One Austin developer's true 'tall' tale, Perry Lorenz Story by Shonda Novak, Austin American-Statesman • 28m ago Hello, and thank you for subscribing to Building Austin, our weekly newsletter focused on real estate, growth and development in the Austin region. I'm Shonda Novak, the American-Statesman's real estate reporter. I had occasion to chat with Perry Lorenz last week for an upcoming article about downtown Austin. Lorenz knows downtown as well as — heck, better than most — due to his longevity as an Austin-area real estate developer, investor, landowner and landlord, both downtown and East Austin. In both areas, he was a pioneer of mid- and high-rise development starting more than two decades ago. Lorenz is one of those legendary former Austin hippies from a bygone era who attended the University of Texas, earning a bachelor's degree in English and a few years later, an MBA. He has been credited with trying to help save landmark Austin venues like the ico...