Downsizing and the high rise condo

[Grainiac]

Having never lived in a high raise condo building myself, I always wondered how does ambulance personnel move a patient from the 20th floor condo on stretchers? Are they all, even older ones, required to have large enough elevators to accommodate that?

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeTravis Austin has really begun to embrace the concept of downtown condo living in the last few years. While it's not something I'm interested in (yet), I have noticed how it's getting all the favorable attention in terms of zoning, ordinances, development, city services, and incentives, all intended to heavily spur growth in high-density urban living. What used to be a very isolated, singular lifestyle amongst nightclubs and music venues just a few years ago has evolved into a pedestrian focused dining, shopping, entertainment, and living experience for many. And the prices are still somewhat reasonable, since primarily all of the new construction is focused on more and more condos.

Would that be around the new(er) Whole Foods, just west of downtown, or are there other areas too? About 12 years ago I moved to Austin as a trial (stayed seasonally for 8 years) and thought about renting right around there at least for awhile, but it wasn't as well developed for real living, and didn't seem all that safe to walk to most of the clubs, at least not the main strip on 6th. I went just south of the river off Mopac instead. With the 10 mile trail around the lake and the Barton Creek nature trail, it actually would meet my running requirements very well. My kid went to school out in Steiner and then Cedar Park so I kept drifting northwest and further from downtown.

[LakeTravis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum Would that be around the new(er) Whole Foods, just west of downtown, or are there other areas too? About 12 years ago I moved to Austin as a trial (stayed seasonally for 8 years) and thought about renting right around there at least for awhile, but it wasn't as well developed for real living, and didn't seem all that safe to walk to most of the clubs, at least not the main strip on 6th. I went just south of the river off Mopac instead. With the 10 mile trail around the lake and the Barton Creek nature trail, it actually would meet my running requirements very well. My kid went to school out in Steiner and then Cedar Park so I kept drifting northwest and further from downtown.

That was pretty much where it started (at 6th and Lamar), and grew out from that center. Now there is The Triangle (North Lamar), The Domain (North Mopac), and hi-rise condos up and going up all across the downtown area. Mueller Development is adding more, and it almost seems like any commercial building that has lost it's tenants (or kicked them out?) is being bulldozed so a condo can be built.

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeTravis That was pretty much where it started (at 6th and Lamar), and grew out from that center. Now there is The Triangle (North Lamar), The Domain (North Mopac), and hi-rise condos up and going up all across the downtown area. Mueller Development is adding more, and it almost seems like any commercial building that has lost it's tenants (or kicked them out?) is being bulldozed so a condo can be built.

The Triangle and The Domain aren't downtown, but they probably a similar urban feel. I guess the OP didn't necessarily talk about downtown anyway. It's funny, when I first started coming to Austin in the late 80s the IBM campus was almost in the middle of nowhere and it seemed so flat out there, now they are throwing up high rises and it's in the middle of a lot of stuff.

The city where I grew up absorbed a few small towns and villages, probably like many cities. There were at least 3 areas of town that had a 2 or 3 block long "Main Street" so you had a small town walkable feel inside a larger city if you lived in that area. In one they even converted the old elementary school building to senior condos.