BY HALEY MCLEOD & BEN THOMPSON
Put in perspective
Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative
4 blocks of reconstruction
Longtime South Central Austin resident Bryce Hendrix said he welcomes the in ux of high-density and mixed-use projects. Having commuted into downtown for years, he said he’d like to see more walkable, mixed-use developments. With massive interstate reconstruction and tra c worsening, he’d rather be able to just walk to grab a cup of co ee. “You only get that with density,” he said. On the other hand, Andrew Tippen, another longtime resident, said he worries that having large scale developers working on blocks worth of projects might undermine some of Austin’s historically unique qualities in the downtown area. “It’s entire blocks and it’s the same developer—the same installation going in there,” Tippen said. “That’s a scale thing. It’s not because that developer just wants to completely erase old Austin; it’s because that’s what it took for it to be viable.” Bodenman, in reference to the Old 6th project, explained the real estate group was able to seize an opportunity for redevelopment after the COVID-19 pandemic saw the closure of many bars and restaurants on the street, in turn driving many legacy landowners’ departure from the entertainment district. In response to the wave of major projects, city o cials called for a new Downtown Strategic O ce expected to open this year. The program will be formed to oversee downtown initiatives and infrastructure updates, and to coordinate with several organizations working around the city center.
City o cials proposed plans to reconstruct Seventh to 11th streets into four blocks of public plaza space. Vehicle tra c on Congress Avenue would end at Seventh Street; however, cross tra c will still ow east and west on Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, 10th and 11th streets. The rst phase of construction is expected to begin as early as mid-2025.
RENDERING COURTESY CITY OF AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT A proposed project for Congress Avenue would redevelop the street into four blocks of public plaza space.
South Central Waterfront
Up to 6 new high-rises
E orts to extend the skyline south of Lady Bird Lake are continuing. Plans for a new 480-foot mixed-use tower received approval in November with another two 500-foot towers close to secur- ing nal city approval. The 19-acre former Austin American-Statesman campus received approval in late 2022 for the redevelopment intended to bring up to six high-rises.
The 19-acre site along Lady Bird Lake south of downtown would receive multiple towers.
RENDERING COURTESY CITY OF AUSTIN
Sixth & Blanco
5 stories of mixed-use space
The Sixth & Blanco venture by MML Hospitality and Riverside includes a vertical mixed-use makeover of a stretch of properties along West Sixth Street. Developers broke ground in October, with several buildings already demolished, while others are being gutted and refurbished in order to preserve the street’s historic character.
The new development will o er new residential and retail where businesses like Swedish Hill once resided.
RENDERING COURTESY OF CITY OF AUSTIN
27
SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook