downtown austin

Jude Galligan | April 6, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Downtown News and Rumor Round-up

Fairmont hotel spurs nearby land deals

The dirt parking lot across the street south of the Fairmont hotel site, plus with the Iron Works BBQ auxiliary parking lot (due south of Iron Works BBQ) are both under contract, which hints at future development.

Plans are not being disclosed, but one buyer group is reported to be local and the second is from California. Robert Knight and Perry Lorenz own the land are are also selling a lot at Red River and Fourth Street.

The Austin Business Journal has more

Austin Towers has more on the Fairmont

Contract map

Downtown a major draw for new residents

The Austin American-Statesman parsed some census data and confirmed that downtown is a major destination for the hoards of people migrating to Austin.

Downtown Austin had the highest percentage of Austin residents who had lived in another state one year earlier. About 1 in 10 of downtown’s population moved from another state.

A commenter to the story, said: “The first thing the agent showed us when we moved here was Steiner Ranch. We asked her to turn the car around and leave. Steiner is exactly the kind of place you find in Anytown, USA. Why bother to move here? We opted for downtown. DT is Austin.”

Statesman has more

Downtown businesses launch car-reduction program

The Austin City Council approved a measure to help fund a pilot program for downtown business tenants to encourage their employees to get to work without a car.

This could include bike parking, employee subsidies for car sharing or transit passes, alternative work schedules or workplaces with locker and shower facilities. (Still waiting on bike share, City Hall people. What gives with the hold up?)

Businesses will have to apply to participate in the pilot project. Applications will be accepted through April 30, and the program will be activated between May and June. For more information visit the program website.

KUT News has more

Local Texas lawmakers take on Congress Ave. development

Bills filed by State Sen. Kirk Watson and State Rep. Donna Howard would make the stepback standards that the city currently enforces in the area into a state law. It is being reported that the Downtown Austin Alliance supports the bill.

The Austin Contrarian blog posted a critique, which drew a full-fledged response from Sen. Watson.

The Austin Business Journal has more

Filed Under: downtown austin

Jude Galligan | March 29, 2013 | 8 Comments

Downtown News and Rumor Round-up

There’s a number of interesting items relating to downtown in the news recently. With so much going on these days, along with the demise of Google Reader, we’re going to try something new at DAB: an end of the week wrap-up of what’s been in the news related to downtown. If you are like me, it is hard sometimes, to keep up with everything, especially during personally busy weeks.

Do me a huge favor and be sure to leave a comment if this is helpful and if you’d like to see this as a regular feature.

Rainey Street Ramps Up (again!)

Two new projects have filed site plans for new construction within the Rainey Street neighborhood district.

The vacant lot across the street from the Mexican American Cultural Center at 70 Rainey filed paperwork to build a mixed-use sky scraper consisting of a restaurant, residential units, and parking.

Down the street, the North Shore Lofts are moving forward with a multi-family building at the corner of the north shore and I-35, that will bring 44 class A multifamily units to the site.

Austin Towers has more

Capitol Kibosh

Texas lawmakers moved again earlier this week to make good on their sabre-rattling to freeze any development plans around the Capitol Complex.

A senate committee passed SB 894, by State Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston), making unsolicited proposals for development of the area north of the Capitol grounds illegal.

This effectively kills plans for the planetarium and high rise development.

The bill will also force potential developers to pitch their development plans before the Legislature every two years.

Notably, this bill has more than 20 sponsors and is also being supported by Kirk Watson.

KUT News has more

W Hotel for sale?

The Austin American-Statesman got its hands on a marketing brochure that says the W Hotel, also known as Block 21 and the home of the ACL Live studio is for sale.

The tower also includes 159 condominiums that aren’t part of the sale. To date 131 of the condos have been sold or are under contract, at an average price of more than $600 a square foot, according to the offering brochure. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group is marketing the property.

Statesman has more

Travis County altering development plans?

County commissioners are considering another $38.5 million building downtown in early April at the corner of West 11th and San Antonio streets. The county previously received a proposal for a $60 million building on the same site.

In December, the county purchased the land for $7.25 million. It includes part of the Texas PTA offices and a parking lot.

Statesman has more

To view or not to view

While not downtown, we’re noting that neighbors are opposing the Taco Cabana development.

Bridges’ Homeowner Association has petitioned the City to deny a zoning request there.

Austin city planner Jerry Rusthoven told KVUE: “City code does not protect people’s views. That came up recently in another case downtown.”

KVUE has more on the dispute and Austin Towers has the details on the development

Filed Under: austin news, downtown austin

Jude Galligan | March 20, 2013 | 4 Comments

Higher & Better Use For Downtown Alleys

This effort could yield some cool results. The idea is in focus as Art Alliance Austin will feature in April an alley installation adjacent to the Austin Club.

