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City Will Use Eminent Domain To Acquire Important Waller Creek Land

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Back in November we reported on the City’s interest in an assemblage of lots at E 5th and Frontage Road.  Earlier this week, the ABJ reported the City approved the use of eminent domain should it be needed.  The land is required for staging the construction of the Waller Creek Tunnel.  This morning, according to the Statesman, the City decided to actually use its power to force the purchase of these “four lots along East Fifth Street for $928,416 for a flood-control tunnel project along Waller Creek.”

Downtown Austin Link Roundup

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1) Bridge over troubled water

OK, not really troubled water, but I couldn’t resist a title so apropos for a city that likes to bitch and moan about growth, yet doesn’t make the hard decisions necessary to steer growth and prefers to react to it, (breath) imagine the hostility we’re going to see for this bridge.  One look at the notoriously poorly moderated comment sections of the Statesman’s online posts (seriously, take a look to feel less good about humanity) is all you need to run far, far away from the headaches of local public policy making and sound urban planning.

2) Rainey Street getting smart about traffic

Last week’s commentary by a Milago resident about the perils of walking in the Rainey Street district has spurred the City into action.  “Those people” move into the district and now they want to change it with crazy things like sidewalks.  Less than 48 hours after this video editorial aired, there were pneumatic traffic counters straddling the district’s streets recording passing cars, and adolescent kids (primarily DAB readers/writers) jumping on them.

3) Oh, hi!  Ummm… We’ll be needing your land.  KTHXBAI

City approves the use of eminent domain, should it be necessary, to get control over an important piece of land for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project.  For decades this assemblage of lots that front I-35 has been a surface level parking lot.  For the next 4-5 years it will be a staging area for creek diggin’.

Operation Reclaim Waller Creek

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Photo of volunteers from December's Waller Creek clean up. Yours truly on the far left.

Just received this note from Carolyn Perez with the City of Austin, “In 2008 APD, together with the Watershed Protection and Parks Departments, launched an initiative to clean up the creek and enforce ordinances, including those related to vagrancy.”

Operation Reclaim Waller Creek helps clear urban waterway

The City of Austin will launch next week the next phase of Operation Reclaim Waller Creek, an initiative to improve the safety and environmental conditions along this urban waterway.

Austin Police officers, along with crews from Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation will be focused on cleaning up the ¼-mile stretch of the creek from Cesar Chavez Street to Lady Bird Lake. Previous efforts have cleared areas upstream.

Work will include:

  • Cutting overgrowth in and along the creek.
  • Removing graffiti.
  • Picking up trash and debris.
  • Concentrated enforcement of City ordinances.

“This operation will help improve the quality of life for those who work, live and visit the downtown area,” said APD Officer Jason Huskins, Downtown Area District Representative.  “We have had issues with illicit activity along this portion of the creek.  This cleanup will allow us to have better access to the area and better means to protect our community and the environment.”

Downtown Austin Community Court will assign persons needing to fulfill community service requirements to help with the cleanup.

This month-long operation will help prepare for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project, which will alleviate flooding and reduce the amount of debris in the creek. Construction on the project is due to begin later this year in the area targeted by this phase of Operation Reclaim Waller Creek.

Auction Planned For Downtown Austin Condo – Sabine On 5th

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*** UPDATE: Sabine auction results ***

A selection of the remaining units in downtown Austin’s Sabine On 5th building will be auctioned on February 28th.  A lawsuit filed by residents against CWS, the developer of the Sabine On 5th, and the building’s condominium association (which was under CWS’s control) has been withdrawn as the parties have reached a settlement agreement.  The lawsuit was filed last year as residents grew tired of lack of action by CWS regarding “persistent and major problems” relating to elevator repairs, amongst other problems.

The HOA has been turned over to the owners, which is unusual in buildings where less than 50% of the units are sold.  The specific terms of the settlement agreement have not been released.  Scott Dixon Smith, president of the Sabine On 5th HOA, indicated that “there will be major renovations to the building to alleviate the concerns of the lawsuit.”

Greg Miller, vice president of investments at CWS, has confirmed that steps are being taken to prepare the Sabine for the auction.  27 of the remaining 44 units will be available for bidding.

During the litigation no units were available for sale, and CWS’s loan had twice been posted for foreclosure by Compass Bank.  The first time in September, when Compass Bank granted CWS an extension to remedy issues.  Then in December, it was reposted for January’s courthouse auction.  CWS was able to restructure the debt and is expected to offer most of the remaining inventory for sale via an auction this February.

