urbanspace: Downtown Austin Lofts, Condos, Highrises, and Real Estate

austintatious

01/02/2009 amoa's new home, museum tower project nixed

The economic downturn has claimed a major downtown Austin project as victim, the proposed Museum Tower office building and the Austin Museum of Art’s proposed new home. Hines Interests LP will not renew its option on the land owned by the Austin Museum of Art when that option expires this afternoon, the last day of 2008. That land had been slated for a 30-story, 425,000-square-foot office building dubbed the Museum Tower and a new home for AMOA. Read more...

12/29/2008 austin icon bites the dust

The saga engulfing downtown Austin’s Las Manitas Avenue Café took one last step on Dec. 22, as demolition crews tore into the building that also had housed neighboring Escuelita Del Alma and the Tesoros gift shop. It is still unclear if the restaurant will reopen at another location. Both the school and Tesoros have reopened at new locations. Read more...

12/29/2008 21c gets glowing review by npr

Austin’s 21c museum residences and hotel may be on hold for now, but this morning NPR gave a glowing review of the original concept in Louisville, Kentucky. The NPR story incorrectly states that the Austin 21c is under construction; however, Marriott’s decision to not build 1,000 hotel rooms should reflect favorably on 21c’s pro-formas. 21c was originally planned for development at the Whitley paper building on 3rd and San Jacinto, however, plans changed to locate the building(s) at Red River and Cesar Chavez, along Waller Creek. Read more...

12/16/2008 austin cyclists feel safer than those elsewhere in texas

Cyclists in Austin feel safer than those in other major Texas cities, according to a new report from the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas at Austin. Almost 70 percent of respondents in the statewide survey said they feel bicycling is “very dangerous” or “somewhat dangerous” in terms of traffic accidents. By comparison, only 21 percent of respondents said bicycling is “somewhat dangerous” or “very dangerous” in the context of crime. Read more...

12/16/2008 work to start on seaholm redevelopment late next year

Construction could begin by late next year on the $117 million redevelopment of the former Seaholm Power Plant in downtown Austin. The public-private venture is expected to transform the decommissioned power plant on West Cesar Chavez Street into a mix of shops, offices, condominiums, a boutique hotel and special-events space. Read more...

12/09/2008 austin to see modest job growth

Central Texas employers have modest plans to add jobs in the first three months of 2009, according to a Manpower Inc. survey set to be released today. The employment services firm, which surveyed a sample of employers in the country's 200 largest metropolitan regions, found that 15 percent of firms in the five-county area planned to add jobs in the first quarter of the new year. Read more...

12/01/2008 west campus boom

Long gone are the days of the West Campus portrayed on Richard Linklater’s Austin film “Slacker,” where shabby houses shared quiet streets with corner markets and vacant lots. Today high-rise condominiums, commercial and retail businesses are beginning to fill the streets as the city’s university neighborhood overlay plans for the area come to fruition. Read more...

11/24/2008 City OKs TIF zone for Seaholm redevelopment

The city of Austin approved the creation of a tax increment financing reinvestment zone to pay for public improvements for the Seaholm redevelopment project. The TIF will be within the area bounded on the west by the planned Seaholm Drive, on the south by Cesar Chavez Street, on the east by West Avenue and on the north by Third Street. Read more...

11/11/2008 stalled project gets new owners

La Vista on Lavaca, a 66-unit, mixed-use project in downtown Austin where construction was halted earlier this year, has new owners who say they plan to resume work on the $30 million development soon. The Sutton Co. and two undisclosed local investors have purchased the partnership interests in the eight-story project at 17th and Lavaca streets, said Mac Pike Jr., a partner in the Sutton Co. with Wally Scott III. Read more...

11/11/2008 rapture in rupture: at the arthouse

"Rapture in Rupture reveals aspects of our conflicted culture through the lens of four young artists. Their mesmerizing objects or fantastical artistic worlds move between two, three, and even four dimensions, frequently shuttling back and forth between figuration and abstraction. The "ruptures" in their respective works express (sometimes gleefully) chaos, irresolution, and discomfort, perhaps alluding to the imploding rapture that has come to define our specific time and place in the world." – Elizabeth Dunbar, Arthouse Curator. Read more...

