SpaceX incoming
Fresh off Tesla titan Elon Musk's declaration that Austin is the country's next boomtown (dude, go get a late pass) and smirking over the failure of Texas' power grid during last month's epic winter storm, it appears that a new SpaceX manufacturing facility is in the works for Austin. The California-based company has launching and rocket-testing facilities in other parts of the state, and Musk seems to be in the process of moving more and more of his projects to the Austin area—including his private foundation, a Tesla Gigafactory in Southeast Travis County, and the renovation and expansion of a Pflugerville building for his tunnel-making Boring Company.
Alamo Ritz shutters
Homegrown cinematic-experience chain Alamo Drafthouse announced Wednesday that it will not be reopening its downtown Ritz theater, the "spiritual successor" to the chain's first location at 409 Colorado Street. Alamo began screening in the historic building in 2007. The location closed last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, as with many businesses, what was thought to be a temporary situation became permanent. The chain also announced that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The 90-year-old Ritz building is located on East Sixth Street, in the heart of that area's entertainment district, and has been a music club as well as a theater in its history.
3D-printed homes in East Austin
Austin-based company Icon has a close relationship with the development of 3D-printed homes, having printed the first one in the United States (in 48 hours or so at SXSW 2018, no less) and a welcome center for Community First! tiny home village, among other local and international projects. Now Kansas City multifamily residential developer 3 Strands Neighborhoods has partnered with Icon to build the first printed homes for sale in the country. The East 17th Street Residences, designed by Austin firm Logan Architecture, will be a small complex of two- to four-bedroom homes measuring 1,000 to 2,000 square feet. The project, expected to be completed this summer, could set the pace for larger 3D-printed developments locally and around the world.
