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Archives for August 2009

Riding With Walt

Jude Galligan | August 31, 2009 |

Last week, we met up with Walt Tashnick at Third Base to watch Talladega Nights.  Walt is a rare breed: an OWANA and DANA member.  Over [more than] a couple of beers we got to talking about my trip to Montreal a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve been interested in buying bikes for us ever since returning from Montreal and experiencing a world-class bicycle sharing system called Bixi.  The unisex design of the Bixi bike is apparently quite unique and not something available directly to consumers.  I wanted something similar: a cruiser with gears, to be used for recreation rather than as a serious mode of transportation.

Bixi is a world-class shared bicycle system and something Id love to see in Austin
Bixi is a world-class shared bicycle system and something I’d love to see in Austin

Walt is an avid cyclist and generously invited us on a ride, wisely suggesting we should try his bikes to get a sense for what geometry works, or wouldn’t work best.   He promised we wouldn’t get too bored and that we should plan to stop for breakfast along the way – a well timed statement to keep my short attention span at ease :-).  It would be a casual ride where we could trade stories or inquiries about the properties and land surrounding the trail.

We arrived at Walt’s condo on Castle Hill and 12th at 8:30am, just as he was unloading the bikes from the garage.  To put a finer point on our experience level:  My girlfriend hadn’t ridden a bike in 15 years.  She had never ridden a bike with gears!  I on the other hand grew up riding Haros with pegs and gyros, when standing on the handlebars or doing tailwhips in some random parking lot was serious kid business.  Then I got my license and forgot about that ‘kid’ stuff.

Onward to Pease Park where we hopped on to the Shoal Creek trail.  We rode up to 3rd Street and continued to the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail.  As we rode past the Four Seasons and approached the Boat House I made a point to stop and share the unfortunate fact that the Austin Rowing Club has never paid the city a dime for the use of that facility, yet the Texas Rowing Center which is located down the river generates $750,000 per year for the city as a concessionaire.

We continued on past Milago enjoying the presence of other Austinites on the trail.  The crowd begins to really thin out as you’re heading east under I-35.  We continued on this part of the trail that I had never really explored.  I’m glad I finally did.  The trail east of I-35 is arguably the most serene park in all of Austin.  Stunning.

Along this part of the ride we stopped to take notice of the “For The Love Of Christi” memorial.  Walt shared his story about losing his wife, Marcia G. Tashnick, to cancer.  This is a subject that has recently been significant to other friends of ours and worth noting here.

For The Love Of Christi
For The Love Of Christi Memorial

We decided to grab breakfast at Cafe Mundi and circled back via Robert Martinez through the Holly district.  Cafe Mundi is one of those places I just don’t think about very often when wanting a good breakfast.  I’m glad Walt suggested it.  I suggested a couple of other coffee shops we enjoy and Walt’s response to those places was funnily “too antiseptic”.  He had a point.  Cafe Mundi was zen on a Sunday morning.

The ride back was exhausting, particularly after a large waffle breakfast, but there were some interesting moments along the way.  We took a more direct route back to Walt’s place, going down Congress through the front lawn of the Capitol to Guadalupe to 12th.  While we had primarily focused on trails on the first leg of our trip, it was neat to do a little “city” riding.  Keeping an alert eye on traffic while bicycling down a busy road will certainly get your senses piqued.  It made us realize the luxury (although some might call it a necessity) that a bike lane provides, not only for motorists, but for bicyclists as well.

I ended up making the same cavalier decisions while riding my bike that I usually curse other cyclists for.  Go figure, but the forthcoming “3 foot rule” should keep cyclists safer.

By the time we made it back to our vehicle, we were tired, but content.  We had gotten to see downtown Austin (and some surrounding areas) from a slightly different perspective, while enjoying good company.  Looking forward to more rides like this!

-Jude

Filed Under: downtown austin Tagged With: austin bicycles, bixi

Austin Historic Postcards

Jude Galligan | August 31, 2009 |

Historic view of Capitol from south bank of rive
Historic view of Capitol from south bank of river

Over at SkyscraperPage, an outstanding new thread is forming to share old postcards of Austin.  Check it out!

-Jude

Filed Under: downtown austin

Fun Fun Fun Fest @ Waterloo Park

Jude Galligan | August 27, 2009 |

Click to visit FunFunFunFest.com
Click to visit FunFunFunFest.com

I was sold on Pharcyde, and now I learn GZA will be performing the Liquid Swords album.

It’s like 1995 all over again.

I’m in.

November 7-8 @ Waterlook Park.

FunFunFunFest (via Austinist.)

Filed Under: downtown austin

Austin Java and RunTex Working To Reduce Rent At City Hall

Jude Galligan | August 26, 2009 |

2nd Street can be expensive for not just consumers but also retailers that pay expensive leases.   The ABJ is reporting that Austin Java and RunTex are working with the City of Austin to restructure their leases in order to help weather the economic storm.

From the article:

“The city said discussions with Second Street District leasing agents suggest that other retailers are also feeling the pinch of declining sales. According to the city, landlords are having to renegotiate leases and make temporary rent adjustments to help shops avoid closing down.”

