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The Saga of a Downtown Austin Parking Garage Coming To A Close?

by | March 15, 2010 |2 Comments

Back in 2008, we made a best efforts attempt to wade through quagmire of litigation between Harry Whittington and City of Austin regarding the unlawful condemnation of Harry’s land at 5th and Red River.  At the time the City urgently needed the land to build a parking garage to service the convention center.  This lawsuit impacted the urban fabric of the entertainment district for the past few years as thousands of feet of retail space has been left vacant.

The Saga of Parking Garage:

Part One
Part Two

The ABJ’s Jacob Dirr reports that Harry has been vindicated in the eyes of the court.

Barring an accepted application for another hearing, Block 38 now reverts back to its original owner, Harry Whittington, while the city must pay him about $3 million in damages and about $700,000 in legal costs, Whittington said.

Filed Under: downtown austin

Downtown Austin Open Houses

by | March 14, 2010 |Leave a Comment

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Open houses in downtown Austin for Sunday, March 14th

The great thing about downtown Austin open houses is that you can generally walk from building to building.  If you’re into adaptive reuses of older buildings, checkout DAB’s list of downtown Austin lofts.  Looking for downtown Austin FHA approved condos in order to qualify for 3.5% down? We’ve got the info.

This weekend you can browse at your own pace at the Milago condos (btw, have you visited Rainey Street recently?), Towers of Town Lake, 360 condos, Spring, and the Austonian sales center.

Sunday
1) 54 Rainey St, #501, 2bd, 2ba, $369,900, 12-3pm [Pacesetter] map
2) 40 N Interstate-35, #11A3, 2bd, 2ba, $584,000, 2-4pm [Turnquist] map
3) 360 Nueces St, #2508, 1bd, 1ba, $287,500 11-2pm [Platinum Realty] map
4) 360 Nueces St, #1810, 1bd, 1ba, $279,800 2-4pm [Urbanspace] map
5) 300 Bowie St, Spring sales center, model units, 1-5pm map website
6) 200 Congress Ave, Austonian sales center located at 300 W 6th, 12-5pm map website

Don’t see the properties you’re interested in? Ask a Realtor who lives and works in downtown Austin.

Filed Under: austin open houses, downtown austin

2nd Street District Art Installations

by | March 13, 2010 |Leave a Comment
2nd Street Art Installation


This week and next, downtown Austin patrons will begin seeing sneak peaks of what’s to come for Art Week Austin.  Local artist Carlos Rosales-Silvas is creating three storefront installations in the 2nd Street District.  The first two have been completely installed and the third will go up early next week.

Rosales-Silvas’ installations are the first chapter in “One swallow doesn’t make a summer,” an exhibition curated by the team Cook&Ruud, that presents new and site-specific work in available storefronts and public spaces throughout the 2ND Street District and in Republic Square Park.  The second phase, a group exhibition that explores the dynamics of the neighborhood, including its past, present, and future, opens April 21st as part of Art Week Austin and continues through May 28th.

Thanks to Jordan at Giant Media for the heads up!

Filed Under: 2nd Street District, austin small business, downtown austin, retail Tagged With: ,

Views From Austin’s Only 55th Floor: The Austonian

by | March 12, 2010 |5 Comments
looking up at the austonian

Jude @ the Austonian (55th floor, southeast corner)

After several weeks of the weather foiling our plans, myself and KevinFromTexas at SkyscraperPage, were escorted to the 55th floor of the Austonian where we could take photos of the building’s city views (they kindly asked us to not take photos of the interiors until they were complete).  As has been common this season, a storm started rolling in as we were setting up, and the wind was a little too intense for this photographer’s novice hand to get the tripod to support itself.  I think we came through with some interesting perspectives.  If you’re interested in more photos of the Austonian, make sure to checkout SkyscraperPage’s Austonian Thread and Flickr.  Thanks to Cile, Sarah, and Trey at the Austonian for facilitating the tour!

