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(Jordan Vonderhaar/Austonia)
In the second anti-Austin op-ed published on a national news site within a couple of weeks, Bloomberg columnist Conor Sen writes, "Young and ambitious? Move to New York, not Austin."
Despite the headline, the story is more praise of low New York rent than a diss toward Austin life like what Brett Adler published in Business Insider last month.
Sen writes that apartment rents have fallen more than 20% in several major metro hubs, including San Francisco, New York, Boston and Seattle, because of the pandemic.
Although Austin rent fell by 4% in the past year and continues to sit below the national average, according to RENTCafe, the deficit appears to not be enough for Sen.
Sen admits that many call Austin the "future of the technology industry" but argues that this window of time is the best to move to "the best cities in America," especially New York. To Sen, the Big Apple represents the prime place to be for those just starting their career so that they can be "exposed to countless other people in one's industry from whom they can learn and grow." If remote work continues to be prevalent after the pandemic, in-person jobs may become scarce, meaning that a move to a "hub for in-person activity" such as New York would be more vital than ever. Austin, by contrast, may "specialize more in remote work."
With historically low rent and high levels of retail and office vacancies, Sen writes that New York is in a prime position to create new business growth spurred on by an economic comeback on the federal level.
Austin has become a hot national news topic as tech giants Tesla and Oracle have made the move to Central Texas. Thousands of Californians and some celebrities have also made the famous "Texodus" to Austin due to the so-called similar spirit to the Golden State, among other reasons like housing costs.
A LinkedIn survey from 2020 found that Austin had the most newcomers of any major city in the country.
Austin may not have a rent decrease like the Big Apple, but it certainly packs a punch in the tech industry, housing market and economic opportunity.
Read about another recently published op-ed:
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(Project Connect)
Designs for stations along Project Connect’s Blue Line were presented this week, giving a detailed look at what part of the rail system extending from downtown to the airport could look like.
The planned stations that have gotten the latest focus include Waterfront, Travis Heights and Lakeshore stations past Lady Bird Lake.
At the Waterfront station, the preliminary design aims to prevent visual obstructions and save on costs. This is accomplished by a transit guideway that will lower from the bridge to a level station.
Heading onto East Riverside Drive, the light rail faces a curve requiring a slow down to about 10 miles per hour.
The Travis Heights station could involve relocating a pedestrian crosswalk zone at Alameda Drive to Blunn Creek. Since light rails can't effectively operate on a steep grade, this allows the transit guideway to avoid that.
From there, the rail will extend to the Norwood Park area, and though it will reach along the right-of-way zone, the park will be able to remain open.
A view of the Blue Line by Lady Bird Lake. (Project Connect)
The line involves some coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. That's because the department is working on an intersection that will have to be built before the phasing of the section of the Blue Line involving an I-35 crossing.
When it comes to the safety of cyclists and walkers, design ideas include a pedestrian hybrid beacon by East Bouldin Creek that would provide a protected signal to cross. And for the intersection TxDOT is carrying out, Project Connect is working with them on pedestrian access across the intersection. It could involve shared use paths along the street and crossings beneath it.
This summer, the public can expect 30% of design and cost estimates to be released. Though the project was $7.1 billion when voters approved it in November 2020, the latest estimates factoring in inflation and supply chain constraints show it could ultimately be upwards of $10 billion.
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(Amazon/Facebook)
Plans for an Amazon warehouse in Round Rock—a $250 million project slated to be a large distribution center—are on hold.
This comes just after the tech giant had its worst financial quarter in seven years.
The details:
- Late last year, it announced an expansion at the Domain adding 2,000 more corporate and tech jobs.
- Amazon still owns the site in Round Rock. Plans for it are unclear.
- Early this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is aiming to scrap warehouse space as it faces a slowdown in its e-commerce operations.
Part of that effort involves exploring the possibility of ending or renegotiating leases with outside warehouse owners. Another aspect is a plan to sublease warehouse space.
“It allows us to relieve the financial obligations associated with an existing building that no longer meets our needs,” an Amazon spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal. “Subleasing is something many established corporations do to help manage their real estate portfolio.”
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