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Dahmus Has Insight Into Noise Complaints

by | March 18, 2009 |2 Comments

“OMG! All these people moving downtown are complaining about live music!” crap.

According to M1EK, “the people pushing for the extra restrictions on live music outdoors are NOT the people downtown.”  Rather, it is the zealous Austin Neighborhood Council groupies.   The problem is how this plays out in the media (Jeff Ward) as it is currently en vogue to scorn downtown Austin residents.  They are exploiting a good media spin, and are using, as M1EK puts it, “downtown residents as cover – most people living downtown view music as an amenity, not a problem.”

My building is roughly 100ft from Sixth Street.  Venue noise is not a problem.  Now, if you can get the ambulances and fire trucks to go easy on the siren, that would be nice!

Link

Filed Under: downtown austin, entertainment district, rumors, gossip

Ashton Austin – Buzz

by | March 16, 2009 |5 Comments

Pricing for the downtown Austin apartment building, the Ashton Austin, is available – Jude Galligan, 512-226-3414, judegalligan [@] gmail.com

Click here for complete Ashton Austin coverage.

Ashton Austin - Cesar Chavez @ Colorado

Ashton Austin - Cesar Chavez @ Colorado

People are wondering when the Ashton (formerly “Alta Vida”) will be ready for move in.  Hanover’s 259 unit building has been an informational black hole.  No pricing, no floor plans, no launch date.  Nada.  The lack of information keeps us intrigued!

I spoke with a contact at Hanover this morning and was able to dig up a few juicy facts.

1) There will be five penthouse units ranging from 2,527/ft – 3,218/ft
2) No three bedroom units (except for two of the five penthouses)
3) The largest suite is a 2/2.5 + study at 2,200/ft
4) At 880/ft, not including a balcony, the smallest one-bedroom is relatively large
5) Pricing has not been finalized but is expected to be at par with AMLI on 2nd
6) Level seven will feature an amenity deck (pool, fitness, lounge, etc)
7) There are three 1,550/ft live/work units (2bds/1.5ba) on the first floor featuring a garage and access from the ground level

Move in is planned for May 1st! So, we should see pricing and floor plans within 2-3 weeks.  If you want to see what the finishes will resemble check out 7riverway.com

-Jude

Filed Under: austin apartments, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate, rumors, gossip

Downtown Austin condos: do the math

by | February 24, 2009 |5 Comments

transparency: Urbanspace Realtors is my broker.

The math

The math of Downtown Austin condos

OK.  We did the math.  With the assistance of Kevin Burns, broker and CEO of Urbanspace Realtors, below is DAB’s analysis of the inventory of condos in Downtown Austin.

776 residences were delivered in 2008
670 +/- units have sold
106 unit surplus.

This is a net absorption of over 600 units in one year.  The 360 Condominiums has only 2 units left.

789+/- units under construction in downtown Austin
+/- 350 of the 789 units are under contract

545 +/- units remain in downtown through at least 2013.

There are no projects coming online that are not already under construction. It takes 2-3 years to build a project and it is unlikely a developer will get construction financing for another 12-18 months.

To put things in perspective, Miami area is delivering approximately 60,000 high rise condominiums during this development cycle.  Miami MSA is approximately 2,387,000 people. That is a ratio of 1 condo for every 40 Miami MSA residents.

The Austin area is delivering approximately 1565 high rise condominiums during this development cycle. Austin MSA is approximately 1,600,000 people… that is a ratio of 1 new condo downtown for every 1,022 Austin MSA residents.  A single project in downtown Miami is larger than the entire number of units being delivered in downtown Austin over a 6 year period!

Filed Under: data, statistics, development, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate, rumors, gossip, sold, urban planning

Proposed Federal Court House Discussion

by | February 22, 2009 |Leave a Comment

Over at Austin Contrarian we can find some interesting thoughts on the [poor] location of the proposed Federal Court House. Specifically, I give it up to Miggy for this simple, yet significant, observation:

“Taking a one-block by one-block square of valuable downtown land largely unencumbered by the capital view corridors off the tax rolls permanently doesn’t help Austin at all. This is where density should be targeted and this building is far from helping that goal. Also to say that the bunker-on-three-sides structure is pedestrian unfriendly would be an understatement.”

Also, Miggy brings up another concern about moving the post office to Red River.

“On a final note – the moving of the Post Office to over near Club de Ville and Red River makes no sense to me either. How many office workers will find that location convenient? And how will that dead retail streetfront (or worse-yet – similar suburban parking lot and drive-thru) help the still nascent Red River entertainment district which is already threatened by any number of other forces. I don’t know what the reasoning was but just based on my surface knowledge – they should have kept in the bottom of the Ovation building as planned.”

Andrews Urban and the Post Office own the block of land across from Stubbs. The post office was going to move there in order for Andrews Urban/Novare to build Ovation where the current post office is located. IMHO, Ovation has ZERO chance of being built within the next five years, so hopefully Miggy’s point is moot.

Filed Under: buildings, development, Real Estate, rumors, gossip, urban planning

Four Seasons update from developer

by | February 19, 2009 |2 Comments

Just received this update from the Four Seasons Residences.  It pretty much confirms what I’ve been saying about the strength of the downtown Austin condo market – the sky is not falling.

“As we enter 2009, Four Seasons Residences Austin is nearly 50% sold. Understandably, the last quarter of 2008 was slow, but sales activity in 2009 has picked up considerably. In the last week we signed a new contract for a 2,700 square foot residence and have a number of additional contracts in process.”
…
“Figures for the condominium market in downtown Austin are very encouraging. Of the 800 units delivered in 2008, over 90% have already closed. Furthermore, several planned projects have been put on indefinite hold due to a lack of financing which will reduce the amount of future supply for years to come.”

Filed Under: development, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate, rumors, gossip

Today's Downtown Austin link roundup

by | February 12, 2009 |1 Comment

Photo by KevinFromTexas @ skyscraperpage

Photo by KevinFromTexas @ skyscraperpage

Loft Decor consolidates its retail at the Domain (link)

W-Hotel goes after back up financing (link)

CapMetro working to quiet railroad crossings on it’s 32 mile commuter rail (link)

Urban Transportation Commission Adopts Recommendations for Downtown Austin Plan (link)

Governor’s mansion is one of Texas’s most endangered historic places (link)

DJ Spooky @ Alamo and Mohawk

Filed Under: austin transit, development, downtown austin, entertainment district, history, retail, rumors, gossip
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