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the Genral · #81 Posted **Nov 23, 2015, 1:34 AM**

Curious, what has changed to cause the building boom for housing in the campus area? There isn't a huge student influx, the amount of students has remained steady for many years. I mean we haven't seen yearly growth factors like the city population or surrounding areas. So why is it that until recently, they weren't building housing, mainly for students years ago? I know when I got here in 1981 there was a shortage of student housing. Why did it take another 25 + years before significant housing construction would begin? The demand has always been there.

The ATX · #82 Posted **Nov 23, 2015, 1:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

Curious, what has changed to cause the building boom for housing in the campus area? There isn't a huge student influx, the amount of students has remained steady for many years. I mean we haven't seen yearly growth factors like the city population or surrounding areas. So why is it that until recently, they weren't building housing, mainly for students years ago? I know when I got here in 1981 there was a shortage of student housing. Why did it take another 25 + years before significant housing construction would begin? The demand has always been there.

The city changed the zoning around the same time as it did for the Rainey St. area which triggered the high rise development. So I'm guessing the influx of people is largely coming from other areas of the city where students traditionally rented - like the Riverside Dr./South Lake Shore/Pleasant Valley/Burton Dr. area for example.

KevinFromTexas · #83 Posted **Nov 23, 2015, 2:01 AM**

West Campus had largely been built out as far as the allowable density with the height restrictions that were in place. There are very few lots left in that area for new development, and what had been built previously was mostly low or mid rise buildings. The up zoning change through the city is allowing old housing to be demolished and redeveloped with larger developments to satisfy the area's market.

It also pays to have West Campus be dense because UT has a student enrollment of around 50,000. You want as many of those students as possible to be near campus to help ease traffic congestion around Austin. Students also want to be near campus for the same reason, in addition to having a shorter commute time so they don't miss class. It also allows them the luxury of not needing a car to get around between their residence and class. And also, let's face it, they want to party in downtown and the fringes of downtown anyway, so it lets them live near closer to all of that as well. And of course it keeps their parties and noise in a centralized area with other people who will be doing the same.

East7thStreet · #84 Posted **Nov 23, 2015, 4:06 AM**

Back in the day there were houses all over Hyde Park and central Austin available to rent for students. Now those rentals have been bought up and renovated over the years by home owners for big bucks. Areas like French Place, North Hyde Park, Crestview, central East Austin, Eastwood/North Campus used to have so many run down places that students could actually afford......no more though.

The ATX · #85 Posted **Nov 23, 2015, 4:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by East7thStreet

Back in the day there were houses all over Hyde Park and central Austin available to rent for students. Now those rentals have been bought up and renovated over the years by home owners for big bucks. Areas like French Place, North Hyde Park, Crestview, central East Austin, Eastwood/North Campus used to have so many run down places that students could actually afford......no more though.

Yup. I used to live in Hyde Park when it was run down and on the verge of ghettofying. I was happy to get out of there. If I could only have predicted the future...

KevinFromTexas · #86 Posted **Nov 23, 2015, 6:18 AM**

Our vet is in Hyde Park. They've been my parents' vet since the mid-70s when they were just west of downtown. Around 1983 I believe, they moved to Hyde Park. It seems like most of the transformation in Hyde Park happened after Mueller closed. I remember when I was a boy sitting outside on the front porch of our vet's office and watching the jets come in to land directly over head. I could go inside and wait for the next one, and would have just enough time to run outside to see it since when it started to get close, the building would nearly shake. I don't remember too much what was around there way back, but the buildings are the same, though, have been "updated" - mostly painted with some improvements inside I suppose. The area now is coffee houses, restaurants and other retail. And the area is always buzzing with bicycles. There's a bike shop across the street.

The ATX · #87 Posted **Nov 23, 2015, 6:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Our vet is in Hyde Park. They've been my parents' vet since the mid-70s when they were just west of downtown. Around 1983 I believe, they moved to Hyde Park. It seems like most of the transformation in Hyde Park happened after Mueller closed. I remember when I was a boy sitting outside on the front porch of our vet's office and watching the jets come in to land directly over head. I could go inside and wait for the next one, and would have just enough time to run outside to see it since when it started to get close, the building would nearly shake. I don't remember too much what was around there way back, but the buildings are the same, though, have been "updated" - mostly painted with some improvements inside I suppose. The area now is coffee houses, restaurants and other retail. And the area is always buzzing with bicycles. There's a bike shop across the street.

