downtown Austin's real estate and neighborhood blog
Not much info has been released about the design of Riverside Resources’ 20 16-story apartment building under construction at 3rd & Brazos (in the newly monikered Railyard District).
The video below is a virtual flyover of the building, and provides more insight into the design. (update: the video settings have been changed to private)
[Read more…] about Virtual Flyover Of The 3rd & Brazos Apartment High Rise
February delivered strong numbers for sales of downtown Austin condos. I count nine new construction sales and 14 resales (compared to six and 10 in January respectively).
The 14 resales averaged $397 per square foot – the highest monthly average for resales that I can remember. Don’t mistake this for accelerating appreciation, though. Included in February’s numbers is a resale at the Austonian. And, while there’s clearly a gradual upward trend in the resale market, February’s price-per-foot surge is attributable to this burgeoning market for resales in the top-tier buildings.
You can anticipate that by the end of March all of the top-tier buildings will [factually] be over 50% closed. Each has already crossed the chasm.
Notably, Spring condos has only a couple of new units left, the [seriously amazing] penthouse(s) being one of them. For most buyers, Spring condos can be considered sold out and opportunities to buy are in the resale market. The Four Seasons Residences leads the pack in terms of percentage of units sold, though the W Hotel Residences is showing the greatest velocity. See below.
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Let it be known as the Railyard District, that part of downtown Austin, south of 5th Street and sandwiched between Congress Ave and the Austin Convention Center. You could straddle the convention center and include the area east, around Moonshine, too.
It’s an interesting mix of conventioneers and locals, both feeding on chicken and waffles at Max’s Wine Dive.
For decades, the district has been anchored by the Railyard condos, and recently flanked by the Four Seasons. Soon, these will not be the only full time residences.
In the past couple of years we’ve seen improvements and new businesses open in the neighborhood, including AF1 Racing, Vince Young Steakhouse, Hank’s Garage (which is gone), and Skinny’s Ballroom.
Walking around a post-SXSW absent is the hyper-pedestrianism of the past 10 days, and I observe a “coming soon” sign. I see more as I keep walking. In one lap around the Railyard district, I counted nine businesses or projects “coming soon”!
Nine!
What’s COMING SOON to the Railyard District? [Read more…] about Coming Soon: The Changing Face Of The Railyard District
This picture captures so much of the vibrancy of our growing downtown. The photographer, friend David Gottlieb, has one of the best vantage points in the city: Spring condos.
The influx of people for SXSW – traffic be damned – reminds me of what a 24/7 vibrant city looks and feels like. And, we’re getting there. Checkout an even cooler picture…
I love this idea for downtown Austin. Convert two duck-in parking spaces in front of Royal Blue Grocery on Congress Ave, in order to improve the pedestrian experience and create a retail destination.
“Street patios” have been implemented before in other cities, successfully, under the badge of “parklet” or “pop-up” cafe.
Upon approval by Council, later this month, the initiative would be a partnership between the City of Austin and Royal Blue Grocery, with design coming from Studio DWG and civil engineering firm Big Red Dog.
The street patio in front of Royal Blue Grocery is just a trial run. If successful we could see more street patios in other parts of downtown. The results should provide more space for pedestrians and a cafe sitting area, similar to Jos on 2nd Street. WIN!
More pics after the jump. [Read more…] about Street Patio Experiment: Congress Ave @ Royal Blue Grocery
