Good bye Highland Mall, hello ACC (Austin Community College) campus. I will remember the long treks from NW Austin during Christmas time with my parents in hopes of stopping for lunch or dinner at Airport Haven Burgers afterwards. Their neon sign with a red baron pilot flying above just before the Mercedes dealership.
Highland was "the" mall and main source for shopping given no Amazon Prime or online retail. Oddly enough, I remember picking up my first pair of parachute pants at the MerryGoRound (luckily all photographic evidence has been destroyed since those days). Yesterday's Facebook feed was sprinkled with nostalgic postings as they reflected on the good old days. Austin's KUT posted their own Love Letter online, archiving stories from past employees / patrons during the last 44 years of operation.
In 2010 ACC purchased the property and officially takes over the entire campus as the previous owners vacate with their final belongings. Back in November Austin votes approved $152 million bond package to make over the central area of the mall. Community Impact News covered the recent developments with some great visuals of the future campus / surrounding areas. My clients who closed today on their new home are instructors at the Highland campus. They said people would be amazed at the changes already in place and what a great learning environment is emerging.
ACC is an anchor for the surrounding shopping centers and mixed use development in review. Rackspace is noted as taking over the old Dillards as part of the public-private collaboration. The Linc, aka Lincoln Village near by, will soon be home to Easy Tiger, which announced a beer garden and outdoor music stage to be incorporated. RedLeaf Properties LLC partnered with ACC on the purchase, and is set this fall on their first project, a residential mid-rise that sports ground-floor retail space. Estimated completion mid 2017.
Add in proximity to I-35, CapMetro bus lines and 3 MetroRail stops along Airport Blvd and we seem to have a receipe for a new Midtown Hub. Highland Mall, we will miss the parachute pants and Orange Julius stand, but it seems your re-purpose is headed in the right direction.
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