Just an update/reminder about the forthcoming downtown Austin HQ of Cirrus Logic, located at 800 W 6th. From ashy to classy….
Vince Young Steakhouse
With just a splash page to confirm, construction is occurring at 3rd & San Jacinto. Located at the former site of Rio Grande restaurant, the eponymous Vince Young’s Steakhouse will be an interesting addition to downtown Austin’s Convention Center District Railyard District. 🙂
Planned opening date is Saturday, November 6th.
DAB STATS: September Residential Transactions
Chill out. Cool off. It’s not just the weather, but the market chilled in September yielding a stellar month for downtown Austin buyers. In September, the average sale price of a downtown Austin condo was $282 per square foot. This is based on 12 recorded transactions in the Austin MLS. Year-to-year comparison shows last month was down from $338 per square foot across 20 transactions in September of 2009. Month-to-month, September was down from $298 per square foot across 16 transactions recorded in August.
Highlights:
-Speaking of cooling off: hell froze over in September as the Statesman, frequently antagonistic to high rises, published an upbeat review of the downtown luxury market.
-A cartoon reminded us of an all too familiar exchange.
-We saw a glimpse of 2006 with a genuine bidding war on a bank owned unit at Brazos Place.
Top Tier Summary:
Not reflected in the MLS data are developers’ direct transactions at the top-tier buildings. According to TCAD, the Austonian shows eight closings, which is one more than last month. At the W Hotel Residences, with 159 total units, we’re told that 60% of the units are under contract, and the ability to now get into the building has been increasing contract velocity to 3-4 per month. We’ve been informed that at the Four Seasons Residences ~40 units have closed, with another 40 under contract.
You can search for Austin condos and lofts using our map-based viewer. Registered members of DAB can download a complete statistical and transaction report here.
-Jude
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Downtown Austin Open Houses
downtown Austin open house listings for Sunday, October 3rd.
(Got the wrong week? Click here)
1. 603 Davis St, The Shore Condos #1603, 2bd/3ba $650,000 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
2. 603 Davis St, The Shore Condos #911, 2bd/2ba $399,900 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
3. 904 West Ave, 904 West condos #211, 1bd/1ba $193,300 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
Expand your home search using DAB’s map-based Austin Property Search
When you’re done with the open houses, you can enjoy an afternoon on Lady Bird Lake by renting a canoe or kayak from at the Texas Rowing Center. Or, dine al-fresco at Annie’s Cafe on Congress Ave for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
-Jude
Austin Bike Share Doesn’t Exist. It Should!
[Thanks to Charley Ayres with the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce for the above pic!]
Just got back from Minneapolis as part of a delegation from the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s annual InterCity visit. One of the most impressive city amenities in Minneapolis is a robust and professionally operated bike share system. The system is called Nice Bike and you’ll find stations scattered throughout the urban core, located around destinations people need/want to get to.
It was around this time last year, when traveling in Montreal, that I was first introduced to a fully functional bike share system. That system was called BIXI, but it was the same bike design used in Minneapolis. The system works insanely well. You can become a member, or pay-as-you-go. The three-geared bikes are comfortable and well maintained.
The most important element of these systems a critical mass of stations. A successful shared bike system is analogous to a network that increases its utility as more nodes are added. Place the stations in places where people need them. The more stations the better.
A shared bike system could help solve some “last mile” challenges facing mass-transit. The productivity of a shared bike system for residents, workers, visitors is potentially leaps and bounds more cost effective than buses for last mile transit. As such, I believe a shared bike system should be injected into Austin’s mobility planning.
Just as importantly, a shared bike system is a superb recreational amenity for the city. Imagine how useful this could be for visitors to Austin! Don’t rent a car. Rent a bike! Make it leisurely.
It was fortunate for supporters of this system that so many decision makers were on this trip. CM Riley, CM Cole, CM Morrison, and Mayor Leffingwell were all in attendance in Minneapolis, and hopefully returned more informed about the potential of a bike share system in Austin. Below is a map I quickly created that shows general destinations where anyone could pickup or drop off their shared bike.
