The front page of the Statesman today had an article about two new high rise buildings coming to downtown.  They will be 16 and 49 stories tall and will provide downtown Austin with more hotel rooms condos, office and shops.  The rendering in the Statesman showed the buildings to be on the east side of downtown, but still west of IH 35 along Waller Creek.  Construction on the 3-1/5 acre, $350 million project should start next year.

Where Waller Creek runs through downtown by the convention center has been an area the city has wanted to see development in for a long time.  Many envisioned a mini version of the San Antonio Riverwalk.  To date part of Waller Creek has been a not very pretty area that has gathered trash and graffiti.  From the rendering, it looks like the specific area for the development is across the street from the Iron Works, which serves some of the best BBQ in town.  If I have the right block between IH 35 and Red River, the area currently has a few structures on it along with a parking lot and a park.

The 49-story building will be the third tallest building when it and two other projects are done.  The Austonian, already under construction, will be 55 stories and the planned Tom Stacy project is to be 66 stories.