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Archives for 2010

ANC Gives Greenlight To Developers?

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California builder OMG proposes parking/condo tower on West Lynn

In a rare move, it seems the Austin Neighborhood Council has blessed a new residential tower at West Lynn and 12th.  Sources indicate that the “Anawo” tower will replace Nau’s Enfield Drug store, and will be the first of it’s kind for Clarksville.  A spokesperson for the California based builder, OMG, says: “The neighbors are our partners.”

The proposed tower is part of a category of buildings often called “parking farms” because of the extreme parking density.  A site plan submitted to city staff indicates the 12 story tower will consist of 10 levels of parking garage capped with 2 levels of office condos.  “The entire structure is designed with mobility in mind – a parking ratio of one space for every one-hundred feet of office space is a testament to our commitment to include the feedback we received from stakeholders.  You’re going to be able to park your Prius next to your neighbor’s Prius next to their neighbor’s Prius, and so on.”

Anawo tower will require a variance to achieve the desired height of 120 feet, however ANC’s support is expected to find sympathetic ears on the City of Austin Planning Commission which will hear from OMG next Tuesday.

Demolition work on Nau’s could be complete by July.

Progress at 800 W 6th Street

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There’s progress at the corner of W 6th Street and West Ave.  The corner lot – 800 W 6th Street (tcad) – and adjacent lots, formerly home to Page Southerland Page, have been assembled and are owned by Cypress Real Estate Advisors.  For years, the corner lot served as a tire repair shop.  Not exactly the highest and best use.  Last week that tire repair shop was torn down.

In 2007 and 2008, Cypress was planning a residential tower.  The land is not in a CVC, but is not zoned CBD, and they would have needed variances in order to build what they wanted.  The project never got any legs as this was when the economy began to tank.

According to an article by Jacob Dirr (pdf) at the ABJ this past February, Cypress is planning a six-story, Class A, office building.  They do not need any variances, but do need an anchor tenant before construction begins.

It’s possible we’ll see the demolition of the PSP building in the next couple of months.  Short run use is likely to be a surface level parking lot.

-Jude

Car2Go Expands Pilot Program To State Employees

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Soon, you’ll see more of these little buggers zipping around downtown Austin.  I’ve had the opportunity to drive one, and they truly do not feel that small once you’re inside and driving.  The flexibility of parking anywhere within a defined radius – you do not need to return it to where you picked it up – makes these cars perfect for one-way commutes.

Press release from Daimler

Downtown Austin Open Houses

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Downtown Austin open house listings for Sunday, March 28th

Ahhh… it’s 8am and it looks like another beautiful day in Austin, Texas.  If you’ve been considering buying a downtown Austin condo, then you should come down and check out a few open houses.  You can generally walk from building to building.  When you’re done, you can enjoy an afternoon on Lady Bird Lake by renting a canoe or kayak from Matt Knifton at the Texas Rowing Center.

This weekend you can browse at your own pace at the Austin City Lofts, 36o condos, Cambridge Tower, The Shore condos, Spring condos, and the Austonian sales center.  If you’re into adaptive reuses of older buildings, checkout DAB’s list of downtown Austin lofts for sale.  Looking for downtown Austin FHA approved condos in order to qualify for 3.5% down?  We’ve got the info.

Sunday
1) 603 Davis #1503, 2bd, 2ba, $695,000, 2-4pm [AvenueOne]
2) 800 W 5th #601, 2bd, 2ba, $649,900, 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
3) 360 Nueces #2508, 1bd, 1ba, $287,500,11-2pm [Platinum Realty]
4) 1801 Lavaca #15A, 2bd, 3ba, $411,000, 12-4 [Uptown Condos]
5) 1801 Lavaca #4J, 3bd, 2ba, $469,000, 12-4pm [Uptown Condos]
6) 300 Bowie St, Spring sales center, model units, 1-5pm map website
7) 200 Congress Ave, Austonian sales center located at 300 W 6th, 12-5pm map website

Don’t see the properties you’re interested in? Ask a Realtor who lives and works in downtown Austin.

