Republic Rising – Austin, Texas

After briefly covering my fall photography events, Dia de los Muertos and Diwali, I’m downtown to document the city and continue playing with my latest camera, the Leica D-Lux 8. As you can tell by the coverage so far, I really like the compact and capable camera. It’s lightweight, and its novelty has encouraged me to get out and shoot again.

After documenting my first downtown trip with the D-Lux, I visited again after the new year. I had more time to marvel at the latest wave of skyscraper development. I was surprised to see the Republic nearly finished. Luckily, I caught this still-incomplete glass facade. In a few months, it would look finished from the outside.

The Republic’s slick website shows some great-looking amenities for the knowledge workers they are trying to attract. Their front plaza would integrate nicely with Republic Square, a small park in front of the building. Their website shows a vibrant public space. Unfortunately, the current reality is that Republic Square is a heaven for the homeless. Perhaps once this building is fully occupied, the influx of workers will overshadow the current population, assuming the post-Covid hybrid work arrangement gradually diminishes.

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