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Gables Pressler

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[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH4Xq1qtgeQ]

Yesterday, I headed over to the nearly completed Gables Pressler apartments on W 5th Street.  Located just a few blocks east of another new Gables development, 5th Street Commons, Pressler is being marketed as Gables most “green” project in Austin.

5th Street, west of Lamar, has evolved rapidly.  In less than a year we’ve seen the addition of dozens of new retail shops filled with local businesses along with hundreds of new residents and pedestrians improving what had been nothing more than a wide boulevard that connected Mopac to Lamar.

Ad for Presslers Garden, in the 1887 Austin City Directory
Ad for Pressler's Garden, in the 1887 Austin City Directory

Gables Pressler is named after Paul Pressler, proprietor of Pressler’s beer garden originally built where Gables stands today.  The chronicle has a great article on turn of the century beer gardens and goes on to say about Pressler:

“Pressler’s Beer Garden was located between the river and West Pecan Street (Sixth Street) in Old West Austin. Built around a steam brewery started by Paul Pressler in the early 1870s, it operated for more than 30 years before being swallowed by residential development. Situated on what was then the western fringe of the city, its idyllic rural location made it the perfect spot for relaxing under live oaks with a frothy mug of beer. It had a concert hall that regularly hosted touring German singing and theatrical acts. The grounds around the concert hall were landscaped with curving walks, ornamental shrubbery, arbors, and a fountain. The extended grounds also featured a boating ramp, a shooting club, and an alligator pond.“

The location is what sells this place – it’s equidistant to West Lynn @ 12th as it is to Whole Foods or the running trails.  There are 168 units made up of studios, 1bd, and 2bd units.  The finishes are nice.  There is an interior courtyard with a pool.  The leasing agent informed me that they are offering three months free on a twelve month lease for all leases which commence by August 31st.

Pricing as of August 4th, 2009 (pdf)

Gables Pressler
507 Pressler St
Austin, Tx 78703
(map)

-Jude

Downtown Austin Retail Space

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One of the better trends in urban design is to include retail space below residential buildings.  I see downtown Austin’s retail offerings as overly homogeneous: salon, boutique, restaurant, or bar.  Feedback from DANA members, and urban-Austinites in general, is the desire to see more practical stores to serve the many thousands of people that live and work here.

After the jump are a few examples of the ground floor retail space currently available below some of downtown Austin’s luxury buildings.  You’ll see that space below these buildings is not cheap and ranges from $30-36 per foot plus NNN.  This could yield a monthly lease payment of $3,500-4,000 per month per 1,000 feet of retail space.

The Downtown Austin Alliance has a great list of retail vacancies you should check out, too.

[Read more…] about Downtown Austin Retail Space

Ashton Austin Pricing

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Ashton Austin: now with pricing!
Ashton Austin: now with pricing!

Pricing for the downtown Austin apartment building, the Ashton Austin, is available – Jude Galligan, 512-226-3414, judegalligan [@] gmail.com. DAB has been covering the Ashton’s obfuscated marketing for months (click to read all posts).  It appears the building is almost ready for prime time.  One-bedrooms are large, ranging in size from 940-1029 ft. A pdf of the pricing can be downloaded here.  For a limited time, the developer is offering two months free on a 12 month lease which effectively reduces the monthly rent by at least $333 per month.

As of today the model units are not open. Judging by the landscaping and the tone of their communications I think it could be as early as this weekend that the model/sales center opens. Expectations are high from tenants who have grown tired of starkly appointed downtown Austin lofts. The photos show a high end finish out, the floor plans are large, and the views are certain to be spectacular… unless you end up staring into 100 Congress. Stay tuned!

-Jude

Historic Brazos Lofts

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Historic Austin - Brazos Lofts
Historic Austin - Brazos Lofts (orig. Capitol Chevrolet)

The Brazos Lofts embody the definition of downtown loft perhaps more than any other Austin property.  From both the inside and outside it feels authentic.   Originally constructed in 1925, the Sutton Company completed the downtown Austin conversion in early 1999.  Each loft space is separated by a brick wall.  Most of the units have original narrow-plank hardwood floors.  True to its character, the Brazos Lofts is only three stories (two stories in most of the building) and is home to only 39 condos.

Josh and Marie McJilton are residents at the Brazos Lofts.  They’ve decided it’s time to step into more space, and below they share what they love about the building.

“We have lived in our downtown loft for 4 1/2 years and have loved every minute of it.  We love our building and our home for many reasons.  It has so much character and history.  It is truly a one of kind building.  The utilitarian past is preserved in the original structure.  This combines with the modern design and floor plan to create a feeling of history and the contemporary all at once.  The open floor plan creates an awesome sense of space that makes the unit feel much bigger than it’s 1111 sqft.

Outside the walls of the loft, the location of the building is unbeatable.  Being one block from the epicenter of downtown Austin, 6th and Congress, puts you within walking distance of everything downtown has to offer.  Parking the car on Friday afternoon and not seeing it again until Monday morning is one of our favorite ways to spend the weekend.  We love taking walks in our ‘front yard’: the grounds of our beautiful Texas State Capitol building.  We ride bikes in our ‘back yard’, the Lake Ladybird Trail and Barton Creek Greenbelt, as often as we can.  And, being one block from 6th Street and two blocks from the Warehouse district, we’re never far from a great meal or good time.”

Along the ground level of East 5th Street are a row of spaces that are, in addition to being livable, zoned for light office, gallery, and salon space.   Other notable Austinites that have chosen to dwell at the Brazos Lofts include urban planner Cid Galindo and Austin Chronicle writer Marc Savlov.  The best barbershop in Austin IMHO, the Good Life Barbershop run by Debbie and Ryan Videtto, is located in the coolest subterranean space in downtown!

-Jude

p.s. More photos can be found here.