Naked City

North American Properties, the residential builder that replaced Post Properties in the Triangle Square development, is now off the project after only recently signing on to the deal. Details of North American's resignation were not immediately available at press time. This latest setback has thrown Triangle stakeholders into a tizzy, given the amount of time they've spent on the project, whose blueprint transformed from a neighborhood nightmare with big-box retail and tons of concrete to what is now a New Urban plan designed to complement its central city environment. Now it's apparently back to the drawing board ...

It turns out there won't be dancing in the streets all over downtown during the city of Austin's big A2K New Year's Eve bash. Seems too many people thought that barricading all of downtown to traffic wasn't such a good idea after all. So forget all that business about shutting down from Lavaca to I-35 and Second to 11th, because Mayor Kirk Watson and other party planners have changed their tune. Charlie Jones, owner of Middleman Music Co. and the newly hired producer and consultant for the party, says the more likely street-closure scenario will affect only Sixth Street and parts of Congress, where stages will be set up for musical performers, with Lyle Lovett topping the bill. Jones was hired by the mayor's office in the last week of October, at a time when A2K was getting hit with some news coverage that ran counter to the kind of press the mayor would have preferred. Jones was quick to point out he's not actually replacing John Segrest, who was running the show for the mayor before he got reassigned to the logistics beat. "It was just too much for one person to handle," says Jones, whose most recent city event-planning gig was the welcome-home party thrown for Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong. Jones will lay out more A2K details for media and production folks this afternoon.

Bernice Butler, we hardly knew ye. The executive director of the Austin Revitalization Authority flew the coop this week after only a year on the job. Butler resigned her $85,000-plus position to explore a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" working for groups similar to the ARA, according to the official line from headquarters. Despite its embattled past, Butler's departure was not a result of any great controversy, according to board member Mark Rogers. He did say, however, there had been "a little bit of a breach between where the board wanted to go and where [Butler] wanted to go." He said that many board members were interested in seeing through some small redevelopment projects along East 11th and 12th streets, whereas Butler preferred "the big kill," meaning larger development projects. On the up side, however, Rogers praised Butler -- who has a ton of housing redevelopment experience from her Dade County, Fla., days -- for keeping communication lines open, which is saying a lot considering the way the ARA's wires used to get crossed. Meanwhile, it's the omnipresent Byron Marshall to the rescue. The former assistant city manager and former ARA leader will serve as interim director until a new boss comes in...

Austin Rep. Dawnna Dukes was friendly toward the enviros in the last legislative session and now look -- she's got herself an opponent in the name of Stella Roland, a Dell Computer employee and past prez of the LBJ High PTA. Word is that Roland will have the backing of Cal Varner, an Eastside powerbroker and developers' friend. On the courthouse front, it looks like lawyer Darlene Byrne may be the only Democratic candidate running to unseat District Judge Ernest Garcia, Gov. Bush's Republican appointee to the local bench. Byrne announces her bid today at the Driskill.