A resolution passed earlier today by Austin City Council directs our beloved city staff to research how to gas up UNO. What’s UNO? Well, UNO is for you and me, and UNO’s building density. UNO keeps rents lower here than any district far or near! UNO stands for “University Neighborhood Overlay,” of course, but that’s not as fun to sing or ..read more

415 Colorado, the 47-story apartment and office tower under construction at the southeast corner of West Fifth and Colorado Streets in downtown Austin, celebrated reaching its maximum structural height last week by hosting a “topping out” ceremony. As you might know if you’re familiar with this tradition — perhaps the only time the construction industry dabbles in paganism — the ..read more

A transit-oriented residential development now in the early planning stages at the southeast corner of Lamar and Airport Boulevards at the edge of the Highland neighborhood could set a new record for height in this region of Central Austin, with the project’s developers now seeking a zoning change from the city unlocking a maximum height of 160 ..read more

The owners of two adjacent office parks along the MoPac frontage road containing three buildings and a parking garage are now seeking a 12.26-acre rezoning for a mixed-use redevelopment that could build more than half a million square feet near Steck Avenue in Northwest Austin. The Park and Park North office complexes, respectively dating back to 1981 ..read more

Demolition permits are now pending with the City of Austin for two buildings inside the Great Hills Market shopping center, a 17.23-acre strip mall dating back to the late 1980s located between Jollyville Road, Great Hills Trail, and Research Boulevard near U.S. Highway 183. The sites set for demolition are the former Romano’s Macaroni Grill ..read more

Andrew Jackson Zilker was an enterprising young man who understood the value of a frosty cold beverage. After arriving in Austin at the age of 18 in 1876, Zilker made his living in the ice business, running the immensely successful Lone Star Ice Works during a historical period when artificial ice was still a novelty viewed with some suspicion ..read more

Demolition permits are now pending for approximately five buildings spread across four adjacent properties near the northeast corner of North Lamar Boulevard and West St. Johns Avenue in the Highland neighborhood of Central Austin, clearing the approximately 3.6-acre land assembly for a 378-unit apartment and retail building planned by residential mega-developers Greystar. The four tracts ..read more

“I’ve always wanted to turn a Burger King into a wine bar,” I patiently explain to my court-appointed psychiatrist. “Imagine how great it would feel to tear down all those ugly Whopper signs and slap up some cheap French posters they sell at the airport!” But seriously, there’s nothing stopping you from turning a Burger King into a ..read more

The 43-story 700 River apartment tower now under construction at the corner of Rainey and River Streets in downtown’s perpetually exploding Rainey Street District announced its official topping out today, with the structure reaching its maximum height of 500 feet. This is a significant milestone for a neighborhood experiencing the densest concentration of simultaneous tower construction anywhere in Austin, with two other projects of ..read more

The 2022 closure of Clarksville pharmacy Nau’s Enfield Drug was a dispiriting end for the long history of this iconic “Old Austin” staple, which first opened as a drugstore and small lunch counter serving burgers and milkshakes way back in 1951. But for many nearby residents, the shuttering of the business wasn’t a huge surprise, since it had publicly struggled ..read more