quote to be amusing as it's pretty much the exact opposite of the problem we have here in Dallas.

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Despite (or perhaps because of) the rapidity and scale of Austin’s long, recent boom—the open floodgates of tech money, the tripling down on tourism and ensuing hotel glut, and the luxury residential towers necessary for a city suddenly full of rich young people—the skyline has remained stubbornly pedestrian.

Sure, there are exceptions (The Independent, the not-even-new Frost Bank Tower), but not enough for a city that wants to be taken seriously.

I found this quote to be amusing as it's pretty much the exact opposite of the problem we have here in Dallas.

No tourism, No hotel glut, poor young people?

[DPatel304]

Sorry, I was referring to this particular part "the skyline has remained stubbornly pedestrian.". It sounds like they are saying Austin's Downtown has come a long way at the pedestrian level, but aside from The Independent and the Frost Tower, their skyline isn't all that flashy?

I don't know if I'd agree with that statement though. To me, a skyline can be a bunch of rectangular boxes and still be a thing of beauty. With that said, the new Google tower looks great. The Independent could have been great, but I hate the way they decided to 'top it off'.

[DPatel304]

Here's a good summary of what is coming to Austin. According to this article, there are 27 projects coming to Downtown Austin.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/ ... 1895922373

I didn't really look in detail at each of the projects, so I don't know what their definition of 'Downtown' and I also don't know if all 27 are 100% confirmed and definitely happening.

[I45Tex]

... I suppose Austin can only look to Atlanta as a guide of the future; neither of these A-towns have a really good museum or symphony and both have world class traffic problems.

If you mean "cultural museums" as opposed to aquariums and zoos and science and history and such, Georgians may drum you out of town for talking down the High Museum, and you're right, compared to smaller stronger metropolitan areas like Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle-Tacoma, Tulsa, Cleveland, I would say Atlanta has fairly little to brag about that's comparatively special. The goal (for Atlanta, Austin, or San Antonio) should be to be the place where the grassroots are creating what will become very special, though, rather than to showcase highness and de-emphasize what's less recognized. I'm prepared to allow a few skipped pressure-washings if it helps that vibe advance.

[Tnexster]

Here’s the Travis, Bringing 50 Floors of Apartments to the Rainey Street District

https://austin.towers.net/heres-the-tra ... -district/

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Man Austin is really getting dense

[tamtagon]

I think the DMN had a blog & link to another online report that said Austin is the best place in the country to live.

I didn't read it (hahaha)

[Tivo_Kenevil]

I think the DMN had a blog & link to another online report that said Austin is the best place in the country to live.

I didn't read it (hahaha)

They did. Lol they publish more Austin development news than Dallas !

[DPatel304]

The media seems to love Austin (for now).

[jetnd87]

They have for some time, thereby aiding / encouraging the growth. Austin is in most respects a huge success story. Is it all it's hyped up to be? Depends. If you are moving there for the reasons it became a media darling, then possibly not, at least along many aspects (e.g. it is no longer the grungy, fiercely independent, TX granola mecca it used to be). If you're moving there for a lower cost SF 2.0, then maybe. It's certainly near the top of my list of cities in America (as is Dallas, for reasons I could wax poetically about). I worked in Austin for ~1 year and visit family/friends frequently (~1x per month). It has real drawbacks (awful infrastructure, terrible traffic) and lacks many amenities of a truly big city, but those should come.

But I will repeat two points that have been mentioned before in various threads on this forum: a) the differential in lifestyle between Dallas and Austin is very small, with each city spiking/dipping in certain areas and b) Austin has become one of the most image conscious place in the States. It's a whole city doing it for the 'gram.

One last point. It's a bit funny/interesting/sad/noteworthy that Austin appears to be on the same trajectory as SF and Seattle. Grungy, hippie cities with natural beauty that are invaded and appropriated by tech and over time become wildly overpriced and highly unequal (though still desirable to many). I'm all for progress and tech and whatnot, just kinda interesting that many of the locals who originally made the places cool despise and are priced out by the tech firms.

[DPatel304]

Software maker Zoho moving HQ to Austin, adding hundreds of jobs
https://www.statesman.com/news/20190409 ... ds-of-jobs

Sheesh, things are getting insane in Austin. Can't imagine what cost of living is going to look like in a couple years.

[Tnexster]

Here’s Our First Look at the Condo Tower Headed for 17th and Guadalupe

https://austin.towers.net/heres-our-fir ... guadalupe/

[Tnexster]

Yes Indeed, Downtown Austin’s Block 71 Tower Has a New Name

https://austin.towers.net/yes-indeed-do ... -new-name/

[Tivo_Kenevil]

Does Dallas.Towers.net even cover Dallas anymore?

[Tnexster]

‘Airbnb-Powered’ Home Sharing Concept Natiivo Heads to Rainey Street District

https://austin.towers.net/airbnb-powere ... -district/

[Tnexster]

Digging Into the Blockbuster Plan for the Austin American-Statesman Site

https://austin.towers.net/digging-into- ... sman-site/

[Tnexster]

Take a Closer Look at the Travis, the Rainey District’s New Tallest Tower

https://austin.towers.net/take-a-closer ... est-tower/

[Tnexster]