downtown austin

Downtown Austin Round Up: Fairmont, Waller, Trinity, Oh my

Jude Galligan | March 28, 2014 |

Have you experienced the phenomena that BIG things seem to happen when you’re on vacation? This past week, while we attempted to cruise, there were multiple status report updates about three tall projects in downtown Austin.

99 Trinity Tower Announces $100mm, 39 Story Apartment Highrise

Back in November, DAB broke the news about Trinity Tower. Located just east of the Four Seasons Residences, and north of Lakeside apartments. This will become a very dense intersection. We have big expectations that this highrise will fill the perceptive gap between the Rainey Street neighborhood and the rest of downtown Austin. We’re thrilled that they are aiming high with a 39 story tower, which would be the tallest apartment building in Austin. Demolition of the warehouse should commence soon. (Statesman)

Waller Park Place Closes On Land

The Sutton Company closed on their deal to buy Perry Lorenz’s incredible 3-acre assemblage along Waller Creek. What Sutton is proposing is nothing short of the largest private development in the history of downtown Austin. Three towers in the Rainey Street district, including significant Waller Creek enhancements, stretching from Cesar Chavez to Davis Street. (Statesman)

Fairmont Selects Builder

This was significant because half of the people I talk with have begun to think this project is vapor-ware. The project was planned to break ground a while back. The Fairmont website is showing delivery in “2016+”, and the sign pictured above says “Opening Fall 2017”. We hope this is a reliable signal that the project will break ground soon. (Statesman)

-Jude

Art in Downtown Austin – Different Strokes for Different Folks

AG | March 19, 2014 |

We like to highlight good and interesting art on DAB. I’ve recently written about the cool little Art-O-Matic found at a couple of downtown locations, and the public art piece High Water Mark.

Back in 2012, Jude bought out the entirety of Austin Java when he learned about Mike Johnston aka “Truth”, and throughout 2013 we admired the work at The People’s Gallery showcase at Austin City Hall.

Last month, the TOWERS office acquired a very special work that had been showcased next to the City Hall elevators for the past year. It’s called Different Strokes for Different Folks, and is the concept of up-and-coming artist Hallie Rae Ward.

Artist Hallie Rae Ward with DAB Publisher Jude Galligan — Artist Hallie Rae Ward with Jude Galligan in the TOWERS Realty office

Different Strokes for Different Folks was one of two pieces Hallie had featured in the 2013 People’s Gallery. Hallie will be showcasing more of her work at this year’s West Austin Studio Tour – so, please check it out!

Below, I ask Hallie a few questions about what inspires her work. You can learn more about Hallie on her website or Facebook page.

Girls Night Out in Downtown Austin – Eat at Chavez

AG | February 20, 2014 |

I never thought I’d say this, but if you want to check out a really cool new restaurant, you should hit up The Radisson at Congress and Cesar Chavez.

No kidding.

The Radisson is now the home of the simply hip and delicious new restaurant, Chavez, owned by Parkside’s (and Backspace’s) own Shawn Cirkiel.

Storage Wars: Top Three Options For Condo Dwellers

Jude Galligan | January 13, 2014 |

I recently helped a couple downsize from a 3,000sf suburban home into a 1,000sf condo. Getting this empty-nester couple to move would not have been possible without storage. They purged a lot, but still ended up using all three of the options below.

Where space is scarce, storage is costly. Prices for storage units have gone up in recent years. A few times each year we see a storage unit come up for sale at the Shore Condos. The last one was ~$7500. Recently, I observed at 360 condos a storage unit trade for $15,000. Storage units at the Austonian will trade for ~$20,000, on average.

Storage units in building
Cost: varies, $2,800 – 20,000 (rent $75 – 200+/month)

Storage closets/units/lockers come in many shapes and sizes. Most high-rise condos do not convey with a storage closet (some do, for example Bridges On The Park and Brazos Place). The ones that do don’t always have enough storage to meet demand. Sometimes it’s just a fenced cage, other times it’s an actual closet with lockable door and electricity.

