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Condos of Shame

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Documenting the luxury boxes replacing everything you loved.

"Where your favorite taco truck used to be."

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Austin Development (5)Austin Gentrification (5)Austin (3)Condos (2)East Austin (2)Parking (2)City Government (1)Downtown Austin (1)

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Every entry in the Condos of Shame collection, newest first.

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The Great Red River Street Rebranding Scam
Condos of ShameMar 31, 2026

The Great Red River Street Rebranding Scam

The city's most iconic street is being erased, one boutique at a time. But who's really behind the 'revitalization' of Red River Street?

5 min Red River Street's last remaining dive bar, the iconic Beerland, just got a shiny new sign. The once-grungy facade now boasts a sleek, modern design that screams "upscale entertainment district." The irony isn't lost on anyone who's been to Beerland on a Tuesday night, when the only thing more plentiful than the beer pong tables is the existential dread. But the rebranding of Red River Street isn't just about Beerland. It's about the entire street. The city's most iconic street, once a hub of live music and counterculture, is being erased, one boutique at a time. The new signs, the new businesses, the new everything – it's all part of a carefully crafted plan to make Red River Street the next South Congress Avenue. Or, at the very least, that's what the city wants you to think. The truth is, the 'revitalization' of Red River Street is a scam. A scam perpetrated by the same developers and investors who have been gentrifying Austin for years. They're not interested in preserving the street's history or its culture. They're interested in making a quick buck off of unsuspecting tourists and hipsters. And the city is right there with them, handing out permits and tax breaks like candy. The city's 'revitalization' plan for Red River Street is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to make the street more attractive to developers and investors. It's a plan that will only serve to drive out the very people who made Red River Street great in the first place. So, the next time you're driving down Red River Street and you see a new boutique or a new restaurant, don't be fooled. It's not progress. It's not revitalization. It's just another step in the erasure of Austin's soul.
condosrebrandingAustin
The Rise of the $15,000 Parking Garage
Condos of ShameMar 29, 2026

The Rise of the $15,000 Parking Garage

The city's parking garage racket has reached new heights, with luxury condos and parking garages sprouting up like weeds. But who's really benefiting from this gold rush?

5 min read
parkingcondosAustin
The Empire of Parking Tickets
Condos of ShameMar 24, 2026

The Empire of Parking Tickets

How the city's parking ticket empire has become a booming business, with a new revenue stream for bureaucrats and a fresh headache for Austin drivers.

5 min
parkingAustincity government
The South Congress Condopocalypse
Condos of ShameDec 29, 2025

The South Congress Condopocalypse

South Congress used to be weird. Now it's weird that anyone can still afford to be there.

5 min read
developmentgentrificationsouth-congress
The East Sixth Glass Tower Invasion
Condos of ShameDec 1, 2025

The East Sixth Glass Tower Invasion

The glass towers crossed I-35 and nobody even pretended to be surprised.

4 min read
developmentgentrificationeast-austin
Riverside 'Luxury' Lofts
Condos of ShameOct 20, 2025

Riverside 'Luxury' Lofts

Riverside Drive used to be where you lived when you couldn't afford anywhere else. Now you can't afford Riverside Drive either.

5 min read
developmentgentrificationriverside
Rainey Street Remembers
Condos of ShameSep 22, 2025

Rainey Street Remembers

Rainey Street used to be a quiet block of house-bars where you could drink a Lone Star on a porch. Now the porches are in the shadows of 40-story towers.

4 min read
developmentgentrificationrainey-street
The Domain Was a Parking Lot
Condos of ShameAug 12, 2025

The Domain Was a Parking Lot

Before it was Austin's shiniest open-air mall-suburb, The Domain was just a bunch of nothing next to an IBM campus nobody talked about.

4 min read
developmentgentrificationthe-domain

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