11/07/2008 fun fun fun fest this weekend at waterloo park

Fun Fun Fun Fest made its first appearance on a cold Austin Friday evening at Waterloo Park in 2006. It was a unique approach to festival booking…filling stages with what is happening now, what sounds great, and what is making an impact, regardless of what Pollstar or the mainstream media said was cool. What started out as a show for a few touring acts and local favorites became a movement, and a festival that fans and bands alike realized needed to be experienced year after year. Read more...

11/07/2008 people-friendly planning in austin, tx

MORE than 200 live music sites, weather with annual temperature averages in the 70s, and thoughtful urban planning make downtown Austin an appealing second-home location. Read more...

11/04/2008 developer cuts plans for riverside drive project by a third

The economic downturn hasn't derailed plans for the biggest redevelopment project proposed along East Riverside Drive. Houston-based Grayco Partners is moving forward with most of its proposed 30-acre project between Riverside and South Lakeshore Boulevard, where it plans to replace blocks of aging apartments and retail strip centers with a dense district of townhouses, condominiums and higher-end retail. Read more...

10/30/2008 homeaway moving downtown

Schlosser Development Corp. announced on Tuesday that it will build a new 85,000-square-foot building downtown to house the corporate headquarters of Web-based vacation rental company HomeAway Inc. Read more...

10/17/2008 up-and-coming neighborhoods: great buying opportunities

"Artists send the signal," said Corbett. "The artists are the early adopters.…They do it in real estate the same way they do it in fashion, furniture design, and graphic design." And the winners? We’ve copied the top 3 best places to buy for those who’d like the experts takes on where their home prices will skyrocket.(East Austin is the only Texas city). Read more...

10/15/2008 austin ranked best bang for the buck

The economic storm sweeping the country has left Americans with few places to hide. But those looking to hunker down might want to head to Texas, where they can get the best value for their dollar. That's because Austin and San Antonio lead our list of places where your money goes farthest. Residents of both enjoy affordable housing and promising prospects for job growth in coming years. Houston and Dallas also land in the top 10, at Nos. 4 and 7, respectively. Read more...

10/10/2008 soco icon to move downtown

El Sol y La Luna, a South Congress Avenue institution since 1995, is moving to Sixth Street, where a larger restaurant will allow room for more seating, a dance floor and a stage for live music performances. "Sixth Street won't know what hit them," El Sol co-owner Nilda de la Llata said Thursday outside her new location at 600 E. Sixth Street, on Red River Street in downtown Austin. Read more...

10/02/2008 commuter rail line opening put off to march

Capital Metro trains will pull out of the station beginning March 30, the transit agency decided Wednesday. But even before the trains run, Capital Metro officials, on the presumption that the Leander-to-downtown-Austin line's initial capacity with just six rail cars will be insufficient, probably will put in an order for another dozen cars. Read more...

10/01/2008 austin housing starts remain depressed, but price drop still unlikely

New reports show home construction and closings of recently completed homes in Austin remain depressed, but that’s unlikely to bring prices down any time soon. Read more...

09/20/2008 austin job market holds up amid national slowdown

Austin's job market has slowed, but the region continues to gain jobs while many other parts of the country are losing them. The Central Texas job growth rate was 2.4 percent in August, meaning the region had 18,100 more jobs than it did a year ago, the Texas Workforce Commission reported. Unemployment was 4.5 percent, up a tenth of a percent from July and up from 3.7 percent a year ago. Read more...

09/09/2008 austin 2nd fastest-selling housing market in the us

After Sunnyvale, Austin, Tex., another high-tech center, comes in second at 68 days. The third-fastest-selling Zip is the Scripps Ranch neighborhood of San Diego, a wealthy inland market where listings were typically 70 days old, a span that would have been unthinkable during the real estate boom. Read more...

09/08/2008 boutique hotel and retail project slated for soco

A new 90-room boutique hotel will soon rise on South Congress Avenue. The mixed-use project designed by Dick Clark Architecture is planned for the half-block just south of the Congress Baptist Church and across the street from Allen’s Boots and Vespaio. The site, which is owned by the church, is currently a parking lot and home to mobile retail startup Hey Cupcake! Read more...

