7,000 hotel rooms planned for Downtown Austin

YNN (Aug 1)

In the coming months, expect to see a lot more construction in Downtown Austin.

Five hotels are planned for the downtown entertainment district. Three hotels will be built along Congress Avenue – two boutique style hotels at Eighth and Fourth Streets and a 1,000-room hotel at Second Street.

A fourth boutique hotel is planned at San Jacinto and Third Street. Another 1,000-room hotel will go in at Red River and Cesar Chavez Streets.

When they’re all complete, Downtown Austin will have 7,000 hotel rooms, most within walking distance of the convention center and entertainment district.

City leaders say the developments will help make Austin more competitive when bidding for larger conventions, significantly boosting its tourism industry.

“People come to Austin, they spend their money. They buy food in restaurants. They visit entertainment venues. We don’t have to educate their kids. We don’t have to provide other services for them. They go home. It’s great,” Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said.

Leffingwell said the city didn’t spend a lot to entice the various developers. He said the city waived $4.3 million in fees to seal the deal for the Marriot Marquis Hotel at Second Street and Congress Avenue.

The hotel on San Jacinto Boulevard will be the first of those downtown projects to break ground with construction beginning this month.

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What's Your Favorite Thing About Downtown?

by Kristina Witt

The May Urban Core Happy Hour at Violet Crown gave us the opportunity to offer the ultimate scientific survey: what is your favorite thing about downtown (that we managed to jot down in Kristina’s phone)? The top result came in various forms, but its theme was indisputable: walkability. We love being able to forget about traffic, live where we socialize, and get outside to walk around in our community.

Of course, we did get a variety of other answers. Here is a taste.

• “Living here!” Okay, this was another incredibly popular answer. But further probing tended to roll it into walkability. Did we mention how thoroughly scientific this survey was?

• “Drinking.” Well, we can only assume this was in reference to our Urban Core Happy Hours, so to you, kind sir, we say: thank you.

• “Walking around with my dog.”

• “My fat kitties.”

• “My boyfriend.”

• “The dance clubs.”

• One gentleman offered the following coy answer: “It has a point now.” Could this have been in reference to the diversity of uses that have been introduced into the downtown core in the last decade? The increased widespread appreciation for sustainable density? Green transit options? After much further probing, we discovered what he meant: “the Austonian.” Ah, a quite literal point-in the skyline.

• “The fabulous system of parks.” In all honesty, there was definitely another clause appended to this quote that operated something like a call to action, but it was late in the happy hour, and we were pretty happy by that time, so in the interest of Ultimate Accuracy it has been redacted. Not to worry, check out the Sports & Recreation page at downtownaustin.com to find out more about parks initiatives.

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City of Austin plans to fix erosion and improve shoreline landscaping along part of the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail – the public is invited to give input at July 19 meeting

City of Austin officials from the Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation departments will host a community briefing on Tuesday, July 19, about plans to restore the banks of Lady Bird Lake along a short section of the hike and bike trail on the Shoal Creek Peninsula.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Room 325 at One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road.

Erosion is currently threatening the hike and bike trail on the peninsula, a manmade finger of land jutting into Lady Bird Lake at the mouth of Shoal Creek, near the Seaholm Power Plant site. There is a small pedestrian bridge connecting the tip of the peninsula to the main shoreline of the lake.

The City of Austin will present two different solutions to the erosion. One is to shore up the banks using limestone boulders. The other possibility is to remove part of the peninsula allowing Shoal Creek to flow directly into the lake. This would include building a second pedestrian bridge near the mouth of Shoal Creek. Both options include landscaping and possible improvements to the trail along the peninsula.

Construction is likely to take about six months, starting in 2012. Portions of the hike and bike trail near the peninsula will be closed during construction.

More information is available at http://www.austintexas.gov/watershed/shoal_creek_peninsula.htm

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City Council Election Day – June 18th

Polls are open today, Saturday June 18th, until 7pm. This is an important run-off for City Council, Place 3 candidates Randi Shade and Kathie Tovo.

All registered voters in Austin can take part in this election and a driver’s license is the only ID required. Unlike early voting, though, you must cast your ballot at your specific precinct location. To find that pollling location, you can visit the Travis County Clerk’s site here:

http://www.traviscountytax.org/showVoterNameSearch.do

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Vote Today! City Council Place 3 Runoff.

It’s a runoff and your vote counts. Even if you didn’t vote in the general election, you can vote Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but you have to do it in your precinct polling location (see below for help).

The DANA board endorses Randi Shade. Randi is committed to making sure the city grows sustainably. She’s a critical thinker and a strong advocate, and she cares deeply about doing what’s right for our city.

Randi is also endorsed by the Austin Police Association, Austin Progressive Association, Austin Firefighters Association, Building Owners and Managers Association, Austin Board of Realtors, and so many others, including most Democratic clubs that endorsed in this race.

If you live downtown, you are most likely voting in one of the following locations: