AG

Downtown Austin News Bites

AG | March 31, 2016 |

Fareground Austin Making Progress

Fareground Austin – Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

The renovation / remodel of the plaza in front of 111 Congress Avenue, being branded as Fareground Austin, has been underway since last year, and things seem to chugging right along. The project has received loads of press in all the major news outlets and recently unveiled new renderings and announced an operator of the restaurant concepts that will be housed there.

Fareground Austin has utilized local talent for many aspects of the project, including dwg, Michael Hsu Architecture, lookthinkmake, and ELM Restaurant Group, among others.

Parkway Properties took full ownership of 111 Congress and San Jacinto Center last year and both properties have received / are receiving exterior improvements.

New Co-Working Space at San Jacinto Center

Rendering courtesy of Techspace's Facebook Page — Techspace coworking in downtown Austin

Another big player in the co-working vertical comes to the CBD. We’ve written about other spaces before, and TechSpace seems to fit right in with the crowd, offering 28,0000 sf of flex co-working in a modern setting – perfect for small business enterprise.

New Juice Shop at 603 Brazos

Juicing _ Flickr - Photo Sharing — Courtesy Flickr: bertholf, https://goo.gl/zr4y0a

A permit is currently under review for a new juice shop to take over 820 sf of ground floor space at 603 Brazos (across from The Driskill and also referred to as 200 E 6th). The concept will be named Jugo. No other information as of now, but we’re definitely in support of the general concept!

Application Filed for Demolition of Austin City Music Hall

third-and-shoal-downtown-austin-real-estate — Third + Shoal tower to replace Austin Music Hall

It’s looking to be imminent: Austin Music Hall is out, and Third + Shoal is in. The demolition permit was filed a couple of weeks ago, and is still pending, but Third + Shoal is pushing forward and putting out some nice marketing. Check out the “preview book” by clicking on the image above.

Rainey Street District Gets Dry-Cleaning Service

one-click-cleaners-rainey-downtown-austin — New downtown Austin dry cleaner

As Rainey continues to grow, so do the neighborhood services options! Recently, a neighborhood dry-cleaning service opened, One-Click Cleaners. Welcome to the neighborhood, One-Click Cleaners, and we’re looking forward to seeing more resident-centric operators come to Rainey!

L’Estelle and Rainey’s Evolution

AG | January 19, 2016 |

As far as Rainey bars go, I really like The Drafting Room at 88 1/2 Rainey. Located on a plot of land right behind The Shore Condos in downtown Austin‘s Rainey Street District, and owned by inveterate downtown-er and Architect Craig Nasso since 1994 (read: WAY before Rainey Street was “cool”), the lot has evolved with the neighborhood and transformed what was an already a lovely home and office into two delightful, separate but intertwined (both are owned by Craig and Holly), pursuits of food and drink.

L’Estelle’s story on it’s website is actually much more eloquently written – check it out here.

If you don’t have time to read it all, here’s my favorite excerpt:

The architect of L’Estelle, then 26 years old, drove down Rainey Street in 1994 and spotted a little piece of “half-lot” that was merely a patch of dirt. The fact that this lot was on a street named Rainey was especially of interest since his mother’s maiden name was Estele Rainey. He bought it, nurtured it, planted every tree and bush and designed a plan for a long life on this little lot. Twenty years ago, he built the back house as a live work office and decided to wait to build a front house when he could design it with a wife if he got married one day.

The architect eventually got married, but during that period, Rainey Street changed from a residential historic neighborhood into a bustling night life district. So the architect changed plans but held sensitively to his dream. He designed and built a front house with his wife which would serve as a kitchen for the people and he converted his office into a quaint beer and wine bar – now the Drafting Room. Together, they open their yard and their hospitality to all who enter, offering a real and authentic connection to the district, its history, and the comfort casual style of gathering under the stars with good drinks, food, and folks. L’Estelle pays respect to their mother, Estele Rainey, the best cook in the family who serves as the advisor and contributor of many homestyle recipes for the preserves and sweets offered in the kitchen.

The Drafting Room

There’s truly a lot to love when it comes to what Craig and his wife Holly have carefully, tenderly created. Their story is unique and their tie to the neighborhood is genuine; the architecture (and, hence, the vibe) is elegant, modern and comfortable; but, most importantly, the wine is great and the food is TO DIE FOR.