09/05/2008 zilker park condo project now includes hotel

Original plans for the project, announced in November, had 74 condominium units at the eastern edge of the park. The new design includes 40 condominiums and a 65-room boutique hotel whose operator Wooley said he's not ready to disclose. Read more...

08/25/2008 first-time home buyers shift priorities

A growing number of first-time home buyers - 41 percent - say that when it comes to finding a new place to live, proximity is their top priority, according to an online survey of Coldwell Banker brokers nationwide. Read more...

08/21/2008 deal near on austin luxury hangars

The City of Austin is finalizing plans to let a California firm build luxury hangars at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Business groups say the hangars will help Austin recruit companies whose executives prefer to fly on private aircraft. Read more...

08/19/2008 austin will recover faster than the rest of the u.s.

In the coming year Austin will outperform the rest of the country in job growth and in the health of its housing market, according to Mark Dotzour, chief economist at Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center. Read more...

08/15/2008 austin-area median home price up

The Austin-area real estate market continued to outperform the nation in the second quarter of 2008, a new report from the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Median home prices in the Austin area rose by 4.1 percent, to $194,200, from the year-ago period, while the national median fell 7.6 percent, the real estate group said. Read more...

07/18/2008 west fifth to get 8-story office building

The eight-story building is planned for the western end of West Fifth Street, which is becoming a newly revitalized gateway to downtown. Retail space and more than 300 apartments are under construction on the stretch of West Fifth between MoPac and Lamar boulevards that for years was lined mostly with car lots and warehouses. Read more...

07/17/2008 forbes: best cities to buy a home

The University of Texas campus provides young blood and research-related jobs to No. 2 city Austin. This state capitol is a hip area on the rise. The vacancy rate has fallen by 37.5% in the last 24 months to just 1.5%, despite a lot of building in recent years. And buying isn't much more expensive than renting. An average mortgage payment is $1,022.40, and average rent hits $767. Read more...

07/13/2008 suburbia blown up by gas bubble

If the price of your suburban home has crashed, you're a victim of more than bad timing. You may have bought into an American way of life that's no longer sustainable. Read more...

07/07/2008 austin dodges housing slump

Homes in Austin are up for sale and buyers are snatching them up. The nation may be struggling in a declining housing market with home prices plummeting because demand isn't meeting supply, but in Austin real estate agents say there's a healthy medium. Austin missed the housing slump so far. Read more...

06/30/2008 austin ranked 13th best u.s. city for building wealth

Austin ranks 13th among 69 U.S. cities as a place to build wealth, according to a survey from Salary.com. Another Texas city, Plano, tops the list, followed in order by Aurora, Colo.; Omaha, Neb.; Minneapolis; and Albuquerque, N.M. The 2008 Salary Value Index ranked New York City as the worst metropolitan area to build wealth. Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco rounded out the worst five cities. Read more...

06/27/2008 appraisers look at measuring the value of green

Real estate appraisers from around the country were in Austin earlier this week for a seminar on how green-building components can affect property values. Read more...

06/17/2008 suburbs a mile too far for some

In recent years, a generation of young people, called the millennials, born between the late 1970s and mid-1990s, has combined with baby boomers to rekindle demand for urban living. Today, the subprime-mortgage crisis and $4-a-gallon gasoline are delivering further gut punches by blighting remote subdivisions nationwide and rendering long commutes untenable for middle-class Americans. Read more...

06/16/2008 condo boom gets south push on soco

Four urban living projects filled with condos and lofts are coming or expanding on South Congress Avenue, but they are a little less expensive than some of the developments just a few miles north, with prices starting in the low $100,000s. That is because they are all south of Hwy. 71. Read more...

05/29/2008 austin 6th on kiplinger's best cities list

Austin ranks sixth on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's newest list of top 10 cities in which to live, work and play. The list, published in Kiplinger's July issue, ranks cities based on the strength of their economies, abundance of jobs, reasonable costs of living and activities. Read more... Photo Close loading indicator

05/21/2008 matrix of downtown retail taking shape amid development

To the CEO of modern decor retailer Essenze, only downtown had both the cachet and the demographics that would work. "Austin is the creative center of Texas, and downtown is the place to be in Austin," says Cook. Read more...

05/18/2008 austin keeps truckin' on job creation

Providing more evidence of Austin's economic resilience, the region added 4,100 jobs last month with big gains in sectors such as hospitality and professional and business services. Read more...

