- COA Downtown Commission convenes tonight at 5:30. On the agenda are updates on Bicycle Boulevard from Annick Beaudet with City of Austin Public Works Department, and Waller Creek District Master Plan presentation by Jim Robertson with City of Austin Planning and Development Review.
- Another professionally managed shared bicycle system could be a good fit for Austin. This one is called B-cycle, and it gets rolling in Denver tomorrow. You can vote on their website for Austin to be the next city considered (we’re already tracking as #1). We’ve recommended to City Council Members Riley, Cole, Spelman, and Martinez that they consider integrating a shared bicycle system, like BIXI, as part of the City’s mobility strategy. Since this mode of transit could be of great utility to visitors, one thought was that a hotel tax could fund part of the cost of a shared bicycle system.
- Know that island of vegetation across from City Hall? It shall be called the “Treeangle.”
- In case you missed it, check out this inspired adaptation of an otherwise blah art installation on Lamar.
- The ABJ is reporting “Austin area home sales rose dramatically in March — up 27 percent — compared with the same month last year, while the median price of buying a home was unchanged.” The surge is being attributed to the home buyer tax credits. We share that belief, and explore the downtown market in detail in our recent quarterly report.
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DAA Issues and Eggs Breakfast Forum
On Tuesday, the DAA will host its Issues and Eggs Breakfast Forum. The topic is “Making an Economic Impact Through Contemporary Art”
The Downtown Austin Alliance, the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division and Art Alliance Austin invite you to attend an Issues and Eggs Breakfast Forum and Next Level Speakers Series presentation focusing on the positive impact art can have on our downtown economy.
Please join us for this presentation featuring Dan Cameron, founder of the not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization U.S. Biennial, Inc., and artistic director of Prospect New Orleans, the international biennial of contemporary art produced by U.S. Biennial, which launched in November 2008.
Issues and Eggs Breakfast Forum
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
7:30 a.m.: Breakfast
8:00 a.m. — 9:00 a.m.: Presentation
Austin City Hall, Council Chambers — 301 W. 2nd Street
Parking: City Hall Garage
[Read more…] about DAA Issues and Eggs Breakfast Forum
Downtown Austin Open Houses
Downtown Austin open house listings for Sunday, April 18th
It’s buying season! If you’ve been considering buying a downtown Austin condo, then you should come down and check out a few open houses. You can generally walk from building to building. This weekend you can browse at your own pace at the 360 condos, Spring condos, Milago, Railyard, and the Austonian sales center.
- 360 Nueces St #2908 1bd/1ba $279,700 1-4 [Zee Realty]
- 360 Nueces St #1205 2bd/2ba $464,885 1-4 [Zee Realty]
- 54 Rainey St #709 2bd/2ba $324,900 1-4 [Keller Williams]
- 360 Nueces St #2710 1bd/1ba $289,885 1-4 [Zee Realty]
- 360 Nueces St #1113 1bd/1ba $324,750 1-4 [Zee Realty]
- 301 E 4th St #301 3bd/2ba $309,000 11-2 [Platinum Realty]
- 300 Bowie St, Spring sales center, model units, 1-5pm map website
- 200 Congress Ave, Austonian sales center located at 300 W 6th, 12-5pm map website
When you’re done with the open houses, you can enjoy an afternoon on Lady Bird Lake by renting a canoe or kayak from at the Texas Rowing Center. Or, dine al fresco at Annie‘s Cafe on Congress Ave for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Make sure to download my 2010 First Quarter – downtown Austin real estate report (.pdf) and discuss with a Realtor who lives and works in downtown Austin.
-Jude
New Downtown Office Tower Announced Next To Gables
Francisco Vara-Orta gets the scoop on plans for a new downtown Austin 15 story office tower, next to Gables Park Plaza at Lamar and Cesar Chavez.
Dubbed Park Plaza, the planned 15-story tower will feature 189,000 square feet of predominately Class A office space off the northeast corner of West Cesar Chavez Street and Lamar Boulevard — next to the newly opened Gables Park Plaza residential complex. Gables owns the 1.8-acre tract where the new office building is planned, and has contracted with Capital City to build and lease the structure, which will also include approximately 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Dirt could turn as early as October.
Nothing gets built until enough lease agreements are in place, but with a location like this that could happen soon. As it is envisioned, no variances are needed.
This is the second, (maybe third) office project announced in this district of downtown this year.
5 Reasons You Should Sign Up For Jude’s Quarterly Report
Just posted my review of downtown Austin residential real estate for the first quarter of 2010. This report is only available to registered DAB readers. Why should you bother?
