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Rainey Street: Right Place Right Time

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The Statesman gets the details on the evolving Rainey Street district. As DAB reported on Lustre Pearl and Clive Bar, Lustre Pearl sets just the right tone for the unique tree lined street with CBD zoned bungalow homes. The opportunity on Rainey Street is for more diverse uses including restaurants and coffee shops that leverage the charm of the street. This make sense in a down real estate market. There is little likelihood of any major building taking advantage of the CBD zoning within the next five years. Now, property owners have incentive to lease the properties to entrepreneurs like Bridget Dunlap who will rehab the existing structure and make the neighborhood more desirable.

I’m most looking forward to “96” – “In October, Dunlap plans to open 96, as in 96 Rainey St., across the street from Lustre Pearl in another 1907 house. It will serve beer, wine, coffee, pizza and other items.”

-Jude

Sage Condos Auction Results

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[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFzLSalIMN4]

[non-downtown related news, but should be of interest to most DAB readers]

The remaining 23 units at the Sage Condos, located on 1702 S. Lamar, were auctioned off today. JP. King was the auctioneer of the “highest bidder’s choice” style auction where the winning bidder could choose to purchase any unit for the amount of the winning bid. The video above is of the first auction.

Including the 10% buyers premium, the average winning bid was $131 per foot, and prices ranged from $151,250-253,000.

I estimate 300 people were in attendance, perhaps 1/3 of those were registered bidders, the other 2/3 being spouses, friends & family, etc. Though originally slated for only 10 absolute auctions, the developer was on-site and confirmed all but five of the winning bids. The units were offered “as-is.” The bidding interest favored the units with downtown Austin views.

PDF of winning bids

-Jude

p.s. you’ll notice the video is labeled austincondoauction.com. That will soon become the repository for all the auction results and discussion – as soon as I work the bugs out 🙂

Green Water Treatment Plant – Relocation of Live Oak Tree

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From Cynthia Jordan with City of Austin Public Works…

“I thought you all might find the attached photographs interesting. As part of the deconstruction portion of the project, the City agreed to relocate a 21” diameter Live Oak tree to Town Lake Park. This relocation took place this morning. The attached photos show the tree being moved to the park. Thank you Butch for sharing these photographs with us. Enjoy!”

What Will Replace American Youth Works?

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Thanks to a tip from Michael and then confirmed yesterday when I saw the doors and windows boarded up, Downtown Austin Blog has learned that American Youth Works has moved out of its warehouse loft space on E 4th.

The building is owned by Austin Charter Schools Inc.  I haven’t read anything suggesting that AYW was preparing for a move, so this wasn’t on my radar.   Please leave any info you have in the comments.

Indeed, This Place Matters

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Mike McGill holding a sign in downtown Austin’s warehouse district as part of the ‘This Place Matters’ campaign of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A Residence On 6th Street? You Bet.

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A Residence On E 6th Street
A Residence On E 6th Street

This couple, David and Jean Graeber, has been doing it for 35 years!  During that time bars have become the defacto use along E 6th Street, the facades have taken a beating, and the recent string of bad press may have you thinking this is a ludicrous idea.  It’s not – it’s an opportunity! You could own a property, including the dirt below it, on Austin’s most notable street.  Right now there are at least three properties on E 6th for sale.  Asking prices begin at $995,000.  Even if you spent an additional $200 per foot to renovate, you could spend the same amount of money at the Austonian.  Of course, this lifestyle decision isn’t for everyone, but it is a lifestyle that will appeal to lots of people.

Below are three properties for sale on E 6th, none of which need to be occupied by a bar 🙂

502 E 6th
410 E 6th
719 E 6th

-Jude

Downtown Austin Federal Courthouse Groundbreaking On September 2nd

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According the Statesman, the proposed Federal Courthouse at 5th @ San Antonio begins construction in less than two weeks.  Months ago $116MM of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds were allocated to the courthouse and, though seemingly moot, there continues to be strong opinions against the design and location.  I’m looking forward to its completion.  The new workforce occupying the courthouse will bring more economic activity to the retail shops within walking distance.

-Jude

Spring Condos Have First Closings, Residents

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Photo by LoneStarMike @ SkyscraperPage
Photo by LoneStarMike @ SkyscraperPage

The one downtown Austin building that has protected views of just about everything in central Austin (Zilker, Lady Bird Lake, Texas State Capitol) is officially open.  According to Larry Warshaw, one of the developers of the Spring Condos, closings began late last week and residents have started moving in.  Cool!

-Jude

[update: It appears that all of the construction barriers have been removed.  3rd Street reconnects with Baylor St on the other side of Lamar.  The ground floor retail frontage is visible from the street.  I’ll try and snap some photos tomorrow.]

Hyatt Place In Downtown Austin?

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Massing Sketchup Of Hyatt Place
Sketchup Of Possible Massing Of Hyatt Place

Following this thread over at SkyscraperPage, some readers found evidence of a forthcoming hotel on the southwest corner of 3rd and San Jacinto.  Currently the parking lot is owned by the folks who had planned to build 21c – which has moved to Red River @ Cesar Chavez – at the Whitely Paper company building.  Stay tuned!