Unless a storage unit conveyed with the sale of the condo (a buyer can amortize the cost of the storage unit over the term of their mortgage) most transactions for building storage units are handled in cash. The cash-only aftermarket can put storage units out of reach for some owners. As you can see below there is a wide range of pricing.

Recent transactions: (sizes are ballpark based on owner input)
*5 Fifty Five – 4’w x 7’d x 7’h = $2,800-4,000.
*Milago = $3,750
*The Shore – 4’w x 7’d x 8’h = $7,500
*360 Condos – 5’w x 7’d x 9’h = $15,000.

Public Storage
Cost: varies, ~$100+ per month

Many downtown condo dwellers forget there is a Public Storage close by on W. 6th Street. As of this post, these rentable storage lockers start at $122 per month, plus a $75 move in fee, for a 5’w x 10’d.

I try to avoid renting whenever possible – it’s a sunk cost, and you need to drive to get there. However, when you’re downsizing and about to start moving, you just want an easy place to put stuff. This is where Public Storage is really helpful. Later you can transition into more permanent storage options once settled into your new digs.

USU “Urban Storage Unit”
Cost: fixed, $2000

The USU is sturdy box that sits in front/above your parking space. It maximizes space you are underutilizing. We have two of these and they are perfect for golf clubs, ski/snowboard equipment, holiday stuff, tools, and generally bulky items we want convenient access to from our door.

We needed to persuade our HOA board to let us install the USU, but now more buildings and HOAs are approving them based on the convenience and value these bring to their residents. You can see USUs in use at the Four Seasons, Spring Condos, W Hotel Residences, and the Shore Condos.

Hopefully, this will help those of you longing for some extra space. If you’ve seen more creative storage solutions, please make sure to share in the comments!

-Jude

[UPDATED: Though we’ve not used SpareFoot, we wanted to give them shoutout. SpareFoot is an online self-storage marketplace that allows storage seekers to search by price and area. So, you can price shop storage facilities across Austin. They are based in downtown Austin, too!]

Waller Park Place Submits Site Plan for 3 Towers

Jude Galligan | November 25, 2013 |

At ~1,400,000 square feet Waller Park Place, a three tower mixed-use plan is the largest private development ever proposed in downtown Austin (correct me in the comments if I’m wrong). It’s the vision of the Sutton Company, who formally filed their site plan approval application with the City of Austin last week.

Back in September, Downtown Austin Blog first revealed the concept for the 3 acre tract stretching from Cesar Chavez to Davis Street, hugging Waller Creek. Then it was being called Waller Center and seemed really to be just a conceptual vision.

wallerparkplacesiteplan1 — Birds eye view shows planned orientation of three towers along Waller Creek

Below is what we know (note these numbers have gone up since Waller Center was announced in September and could still change)

Tower A – Office, 25+ stories, on the corner of Red River and Cesar Chavez
Tower B – Apartments, 50+ stories, internal on the site
Tower C – Hotel/Condo, 40+ stories, at Red River & Davis
Target FAR is 10:1
The architect is the IBI Group
No phasing is contemplated – all three towers built simultaneously
The site is part of the Waller Creek TIF district

With Block 1 (tbd) anticipated, and Trinity Tower (tbd) being conceptualized, Waller Park Place would be the last opportunity in downtown Austin for waterfront development with protected lake views.

WallerParkPlaceCrudeMassing5 — Our own crude drawings showing how the new towers could fit into the skyline

Above and below are a couple of crude massing-drawings I made for each tower to help view the relative dimensions and heights of the three towers, and to help us see how these buildings will fit into the skyline.

WallerParkPlaceCrudeMassing3 — Looking south – our own crude drawings showing how the new towers could fit into the skyline

Proposed three-tower Waller Park Place at Red River & Cesar Chavez