1) You want accurate and timely information on the market
2) You live, work, or care about downtown Austin
3) You are interested in selling or buying a downtown condo
4) You want access to information (like this report) not available anywhere else
5) There’s no commitment, if you don’t like it then unsubscribe with one click
Sign up in the DAB member area, where in addition to the report, you will have access to sales data in real time. As always, we appreciate your input as to how to improve DAB. Check it out!
-Jude
For Sale: 360 Condos Penthouse
We love penthouses. There is only one top floor in any building, and this space is currently the highest occupied residence in Austin, Texas. Located on the 43rd floor, this two-story unit includes a private rooftop terrace. 2,022 ft, 2bd/2ba, and dramatic views by the truck load. Owned by Taylor Andrews, who along with Novare, developed the 360 condos. Link to photos and listing.
Before you jump to more information below, did you see that you can now search for downtown Austin lofts and condos on DAB? You can always click the link in the top right corner labeled “Property Search“.
Art House Movie Theater Coming To 2nd Street District.
At the west end of the 2nd Street District, directly above the soon-to-open How Do You Roll sushi restaurant, will soon be downtown Austin’s latest cinema – The Violet Crown. We reported back in January that 2nd Street District was getting a new movie theater. The Statesman’s Chris Garcia gets the latest info on The Violet Crown. Scheduled to have four screens, with bar/lounge, and opening in December.
The construction will actually expand the mezzanine level by a couple of feet over the sidewalk.
The Violet Crown should make a great addition to the district. At first glance it would appear they are taking on the Alamo Drafthouse head on. However, the Violet Crown might take on a more refined lounge-like experience, trading high ball glasses for buckets of beer.
The removal of the W Hotel’s street barricades this summer will unclog the pedestrian experience in the 2nd Street District, but will be especially welcome to the 400 block that includes BoConcept and La Condessa.
W Hotel Residences Sneak Peek
Members of the DANA were provided with a backstage pass to downtown Austin’s W Hotel Residences. We’ve always admired the sleek monolithic design of the building, and even through the construction dust you can envision the interior will make a similar impact.
The contractor is expected to hand the keys over to the hotel portion in September/October. The doors won’t be open, but that should be the time when the hotel can begin to furnish everything. The Austin City Limits venue and residential condos will be ready in Q1 of 2011.
The most significant milestone will be the removal of the street barriers mid-summer! This is great news for any resident or retailer in the 2nd Street District.
Copa on Congress – Downtown Austin Restaurant and Dance Club
Part-time Salsa dance club, part-time tex-mex dining establishment, Copa (@ 217 Congress Avenue) moves to the beat of many a drummer. Since my dancing skills are reminiscent of Elaine Benes at a company party (“like a fully body dry heave set to music”), I chose to visit Copa at lunch, lest I be tempted by Salsa rhythms, thereby making the other patrons lose their collective appetite.
And it was pretty decent, if I do say so myself. I walked in to a warm, cozy environment where brick walls and arches dominate the scene. There’s three areas downstairs: the front area which seems dedicated to dining, the middle bar area, and a third, large and mirrored room with a small stage that’s dedicated to dancing. There’s also an upstairs and a small patio (of which I did not get any pictures – sorry) Here are some photos:
The architecture is well-done in my opinion, but I’m a sucker for free chips and salsa, and Copa “brings the pain” so to speak, in that department. My waitress was prompt with hot tortilla chips and mild salsa, and the refills didn’t stop throughout the meal. Yum! And, my meal was easy to choose because the menu is only a one-pager of reasonably priced food. I ended up ordering the fish tacos, which my server, Joanna, explained was her favorite item on the menu. At $8.95, they were a pretty good deal – deliciously seasoned and generously portioned:
As I mentioned, Copa also hosts Salsa lessons. Not having taken lessons there, I can’t speak to the quality of them, but the reviews of the lessons from other folks are generally pretty good, though there seems to be a widespread disdain regarding the fact that they do charge a cover for these lessons.
If any of our readers have been, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts!
Overall, I’d recommend giving Copa a try (at least for lunch or dinner)!
217 Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 479-5002
http://www.rania.us/copabarandgrill/index.html
www.copabarandgrill.com
New Discoveries
83 Rainey Street – “Icenhauers”
Rainey Street continues to sprout interesting uses of dilapidated bungalow houses. Chris Howle helped us spot the new TABC permit application sign in the window of 83 Rainey Street, right next door to El Naranjo. The applicant reads “Icenhauers” and they are applying for mixed-bev late night service. Another bar is not ideal for a district yearning for more uses, though good concept execution can go a long way.
C’est la vie.
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Pecan Street Cafe
We love the new location of Pecan Street Cafe. The 504 Trinity Street location is close enough to “Pecan” Street to keep the name, and it is more inviting than the old location.
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Chain Drive
Maybe not new, but we stumbled across a bar kept on the extreme DL. Located on Willow Street, behind the pedi-cab headquarters, it doesn’t look like it’s still open.
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