Jude Galligan

Downtown Hilton Heroes

Jude Galligan | May 21, 2009 |

From this week’s Chronicle:

“Kudos to the Hilton for Saving the Pun-Off

Dear Editor, Utmost kudos to the Downtown Hilton, which rose to the occasion and saved the 32nd O. Henry Pun-Off from being canceled by last Saturday’s noontime deluge. The Hilton offered use of a sixth-floor ballroom, and the joyful event was held by some soggy and very appreciative people. As the Pun-Off is one of the main annual fundraisers for the O. Henry House museum on the block next to the Hilton, it was truly neighbor helping neighbor. Bless y’all at the Hilton for your generosity and lifeline to the punsters.

Guy Ben-Moshe”

I’ve worked with Joe Bolash [GM of the Hilton Austin] on efforts for DANA and Sixth Street Austin and his team is always prepared to lend a hand for the benefit of downtown.

Downtown Austin TV: Main & Main – Sixth @ Congress

Jude Galligan | May 19, 2009 |

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Bendable Concrete

Jude Galligan | May 19, 2009 |

I couldn’t resist sharing this. Bendable concrete that flexes and heals itself when it rains.

“A slab of self-healing concrete bends under 5 percent tensile strain, the force needed to stretch a material by 5 percent of its initial size.

While ordinary concrete would crumble under such pressure, the new material forms micro-cracks that can then auto-seal after being exposed to water and carbon dioxide”

Brazos Place Auction Results

Jude Galligan | May 17, 2009 |

[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWcxxbMI8Ks]

Brazos Place is officially sold out. Today, in less than 90 minutes, 19 downtown Austin residences were sold at an average discount of 29% from asking price. The best deal of the day was probably the penthouse: 2745 feet purchased for $967,200, originally priced at $1,575,000. The unit that was being advertised with a starting bid of $80,000 sold for $168,480 (OLP was $199,900). I was able to take video of that particular auction and you can watch it above.

Below is a brief summary and you can download the complete results here (pdf).

Units sold: 19
Square feet: 23,088
Avg sale price per foot: $281.80
Avg discount from OLP: 29%

-Jude

4th Street Stairway Of Death Becoming Less Deadly

Jude Galligan | May 16, 2009 |

[Thanks to DANA’s Greg Anderson for the pics!]

If you’ve been to the downtown Austin warehouse district you might agree that part of the appeal is the intermittent above grade pedestrian experience. Always precarious, though I never witnessed anyone fall. The staircase across from the Spaghetti Warehouse has always been especially dicey.

The City of Austin is making some changes. You will no longer risk breaking an ankle (or a head) crossing the street at 4th & Colorado.

Was it mom and stroller friendly? No. Was it ADA friendly? No way. Was it deadly? Well, almost, but not because of the stairs. Was it charmingly awkward? I think so.

Is this a good use of city funds right now, perhaps at the greater expense of the neighborhood’s magic formula? You be the judge.

BTW, have you joined DANA yet?