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Archives for February 2010

Sabine On Fifth Auction Results

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UPDATE: As of 3/24/10 there are five units remaining at the Sabine.  Send me a message for availability.

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

In a packed house, over 200 registered bidders showed up for the auction of 31 units at the Sabine on Fifth condos.  31 29 buyers walked away very happy, as this was believed to be the last great buying opportunity for attainably priced downtown Austin new construction.  Where 27 units were originally intended to be auctioned, earlier in the week CWS (developer) decided to include three more, then in the final minutes of the auction they included another 1bd.

The building has 80 units total.  Once the 31 auction units close, there will be 13 new construction units remaining.  These will be sold through traditional channels.  36 units closed before the now settled lawsuit was filed in February of 2009.  During 2009, the 44 remaining units were taken off of the market due to litigation.  This auction marked the “re-debut” of the Sabine.

# of units offered = 31 (29 bids accepted as of 4pm Sunday)
Avg winning bid (inc. 4% prem.) = $228psf
Avg original asking price = $326psf
Avg discount from asking price = 30%

You’ll recall that the Brazos Place auction fetched an average of $281psf, and that was an avg 29% discount from original asking price.

-Jude

The Shore Condos Battle Developer AND Villas On Town Lake

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The rumble on Rainey Street… it’s a clash of the condos!

Like most condominiums, The Shore Condos are controlled by its home owners association (HOA).  Like several condominiums in downtown Austin, The Shore Condos are actually a sub-association of a more senior association.  In this case, The Shore Condos are the “residential unit” and one half of a master association called the Waterfront Master Condominium Association, Inc.   The other half is a “hotel unit” – ostensibly setup as the place holder for the Hotel Van Zandt (and may still be).

In 2005 High Street Rainey, LP purchased Lot 1, Red River Addition, from Sack Family Holding, Ltd (the “Waterfront Property”).  In 2006 High Street Rainey, LP created the Waterfront Master Condominium Association, Inc.  Prior to that, when the Villas On Town Lake’s land was originally deeded, the seller withheld a 50 x 50 right-of-way easement where Red River meets Davis St in order to provide access to the south of Davis Street in perpetuity.

In 2007 High Street Rainey LP + JMIR-Austin Hotel, LP + The Waterfront Master Condominium Association, Inc. sued the Villas On Town Lake Owners Association, Inc for encroaching on that easement.  Note that at this point in the story, the “residential unit”, aka the Shore Condominium HOA is not named in the lawsuit.  In fact, the “residential unit” wouldn’t learn about this lawsuit until recently.

As best as we can figure out, the Villas decided this easement could be used to locate a dumpster.  The developer of The Shore, who by right also has use of the 50 x 50 easement, removed the dumpster and the parties sued each other.  In 2008 the parties reach a written settlement agreement, but for reasons unknown this agreement wasn’t actually executed.  Earlier this month, the Villas filed a motion to enforce that settlement agreement.

Not so fast.

[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZPRf8qL8h0]

The Shore Condominium HOA (“residential unit”) legally intervened by filing an objection to the Villas motion to enforce the settlement agreement, on the grounds that any settlement agreement would bind The Shore Condominium HOA to something they weren’t a party to.  So, the Shore HOA wants to put the kibosh on a settlement agreement that could adversely affect their interests.

B-b-b-but wait it gets worse!

The Shore Condos seem to be unclear about how, or if, they are would be bound by the settlement agreement.  The Shore Condominium HOA asserts in a legal filing that:

The Shore Association is not clear on how such terms [re: the settlement agreement] would impact its’ members regarding the easement contemplated.

To the best of our knowledge this is a Mexican standoff.  Since the original parties sued each other, it’s unlikely they will both simultaneously drop all of their claims.  The judge is unlikely to enforce a settlement agreement that would bind a party that was not originally part of that agreement.

Friggin’ dumpsters.

Downtown Austin Parks Becoming Enjoyable!

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What’s going on here?  It looks like normal everyday Austinites are sitting, relaxing, enjoying a coffee at Republic Square Park in downtown Austin.  Let’s hope this is a sign that our tax- and privately-funded parks will cease to be the exclusive domain of vagrancy.

City Will Use Eminent Domain To Acquire Important Waller Creek Land

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Back in November we reported on the City’s interest in an assemblage of lots at E 5th and Frontage Road.  Earlier this week, the ABJ reported the City approved the use of eminent domain should it be needed.  The land is required for staging the construction of the Waller Creek Tunnel.  This morning, according to the Statesman, the City decided to actually use its power to force the purchase of these “four lots along East Fifth Street for $928,416 for a flood-control tunnel project along Waller Creek.”

Downtown Austin Link Roundup

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1) Bridge over troubled water

OK, not really troubled water, but I couldn’t resist a title so apropos for a city that likes to bitch and moan about growth, yet doesn’t make the hard decisions necessary to steer growth and prefers to react to it, (breath) imagine the hostility we’re going to see for this bridge.  One look at the notoriously poorly moderated comment sections of the Statesman’s online posts (seriously, take a look to feel less good about humanity) is all you need to run far, far away from the headaches of local public policy making and sound urban planning.

2) Rainey Street getting smart about traffic

Last week’s commentary by a Milago resident about the perils of walking in the Rainey Street district has spurred the City into action.  “Those people” move into the district and now they want to change it with crazy things like sidewalks.  Less than 48 hours after this video editorial aired, there were pneumatic traffic counters straddling the district’s streets recording passing cars, and adolescent kids (primarily DAB readers/writers) jumping on them.

