Archives for 2008

Historic Downtown Austin property for sale

Jude Galligan | December 1, 2008 |

by jude galligan

downtown austin 107 w 6th 78701 — 107 W 6th St Austin, TX 78701

To the chagrin of everyone who lives, works, and drives through Downtown Austin, the former office of the Texas Comptroller has owned, occupied, vacated, and allowed to rot, this remarkable piece of real estate. I can’t imagine how many thousands of people have attempted to peer through the windows that were covered from the inside with thick construction paper. From the outside, the building always had a cool mid-century modern design. Located at the corner of 6th and Colorado, and not burdened with a Capitol View Corridor, I expect this building to get the attention of some big developers. The listing gives it an address of 107 w 6th, 78701. Traviscad has no address for it other than “W 6th”.

downtown austin real estate 107 w 6th 78701 — H E B at corner of 6th and Colorado

Downtown Austin Condos: Build or bust? Fact or editorial disguised as fact?

Jude Galligan | November 28, 2008 |

by jude galligan

does the statesman use dirty headline tactics? — "At last?"

The Austin American Statesman is one of two local papers (the other being the Chronicle) that reach Austin’s masses. These newspapers set the agenda and guide the discussion on topics of their choosing. The words printed on the pages of the Statesman, Austin’s most widely read newspaper, have the power to affect the home values and lives of thousands of Austinites. With that power comes responsibility.

Wednesday morning I picked up a Statesman at Jos Coffee and in big bold black letters “Condos caught by crisis at last”, “Breakneck rate on sales of units, construction slows as credit and capital dry up”.

Curiously, neither of those dramatic headlines exist in the online version of the article. In the print edition, immediately to the left, in much smaller font, was the news – the government is injecting $800MM to expand the credit markets.

Shonda Novak is a staff writer at the Statesman and wrote the above article. Shonda has been reporting on Austin real estate for years. If Shonda writes that the sky is falling on Austin real estate, then 100k+ Austin readers look at their spouse and say “Hon, did you see that article in today’s paper about Downtown condos? I’m telling you, Babe, those developers will never sell all those condos! Just wait and they’ll be selling them at twenty cents on the dollar!”

I read and re-read the article. Seeing the print edition headline, I expected catastrophe. Instead, I found nothing at all particularly newsworthy.

Is it possible that the Statesman’s headline was overly sensational?

Taking a similar approach to how I dissected this article, after the jump, I’ve cut/pasted a handful of quotes from the article, and then I explain if that quote is, generally speaking, true, false, or if the quotes are generalizations or simply editorial in nature.

Downtown Austin By The Numbers: How many hotel rooms?

Jude Galligan | November 25, 2008 |

by jude galligan

If you’ve ever had family visit on a weekend when there was a UT home game, then you’ve likely seen downtown Austin hotel rates jump to over $400 per night. Central Austin is notorious for having insufficient hotel space. I’ve taken a non-scientific, yet hopefully rigorous approach – I called every hotel in downtown Austin and simply asked “How many hotel rooms do you have?”

The answer is after the jump!

SOLD! Plaza Lofts #1207

Jude Galligan | November 24, 2008 |

311 w 5th st, austin, tx 78701
list price: $320,000
sale price: $315,000
sf: 1,199
photos

Downtown Austin's Entertainment District: Observations part 3 of 3

Jude Galligan | November 23, 2008 |

Downtown Austin Entertainment District Still Has Room For Improvement – Part 1 of 3
Night time observations on the Entertainment District: Part 2 of 3

The effort to revitalize the Entertainment District is about recognizing problems and offering solutions. It is about a higher and better use of Austin’s historic landmarks. It’s about preventing decay. It’s about offering an array of services to the people who use the Entertainment District everyday. Adding more day time services is not a slippery slope to J Crews and Baby Gaps! This is about making the Entertainment District safe for everyone. This is about visitors leaving Austin with a more positive experience.

Flickr slideshow of day time photos

one of Austins historic landmarked buildings with a plywood sign (???) — one of Austin's landmarked buildings adorned with a plywood sign (???)

Day time tour
Saturday, November 22nd (11am-1pm)

Where is everybody?
Narrow sidewalks, empty parking
“No, I don’t have a cigarette you can bum”
“No, I’m not giving you change”
A sandwich on the sidewalk
Broken glass
An empty Austin Visitors Bureau with a broken neon sign
Landmarked buildings that look abused and neglected
“Couldn’t they at least paint those doors?”
Landmark plaques next to broken windows
An ATM that someone had tried to rob
Jail-style bars on doors and windows
Awnings torn, tattered, and covered in dirt
Too much chain link fence
ATMs are everywhere
A pay phone booth without a pay phone
Waller Creek is shamefully littered
There is 17,000 square feet of unused retail space at 5th & Sabine.

Towards the end of Saturday’s day time tour, Marshall Jones (President of DANA) and I were standing on the northeast corner of 6th and Brazos sharing observations. We see a guy across the street. He’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt, picking up litter on the street, and putting it in the trash. Turns out this was John Erwin, owner of B.D. Rileys Pub. John had no idea that Marshall and I were watching him do this. We caught up with him and chatted for a few minutes. What I like about John, and people like John, is that he is proactive and doing right by our community. Kudos, John!