Regarding the music venue, I think the developers are taking advantage of the Mean Eyed Cat to cover this need. The zoning for the area may have made a larger venue impossible.

It would be nice to have more open space, but Town Lake Park is pretty close, and I think overall it is a pretty reasonable development considering other less sensitive projects going on. We’ll have to see how the retail fits in with the area. I’m optimistic.

I have mixed feelings on the development. On one hand, i don’t mind them making use of a space that was just an abandoned lot. But on the other hand, it would’ve been more interesting if they put in, say, a music venue, or a park or something other than just retail.