Over the past decade, downtown Austin has grown significantly, thanks to overall population growth and the strategic efforts of the City of Austin and the Downtown Austin Alliance. Earlier this month, the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA), which advocates for ongoing change and improvement to the downtown Austin area, released their 2014 Annual Report, which offers a look at what developments have been made in the past year as well as a look at what is yet to come. The numbers show that downtown Austin is continuing to grow and flourish as an economic, residential, and cultural hub of the city. The DAA has an in-depth strategic plan for continuing downtown development that comes in four parts: Downtown Draws People, Downtown Captivates People, Congress Avenue Wows People, and Historic Squares Gather People. These four pillars work toward the goals of making downtown Austin clean, safe, and beautiful, with plenty of open public spaces and effective transportation options for residents and visitors alike.
The report takes a look at what projects are currently under development downtown, including the new Central Library, the Colorado Tower, the Dell Medical School and more. The DAA website has a comprehensive list of these developments, as well as a map outlining all of the current construction in the downtown area. The report finds that downtown Austin has 19 million annual visitors, 123,178 employees, and 10,000 residents. Residential growth continues to boom, with 2,479 condo units and 2,819 apartment units built downtown since 2000. In addition, there are 1,634 apartment units under construction in downtown Austin right now, showing that demand for downtown living space is higher than ever. Retail vendors have also been active in populating downtown space, with new restaurants and stores opening on Congress Avenue as well as in the 2nd Street District. In addition to recruiting more vendors for brick-and-mortar locations, the DAA has advocated for unconventional retail as well, with food trucks in public spaces and mobile vendors on Congress Avenue.
Cultural placemaking also continues to be a focus of the DAA in the downtown area, with public art initiatives and events that bolster downtown Austin as a community. Through continued advocacy and outreach, the DAA works to shape policy and development in a way that benefits both the downtown area and the entire city. For residents of The Austonian, this means that the value of living downtown will continue to increase, but also the quality of life as well. The DAA is setting the stage for even further renaissance of the area, and residents of The Austonian have front row seats.
