A Downtown Maturing (Houston, Dallas, Austin: sales, city hall, houses)

[verybadgnome]

City's vision beginning to bloom for 2nd Street District

Pretty impressive for an area measuring less than 18 acres and that only really began developing less than a decade ago. The extra sales and property taxes generated here will be used throughout Austin. Yes, the prices of goods and services are too high for many in the Austin area but that is not the point and it represents what is demanded in this specialized sub-market.

[centralaustinite]

Impressive indeed if you remember what was there before! Half-empty warehouses and a city services building from before the war (WWII). I remember when they took it down 12 years ago. The transformation is incredible!

[Dog_Gone]

Look at the types of businesses being brought to the area. Not one is anything any one needs, wants yes, needs no. The grocery store is even going to be wasting space. I want to buy my groceries not have to deal with more people in a boutique store. More people. What a waste.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Dog_Gone

Look at the types of businesses being brought to the area. Not one is anything any one needs, wants yes, needs no. The grocery store is even going to be wasting space. I want to buy my groceries not have to deal with more people in a boutique store. More people. What a waste.

I have to agree - I STOPPED going downtown when it started doing what some call "maturing". Used to go there all the time for a variety of things (that didn't occur in half-empty warehouses, by the way), from shopping to attending movies or events at the paramount to a number of other activities.

It's lost any appeal it might have had for me and a lot of other people. Sad, that.

[verybadgnome]

No businesses or even groups of businesses, like malls, will appeal to all demographics. That is the nature of the free market and consumerism and just b/c it doesn't suit your needs doesn't mean it doesn't serve its purpose. And I take issue with "needs" in that use. An $800 bookshelf from a high end furniture store DT serves the sames needs as a wobbly $80 one from IKEA. The point is that people living downtown rarely have to venture outside it if they work there AND the area serves as an economic engine that benefits the larger community. DT has entertainment (3 movie theaters if you include the Paramount) plus the music venues - check; grocery stores (Royal Blues and Whole Foods) and farmer's market - check; household goods - some but not all; restaurants - check; services (laundry, banks, RX, etc.) - check; civic (libraries, parks, trails, etc.) - check; events - too many to list, check.

I think those who do not appreciate the area should try to look at it through the eyes of those that do. Not everyone has or even wants 2 pets, 3 kids, 4 cars, and 5 bedrooms. There are many different lifestyles out there and the younger generation probably doesn't want what its parents wanted if history is any guide.

[homeinatx]

Please old timers have some cheese with that WHINE. Austin now has the most viable residential downtown in the state. (Sad to hear that the Houston Pavilions in downtown Houston are about to go belly-up). In Austin, the good old places are still there and doing better than they have ever done (The Paramount, Esther's Follies etc), but there are now dozens more venues (the Violet Crown, ACL etc). Ditto for restaurants. The truly crap ones like Katz's have gone out of business. For me, Las Manitas is the only casualty. Ten years ago, downtown Austin was offices and an entertainment district full of parking lots and half abandoned warehouses - it was not really livable. Build 'em high, pack 'em in. 67% of the new businesses in the 2nd street district are local. The city has strong historic building preservation provisions - the Capitol view corridors are being respected. The loss of free street parking in the evenings feels to me a very small price to pay for the all the amenities, vitality of a thriving downtown, never mind the enormous tax revenues generated, that will benefit the whole city, not just downtown. Nostalgic for a half-abandoned, unwalkable, street-level retail free, full of surface parking lots downtown, drive to Houston or Dallas for the evening.

[UTHORNS96]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

No businesses or even groups of businesses, like malls, will appeal to all demographics. That is the nature of the free market and consumerism and just b/c it doesn't suit your needs doesn't mean it doesn't serve its purpose. And I take issue with "needs" in that use. An $800 bookshelf from a high end furniture store DT serves the sames needs as a wobbly $80 one from IKEA. The point is that people living downtown rarely have to venture outside it if they work there AND the area serves as an economic engine that benefits the larger community. DT has entertainment (3 movie theaters if you include the Paramount) plus the music venues - check; grocery stores (Royal Blues and Whole Foods) and farmer's market - check; household goods - some but not all; restaurants - check; services (laundry, banks, RX, etc.) - check; civic (libraries, parks, trails, etc.) - check; events - too many to list, check.

I think those who do not appreciate the area should try to look at it through the eyes of those that do. Not everyone has or even wants 2 pets, 3 kids, 4 cars, and 5 bedrooms. There are many different lifestyles out there and the younger generation probably doesn't want what its parents wanted if history is any guide.

What are the three movie theatres downtown?

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by UTHORNS96

What are the three movie theatres downtown?

Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, Violet Crown and the Paramount.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by UTHORNS96

What are the three movie theatres downtown?

Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, Violet Crown (which offers validated parking); and Paramount (Summer Series only).

[centralaustinite]

I'm nostalgic for many things (Les Amis -- my heart is still broken over that) but definitely not old 2nd street. That odd brick facade to designate "City Hall" on news reports, the huge, drafty City Services building (you will not find a single City employee who misses that), the empty lots . . . the amazing thing it that "Old Downtown" was essentially Congress Avenue itself (and pictures from the 50s and 60s look amazing -- if you are white, it was segregated then) and now downtown has expanded and brought new people, new tax revenue, and new energy to the area. There was not much to recommend downtown in the early 90s.