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First Look: The Bowie Apartments in Downtown Austin

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The heavy lifting at The Bowie Apartments is nearing completion, and we were able to get a sneak peak tour to look at some of the units.

Previously named 3Eleven, a reference to the street address of 311 Bowie, The Bowie Apartments are attempting to raise the bar beyond the previous luxury apartment towers, The Ashton and The Whitley.

What we saw was an exceptional building, with pricing to match: studios starting at around $1550/mo, 1 Beds around $2k/mo.  Two bedrooms begin around $3300, and large three bedrooms plans begin at [gulp] $9100 per month.

The Bowie offers 34 different floor plans.  Whole Foods Corporate will have offices on their 8th and 9th floors (which, we are told will have a separate entrance).The Bowie’s interior features & amenities include:

  • Floor to ceiling windows,
  • hardwood floors
  • solar window shades
  • Gas Ranges (we don’t know of a downtown competing class apartment with this offering)
  • Full-size, front-load Washers and Dryers
  • 2 outdoor common area decks (w/fire pits, grilling areas, etc)
  • Rooftop Pool
  • Catering Kitchen / Clubroom / Conference Room
  • Concierge Service
  • Bicycle Storage

The Bowie Apartments will have a heated swimming pool atop their 37th floor, boasting the “the highest pool in Texas!”  We can’t confirm this, but it seems plausible.

What’s really going to set this apartment high-rise apart from others is its prime location: across the street from Whole Foods.  At least until Seaholm is completed, to truly have walkable lifestyle in downtown, there will be a premium for close proximity to Whole Foods.

Competition-wise, The Bowie is likely to go head-to-head with the Ashton, Whitley, the neighboring Monarch, and individual for-lease units at the Spring Condos.  Price wise The Bowie will also be competing with condos for rent at the Four Seasons and W Hotel.

The ground floor of the building will host a restaurant. We are told that there are several inquiries into the space, but no contracts have been signed to occupy the space.

Move ins begin December 15.  If you’re looking to get some info on how The Bowie stacks up to other downtown rentals – just contact us and we can walk you through the details.

-A

Austin Fairmont Hotel To Break Ground November 3rd

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Some people, myself included, were beginning to think downtown Austin’s Fairmont Hotel was becoming development vaporware.  Back in March there was proof-of-life when they began fencing off the site.

Today, according to a press release sent to DAB, the Fairmont Austin, the first hotel providing direct access to the Austin Convention Center, is announcing that it has secured financing and will break ground on November 3, 2014.

Colony Capital has stepped in with project financing for the $370 million luxury hotel, which is expected to open June 3, 2017.

The site, located at the northeast corner of Cesar Chavez & Red River is a 1.74-acre parcel situated along the bank of Waller Creek. The hotel will be notable for having a direct connection to the Austin Convention Center, via an arial promenade being designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners (the firm selected by the Waller Creek Conservancy to develop a master plan for the Waller Creek district).

The finished building will no doubt add to downtown Austin’s skyline. At 595 feet tall, it will be second tallest structure in downtown Austin – the tallest being the 56 story, 680-foot Austonian.

Summary of what we know about the Fairmont Hotel…

  • Number of rooms = 1,066
  • Number of stories = 37
  • Square Feet = 1.4 million
  • Building Height = 595 feet
  • Delivery = June 2017

-Jude

Fairmont_Rendering_Oct2014_final
Fairmont Hotel, Red River @ Cesar Chavez, southwest POV

Some Downtown Austin Events – Family Friendly

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Three family-friendly downtown Austin events happening next week, in no particular order….

Event 1

Trick or Treating with DANA at The Shore Condos, Thursday, 10/30/2014 – 5:30-7pm

Pretty self-explanatory.  This event is restricted to downtown residents and their children (or grand-children, etc) and should be absolute cute overload. RSVP required. Click link above for details and RSVP. Here are some pics from last year’s event:

Post by DANA – Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association.

Event 2

DANA Garden Day, Near Pfluger Bridge, Saturday, 11/1/2014 –  9am

Calling all city dwellers! You may no longer have a garden to tend, but come get your hands dirty and meet your neighbors as we beautify part of the hike and bike trail near the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge. DANA adopted a garden on Lady Bird Lake (Cesar Chavez side of Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge). It’s a busy spot on the trail and will be enjoyed by all that pass by.

A pic from a DANA Garden Day of yesteryear...
A pic from a DANA Garden Day of yesteryear…

If you are interested in volunteering, please just email DANA at info@downtownaustin.org so they can send you additional information if necessary.