Landlords, including the City of Austin, must be willing to renegotiate with retailers to avoid increasing vacancies becoming endemic to 2nd Street District.  City council will discuss the issue this Thursday.

Filed Under: downtown austin Tagged With: 2nd street, second street

A Sabine Condos Auction?

Jude Galligan | August 26, 2009 |

UPDATE 01/05/2010: The Sabine auction has been confirmed.

UPDATE 02/28/2010: The Sabine auction results!


[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBi6pVJR7m0]

This should be interesting…

In a conversation with a credible source I learned that CWS, the developer of the Sabine condos in downtown Austin, is on an almost certain trajectory to place the remaining units at the Sabine condos up for auction.

Information is a little spotty, but 20-25 undetermined units could be auctioned off in mid-October, just in time for buyers to qualify for the $8,000 first-time home buyers tax credit. The remaining units would be sold in the open market.

In February, a group of owners filed a lawsuit against the Sabine HOA, controlled by CWS, which has prevented any units from being sold since then.

This would be the second downtown Austin auction, the first being Brazos Place.

Updates will soon be forthcoming. 🙂

-Jude

p.s. As a current resident/owner, and former listing agent for the Sabine, I have a personal interest in this story. Investors and buyers desiring original pricing, unit availability, and insights into the building and specific units to pursue/avoid should contact me directly – judegalligan [@] gmail.com

Filed Under: austin condo auction, downtown austin, Real Estate, rumors, gossip Tagged With: austin condo auction, sabine auction, sabine condos

Talladega Nights Showing At Third Base Downtown Tomorrow

Jude Galligan | August 24, 2009 |

Talladega Nights Showing @ Third Base Downtown
Talladega Nights Showing @ Third Base Downtown

I’m really excited about watching Talladega Nights at Third Base tomorrow – Tuesday @ 8pm.  Talladega Nights competes with Anchorman for my all-time favorite Will Ferrell flick.

This is part of Third Base’s ‘Steak & Movie Night’ on the patio @ 6th St. every Tuesday.  I’ll be all jacked up on Mountain Dew.

-Jude

Filed Under: downtown austin

Rainey Street: Right Place Right Time

Jude Galligan | August 24, 2009 |

The Statesman gets the details on the evolving Rainey Street district. As DAB reported on Lustre Pearl and Clive Bar, Lustre Pearl sets just the right tone for the unique tree lined street with CBD zoned bungalow homes. The opportunity on Rainey Street is for more diverse uses including restaurants and coffee shops that leverage the charm of the street. This make sense in a down real estate market. There is little likelihood of any major building taking advantage of the CBD zoning within the next five years. Now, property owners have incentive to lease the properties to entrepreneurs like Bridget Dunlap who will rehab the existing structure and make the neighborhood more desirable.

I’m most looking forward to “96” – “In October, Dunlap plans to open 96, as in 96 Rainey St., across the street from Lustre Pearl in another 1907 house. It will serve beer, wine, coffee, pizza and other items.”

-Jude

Filed Under: downtown austin, Rainey Street District Tagged With: clive bar, lustre pearl, rainey street

Sage Condos Auction Results

Jude Galligan | August 22, 2009 |

[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFzLSalIMN4]

[non-downtown related news, but should be of interest to most DAB readers]

The remaining 23 units at the Sage Condos, located on 1702 S. Lamar, were auctioned off today. JP. King was the auctioneer of the “highest bidder’s choice” style auction where the winning bidder could choose to purchase any unit for the amount of the winning bid. The video above is of the first auction.

Including the 10% buyers premium, the average winning bid was $131 per foot, and prices ranged from $151,250-253,000.

I estimate 300 people were in attendance, perhaps 1/3 of those were registered bidders, the other 2/3 being spouses, friends & family, etc. Though originally slated for only 10 absolute auctions, the developer was on-site and confirmed all but five of the winning bids. The units were offered “as-is.” The bidding interest favored the units with downtown Austin views.

PDF of winning bids

-Jude

p.s. you’ll notice the video is labeled austincondoauction.com. That will soon become the repository for all the auction results and discussion – as soon as I work the bugs out 🙂

Filed Under: austin condo auction, downtown austin Tagged With: austin condo auction, sage auction, sage condo auction, sage condos

Green Water Treatment Plant – Relocation of Live Oak Tree

Jude Galligan | August 22, 2009 |

From Cynthia Jordan with City of Austin Public Works…

“I thought you all might find the attached photographs interesting. As part of the deconstruction portion of the project, the City agreed to relocate a 21” diameter Live Oak tree to Town Lake Park. This relocation took place this morning. The attached photos show the tree being moved to the park. Thank you Butch for sharing these photographs with us. Enjoy!”

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Filed Under: downtown austin

What Will Replace American Youth Works?

Jude Galligan | August 22, 2009 |

Thanks to a tip from Michael and then confirmed yesterday when I saw the doors and windows boarded up, Downtown Austin Blog has learned that American Youth Works has moved out of its warehouse loft space on E 4th.

The building is owned by Austin Charter Schools Inc.  I haven’t read anything suggesting that AYW was preparing for a move, so this wasn’t on my radar.   Please leave any info you have in the comments.

Filed Under: buildings, downtown austin, office, Real Estate, rumors, gossip

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