05/07/2008 austin recession-proof?

Austin was named third on the Forbes.com list of the top 10 "Recession-Proof Cities" in the United States. For its part, Austin was lauded for being a hip town with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Read more...

04/22/2008 its back: a proposal for light rail

A light rail system proposal from ROMA Design Group, a consultant hired by the city of Austin, will be unveiled tonight during a public meeting. Read more...

04/21/2008 austin area has gained nearly 22,000 jobs in the last year

The number of jobs in the Austin area held steady in March, while statewide employment gains were slighter than the previous month. Total Austin-area jobs rose by 6,400 in March, or a 0.8 percent increase, compared with February, according to the most recent Texas Workforce Commission report. The area now has a total of 773,300 jobs. Read more...

04/21/2008 cws reaches deal to build lakefront condos

Those opposed to CWS Capital Partners LLC's plan to build condos close to Lady Bird Lake have reached an agreement with the developer. The groups Save Town Lake and South River City Citizens have agreed to new plans by CWS to build three residential towers at 222 and 300 East Riverside at least 200 feet from the lakeshore and at a height of no more than 96 feet high. The buildings would conform to setbacks outlined in the Waterfront Overlay Ordinance. Read more... Photo Close loading indicator

04/17/2008 city of austin working to improve the brazos streetscape

The Brazos Streetscape Project was initiated in 2004 as purely a reconstruction project. However, varying City of Austin priorities, funding issues, and the decision to align Brazos more with the Great Streets Program delayed the commencement of final design until fall 2007. Read more...

04/16/2008 property appraisals going up again

In a sign of the region's relative economic health, homeowners in Travis, Hays and Williamson counties can expect to see increases in their 2008 property appraisals when they begin receiving notices in the mail soon, appraisers say. The Travis Central Appraisal District is finalizing its proposed values for all real property in the county, including residential, office and retail properties. Preliminary values will be firmed up Friday, chief appraiser Patrick Brown said Tuesday. Read more...

04/11/2008 what could stop your house from selling

Pat Junod knows why this home in an Atlanta suburb has been sitting empty for months. It isn't the market. Even during this nationwide downturn there are still plenty of potential buyers. So what is it? She sees the problem from her car as she drives up the street. The yard is, well, in need of some work. OK, a lot of work. Read more...

04/04/2008 mixed-use development in austin attracting worldwide attention

On Thursday, more than 1,000 people from around the world are coming to Austin to see how the city has grown. They're especially interested in the mixed-use development that has popped up over the last few years. The big buzz word with this type of construction is new urbanism. Read more...

04/03/2008 austin condo market booming despite mortgage crisis

Everywhere you turn in Austin a condominium seems to be popping up, especially downtown. Despite the mortgage mess nationwide, condo construction in Austin still seems to flourish. Read more...

04/02/2008 study says tougher financing could kill some austin condo projects

A new research report questions whether some of the new condo projects on tap in Central Austin will move forward under their original timelines, or at all, given the decline of available financing. Read more...

03/27/2008 austin fifth fastest-growing metro area in the nation

The city was the only one in Texas to make the list of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. metro areas, ranking fifth, with a population increase of 4.3 percent in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Austin-Round Rock area had the eighth highest numeric population gain, with 65,880 new residents moving into the region in 2007. Read more...

03/22/2008 welcome home

Rediscover what's new in real estate for urban lifestyles. Experience our new web portal today.Start your search.

03/14/2008 downtown living demand is strong, study shows

The steel and glass residential towers set to reshape the downtown Austin skyline aren't a pipedream. They're coming--and they're going to be filled, a new study shows. The analysis from Texas economist Ray Perryman suggests that while the nation battles a housing correction, Austin's residential market remains relatively healthy. Moreover, says Perryman, there is clear demand among Austinites to live in the city's vibrant downtown. Read more...

03/13/2008 austin is seventh on college real estate scorecard

Texas ranks high when it comes to home values in college towns, according to College Real Estate LLC. "When it comes to bragging rights for attractive college real estate markets, Utah and Texas are the biggest winners," says Stuart Frazier, co-founder and director of client relations at Arlington, Texas-based College Real Estate. Read more...