You can see the 55th floor terraces here – this amazing photo is taken from the crane positioned high above the top of the building!

-Jude

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Filed Under: Austin photos, images, Austin Views, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, high rises, Real Estate Tagged With:

Austin Urban Vet Center

by | March 12, 2010 |3 Comments
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The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA) hosted its monthly happy hour at the Austin Urban Vet Center – a renovated 12,000 ft. building located at the corner of 5th Street and Rio Grande.  I was provided with a grand tour by Dr. Greg Biehle.  I’ve had pets most of my life and have visited many veterinary clinics.  The Austin Urban Vet Center is an amazing facility.  People should have it so good as what pets will experience here.  Each dog is provided its own room, complete with cushion, warm lighting, adjustable height bowls, and television.  Indeed, each room is equipped with a small flat screen TV tuned into Animal Planet.

This is much more than a vet, this is a resort for pets.  If you live with pets in downtown Austin, make a point to stop by and become familiar with all the Austin Urban Vet Center has to offer.

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Downtown Austin Evening Views

by | March 10, 2010 |Leave a Comment
View of Downtown Austin Lady Bird Lake and Congess Ave bridge from the Shore condos

Last evening, Amber and I enjoyed the weather and the view from mezzanine deck at the Shore condos.  Nights like this are a great opportunity to appreciate downtown Austin, Texas – and practice with my new Nikon D40. :-)

Filed Under: Austin photos, images, Austin Views

W Austin Residences City Views

by | March 4, 2010 |13 Comments
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Photo by BOKA Powell

Austin’s W Hotel’s monolithic gray & glass facade is arguably the sleekest and sexiest of the luxury bunch.  DAB headed to the W Austin’s “topping off” party last night with hopes of snapping some view photos.  Unfortunately, by the time the fire marshal allowed guests into the structure the sun had already set.  Apologies for the dark photos, but you can still get a sense for the night time views from the 31st floor, including the new illumination on the Austonian.  A few other downtown pics included from earlier in the day.

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Filed Under: Austin photos, images, Austin Views, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments Tagged With: ,

Austin Parks Foundation Gets Big Boost From Downtown Developer

by | March 2, 2010 |1 Comment

View from Spring condos #3802, 3bd/3ba - Click image for MLS listing (Urbanspace)

On March 3rd the developers of Spring Condos, a new downtown residential tower, will announce a $50,000 contribution to the Austin Parks Foundation. The contribution is based on a formula of $500 for each new Spring resident, and will target needed public improvements to the lower Shoal Creek Trail, which have been called for since the 1990s. When all the units at Spring are sold, the total contribution will top $100,000.

The developers will gather at the Shoal Creek pedestrian bridge to make the announcement with Mayor Lee Leffingwell, City Councilmember Chris Riley and numerous parks and downtown advocates. The Shoal Creek pedestrian bridge is one block west of 3rd and Nueces. The Spring residential tower will provide the visual backdrop.

The developers of Spring­–Diana Zuniga, Perry Lorenz, Larry Warshaw, and the late Hon. Robert Barnstone–set a standard for providing community benefits for downtown development during their zoning case several years ago. This led to a string of other developers offering similar benefits, leading to millions of dollars in pledges and contributions for parks and trails, new sidewalks, and affordable housing.

WHO: Mayor Lee Leffingwell, City Councilmember Chris Riley, Spring developers, Charlie McCabe of the Austin Parks Foundation, and representatives of the Trail Foundation, Downtown Austin Alliance, Austin Metro Trails & Greenways, and Original Austin Neighborhood Assn.

WHAT: Announcement of a $50,000 contribution to the Austin Parks Foundation for improvements to the Shoal Creek Trail.

WHERE: Shoal Creek pedestrian bridge, one block west of 3rd and Nueces. Spring residential tower will provide the visual backdrop.

WHEN: Noon Wednesday, March 3rd

Filed Under: austin parks, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate Tagged With: ,
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