DANA Garden Day
Saturday, November 1, 2014, 9am-12noon
About 999 W Cesar Chavez
map   transit

Event 3

Movies in the Park in Wooldridge Square – Beetlejuice, 10/29/2014 @ 7pm

movies-in-the-park

The 2014 Fall Movies in the Park series continues on Wednesday, October 29 with Beetlejuice at 7:00 p.m. This week is sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance and will change things up by moving to Wooldridge Square.

Movies in the Park is a series of free films brought to you by the Austin Parks Foundation, and presented by the Alamo Drafthouse. The 2014 Movies in the Park theme celebrates the Alamo 100 – a list of 100 movies deemed essential by our beloved Alamo Drafthouse. The last movie of the season will be The Dark Night on November 13 at 6:15 p.m. in Republic Square.

Dogs, picnics, and lawn chairs are welcome. Alcoholic beverages, glass, and styrofoam are not permitted in the park. Recycling bins are provided, but we ask that you help us out by packing out all of your own trash. Smoking is also prohibited in the park, per city law. In case of rain, please visit http://austinparks.org/moviesinthepark.html for updates.

To pour, or not to pour… concrete… at 3am.

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11/7/2014: Yesterday, City Council postponed this item to 11/20/2014 with direction for it to be heard at the Downtown Commission meeting on 11/19/2014.

10/30/2014: There’s a substitute proposed amendment on the draft City Council agenda (currently item #34, as of this update) for 11/6/2014.  This proposed amendment unanimously passed first reading.  It still proposes an expansion of the area where overnight concrete pours would be allowed, and is also proposing, among other things, to have any and all off-peak concrete pouring in the CBD and expanded areas to end at 2am, in most situations. 

10/21/2014: We’ve just been told that, due to stakeholder feedback, the consideration of this proposed amendment has been indefinitely postponed.

At this moment it is difficult to name a residential tower in downtown Austin that is not within earshot of construction.  This is one of those topics that reflects the challenges of managing economic growth.

The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA) just posted about item #18 on City Council’s draft agenda for October 23rd.

The agenda item in question is in regards expanding the areas allowed for concrete pouring from just the CBD to include the Density Bonus Area (see image below), DMU areas (which would include Seaholm), and the (P) Zoning Districts.

Here’s a map (click on it to enlarge):

map-concrete-pouring-amendment

The amendment also adds what some would call “weak” language regarding noticing requirements.

The proposed amendment has revealed a bit of a fury from downtown residents – many of whom want the night-time pouring stopped altogether (we’ve been told by several sources that no other major city in Texas allows for concrete pours after 8pm).

Then there are residents who want construction to be completed as soon as possible, thus are encouraging the night-time pours.  Some folks on this side of the issue note that ROI is impacted when construction timelines are longer, which could impact things like affordability and the ability to even build some dense developments.  They also cite that day-time traffic would be even further gridlocked if some concrete pours aren’t allowed in the late evenings.

Notably, residents of the Spring Condos and 360 Condos are within proximity of Seaholm’s construction, and will be immediately affected if this amendment passes, and residents of Plaza Lofts (with the newly started construction of Hotel ZaZa) has previously expressed concerns about night-time pours in general.

We see both sides of the issue, (personally, I see the benefits of getting construction over with) and believe that downtown should continue to push for vertical growth.  Of course, I’ve been woken up by early morning concrete pours.  It’s just something we accept as part of growth, but we are watching closely to see how the chips fall at the October 23.

-A

The Rainey Street House

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It looks like Rainey Street District will be getting a history center!  The big question is: where will it go?

On June 12, 2014, Councilman Mike Martinez made a motion, which was amended by Councilman Chris Riley and passed a council vote to essentially read as follows:

Directs the City Manager to accept the donation of the structure formerly located at 93 Rainey St. from Austin Rainey St. D/E/P, LLC, a Delaware, LLC., for use as the Rainey Street History Center.

Here’s the house at 93 Rainey in 2012 (taken from my MEGA Rainey post from 2012) – standing on one of the sites where Dinerstein is building the Millenium Apartments.

The ~1600sf structure as it stands today:

93-rainey-austin

This structure, which will be refurbished using funds from the Rainey Street District Fund, will be placed on a TBD location within the next 180 days.