03/12/2008 SXSW film winner

check out the winners of the SXSW film festival. Read more...

03/06/2008 downtown living demand is strong, study shows

02/15/2008 some cities are spared the slide in housing

Consider the experience of one Austin resident, Dan Clark. Forced by a job change to put his house here on the market, he wondered whether he would get anything like the $385,000 he paid for it a year ago. He was floored when the second potential buyer to look at the place snapped it up for $429,000. “Manna from heaven,�? he said. Read more...

02/14/2008 lance armstrong unveils his new commuting bike shop

"This city is exploding downtown. Are all these people in high rises going to drive everywhere? We have to promote (bike) commuting," Armstrong said Wednesday, gazing up at the towering 360 condos rising next to the site of his new shop. "This can be a hub for that." Mellow Johnny's, named for the nickname Armstrong earned while wearing the Tour de France leader's "maillot jaune," or yellow jersey, will be housed in a yellow- and red-brick building next to the music venue La Zona Rosa. It is a block north of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, a path that will cut east-west through downtown Austin. Read more...

02/07/2008 best cities for couples - forbes.com

But couples that live together have needs, too. In our round-up of the Best Cities for Couples, we've identified what this growing demographic requires to maintain a stable relationship while on the path to marriage or something less traditional. We selected the country's largest 40 metropolitan areas and collected data on marriage and divorce rates for the 20- to 34-year-olds that live there, the affordability of a starter home there, the area's income disparity and the availability of family counseling. Read more...

02/07/2008 austin ranked the best city for jobs again

The Lone Star State shines brilliantly in a list of the best places to work in the U.S. when some economists peer into their crystal balls for 2008. "While the economy is cooling, Texas continues to generate more jobs than the national average," said Krista Piferrer, deputy press secretary to Gov. Rick Perry. "Unemployment is low in Texas, thanks in large part to a favorable business climate that encourages businesses to expand or relocate to our state."Read more...

02/01/2008 austin named the best place to live, work, and make movies

Walk down nearly any street in Austin, Texas and chances are you’ll find a film shoot already in progress. That’s just the kind of film-centered folk that the city brings out. “Austin is very much a film town with over a dozen film festivals,�? says Louis Black, co-founder of The Austin Chronicle and one of the founders of SXSW. Read more...

01/29/2008 austin named one of the best places to live by entrepreneur.com

Whether you're looking for an investment property or a place to live, here's a look at the cities you should seek out and avoid in 2008. Round Rock and Austin have seen incredible job growth and very stable home prices despite the downturn nationwide. Jobs continue to grow here -- a factor for keeping inventory low and prices stable. Read more...

01/24/2008 lance armstrong foundation finds new east side digs

East Austinites will soon notice a streak of yellow around their neighborhood. The Lance Armstrong Foundation -- known, in part, for its yellow Livestrong wrist bands -- has ended months of neighborhood speculation by confirming that it will establish a permanent home in East Austin. Read more...

01/22/2008 for hotels, pampering is a fine art

A new breed of hotels is dressing up walls, lobbies and guest rooms with original artworks from a mix of famous, midcareer and promising artists. Instead of hanging bland or factory-produced art that blends in with the background, they're choosing memorable — and in many cases, very expensive — works. A growing number of hoteliers think that art can help them create an experience that will draw more travelers.

At 21c, Wilson says, he has sought to balance serious, provocative works with whimsical works. The Wilsons don't want theirs to become one of those boutique hotels that "can get so cool, they're almost inhospitable," he says. Read more...

01/05/2008 catching up with the high-profile homes of the past year

Most people probably think that sellers of homes might be "motivated," given the current slowdown. But that's not necessarily so, as the past year has shown us in Austin. Take, for instance, the case of Michael G. McCarthy, a former software executive, who has had his home on the market for more than two years. Priced at $13.5 million, it's the most expensive home for sale in Central Texas. Not once has the price of the property on Selma Hughes Park Road been reduced. Read more...

01/01/2008 announcing the Quorum condominiums

Courtesy of austintowers.net: Units in the Quorum Lofts will be big - ranging from 1,450 to 2,450 square feet with prices starting near $500,000. The project will include a rooftop infinity pool and lots of nice features such as high 10 foot ceilings, granite counter tops,and jetted soaking tubs. Read more...

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