downtown austin

Downtown Austin Condo Sales Remain Strong In May

Jude Galligan | June 7, 2011 |

For the first time since the bubble burst, the average price per square foot of a downtown Austin condo has increased four months in a row. Last month, downtown Austin closed 62 condos* with 29 more pending!

Highlights

In May, we counted 41 closings of new-construction condos from the Four Seasons Residences, W Hotel, Austonian, Spring Condos, and Barton Place. The W takes the cake with 15 closings in May.

On the other hand, the number of resales comes in at 21 units closed – a strong showing – averaging a price of $334 per square foot. We also count 29 resales pending as of May 31st! So, we can expect next month’s closing count to be similarly strong.

Urban Outfitters Shacking Up At The W Austin Hotel

dab | June 6, 2011 |

The 2nd Street shopping district is likely to get a jolt from patrons still paying off college loans with a new Urban Outfitters clothing store.

As evident by the colorful graffiti, the faux-thrift store (call it ironic?) retailer has plans to move into the ground floor of The W Austin Hotel, which opened in December 2010.

I shop exclusively at Kohl’s, but allegedly Urban Outfitters’ new spot is a big deal because their only other Austin location is not so far away on Guadalupe Street, up near the University of Texas main campus. Perhaps they are targeting the PBS Austin City Limits crowd from shows taped there?

Jokes aside, this is a vindication that downtown Austin is becoming a destination and not in the way of “urban pioneers” loading up on Gatorade and PB&J to venture out of suburbia, like they do in Ohio.

For a number of reasons, Urban Outfitters joins the ranks of business interests investing in downtown Austin.

Cole Broadhead, a principal at Retail Solutions, said the folks at Urban Outfitters “do their homework.”

“Those deals take a long time,” he said. “They do a ton of research.”

Picnic This Weekend With Downtown Austin Families

Jude Galligan | June 3, 2011 |

This weekend at Duncan Park you can catch up with and meet other downtown Austin families.

When: Sunday June 5th from 10am-noon
Where: Duncan Park (9th Street btw Lamar and West)
What: Bring a blanket or chairs, toys, and some snacks.

Sunshine Fest Tonight – Venue 222

AG | June 3, 2011 |

Some friends of DAB are spearheading this event tonight – it looks to be a cool event sponsoring a good cause!

Venue 222

222 East 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 477-2237

Save W 6th Street

Jude Galligan | June 1, 2011 |

West 6th Street is in danger. Of what we’ve not been able to confirm (and, yes, this is a real promotion).

This could be a response by W. 6th Street bar proprietors to area push back against “bar creep” and early morning noise proliferating into more residential parts of downtown Austin, outside of established entertainment districts.

The Texas Bar & Nightclub Alliance (TBNA) has been active in recent months to reel in problematic bars operating and turning up the volume without an outdoor music venue permit.

A subset of TBNA representing only W 6th Street proprietors has engaged Drenner Golden to find alternatives to the conditional use permit language recommended by the Downtown Austin Plan for new bars in the CBD.

If you want to Save West 6th Street, you better get to drinking and voting June 8-12.

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