Archives for May 2014

Many of you have passed by the Convention Center parking garage, and could be forgiven for not noticing the vacant retail space that wraps the ground level of the garage.  For the better part of 10 years the City and Harry Whittington were entrenched in lawsuits.

The space is finally available and the City is looking to get it leased up quickly.  The location at 601 e 5th Street is one block from the Metro station, Convention Center, Moonshine, and 6th Street.

I think if the City gets a synergistic mix of tenants this could be the beginning of a downtown retail hub, anchored by Waller Creek and the Metro station.  The location is excellent and is only made better with obvious access to parking above.

Within a half-mile you’ll find 7,365 hotel rooms, ~6mm feet of office, 69 retail stores, 84 restaurants.  The City had an appraisal completed pegging the anticipated rent rate of $15.00-$18.00 NNN per year, which seems pretty conservative, even for the shell condition of the space.

There are three retail spaces available along Red River, ranging from 3,580 ft for the smallest space to the total contiguous 14,890 ft.

If you’ve got a good idea, the City is accepting lease proposals.

-Jude

p.s.  If you want to check out the building, the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) recently relocated its visitors center to one of the prominent spaces along 4th Street (much better digs than their old 6th Street spot, IMO, and includes curated murals from local artists).