Councilmember Tovo’s office is capturing the attention of downtown stakeholder groups, including Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Commission, which has spun off a working group, for consideration of a masterplan for downtown Austin’s alleyways.

“Traditionally [alleys] are associated with garbage collection and can be associated with crime,” Tovo says “so, there’s the notion of kind of taking another look at them and really thinking about what kind of potential they might bring to our downtown area.” – KUT News

Repurposing alleys is not a new idea, and many cities around the world have embraced them as valuable real estate.

In fact, the concept for revitalizing downtown alleys has come before Austin City Council at least once before. Back in 1971, architect David Graeber proposed repurposing the alleys behind 6th Street, from the Driskill Hotel to Waller Creek.

“By establishing cafes, boutiques, business offices and unusual shops, the alley could be a major economic stimulant to the downtown area. Businesses could face either the alley or 6th Street, or more advantageously, both.” – David Graeber

Austin Architect, David Graeber’s “Serendipity Alley” concept from the 1970s. Daily Texan, September 24, 1971

[Image credit Art Alliance Austin/Creative Action and TBG/Dan Cheetham (Fyoog) and Michelle Tarsney]

Filed Under: austin art, buildings, downtown austin, history

Jude Galligan | March 19, 2013 | 2 Comments

Plan To Revitalize 6th & Congress Announced, Underwhelms Everyone

Stream Realty Partners has a contract to acquire the downtown block bounded by Congress, Fifth, Sixth and Brazos streets, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Here are the details on what’s planned:

The deal consists of five parcels totaling 2.3 acres at the southeast corner of Congress and Sixth, plus a half-block directly east on Fifth Street between Brazos and San Jacinto Boulevard.
Stream Realty is acquiring the portfolio in a partnership with Wanxiang America Real Estate Group and Diversified Real Estate Capital. Heitman LLC is providing financing.
The site includes the 26-story Bank of America tower. Stream will continue to operate the 256,911-square-foot tower, which is 90 percent leased, as an office building and leave as is.
Vacant 501 Congress building will be remodeled by 2014 into a contemporary five-story building with 112,000 square feet of first-class office space and a rooftop deck.
Existing valet parking garage will be torn down and replaced by 2014 with an eight-story parking garage with 300 spaces and street-level retail space
The site also includes the nine-story Littlefield parking garage with 535 spaces, plus 24 apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail space. By the end of this year, Stream plans to renovate the apartments as well as the retail space, ~~which has been vacant.~~
The half block site on East Fifth Street between Brazos and San Jacinto, which is home to a Bank of America drive through, will be sold for an unknown development.

6th Cong plan

Much of this site is entitled with 25:1 FAR, so it’s a disappointment to see an absence of big plans.

Still, it will be better than the vacant buildings currently occupying the 5th Street block between Congress and Brazos. It’s hard to notice these days, given the amount of foot traffic that passes by this block creating an illusion of activity, but this is a major dead zone within the core.

The glass is half-full, though, and of the changes coming to this block, we’re most excited about street level retail being added where that valet garage is now. So much of the urban experience takes place at eye level within the street-scape.

The street belongs to everyone, whether you are a visiting hipster from Tulsa, Oklahoma in town for ACL, a Bastrop native walking to a lunch appointment, a UT student looking for love on Sixth St. or a family from Bee Caves enjoying downtown on the weekend. Having active storefronts makes downtown feel welcoming and alive, and having them lit at night adds an air of comfort and safety that an inhuman, dark parking garage does not.

This is an exciting time to be watching and writing about downtown Austin. The rate of change and investment is unprecedented and is an incredible maturation of the policy strong Austin mayors like (state Sen.) Kirk Watson and Will Wynn put in place.

-Jude

Filed Under: 6th Street Historic & Entertainment District, Congress Avenue District, downtown austin, Downtown Austin Districts

Jude Galligan | March 8, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Royal Blue Grocery Announces Next Location @ The Whitley

Big news for those living and working on the east side of Congress Ave. Royal Blue proprietor, George Scariano, confirms with DAB that the lease is officially signed with The Whitley!

This will be the locally loved grocer’s fourth location. The 2300 ft store will anchor the Railyard District, and we can expect an opening in July.

The store will be a full blown coffee shop, offering beer & wine, with an on-site kitchen serving baja-style seafood tacos, tacos al pastor, and flattop burgers.

We can’t wait!

Filed Under: around town, austin small business, downtown austin, Railyard District

Jude Galligan | March 6, 2013 | 2 Comments

Signals That Lustre Pearl Is Moving

In response to an application to relocate the structure that is Lustre Pearl, the City of Austin Historic Landmark Commission staff recommendation is to permit the move once a new site is located and approved by staff.