There were several condo auctions in 2009, and when the Sabine goes to auction, it will be the second major development in downtown Austin to do so.  The first, Brazos Place, was auctioned last year by Kennedy Wilson.  Brazos Place is frequently compared to the Sabine on 5th since both structures are located east of Congress Avenue and are adaptive re-use condo conversions

Originally built as an office building in 1981, and converted into condos in 2007, the Sabine is located along the west bank of Waller Creek, on Sabine St between 5th and 6th Streets.  With the success of developer discounts at 360 Condos and the Shore Condos, the Sabine is the last “attainably” priced building with new inventory left.

Email jude [@] downtownaustinblog.org, or send me a note, to inquire about the Sabine auction and the status of Waller Creek.

-Jude

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Waller Creek Meeting Notes

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Waller Creek District Master Plan - Land Use

At last night’s WCCAC meeting:

Downtown Austin’s Waller Creek District and tunnel project continues to get more interesting.  At last night’s meeting of the Waller Creek Citizens Advisory Committee we covered a lot of ground.

1) 21c developer, Poe Companies, updated us on the status of the project.  They’re actively pursuing stakeholder input, so I’m comfortable saying that this the only new residential project in downtown Austin that still has legs.  The site plan calls for three structures: 1) apartments 2) hotel 3) future site tbd.  The condos are out, for now, but could be built on the future site.  The current focus is a 31 story, 350 unit apartment tower at the southwest corner of Red River and Cesar Chavez.  The tower would provide 400,000 inhabitable square feet with target lease rates from $1.50-2.50 per foot.  Steve Poe anticipated a unit mix of 70% 1bd/1ba.  They are volunteering 10% of the units to meet affordable housing standards (80% MFI), although they are not required to provide any.  There will also be ~10 artist studios facing the creek.  It’s unknown how these units will be priced.  When asked about quality of construction, we were guided to look at AMLI on 2nd as a comparison.  This proposed downtown Austin apartment tower is fully entitled (needs no variances), and the only hurdle is locking in the funding, which they are seeking a substantial portion of through the HUD 211(s)(4) loan program for multi-family development.

The hotel concept would be located closer to the corner of Davis St and Red River.  It would have have 200-250 keys spread across 12 stories and 225,000 inhabitable feet.  In the near term, the hotel is less certain to be built than the apartment tower, as it is more challenging to find financing for a hotel – I find this ironic given that Austin has a shortage of hotels and [some would argue] a surplus of apartments.  Such is the state of the financial markets.

After several years of tunnel planning work, this is the first project to come before the WCCAC.  The development team seems to be very progressive and in tune with the Waller Creek District Master Plan.  They understand the importance of public space and improving public connections from Red River into Waller Creek trails.  The earliest the project could begin is mid-2010, and I’m optimistic they will obtain their funding.

One of the most important questions you’ll see asked of every project that comes before the WCCAC is the estimated contribution to the TIF.  The $120MM bond that pays for the tunnel improvements is paid back through the incremental increase in ad-valorem taxes along the creek.  21c estimated that it would generate $1MM per year ($20MM over twenty years), to repayment of the bond.

2) A summary of the Waller Creek District Draft Development Standards were presented by city staff.  This is a set of guidelines to reinforce the vision for Waller Creek as identified in the master plan.  Sub-districts are defined which spell out appropriate design for each sub-district.  These rules could be codified into law within the next 6-9 months.  It’s good that we’re establishing these guidelines now.  City council could potentially allow development to begin along the creek on a case-by-case basis by providing variances from building in the floodplain prior to completion of the tunnel.  Depending on the timing of adopting these development standards, the 21c project may/may not be subject to them.

3) The WCCAC has been trying to find a way to assure world-class design standards along the creek while working within the legal constraints of the city’s procurement processes. Currently, the city will hire a firm capable of delivering a product.  THEN they seek input to design the product.  The city hires the firm before knowing what the final design looks like.  This process precludes “design competitions”, but the WCCAC has a much better understanding of how and to deliver aesthetic design input.  With enough lead time, a private sector “design competition” could occur such that the winner’s concept is delivered to the firm hired by the City, via the WCCAC.

-Jude

21c Museum/hotel
Waller Creek District