Currently, these three locations are being considered:

64 Rainey, 700 Cummings, and East Avenue – all pictured below:

There are pros and cons to each of these sites, and the Rainey Neighbors Association will be discussing all the issues, and likely selecting the location THEY endorse (several other stakeholders may need to agree, including the MACC and the Waller Creek Conservancy) on 10/21 at 6:30pm at the Towers of Town Lake Library. If you are an RNA member – you’re welcome to come to the meeting! Otherwise, submit your thoughts on these sites in the comments below!

For more information, download the attached presentation by Austin Parks and Rec: Rainey-Street-House

Fifth & West Residences: The Next Austin Condo Tower

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The Statesman confirmed today what many of us have been expecting, the former offices of the Texas Press Association located at the corner of Fifth Street @ West Avenue, will be razed and construction to commence on a 39 story condominium.

Known officially as Fifth & West Residences, it is the first condo project in downtown Austin to reveal official plans to begin accepting reservations since Seaholm.  Seaholm Condos is notable as it was announced almost exactly one year ago, and was fully reserved within just a few days of that announcement.

We first learned about Fifth & West earlier this year when the project came before the Downtown Commission, and we observed just how compact a footprint the building will have.  So, maximizing FAR was crucial to developing the site.  One of the more notable pieces the developer offered for density bonuses was subsidized Car2Go, B-Cycle, and Shoal Creek Conservancy memberships for each residence.  It is to be determined if those commitments carried through the entitlement process.

[Interior renderings by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture]

Tall and slender (think Spring Condos) because of the property’s small foot print, combined with the the impact of the Capitol View Corridor, the building’s architecture will be a unique triangular tower, with the longest plane facing southeast.  The surrounding businesses, notably Austin Urban Vet, Kung-Fu Saloon, Jerry Kunz design, and Molotov, will remain untouched by the vertical development.

Below is a summary of what we know about Fifth & West Residences:

  • Project name = Fifth + West Residences
  • Address = 501 West Avenue, Austin, TX 78701
  • Project type = condominium
  • Number of residences = ~154
  • Target pricing = ~$740 per foot, on average
  • Building height = 448ft
  • Unit sizes = average of 1,624 sf  (1, 2, 3 bedroom plans)
  • Developer = Riverside Resources
  • FAR = ~20:1
  • Architect = GDA Architects (Interior Michael Hsu)
  • Anticipated delivery = Autumn of 2017

It’s interesting to see how a large Capitol View Corridor impacts vertical development, forcing architects and developers to finesse the building envelope.

Capitol View Corridor
A large Capitol View Corridor cuts through downtown Austin, Fifth & West to the left

Pre-sales process will be announced soon.  Until then, if you’re interested in making a reservation, contact us for more details!

-Jude

Comparison of GDA Architect's rendering to what the corner of 5th & West looks like today
Comparison of GDA Architect’s rendering to what the corner of 5th & West looks like today

New Hyatt House Hotel Proposed in Downtown Austin

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Hyatt House line of extended stay hotels (not to be confused with the  relatively new Hyatt Place across the street from The Whitley) has announced plans to build at 9th and Neches.

Being catty-corner from the Mohawk, steps aways from the music district on Red River, it makes sense that they would want to put something like a hotel in this particular lot, rather than something like condos.  However, it just seems crazy to see even MORE hotels coming up when you have so many other hotel projects happening. I mean, the same company is building 2 hotels (300 rooms) literally right across 9th street at 805 Neches.

Admittedly, it’s going to be an improvement of what’s currently there:

901 Neches
screenshot from Google Maps, Feb 2014

Hyatt House has an existing Austin location in the Arboretum.  Here’s what we know about what’s proposed for the downtown Hyatt House:

  • 901 Neches Street
  • .41 Acres of land
  • ~17k sf of building
  • 189 Rooms
  • 139 parking spaces
  • 10 stories

Hyatt-House-Downtown-Austin

I’m a bit surprised by the amount of parking they are contemplating: 139 spaces, for 189 rooms. Since it’s an extended stay style of hotel, I suppose they see a demand for parking, and are investing accordingly.  It’s just a bit strange because White Lodging, the owner of Hyatt, recently proposed Aloft on Congress Avenue – a larger hotel just four blocks away, without any parking!

The site plan for Hyatt House has been filed with the city, and a decision regarding the application will be made before 10/20/2014.

Looks like the current owner, Journeyman Austin Holdings, bought the land in April of this year.

Downtown Austin Voting Guide

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We know you’ve heard this a bajillion-million times, but this year’s election on November 4, 2014,  is VERY important. Particularly for Downtown Austin, as the new 10-1 district system has the potential to really adversely affect policies that support a vibrant and growing downtown.

