Austin 'River Walk' could become reality

By Behnaz Abolmaali (Daily Texan) 6/23/06

Citizens' concerns about traffic and unwanted growth alongside Riverside Drive and Interstate 35 occupied much of the public hearing time at the Austin City Council meeting Thursday night with the passage of a controversial proposal allowing an ambitious 18-story, 190-foot building up for approval.

The Austin City Council voted unanimously to pass the plan on first reading only, citing a desire to develop the area and a concern over the height. The issue could come before the Council again at their next meeting in July.

While the 190-foot plan was met with uncertainty, the Council saw an alternate plan presented by developers for a 120-foot tower as a potential better solution, councilmembers said.

Councilmembers were hesitant about approving the proposal completely, but said they were impressed with the project because of the economic benefits it could bring to the city.

Councilman Brewster McCra-cken said similar projects in his hometown of Corpus Christi resulted in economic gains for the city.

The Australian company Constellation Property Group has more than a dozen residential projects planned in Austin and hopes to make the proposed project on Riverside Drive, dubbed Red River, a tourist destination center similar to San Antonio's River Walk, where dozens of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions line the river that cuts through the city.

This contributes to Mayor Will Wynn's plan of transforming the residential core of downtown by bringing in 25,000 people to reside in the downtown area by the year 2015.

Opponents, who signed up by the dozens to voice their concerns, said it would set a precedent for height along the area and aggravate already thick traffic problems.

Some citizens said the magnitude of the structure was out of place that far from the downtown center and would result in the neighborhood communities being split from the rest of the downtown area.

"Heights of a 190 feet, or even a 120 feet, aren't appropriate for this location and will result in the walling off of the south shore of Town Lake from the community," said Toni House, an area resident who spoke at the meeting.

The height is a big problem, Jeff Jack, former president of the Zilker Neighborhood Association said, but the related impact the development would have on the environment and traffic can not be overlooked.