Quote:
Originally Posted by wwmiv
And someone was saying development was likely to slow down? Let me let everyone in on a little not-so-secret: the United States has the best economy of all post-industrial western nations, and Austin has the strongest economy in that country of all major cities. I.E. Austin is one of the hottest markets in the entire world right now, so of course we're still going strong.
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It's true we are in a great position economically but there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
First, technically this is not a new project per-se. The developer has been working behind the scenes as evident by the latest news is about it being a 5 star hotel. I would expect they are close to securing capital, if it's already not secured and I'm guessing the brand has committed.
Secondly, as far as economic stability is concerned, we don't necessarily have to be affected by an external economic downturn. I'd be more concerned about internal problems like housing stock, traffic, inadequate mass transit and a growing low wage workforce which can't afford to live in the city. If we don't do something soon about trying to alleviate those issues, we'll create our own economic downturn. This is a problem in which local economists have sounded the alarm to city and regional leaders and the warning has gotten louder.
Lastly, we can't disregard global economics completely. As Austin continues to morph into a global city, so too will our economy become more intertwined with the world economy. Even if we weather a downturn relatively (though not completely) unscathed, doesn't mean that investment capital will be flowing. A perfect example is the most recent economic downturn. Austin was able to hold its own pretty well but for a couple of years we didn't see any major construction in DT. The projects planned that were unable to get built before the Great Recession were put on hold like the Van Zandt.
I'm not saying we should freak out or anything because it will take a lot to slow this city's momentum even with the local problems, but at the same time, If capital investors become cautious they won't be putting money into any projects regardless of how well a specific city or area is doing.