Michael Shear, leader of Strategic Office Networks, is pitching a radical shift in workplace strategy to tackle Austin's worsening commute crisis. In a recent episode of The Building Texas Show, Shear proposed replacing a single 60-floor downtown office tower with ten six-floor buildings sited in suburbs and exurbs like Cedar Park and Luling. The plan hinges on a regional fiber backbone and edge computing to support distributed work, challenging the traditional high-rise model that dominates central business districts.
Shear argues that the infrastructure decisions made by Texas planners in the next 12 to 24 months will define commuting, housing, and resilience for the next 100 years. He described the current system as a 20th-century model that has 'entombed' the region, referencing the 2026 book Overbuilt: The High Cost and Low Rewards of US Highways, which notes that 22% of land in 316 U.S. metro areas is paved. Citing warnings from the Texas Transportation Institute, Shear said regions cannot build their way out of growth.
The proposal, which Shear calls Project ION, extends beyond office space to critical infrastructure. He envisions dedicated, secure communications networks for hospitals, universities, chip manufacturers, and emergency dispatch—not just generic broadband. Pairing edge computing with the Texas data center boom, Shear argues, can harden communities against climate events, accidents, and geopolitical risks along the high-value I-35 corridor.
Shear connected workforce strategy to public safety and economic resilience. He described meetings with fire and police chiefs about deployment readiness during evacuations and referenced Nobel-recognized economic research by Joel Mokyr on how hardened institutions stall innovation. He highlighted Central Texas assets—including the state government, major R&D universities, military complexes, and semiconductor fabs—as both a competitive advantage and a high-value target.
On generational economics, Shear noted that where a 30-year career once matched a 30-year mortgage, today's three-to-five-year job tenures put homebuying at risk. He argued that networked hubs could let workers change employers without changing communities, stabilizing housing markets. He pointed to a recent Christmas parade live portal linking a Texas town to Ireland as a preview of XR, spatial acoustics, and haptic tools becoming mainstream within three to five years.
Shear also confirmed that Google Fiber crews were laying new lines outside his home during the week of taping, signaling ongoing investment in the fiber infrastructure his plan requires. The episode, hosted by Justin McKenzie, is available on podcast platforms and YouTube.