First things first – when, where, and how to vote:

When

The actual election is November 4, 2014, but EARLY VOTING starts Monday, October 20, 2014, (prompting some discussion between Jude and I as to what the real difference is between early voting and just regular voting).  Early voting runs through Halloween this year.

Where

Early Voting Locations: Oddly, there are no stations officially defined as “Early Voting” stations in downtown proper (weird, huh?) – but there are some MOBILE Voting locations downtown for Early Voting (sheesh – confusing, I know) – here are a few:

  • Mon 10/20/14 THROUGH Fri 10/31/14, 8am-7pm: Mobile Voting Station at ACC Rio Grande (1212 Rio Grande) – no voting station on Sun 10/26, and hours are 9am-6pm on Sat 10/25
  • Tues 10/21/14, 1pm-3pm: Mobile Voting station at Lakeside Senior Center (85 Trinity)
  • Mon 10/27/14 THROUGH Fri 10/31/14, 7am-7pm: Mobile Voting station at Austin City Hall (301 W 2nd)
  • Tues 10/28/14, 8am-5pm: Mobile Voting station at Travis County Commissioner’s Court (700 Lavaca)
  • Wed, 10/29/14 & Thurs 10/30/14, 8am-5pm: Mobile Voting station at HM Sweatt Travis County Courthouse (1000 Guadalupe)
  • Fri, 10/31/14, 8am-5pm: Mobile Voting station at the Sam Houston Building (201 E 14th St)

early-voting-austin-election

On November 4th:

  • Austin City Hall (301 W 2nd) – 7am-7pm
  • ACC Rio Grande (1212 Rio Grande) – 7am-7pm

Here’s a LIST of all the mobile voting locations, sorted by date. For a comprehensive map of ALL Early Voting, Mobile Voting, and Election Day Voting locations – click here.

How

Now, as to the ballot itself – we won’t go into every race, in the interest of everyone’s sanity, but, we will give an overview to  a couple of the downtown-related / pertinent issues:

There’s the General Gubernatorial ballot which has things like US Representatives, State Representatives, Judges, and County offices….

Then, there’s the CITY Ballot which will have some very important races for Downtown on it:

  • For District 9 (the district which includes downtown Austin), we personally support Chris Riley.  The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association also supports this candidate.
  • For Proposition 1 (the “rail bond”), while there is quite a bit of debate about this bond, we think it’s important to note that the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association has given $4,000 in funds to the Let’s Go Austin political action committee, who has campaigned to support the bond. The Downtown Austin Alliance and the Austin American Statesman also support Prop 1.

Also, here’s a handy dandy tool you can use to remind your friends to Go Vote!

-A

Downtown Austin Streets Are Safer With Uber & Lyft

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Update: 10/16/2014: The TNC Ordinance passed Council with a 6-1 Vote.  Council member Chris Riley’s press release HERE.

We celebrated A’s birthday this past weekend with friends and family hanging out with us at the Shore condos, and later crawling Rainey Street.  Everyone had a great time… and plenty to drink.

As we wrapped up the evening I observed 6-7 people use Uber to get themselves home safely.

I was struck by how effortless ride sharing is, and that it effectively keeps a percentage of drunk drivers off the streets of Austin.  Remarkable.

I think back to just last year, when getting a cab was a non-trivial event.  I’ve always been frustrated with taxis in Austin.  They are notoriously difficult to locate, arrive late, or didn’t arrive at all.  The result is that people would make the poor decision to just drive themselves after having a night on the town.

In cities where ride sharing is embraced, I fully expect to see data showing a drop in the number of DWIs.

Austin leadership should pay attention, and we’ll be watching as this topic goes before Austin City Council on the 25th.

-Jude

Eyebrow Threading in Downtown Austin

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Warning:  This post is VERY girly!  If you aren’t into finding convenient beauty solutions in downtown Austin – stop reading now!

But if you are, let’s get REAL girly together, starting now:

pink-girlie
Squeee!!! Fluffy pink unicorns and rainbows and bubbles!

I am a pale, pale lady.  And along with my fair skin comes quite a bit of sensitivity. So, I’m not real big on getting my eyebrows waxed, which seems to be the common way most of my other lady friends keep their eyebrows looking spectacular.

So, for a long time, I just managed my eyebrows myself, which – you know – is not fun.  And then, in the early 2000’s, I was living in Atlanta and I found a GLORIOUS alternative to waxing or tweezing [Read more…] about Eyebrow Threading in Downtown Austin