Le Burger

Bottom line: Go there. You won’t regret it. And say hi to Holly and Craig when you visit; they are almost always there making sure things are running right.

p.s. – They are open for Sunday Brunch, too! Starts at 11am…

Drafting Room Facebook | L’estelle Facebook

Want a trip down memory lane? Check out our 2012 Mega Post on Rainey with pics of what the street looked like not but 5 years ago…

Historic Downtown Sampson Building Will Host New Co-Working Space

AG | November 5, 2015 |

Co-working in downtown Austin has arrived, and competition is delivering flexible work spaces that are incredible.

WeWork is set to expand through to two additional floors (close to 1,000 new desks) in their current building right around the time of the opening of the 25,000 square foot Galvanize space in the Seaholm development. Capital Factory, the original downtown Austin co-working/incubator/accelerator concept, is a major player in the market, as well.

Those large concepts look impressive, but aren’t a fit for everyone looking for a quieter space to be productive. The result is that there are new co-working concepts leveraging smaller spaces in historic buildings.

As I walk into the space on the top floor of the Sampson Building on Congress Avenue, I am immediately struck by the quiet – audibly and visually. The lack of distraction, hectic bustle, and co-working “flair” sets a much different tone than what I’m used to seeing in the other downtown Austin concepts (wework and galvanize), and the atmosphere is just one of the ways Open-Source Co-Working is trying to set itself apart from its larger competitors.

I’m a sucker for a historic building. The patina and beauty that comes from being in a building like the [Read more…] about Historic Downtown Sampson Building Will Host New Co-Working Space

7 Ways To Make Downtown Austin Even Better

AG | September 18, 2015 |

“Dude, I’ve got these ideas, so many ideas burnin’ through my skull…”

Living in downtown Austin is great and like anything else, over time, you begin to form ideas on what could really make it better. Not all of these are my original ideas – but they are all notions that I would support.

1) Downtown Austin Needs A General Store

We need a friggin’ Target, not another boutique doggy day care!

We’ve written about both of these things before, and it seems like quite a few folks are hopping on the urban Target concept (Target Express) bandwagon.

2) Building Spirit

The Grand Illumination in Richmond Virginia

It would be cool to see downtown Austin condo buildings unite for certain holidays (or for other specific reasons / causes). One idea that I’ve seen floating around is allowing units within the buildings to decorate their respective balconies for the winter holidays, and perhaps do a neighborhood wide contest. Politics aside, it would be wonderful to see a coordinated effort to get people into the general spirit.

Halloween is also a wonderful opportunity for residents of downtown Austin condos to invite families within the community and otherwise to enjoy traditional trick-or-treating. The Shore, in coordination with DANA, has participated in a small scale version of this with much success (Although, I’m a bit biased, as this is an effort that I personally started). Honestly, I’m not sure who gets more from this particular event, the families or the residents.

3) Ice Cream Truck with a Downtown Route

This kid went to the Rick Perry school of eating.

I would LOVE for downtown to have a traditional ice cream truck that regularly drives around the neighborhood (and perhaps have a route with specific stops so people could plan their ice cream indulgence).

There’s a stationary stand that just popped up next to Downtown Burgers on Cesar Chavez across from the Austin Convention Center, but it’s just not quite the same.

Stationary Ice Cream Goodies Offered While They Last on Cesar Chavez, Across from the Convention Center

4) Boat Taxis / Gondolas to Cross Ladybird Lake

This isn’t as crazy as it may seem.

Before the 20th century, getting from downtown Austin to the South bank of the colorado river was done largely by… ferries! It’s true, and you can see a historic plaque telling you about it on the hike & bike trail as you pass the Four Seasons hotel.

Bring it back! Sure would make it fun to check out the hot spots on the South Austin.

5) Swimming in Ladybird Lake

And, while we’re talking about the lake, I want to be able to swim in it, gosh dangit! Full Kramer style.

Sure, it’s filled with trash, old steel rebar, and dog poo. Those are solvable problems! Every few years Lake Austin is allowed to drain in order to clean up the duck weed. So, what’s stopping this from happening on Lady Bird Lake and then get volunteers to remove debris?

KUT recently wrote an article explaining why it’s illegal to swim in the lake, and it’s chock full of great information. The article, however, lacked any proposed solutions that would make the lake swimmable. 🙁

6) Non-terrifying Public Restrooms (Pay Per Use) like the Germans have

One of my favorite things about Germany is the preponderance of pay restrooms in public spaces (like rail stations, malls, etc). McClean is among the most well-known of these types of facilities, and they are great. These restrooms require a very small fee (about $0.50) for use, and had attendants. The restrooms were sparkling. McClean’s motto is “clean, safe, and served” and that is 100% accurate in my experience.

