Austin Update

Fall is sputtering in and out here. It's rained some and the average high temperature has dropped a little, so we are hoping that we've turned the corner away from Summer. It's so hard to predict the weather here in Texas. One day it will be cool and fall-like and the next it will return to Summer weather.


Austin has been buzzing along. With Halloween coming up, everyone is getting ready for the big festivities on 6th street. I imagine the big celebration downtown will happen the weekend before Halloween. But knowing 6th street, there will be a party going on Halloween night too. I haven't heard. I know the Haunted House is up and running. So everyone is very excited.

The Mueller neighborhood is having a "open house" of sorts this weekend. Everyone is invited to come by and see the progress that's been made in that area. They've continued work on the Children's Hospital and it's beginning to look really good. They also have another medical building nearby and that looks almost finished! But the big news is the shopping area which broke ground and started construction just this past month. One of the stores (either Best Buy or another Big Box Store) has most of it's walls up and looks like it is well underway to being completed. We're very excited to have more shopping choices nearby.


UT is playing Baylor today and I hear it is the Homecoming game for UT this weekend. That will cause alot of activity downtown tonight. I flew in from Houston yesterday with a lot of UT fans so I imagine there will be a crowd at the game and at the hotels downtown.

Construction downtown continues on all those Condos and Lofts that I have blogged about in the past. The one on Lamar near Paggi House has broken ground and begun building. In the other areas, I haven't really kept up but plan on checking on them soon. I know there is a fight brewing over the possible demolition of Tesoros and Las Manitas on Congress. I hate the idea of losing either one of those places. Some ideas are to incorporate those businesses into the new building but that takes away from the charm of those places. I really wish they would just leave them as they are! I feel lucky we aren't like NYC which has a plague of fires (probably arson) in the areas of the city where real estate is at a premium. Apparently they can't get people evicted fast enough out of the older apartments there so they just torch the buildings around them! In some cases the buildings are being considered for addition to the Historical Register in New York, so the owners are up in arms and eventually the buildings mysteriously go up in flames. That way the owners can get highest dollar for the land without worrying about the restrictions of a Historical Building. What a scary thought!

OK that's all for now. Here's to Fall!!