Austin photos, images

Austin Ashton: More Buzz + Sneek Peek

Jude Galligan | March 31, 2009 |

Pricing for the downtown Austin apartment building, the Ashton Austin, is available Jude Galligan, 512-226-3414, judegalligan [@] gmail.com

Click here for complete Ashton Austin coverage.

Austin Ashton - Lobby Rendering — Austin Ashton - Lobby

Two weeks ago I shared some interesting facts about the Ashton – the downtown Austin apartment building which has kept a very tight lip on when it will be delivered. Yesterday, I received an update along with some swank model photos! According to the developer of the downtown Austin Ashton, the move-in target is now June 1st. The model units should be ready by May 1st.

The market’s expectations are high. I’m told the photos should be very true to the actual finishes and fixtures used. Interestingly, several of the people who’ve contacted me about the Ashton currently live at the AMLI on 2nd. This makes sense. Many of my clients leasing in downtown Austin have been longing for a more traditional finish without sacrificing quality.

BONUS:
For Downtown Austin Blog readers who are preparing to lease at the Ashton, email me your name, phone, address, and I will send you an exclusive draft copy of the floor plans!

-Jude
judegalligan [@] gmail.com

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More pics after the jump below!

Austin Ashton - Kitchen Rendering — Austin Ashton - Kitchen

Rail, rail, rail

Jude Galligan | February 20, 2009 |

Map Of Potential High-Speed Rail Built By The Stimulus

Huffington Post speculates on how stimulus dollars could impact regional high-speed rail networks.

Day five, becoming a model urban neighborhood: what does Downtown Austin need?

Jude Galligan | February 19, 2009 |

Each day this week I am serving up one item, with non-politically correct candor, that Downtown Austin needs to become a model of re-urbanization, as I see it.

Politicians love to talk, form task forces, and spend time doing everything except for making decisions as they are needed. So, this is an appeal to Downtown Austin stakeholders that know how to get things done: the residents, developers, retailers, and land owners.

Improved landmark protection, design standards, and enforcement

This is an average landmarked building on East Sixth Street. Here is another – note the beautiful brick archwork accented by a plywood sign! The building owners, tenants, and the city should be embarrassed. So much of Austin’s history exists in those buildings. Any building that has a landmark plaque should be respected and preserved.

The city may say “we don’t regulate ugly”. They should. The city must better leverage the Historical Landmark Commission and Heritage Society to protect the facades, awnings, and cleanliness of our historic buildings.. Unless the city begins to affect positive change, we will continue to see the warehouse district disappear and East Sixth Street deteriorate. It appears that voluntary compliance by landlords to maintain an expected (or expressed) standard doesn’t work and the city must begin to enforce regulations.

BTW, the owners of landmarked buildings get significant tax breaks.

Sixth Street fire: updated photos & link roundup

Jude Galligan | February 6, 2009 |

KXAN
MyFoxAustin
KVUE
Statesman

Blind Pig looks to have paid the biggest toll in this fire.

While there didn’t appear to be much damage to the exterior of Vice, it was clear the fire department had been inside.

View from San Jacinto - GOD SAVE THE ALAMO!

Blight

Jude Galligan | January 29, 2009 |

Downtown Austin - Parking Garage Nirvana

Blight: Something that impairs growth, withers hopes and ambitions, or impedes progress and prosperity.

In Downtown Austin nothing kills hopes, dreams, ambitions, old ladies and little children like under-developed land. According to DANA board member Roger Cauvin, in economic terms, blight can be considered an “externality,” which “are the indirect costs imposed on society by an economic activity. Pollution is an example of an externality. If economic agents (e.g. developers) aren’t made to pay for the externalities, we are effectively subsidizing harmful behavior.”

In Downtown Austin, blight manifests itself in the primary forms of:
1) parking lots (or razed lots)
2) parking garages
3) chain link fence
4) perpetual disrepair

The Northeast quadrant of Downtown Austin takes the cake for parking garages. The area is desolate and completely void of human interaction. Unimproved parking lots are scattered throughout Downtown. It could easily be argued that Downtown Austin blight reaches it’s zenith on 6th Street. (slideshow) Broken doors, windows, tattered chain link fence, destroyed ATMs, it’s all there.

As I see it, the problem of blight is rooted with the owner of the property that is creating or hosting the blight. The economic behavior of hoarding undeveloped property in the CBD is contrary to the density goals of Downtown Austin stake holders. It is also contrary to the city’s and county’s goals of collecting ad valorem taxes. Perhaps more importantly, razing your lot and wrapping it in chain link fence is contrary to the sense of community.

Over the past couple of months you’ve seen related topics discussed at Austin Contrarian. According to Chris Bradford, “We badly need a mechanism for discouraging property owners from warehousing vacant lots downtown. The solution is not to shut out all redevelopment to eliminate the risk of this kind of behavior. What we need is a vacant-lot surcharge or something like it. A surcharge calibrated to compensate the other downtown property owners, businesses and visitors for the very real cost of blighting a block. This might encourage property owners/developers to leave existing buildings in place or to fill in currently vacant lots, even if the structures are inexpensive and small.”

Well said.

-Jude