Relocating the structure would free up the CBD zoned dirt for a mixed-use tower on the northern end of Rainey Street.

Opening Lustre Pearl in 2008, Bridget Dunlap was the first to see the opportunity in repurposing Rainey Street’s dilapidated CBD-zoned bungalows into bars.

From the HLC brief…

The house was built c. 1907. The City Directory indicates E.A. Murchison residing at 97 Rainey Street in the first listing for the address in the 1906-07 City Directory; however Mr. Murchison’s listing in the name directory indicates him residing at 1303 E. 12th Street.

The next listing in 1909 indicates physician and surgeon Dr. Samuel H. Haigler residing at the address. He resided there until 1913, after which Mrs. Sara A. Spence, widow of Robert Spense, was the resident and owner until at least 1924. J.C. Sample, a carpenter and his wife Minnie were the next residents until approximately 1933. For the remaining years the house was owned and rented by a series of families, none of which resided at the address for more than a few years at a time. All residents, save Dr. Haigler, were blue collar or “non-professional” workers with occupations such as waiter, dishwasher and janitor. Starting in the late 1940’s surnames of the residents indicate a demographic change from Anglo to Hispanic residents as is typical for addresses in the district. - HLC background info (pdf)

Filed Under: austin history, downtown austin, Rainey Street District

Jude Galligan | March 3, 2013 | 4 Comments

Downtown Austin Parking Requirements May Be Eliminated…

…by the City of Austin.

Still, today’s market demands parking, and lenders will continue to require their businesses to deliver a minimum number of parking spaces.

It would be a symbolic and legal step forward though because minimum parking requirements have many negative effects, including:

Generate greater automobile usage and reduce use of transit and walking.
Increase building construction costs and make units less affordable.
Negatively affect the aesthetics of the built environment.
Perpetuate the inefficient use of available parking. (Currently many parking spaces in garages downtown sit empty throughout the day and night.)

“The city of Austin currently requires businesses to provide a certain number of parking spaces proportionate to the size of the business’s building. Multiple city commissions have expressed support for changing this requirement.

Colin Pope, editor of the Austin Business Journal, said that eliminating the requirement would be more of a symbolic move because developers would still provide parking to keep tenants happy.” – YNN

Filed Under: austin news, austin transit, downtown austin

Jude Galligan | March 2, 2013 | 1 Comment

Hotel Van Zandt To Begin Construction This Summer #foolmetwice

If you’ve been around downtown Austin since 2006, you’ve been hearing about the Hotel Van Zandt. It was a sister development to the Shore Condos, sharing the northern end of the site. Hotel Van Zandt was initially planned to be a $100 million, 29-story hotel and condo tower. The scope has been reduced to 16 stories and will include just the hotel component.

“Greg Clay, chief investment officer for JMI Realty, which is developing the Hotel Van Zandt, said his company has applied for building permits and expects to break ground by June on the 16-story, 327-room hotel. It which will be operated by Kimpton Hotels, a San Francisco company, which specializes in chic boutique hotels.

Though JMI has owned the site at Red River and Davis streets since 2006, the project had been stalled by the recession and other factors, but now it’s back on track.” – Austin Business Journal

I’m eager to see this hotel built. We’ve heard this story before, though I’ve heard enough scuttlebutt this time to be optimistic we really will see dirt start turning.

-Jude

[above rendering by WDG Architecture]

hotel-van-zandt-site

Filed Under: austin news, downtown austin, Rainey Street District, Real Estate

Jude Galligan | March 2, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Remainder of Austonian Block Sold

The remainder of the downtown block surrounding the Austonian has been purchased from the Nalle family by World Class Capital Group. There are no immediate plans for the site.

“The site that was purchased — about 1.3 acres — is bounded by Congress Avenue and Second, Third and Colorado streets. It includes a surface parking lot along with the land and building that house the Austin Children’s Museum, which will be relocating to the Mueller development in Northeast Austin, and Compass Learning.” – Statesman

WCCG has acquired several premiere downtown sites over the past couple of years, including Katz Deli, Spaghetti Warehouse, and the warehouse at 97 Trinity (across Cesar Chavez from the Convention Center).

Filed Under: austin news, Congress Avenue District, downtown austin, Real Estate

amber gugino | February 11, 2013 | 1 Comment

FLOR coming to Downtown Austin’s 2nd Street District March 7, 2013.

Looks like FLOR will be opening in downtown Austin’s 2nd Street District (209 W 2nd to be exact, where Mercury Design Studio was – they’ve now moved 2 doors down).

They’ll be opening a day before SXSW 2013 starts, just in time for the crazy crowds. We suspect they’ll do well in the area with DWR and Mercury Design Studio nearby – as well as several high-end downtown austin condos and apartment buildings, and look forward to doing a little shopping there ourselves.