downtown Austin's neighborhood and real estate blog
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.
The little 100 block of San Jacinto has seen a little turn-over recently. Hank’s Garage, which had been vacant for some time, was recently taken over by a concept called El Ceviche Grill, and the bar that was Skinny’s Ballroom – which closed not too long ago (and we here at DAB were pretty sad, we had been rooting for them) – has a new concept coming in called Brass House (website looks to be in progress).
I’ve been surprised at the lack of success at some of the places in the general area, considering the hotel & convention traffic coupled with nearby high-rises such as The Four Season’s Residences, The Austonian, and the Rainey Trio of The Shore Condos, The Milago, and Towers of Town Lake. Perhaps sky-high rent and massive competition have been too much for many of these small operators.
Either way, I’m intrigued by Brass House. Describing itself on its Facebook page as a Jazz House, Wine Bar, and Gastropub concept, the finish-out looks in keeping with catering to a higher-end clientele and they are touting that food such as “Dolmas, hummus, pickles, paninis, salads, charcuterie boards” will be “All made from scratch in house or bought from a local family owned source….”.
Here’s a picture of some of the decor that captures the general vibe of the place.
Brass House is supposed to open this Friday, February 8, at 4pm. I’ll likely walk by to check it out and I’ll be sure to update this post with my thoughts!
One of the things that always seemed curious to me is how and why Capital Metro (@CapMetroATX) occupied prime square footage on a heavily trafficked part of Congress Avenue, next to Annie’s. For many years, Cap Metro occupied the first and third floor of this three-story building.
Well its lease expires this coming April, and it seems the landlord is raising the rent. As a result, Capital Metro is moving into 209 W 9th Street (southwest corner of Colorado and 9th), which is owned by Harry Whittington. There, the transit agency is signing a 5-year $3.3 million lease on 18,800 square feet. This will allow the consolidation of two call centers – one currently housed at the 323 Congress Ave.
For years, the good energy of clear windows (“fenestration” for my fellow wonks) and ambience of Annie’s seemed to kind of get sucked way by the dark, looming, uninviting storefront of Capital Metro next door.
So what’s next for 323 Congress?
The entire building is 21,900 square feet, and features open floor layouts, ample lighting and excellent visibility to Congress Ave. According to this undated flyer from Weitzman, it appears to be listed for sale ”between $2.5 million and $7.3 million.” Or, it could be for lease $24-36/ft/yr by Cielo Realty Partners, as it’s shown on Loopnet.
I’ll be surprised if this languishes too long. Office vacancies downtown have recently fallen below 12%, according to this Dec. 11 Austin Tenant Advisors press release, which compares well to other major cities such as Atlanta which reports a 24% vacancy rate. Average lease rates for all classes are averaging around $30/square in the downtown area while landlords of Class A office properties are quoting $38/square foot, or higher.
This, in part, is being driven by a number of web/computing-based companies setting up shop downtown, which is about as a good of a thing as a city could ever hope would happen to its downtown office space. We can expect a higher and better use of our ground level retail, however.
FYI urban transit commuter: The transit store, where folks pick up passes, pocket maps and the lost & found, is also moving to the new location on 9th Street.
Probably not the most urgent of news, but I got really excited about it none-the-less.
The pharmacy at CVS on 5th street, the only pharmacy in downtown Austin proper (the now closed Live Oak Pharmacy used to the closest next best thing), is now, finally, open on weekends!
For those living in downtown Austin condos like the Austonian or the Brazos Lofts, especially…your prescription filling life just got a lot easier.
And, just to be clear, this is NOT a plug for CVS, simply a plug for convenience.
I already live, work, and play in downtown Austin, which means that I know a lot about this area. However, one element that I’m not really that familiar with is the hotels in downtown Austin.
Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a complimentary stay at the Omni downtown. I decided to take advantage of the free stay and do a mini stay-cation with a couple of fun girlfriends. I figured this would be a different way to get to know the city, and have [Read more...]
This past Sunday, I had the best manicure / pedicure that I’ve ever had. I had the service at Hiatus Spa + Retreat, a spa concept headquartered in Dallas, but with a location on the ground floor of the Gables on West 5th – just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from Downtown Austin.
The whole experience there is top-notch from beginning to end, actually – but the actual service is just different enough from the other places that I think it deserves to be called the best.
There are two things that make it different than any other manicure / pedicure I’ve every had. The first thing is [Read more...]
Oh, Glee. I sometimes enjoy you, but often I am overcome with shame for watching you. But, last week – you actually accomplished something useful. Because of you, Glee, I finally recycled my big ol’ bag o’ batteries.
Okay, let me explain. See, up until last week, I had been keeping this huge Ziploc bag stuffed with used up AA batteries under my kitchen sink. I didn’t know where to take them and I always seemed to forget to Google a nearby location. So, the bag o’ batteries just kept getting bigger.
And then I started seeing this Glee PSA about recycling batteries. Over. And over. And over again. [Read more...]
A unique boutique is opening its second location on May 10th, 2012, right across the street from The W Hotel and Residences on Lavaca (the first location is in The Arboretum, and opened in 2009) in Downtown Austin. No, it’s not another fancy dress store or whimsical gift shop. This time, it’s a niche [Read more...]
We wrote about the changing face of the Railyard district not too long ago, and one of the new establishment mentioned was Wanderlust, a new Yoga Studio and Live Music Venue that’s opening soon on the northeast corner of 4th and Brazos.
Well, we’ve recently learned a bit more about the concept and wanted to share…..
So a short summary of the back-story – apparently, Austin locals Ashley Spence Clauer and Joanna Kutchey were so inspired by the Wanderlust Festival, that they decided to bring it to Austin!
And here are some excerpts from a press release sent by their marketing department directly to our office:
Located in a revamped historic warehouse in the heart of the entertainment district of downtown Austin, Wanderlust LIVE’s impeccably designed space is not your average yoga studio. Featuring two studios—one for regular classes and one with a built in stage and top of the line sound and lights—the 6,000 square foot Wanderlust LIVE will offer Austinites a new place to rock out, consciously.
……
Truly bringing the festival experience home, Wanderlust LIVE will feature organic eats by Austin’s Blenders and Bowls—serving healthy and delicious organic acai bowls, natural fruit smoothies, coffee, tea and more. The studio’s outdoor patio seating will provide ample space to eat, relax after class or sip a beverage at Wanderlust happy hour. At all live music and other special nighttime events, attendees also may enjoy organic beer and hand picked biodynamic wines. And inside, the Wanderlust LIVE Boutique will offer specialty yoga gear and apparel.
It looks like this place is going to have a few uses – retail, restaurant / bar, live music venue, and yoga studio. What’s not to love? And, they’ll be hosting an open house on April 13th, the Friday before they open to the public.
I know that I’m getting a little excited about it after reading about it – and will definitely want to check it out!
More tenant changes are on tap in the shadow of the Capitol on on Congress Avenue.
Middle Eastern restaurant Marakesh Cafe & Grill, at 9th and Congress, closed its doors and has a sign indicating its looking for a new location, but its fate is questionable.
Contact Jude Galligan, REALTOR, Broker and publisher of Downtown Austin Blog (aka. "DAB"), spends his time matching remarkable people with remarkable properties in Austin’s urban core.
A long time downtown Austin resident and business owner, Jude serves on the Board of the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) and the City of Austin Downtown Commission.
 Jude Galligan |  amber gugino |  Fred Schmidt |  @JacobDirr |
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