I want some of these in public spaces downtown – like, real bad. I am often petrified to use public restrooms in downtown Austin, and I can’t be the only one.

Recently, we discussed a new alley activation movement, and our friend and contributor Fred Schmidt highlighted the need for good, safe, public restrooms. Seems like this idea could help make that a reality.

7) Personalized Mural Art for Condo Building Parking Spaces

Garage Mural downtown Austin

This one is a little out of left-field – but I just think it would be oh-so-cool.

With all the pretty new buildings popping up in downtown – the fact of the matter is that their corresponding garage spaces remain ugly – particularly on the “inside.” Wouldn’t it be neat if each condo owner had the opportunity to work with an HOA approved artist to paint a personalized (within HOA set guidelines) mural in their parking space? If a lot of owners got on board – it would absolutely TRANSFORM the ugliest parts of the condo buildings downtown into something unique, funky, and amazing. Not to mention how it would be a wonderful opportunity to support local art in a truly cool way.

Some buildings are starting to get on board with general murals in their garages in “common” garage spaces (like entries and elevator bays – see above slideshow for a couple of Austin examples) but this would be an amazing extension of that effort in my opinion. Many urban cities have been doing similar concepts for years – the concept I’m describing would be a slightly different version of what’s already being done (and, for the record, I would support these concepts, too!).

What ideas do you have for downtown Austin?

A New Future For The Gilfillan House at 603 W 8th Street

AG | August 6, 2015 |

The Gilfillan House at 603 West 8^th Street is a 1905 structure that is on the National Register, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and a City Landmark. It’s tucked away in the northwest quadrant of downtown Austin, and the brand new luxury apartment building Seven towers over the historic structure. Located on the southwestern corner of 8^th & Nueces, it has been a law office since the early 80’s. It is currently zoned GO-H. The Gilfillan House is grand, but it’s seen better days.

The Gilfillan House-downtown-austin-real-estate-2-750 — The historic Gilfillan House with the new Seven Apartments in the background

The site was most recently purchased in early June (with a note of almost $3.6MM), and the new ownership (headed up by Rene O. Campos – a real estate investor in Dallas) would like to zone it to DMU-H as part of a restoration of the historic structure.

The much more flexible DMU-H rezoning would also allow the new owner to utilize the restored structure both for office use and for events such as weddings, receptions, business meetings, luncheons, fundraisers (among other things). The owner’s representatives say that this type of flexibility would lend itself to more active uses of the site, and introducing more people to the historic structure (and fill in downtown Austin’s seeming increasing need for proper venue space).

Why is the Gilfillan House worth preserving and sharing, anyway?

A little research at the Austin History Center brought me to some interesting information:

This residence was constructed in 1905 for William L. Gilfillan (d 1932), one of the founders and directors of the Austin National Bank, designed by the prominent Austin architect Charles H. Page, Jr., the two-story brick home reflects a mixture of popular Pre-World War I architectural styles, including Mission Revival and the Prairie School. In 1931, the home was purchased by Julius G. Knape, a Swedish stonemason and contractor.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 1981

The Austin National Bank was founded in 1890 and built their second generation space at 507 Congress in 1895 (507 Congress doesn’t exist as an address anymore, it’s been absorbed). The bank kept growing and relocating until its merger with First International Bancshares Inc in 1981.

Here’s a photograph of the 1895 location on Congress – designed by Charles H. Page.

Newning, Charles A., editor. Texas Industrial Review, Volume 01, Number 03, October, 1895, Book, October 1895; (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39133/ : accessed August 05, 2015), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Austin, Texas.

So, lots of history, with lots of Austin’s early movers and shakers. We believe that it’s worth preserving and celebrating many of these structures and all of their stories. And we tend to think integrating the history with a current use is often better than a restoration that creates a well-preserved, but unapproachable (and generally unappreciated and unutilized) time-capsule. History is only useful if people actually know about it.

We personally love the juxtaposition of the old and the new that’s occurring in parts of downtown Austin, and are generally supportive of efforts to activate historic spaces so that the public can access them in a more meaningful way. If done intelligently and intentionally, flexible commercial use of some historic buildings could be a great way to accomplish preservation, increase the functionality of prime downtown Austin real estate, and educate more folks about Austin’s rich history.