Last month, I met up with two Austin forumers - Jdawgboy and the Genral, and we wandered around downtown for a bit.
West Campus - This area is northwest of downtown and west of the UT Campus. It's mostly student housing. About a decade ago taller building heights were approved for the area.
Next, we made our way downtown to find a place to park.
5th & West and the Independent.
The Seaholm Power Plant. The 1950s art-deco style building was transformed into office space. The area around it is mostly residential, retail, and restaurant space.
5th & West Residences (459 feet 39 floors) and The Independent (690 feet 58 floors).
5th & West and the Independent, plus the Seaholm Residences on the left.
New construction - Third + Shoal, an office building (387 feet 28 floors), and Austin Proper a hotel and condos (397 feet 32 floors)
Next, we made it over to the new Central Library. There's a public reading balcony on the 6th floor overlooking downtown.
The (former) Seaholm Power Plant.
South Austin Medical Center - going through an expansion adding several floors to the building.
70 Rainey, a condo building, (419 feet 33 floors).
Cropped "zoomed" version of the above photo showing the airport Hilton Hotel in the distance at ABIA - about 6 1/2 miles away. You can just see a jet tail sticking up to the left of it.
View from the library - This group of buildings is part of the redevelopment of the Green Water Treatment Plant. Third + Shoal, seen here under construction on the left, which is actually on a lot that was not part of the plant redevelopment, replaced the Austin Music Hall. The other three towers to the right of it are part of the redevelopment. The last remaining lot on the lower right will also be developed with a tower. In all, about 3 million square feet of office, hotel, apartments, condos, and retail will be completed in 5 towers. Facebook and Google are tenants in two of the buildings.
The Independent looms north of the library.
Looking north toward West Campus, the area we drove through earlier.
500 West 2nd - the "Google Tower" - I'm happy with it. I like the details.
The dreaded Seaholm substation smack dab in the middle of density. Hopefully, someday, this will go away.
The Independent
With the closing of the power plant and water treatment plant, it was possible to build new sections of streets through those blocks. 2nd Street got a new bridge across Shoal Creek which helps with traffic flow from the west side of downtown to the east.
500 West 2nd
Austin Proper
Northshore and 500 West 2nd.
Northshore - I like the detail on this one.
500 West 2nd
2nd Street
Northshore
The Willie Nelson statue outside the Moody Theatre - Austin City Limits studio.
After we had lunch, we left downtown to go up to North Austin to visit a fish store. Jdawgboy was helping the Genral to pick out some fish and other supplies for his aquariums.
We also stopped off at a second store in South Austin.
~Thanks for looking.
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