Austin redevelops as Texas leads in growth

Downtown plan leads the way

Alex Wukman, Jan 16, 11.

Since the latest batch of Census figures were released in December the fact that Texas’ population has increased by 4.3 million has been one of the most talked about issues, and one of the places that is growing fastest in Texas is Austin.

Austin has become well known throughout the country for attracting tech savvy employees and the companies that hire them, which led one researcher to wonder why. The 91,000 people employed by Austin’s 3,700 tech firms have helped make the city into the second fastest growing city in the country, by some estimates.

Monique Wassenaar Silverio of Area Development Online thinks that part of Austin’s exploding growth can be attributed to six factors. Among them are the facts that the city has at least one major high tech success story, as well as a major research institution, high-tech talent, and venture capital firms who are willing to invest in the tech sector. Silverio goes on to state that, unlike some cities, Austin has the infrastructure necessary to facilitate high tech growth.

She explains that when attempting to lure a Dell Computers or Samsung Electronics to a city infrastructure means more than broadband connections and available bandwidth. It “includes Web designers…and law firms, banks, and business services that focus on high tech,” wrote Silverio.

Another key component that makes Austin attractive to tech sector jobs is the collaborative atmosphere. Silverio explained that with nearly 122,000 college students in the Austin area “tech firms have a lot of local talent from which to draw,’ this has led relationships being formed between businesses, government and educational organizations. Another feature that attracts top talent, and the employers that follow them, is Austin’s commitment to reshaping its urban environment.

“Austin has committed to transform its Downtown in order to meet current and future challenges as it continues to grow,” reports Reed Construction Data. The City of Austin recently released the final draft of the Downtown Austin Plan, DAP.

The DAP has its roots in a 2005 pronouncement by the Austin City Council that articulated a goal of having 25,000 residents living in the 1,000 acres that comprise downtown Austin by 2015. The 2005 edict “expressed the need for actionable plans that included passenger rail development, drainage and flood control improvements, revised and updated regulations that took into consideration a more dense urban development, a strategy for affordable workforce housing, and an exploration of redevelopment of government-owned land.”

Austin’s city leaders realized that the downtown area contributes approximately $2.2 billion to the region’s economy as well as 5 percent of the city’s property tax, which is spread to the rest of the city. Since 2000, downtown Austin has seen increased growth reminiscent of Silicon Valley during the height of the tech boom. “More than 6,000 new residents have moved into new downtown condominiums, apartments and townhouses, which is a growth of 40 percent…over 6,000 new jobs have been created, with 1.7 million square feet of office space added and over 400,000 square feet of new retail shops, nightclubs and restaurants opened to serve Austin’s residents and tourists,” states Reed Construction Data.

The DAP provides a framework including both general issues, code amendments and zoning changes, and specific projects, provide permanent supportive housing for those challenged by homelessness and substance abuse, that will continue transforming central Austin for the immediate future.