You're absolutely right about the airport. No neighborhood can ever hope to become desirable when it's under an airport flight path. Those jets would fly right over the place where I lived making life miserable every 30 minutes.

Flatiron · #88 Posted **Dec 3, 2015, 3:29 AM**

from this afternoon:

The ATX · #89 Posted **Dec 3, 2015, 3:26 PM**

Here it is this morning from the Rowling Hall webcam. The exaggerated curvature makes it look like we're living on an asteroid.

Webcam: https://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Tech/...North%20Camera

KevinFromTexas · #90 Posted **Dec 3, 2015, 10:57 PM**

This one sure has shot up. It's basically halfway topped out now.

Flatiron · #91 Posted **Dec 17, 2015, 2:47 AM**

This one is visible from the Drag now (12/16/15):

JoninATX · #92 Posted **Jan 23, 2016, 6:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The ATX

Here it is this morning from the Rowling Hall webcam. The exaggerated curvature makes it look like we're living on an asteroid.

Webcam: https://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Tech/...North%20Camera

They now have a 2nd webcam up and running.

The ATX · #93 Posted **Jan 23, 2016, 10:22 PM**

It looks like there is only one more floor to go.

JoninATX · #94 Posted **Jan 31, 2016, 3:58 AM**

I notice tonight that the back of this tower will have windows. So we can rest easy knowing that we don't have to fear a tall blank wall.

Flatiron · #95 Posted **Mar 17, 2016, 10:50 PM**

This is a nice addition to the west campus skyline (3/15):

wwmiv · #96 Posted **Mar 17, 2016, 10:59 PM**

What West Campus needs, really, is a few major office tours for tech space and a couple of non-student apartment and condo towers thrown into the mix of the residential that is going up. Diversifying what's there would actually make the university stronger.

drummer · #97 Posted **Mar 18, 2016, 9:38 AM**

That's a great idea. Some sort of shared workspace, even if it were only used by students to begin with, would be great. There are a few of those that I've been to in Bangkok and Chiang Mai that are awesome...I think they'd do really well in West Campus, and would likely spur a lot of other stuff as well.

wwmiv · #98 Posted **Mar 18, 2016, 12:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummer

That's a great idea. Some sort of shared workspace, even if it were only used by students to begin with, would be great. There are a few of those that I've been to in Bangkok and Chiang Mai that are awesome...I think they'd do really well in West Campus, and would likely spur a lot of other stuff as well.

Exactly. I'd love it if there were some unique office buildings in West Campus where the higher floors were occupied by real tech start-ups, and the first few floors were occupied by collaborative open space that is open to students and recent graduates who are trying to do real work as well. This is what the plan is in Columbia for their Innovista area adjacent to USC (where I'm getting my Ph.D.) and the Congaree Vista (kind-of like a cross between 6th Street and South Congress, and is immediately adjacent to downtown). The Innovista area is being redeveloped from the university down the hill toward the river for about 8 blocks in length.

So far, 23 of those blocks have already been redeveloped (all of it within the 2-5 story range, including the University's new basketball arena and the small convention center), 3 blocks are currently under construction with student housing, and there are immediate plans in another handful of blocks for housing and office space. The office space will go in closer to the river in medium rises once environmental clean up completes both preexisting the flooding late last year and even more caused by the flooding. Once that happens, they'll fill in the street grid closer to the river and complete the riverwalk that they have which is modeled directly after Austin, and which is actually nicer in many ways. They need a pedestrian bridge, however, to connect the two sides of the river, instead of routing people alongside the road.

In fact... everything that Columbia is doing is modeled directly after Austin's path through the 1980s and 1990s, because their city is built on an identical premise: touristy southern city because of a picturesque large lake and river amidst a transitional terrain with an exceptionally large and well respected, yet not quite super stratosphere, state university placed downtown adjacent to the capitol building and government industry, with a strong local music scene - Hootie and the Blowfish are from here and got their start in the local dive bars - and developing tech sector in a booming state with other major cities that also aid in the growth of the capitol.

Urbannizer · #99 Posted **Mar 18, 2016, 4:55 PM**

Here's some shots I took Wednesday.

The ATX · #**100** Posted **Mar 18, 2016, 4:59 PM**

Very nice update.