Watson noted several of the projects that have had at least one thing in common: It took decades of debate before dirt flew on them. The projects are the Austin Convention Center that doubles its size; the community activity center-performing arts center across Town Lake from the CBD; and the city hall-Computer Sciences Corp. project.

The mayor said even the saga of the Intel Corp. building bears a positive message. The San Jose, CA-based company halted construction on the 10-story building earlier this year as the market for it computer chips softened. The skeletal structure stands guard on the western end of the downtown's office district.

"Do you remember what it replaced?" Watson asked. "Folks, we didn't tear down the Capitol building to put up the Intel building. It was an abandoned car dealership."

No, the building isn't buzzing with chip designers, but he said, the city didn't spend money to bring Intel downtown and the site pays higher property taxes. "And, ultimately, it will be completed. The real story," he says, "is a willingness to experiment, a willingness to try do something differently. And while it hasn't worked exactly as we'd hoped, it certainly has more hope than an abandoned car dealership.