Downtown Austin Recycling Frustrations

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I’m the first to proudly hang my green living badge on my downtown Austin condo door.  But, something that has always nagged at me is that there is no comprehensive recycling plan in downtown Austin.

Compared to most Austin neighborhoods, where there is single stream recycling, downtown Austin has a long way to go.  Single stream recycling is a consumer’s preferred method of recycling.  One bin for everything. Single stream recycling requires little more effort than throwing stuff away.  The aggregated refuse is hauled to San Antonio for processing.  This might change.

These bins do not work as well in dense environments.  Many single family homes will keep the recycling bin in the garage.  This is what my parents do, and they easily leave the smelly bin at the sidewalk [outside] to be picked up.  This model doesn’t work well in dense buildings, especially in high rises.

Most downtown buildings have a trash chute (not a recycling chute) on each floor, or provide nightly door-side trash pick up.  THIS is the motivational inflection point – living in a high rise, it’s simply easier to throw everything down the chute.  The obvious solution is to enable recycling at the users most convenient point – the point where many users (specifically, this author’s) motivation breaks down – the chute.

At the Sabine we have a trash chute, and no clear recycling program.  There is a garbage bin in the Hilton Garden Inn’s loading dock that can be accessed by winding through the basement, or outside via a 500lb door.  There we can dispose of cardboard, only.  The next best alternative: we would make the weekly effort of gathering our recycle-ables, and driving them over to Ecology Action on 9th Street @ I-35 Frontage Road.

At the Shore we have dedicated bins for various materials.  It’s a cumbersome process, but an available option, which is nice.

What buildings do it right?  That is, who is using dedicated single stream recycling chutes on each floor?  Gables Pressler and the Austonian.  Kudos.

OK, what happens to the thousands of beer cans and bottles consumed at downtown bars?

Jennifer Herber with City of Austin Solid Waste Services (SWS) helped me by explaining the ordinances in existence that would affect downtown Austin.  SWS provides recycling pickup for anything up to four-plexes, anything more than four-plexes are serviced by private sector companies like EFI and Waste Management, for example.  Dumpster service is most popular type of service available downtown.

The Commercial and Multi-family Recycling Ordinance became effective in April 1999.  This law requires any business with 100 employees to have recycling for at least four materials, and multifamily complexes over 100 dwellings to provide recycling service for at least two materials.  For example this could be one bin for cardboard, one for plastic bottles, one for newspaper, and another for glass.  Problem is, SWS has only two people code enforcers they rely on to confirm compliance.

Lacy Laborde with the Downtown Austin Alliance informed us that last year, City Council directed the City’s Solid Waste Advisory Commission (SWAC) and Solid Waste Services Department to make recommendations to amend the Commercial and Multi-Family Recycling Ordinance.  SWAC continues to hold meetings with stakeholders, includes subcommittees for restaurants and retailers, to understand how to best amend the ordinance.

All buildings within the Downtown Refuse Contract District (6th Street, Warehouse District and Congress Ave) can currently recycle paper and cardboard products.  There is a voluntary program that bars can opt-in to for glass recycling.  This includes several dumpsters placed throughout the alleys of East Sixth Street.  Only 10 bars participate in this program.

I want to emphasize this point:  The vast majority of beer bottles and cans in downtown Austin bars are NOT recycled. They’re just thrown away.  Take a moment an envision how many beers are consumed during a given week.  Now, imagine those beer cans and bottles piling up at the dump.  Next, imagine that they’ve been doing this for decades.

Frustrating, isn’t it?

SWAC should receive all subcommittee recommendations by April.  Hopefully, council will review them soon after and push for improvements.

-Jude

p.s. Thanks to Lacy Laborde with the DAA, and Jennifer Herber with SWS for helping me navigate the various recycling rules and programs available.