Downtown faces economic headwinds, but faring well overall, report says

Shonda Novak, Austin American-Statesman

Good afternoon, and thank you for subscribing to Building Austin, our weekly newsletter focused on real estate, growth and development in the Austin region. I'm Shonda Novak, the American-Statesman's real estate reporter.

Cranes fill the sky in the Rainey Street area during sunset on July 11. An annual report from the Downtown Austin Alliance found that downtown Austin is better positioned to weather a potential downturn than most city centers across the country.
Cranes fill the sky in the Rainey Street area during sunset on July 11. An annual report from the Downtown Austin Alliance found that downtown Austin is better positioned to weather a potential downturn than most city centers across the country.

Last week, the Downtown Austin Alliance released its 2024 State of Downtown Report at its Future of Downtown event held at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. The annual report is an economic indicator for a range of metrics related to downtown Austin's fiscal health and vitality.

Downtown Austin "has enjoyed explosive growth over most of the 21st century," Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance, wrote in the sixth annual report.

But like other downtowns nationwide, Peart wrote, "we now face significant economic headwinds — including rising interest rates and inflation — that have slowed this growth and ushered in uncertainty.

"The good news is that Downtown Austin is better positioned to weather this downturn than most U.S. city centers," Peart said. "Austin is the country’s second-fastest-growing metropolitan area, and downtown is its densest employment district and hub for state and local government, hospitality and entertainment. Downtown living is in high demand. Although the pace of development has gone from supercharged to steady, a pipeline of well financed projects shows that Downtown Austin is still a sound investment."

For highlights of the report's key findings, read my article here.

My work isn’t possible without Statesman subscribers. If you subscribe, thank you! And if you don’t, please consider supporting us today. Have tips or story ideas? Contact me at 512.913.4503, snovak@statesman.com or @snovak999.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Rising interest rates, inflation slow downtown Austin development

Advertisement