The Small Lot Debate in Austin Continues
As real estate continues to skyrocket alongside the demand for housing, the debate about the utilization of small lots in Austin continues. Developer David Whitworth has found a loophole in the City code which has in the past allowed him to divide a small lot into two in order to build separate dwellings at a decreased end cost to people in the market for a new home. Now the City and neighborhood residents are calling for this loophole to be closed to prevent this kind of dev
Drawing Lines: Explorations of Place
A new artist-driven community-based public arts project is underway here in Austin, Texas this spring. According to the Drawing Lines website this display "explores how art itself, as a process, can be part of the conversation around Austin’s newly restructured 10-1 political system and examines the role of contemporary culture in the transition of place." More on Drawing Lines... Drawing Lines: Explorations of Place is an experiential and immersive exhibition bringing togeth
Mobility Talks
**From the City of Austin Mobility Talks website: As great as Austin is, we struggle with transportation and mobility. Whether you drive, walk, bike, or take transit, the City of Austin is working on ways to make getting around safer and easier. But it needs your help. From March 21 through May 8, the City of Austin is asking for your priorities online and in person to improve Austin's transportation network. City leaders will use this information for future decision-making o
Plaza Saltillo District Approved by Cap Metro
On Monday, March 21, the Plaza Saltillo District project in tandem with Endeavor Real Estate Group was approved by the CapMetro board of directors. The project will transform a six-block section of East Austin into a mixed-used community consisting of a 10-acre transit-oriented construction near the MetroRail Plaza Saltillo at Fifth Street and Comal. The project will feature approximately 800 apartments, with at least 15 percent being deeply affordable, 110,000 square feet of
Community First! Affordable Housing for the Homeless
Year after year we have seen the cost of living skyrocket here in Austin, Texas making it increasingly hard for lower income, struggling individuals and families to survive. The local non-profit group Mobile Loaves and Fishes has created a new program entitled Community First. The 27-acre master-planned community will provide affordable, sustainable housing and a supportive community for the disabled, chronically homeless in Central Texas. Community First! Village Includes: A
The City of the Eternal Boom
Texas Monthly has a wonderful essay posted this week entitled "The City of the Eternal Boom" about the evolution of Austin, Texas from a sleepy little hippie mecca to the international arts and tech hub it is today. Kinney & Associates has been a part of the evolution of this town for nearly thirty years, with Girard Kinney, our founder and principal architect involved in the design of our city skyline for nearly fifty years. Here is a snippet from the Texas Montly article--w
Guest Post: April 2016 Mueller Updates
Paid parking at Mueller will be instituted prior to the opening of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - still scheduled for late 2016 - and other upcoming Aldrich Street/Town Center businesses. Locations for paid parking will include Simond Avenue and the City-owned parking garage behind the Thinkery. The off-street lot at Lake Park will remain free for those using the park, though it will be controlled in some fashion. Free on-street parking will remain available on Zach Scott, Cam
Digital Billboards—a Community Issue
Digital billboards may be coming to Austin. Over the next 120 days there will be a community conversation about a proposal to convert some of our existing billboards to digital---to utilize digital, changeable technology to allow advertisements to change every 8 seconds. That’s 450 advertising messages every hour and over 10,000 message changes on a single billboard face every day. To have a better understanding of what this would look like in Austin, particularly at night o
A Ribbon of Light in Los Angeles
We at Kinney & Associates are huge fans of public space architecture that transforms a city. In much the same way as the Pfluger Bridge reinvented Lady Bird Lake here in Austin, the 6th Street bridge in Los Angeles will soon undergo its own redesign into a "Ribbon of Light". According to Architectural Digest the structure will echo "viaduct’s design, arched trusses will support the cabled bridge, which will have lanes for vehicle, bicycle, and foot traffic". The new design, w
Getting Around Austin During SXSW
If you're an Austinite, then you are fully aware that the mega convention SXSW is now underway. The Interactive Festival launched on Friday with a keynote speech from President Obama himself and already a slew of celebrities have made appearances, both official and surprise, all over this bustling city. Last week even Mayor Adler suggested that many people who work anywhere near the Downtown area attempt to work from home if at all possible to combat the horrendous mobility i
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