Yet another high-rise condominium project was announced, this time with the addition of the boutique hotel chain Kimpton as a compliment to the project. I’ve lost track of how many new developments are in the works for downtown and most of them seem to be residential. I love the idea of bringing residents downtown, but at the same time I’d like to see more commercial and retail development to support what is expected to be a boom. Living and working in downtown is what will make Austin a true ‘urban center’.

One good thing for sure will be the addition of hotel room space. Austin loses out on a lot of convention business because we just don’t have enough hotel rooms. With more hotel space in the city center we can count on additional convention business which brings additional dollars to the city. I’ve stayed at a Kimpton hotel and I can vouch that they are a great hotel.