3) Oh, hi!  Ummm… We’ll be needing your land.  KTHXBAI

City approves the use of eminent domain, should it be necessary, to get control over an important piece of land for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project.  For decades this assemblage of lots that front I-35 has been a surface level parking lot.  For the next 4-5 years it will be a staging area for creek diggin’.

Operation Reclaim Waller Creek

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Photo of volunteers from December's Waller Creek clean up. Yours truly on the far left.

Just received this note from Carolyn Perez with the City of Austin, “In 2008 APD, together with the Watershed Protection and Parks Departments, launched an initiative to clean up the creek and enforce ordinances, including those related to vagrancy.”

Operation Reclaim Waller Creek helps clear urban waterway

The City of Austin will launch next week the next phase of Operation Reclaim Waller Creek, an initiative to improve the safety and environmental conditions along this urban waterway.

Austin Police officers, along with crews from Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation will be focused on cleaning up the ¼-mile stretch of the creek from Cesar Chavez Street to Lady Bird Lake. Previous efforts have cleared areas upstream.

Work will include:

  • Cutting overgrowth in and along the creek.
  • Removing graffiti.
  • Picking up trash and debris.
  • Concentrated enforcement of City ordinances.

“This operation will help improve the quality of life for those who work, live and visit the downtown area,” said APD Officer Jason Huskins, Downtown Area District Representative.  “We have had issues with illicit activity along this portion of the creek.  This cleanup will allow us to have better access to the area and better means to protect our community and the environment.”

Downtown Austin Community Court will assign persons needing to fulfill community service requirements to help with the cleanup.

This month-long operation will help prepare for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, which will alleviate flooding and reduce the amount of debris in the creek. Construction on the project is due to begin later this year in the area targeted by this phase of Operation Reclaim Waller Creek.

Will The Austin Planetarium’s Stars Shine Over Downtown Austin?

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austin planitariumOne of my favorite podcasts is Astronomy Cast, because… well, I’m a geek for science, especially physics and astronomy.

So, I was very excited to learn that Torvald Hessel, executive director, and his colleague Dr. Ron Johns with the Austin Planetarium would be visiting with the DANA board last night to discuss the future of this $60MM planetarium in downtown Austin.  Lest you believe this is just a wacky idea, they’ve got some heavies involved including local Cosmonaut, Richard Garriott and Astronaut Rick Linnehan.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U]

Austin is the largest city without a planetarium, or a full-dome theater with projection against the ceiling (not to be confused with an observatory which is a telescope at a remote location).  Of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., Austin is the only city without a planetarium of any kind.

Planetariums boost tourism and tax revenue, and are a family oriented destination for city residents and visitors. Studies suggest that planetariums increase interest in sciences as a career – a big concern for our government – and facilitates worker retention, especially in the high tech industry.  In other words, “Nerds like to do nerdy things.” says Hessel.

The facility would include:
-planetarium
-science museum
-technology center, a showcase for locally developed technologies.

The venue under consideration would be 115,000sf and located on the Southeast corner of Congress and MLK.  This site is currently a surface level parking lot owned by the State of Texas.  The planetarium is seeking a long term lease and would include three stories of underground parking that the State could still use.

Can you see a [real] “Museum District” in the making?  I can.  With the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum ($80MM) to the west and the Blanton Museum of Art ($85MM) to the north, the addition of another exhibiting destination like an Austin Planetarium ($60MM estimate) should generate increased traffic to all three.  See economies of agglomeration (or locally by Chris Bradford who introduced me to the concept).

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=bob+bullock&fb=1&gl=us&hnear=&cid=0,0,7857427179010506862&ei=jPxoS43UCYH4NaL5_IsG&ved=0CBEQnwIwAA&t=h&source=embed&hq=bob+bullock&ll=30.279944,-97.738484&spn=0.006295,0.006295&layer=c&cbll=30.280567,-97.737913&panoid=85Vxxvs5jvByJGfMnztOUA&cbp=12,305.97,,0,-2.9&output=svembed&w=600&h=350]

The Austin Planetarium is operated as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3).  You can donate and become a sponsor here. 2010 goals for the Austin Planetarium are to acquire land and formalize city and state commitments, enlarge donor pool, and lock-in corporate sponsorships.

So, is the Austin Planetarium just another piece of Austin real estate vaporware? It appears they have a great team, passion, and access to big corporate and university money. The site selection is inspired, and we’re told that no other group is at the table proposing a higher and better use of the parking lot. The earliest we would see ground breaking is in 2011.

-Jude

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Downtown Austin Crime Watch Suspect

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Keepin’ it real.  The real money has always been in sanitary napkin dispensers.

Begin forwarded message:

From: 6th Street Austin <info>
Date: February 2, 2010 8:01:41 AM CST
To: jude
Subject: Crime Watch Suspect

Sixth Street Austin Community Forum
CRIME NOTICE FROM APD
We just received the attached photograph of a person of interest taken earlier today in a downtown high-rise office property. The individual is suspected of going floor to floor, breaking into sanitary napkin dispensers and stealing the coins.

Please circulate this among your property staff and security. If this person is seen on your property, please call 911 immediately to notify the police and to file a criminal trespass warning against him.

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Yours,

Tim League
chairman
6Ixth Street Austin

Subscribe to the 6ixth Street Austin Blog

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