Does anyone have evidence that a significant number of people live in those downtown condos? I'm talking about human beings, not trust fund babies partying on daddy's dime, but actual functional working adults who contribute to our local economy and community and have a primary residence downtown? We've got some friends who work downtown and have a condo for when they work late and don't want to drive home to the hill country, but I'm not counting that either. I've lived in the downtown area of a number of major cities, within America and outside of it. The downtown area is a genuine center of the city in these places, with jobs and the necessities of daily life (laundromats, grocery stores, hardware stores, etc.) Like KaiserSoze, I used to live just across the river off Congress, but it was at a time when no one lived downtown at all (in the olden times before the birth of the highrises). As far as residents go, it was a dead zone then, and it still feels like one now. My wife worked downtown at the time and we liked that she could bike to work, but she seemed like the only one doing it. We had to drive to actually run any basic errands at all. Nothing about downtown Austin today seems attractive for a permanent residence unless you're a young person with disposable income, no responsibilities, and enjoy partying at nightclubs. South of the river is a slightly different story, of course.
Are these condos being built for anything more than vehicles for money laundering? I appreciate the notion of a livable downtown and think it's a great thing. I just don't see any evidence that we have one in this city. We have built many residences but have done little else to make downtown an attractive place to live. The jobs aren't even there in significant numbers. Building more condos doesn't seem like a solution to anything other than satisfying more developers, short-term rental investors, and foreign money launderers. More investment in things like the library appeals to me much more. Make downtown a place people actually want to live, then build the condos. We've put the cart way before the horse, and I don't see a single benefit to Austin residents and taxpayers.