Waller Park Place Project in Rainey Street District

The largest planned high-density development in the Rainey Street District in downtown Austin generated much discussion regarding the property known as the “Villas at Town Lake”. Sutton Company, the developer of Waller Park Place, which will include condos, high-rises, office buildings and a hotel extending from Lady Bird Lake to Cesar Chavez and Red River, was successful in having the City Council rescind the Covenant on the Villas which would affect the height the buildings could be built.

Still, there are concerns that another high-rise could add too much density to an already congested area: two of the largest buildings of the project are being proposed for one of the smallest sites and there are limited options for ingress and egress into or out of the area. A team from the Rainey District, including businesses, residences and the Mexican- American Cultural Center, worked with the Sutton Company and our District 9 representative, Tovo, and reached an agreement that Sutton Company would contribute $50,000 for a traffic study of the area. The funds were given to the Rainey Neighbors Association for this project. The Traffic Team immediately contracted Big Red Dog Engineering Company to do the traffic study. Since November 2016 BRD has been gathering data. The first community forum was held at the MAAC in January to get input from residents who live in the Rainey district. A second meeting was held in March and at this point we are waiting for the third and final session where we will learn about options for congestion in the Rainey Street District and how best to work with developers and the City.

“ Together we can make a difference in our neighborhood!”

April 18, 2017

"A Big Thank You to the Rainey Street District Neighborhood Task Force"

Last November, when plans for the Waller Park Project in the Rainey Street District strict were revealed, a very diverse group of residents, business owners, and stakeholders in the community came together to express their concern about traffic congestion the project would create in this area. Those who stepped up to address the issues were:

Taylor Vreeland, a Milago resident and a partner at JMI Realty, which owns Hotel Van Zandt. Taylor serves as co-President of the Rainey Business Coalition(RBC).

Juan Oyervides, who serves on the MACC Advisory Board.

Landon Turner, who is General Manager at The Shore.

Kitty McMahon, a Milago resident and President of the Rainey Neighbors Association (RNA).

Carmen Garufo, a resident of The Shore and Professor/Lecturer of Architecture at UT. Carmen is considered an expert in city planning and development issues. He was previously involved in planning the “Big Dig” project in Boston.

Dr. Michael Abelson, a resident of the Towers of Town Lake and Vice-President of the Town Lake Neighborhood Association (TLNA). Michael is a Professor Emeritus in the Management Department at Texas A&M University and is CEO and President of The Abelson Group.

The Neighborhood Task Force, with the help of Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who is also our District 9 representative, negotiated a $50,000 contribution from Sutton Developers to do a traffic study for the entire area. They all certainly deserve a big vote of gratitude from everyone in the Rainey Street District!