Jude Galligan

New Downtown Office Tower Announced Next To Gables

Jude Galligan | April 16, 2010 |

Francisco Vara-Orta gets the scoop on plans for a new downtown Austin 15 story office tower, next to Gables Park Plaza at Lamar and Cesar Chavez.

Dubbed Park Plaza, the planned 15-story tower will feature 189,000 square feet of predominately Class A office space off the northeast corner of West Cesar Chavez Street and Lamar Boulevard — next to the newly opened Gables Park Plaza residential complex. Gables owns the 1.8-acre tract where the new office building is planned, and has contracted with Capital City to build and lease the structure, which will also include approximately 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Dirt could turn as early as October.

Nothing gets built until enough lease agreements are in place, but with a location like this that could happen soon. As it is envisioned, no variances are needed.

This is the second, (maybe third) office project announced in this district of downtown this year.

5 Reasons You Should Sign Up For Jude’s Quarterly Report

Jude Galligan | April 15, 2010 |

Just posted my review of downtown Austin residential real estate for the first quarter of 2010. This report is only available to registered DAB readers. Why should you bother?

1) You want accurate and timely information on the market
2) You live, work, or care about downtown Austin
3) You are interested in selling or buying a downtown condo
4) You want access to information (like this report) not available anywhere else
5) There’s no commitment, if you don’t like it then unsubscribe with one click

Sign up in the DAB member area, where in addition to the report, you will have access to sales data in real time. As always, we appreciate your input as to how to improve DAB. Check it out!

-Jude

For Sale: 360 Condos Penthouse

Jude Galligan | April 14, 2010 |

We love penthouses. There is only one top floor in any building, and this space is currently the highest occupied residence in Austin, Texas. Located on the 43rd floor, this two-story unit includes a private rooftop terrace. 2,022 ft, 2bd/2ba, and dramatic views by the truck load. Owned by Taylor Andrews, who along with Novare, developed the 360 condos. Link to photos and listing.

Before you jump to more information below, did you see that you can now search for downtown Austin lofts and condos on DAB? You can always click the link in the top right corner labeled “Property Search“.

Art House Movie Theater Coming To 2nd Street District.

Jude Galligan | April 12, 2010 |

2nd-street-cinema-movie — The Violet Crown art house theater is under construction, opening in December

At the west end of the 2nd Street District, directly above the soon-to-open How Do You Roll sushi restaurant, will soon be downtown Austin’s latest cinema – The Violet Crown. We reported back in January that 2nd Street District was getting a new movie theater. The Statesman’s Chris Garcia gets the latest info on The Violet Crown. Scheduled to have four screens, with bar/lounge, and opening in December.

The construction will actually expand the mezzanine level by a couple of feet over the sidewalk.

The Violet Crown should make a great addition to the district. At first glance it would appear they are taking on the Alamo Drafthouse head on. However, the Violet Crown might take on a more refined lounge-like experience, trading high ball glasses for buckets of beer.

The removal of the W Hotel’s street barricades this summer will unclog the pedestrian experience in the 2nd Street District, but will be especially welcome to the 400 block that includes BoConcept and La Condessa.

W Hotel Residences Sneak Peek

Jude Galligan | April 12, 2010 |

Members of the DANA were provided with a backstage pass to downtown Austin’s W Hotel Residences. We’ve always admired the sleek monolithic design of the building, and even through the construction dust you can envision the interior will make a similar impact.

DANA board at w hotel — DANA members on the 37th floor of W Hotel Residences

The contractor is expected to hand the keys over to the hotel portion in September/October. The doors won’t be open, but that should be the time when the hotel can begin to furnish everything. The Austin City Limits venue and residential condos will be ready in Q1 of 2011.

The most significant milestone will be the removal of the street barriers mid-summer! This is great news for any resident or retailer in the 2nd Street District.

Flickr Slideshow