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Political Property

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Using the Travis County Appraisal District’s website, Traviscad.org, I pulled the appraisal values for the homesteads belonging to our city’s politicians. Before I did this, I had a limited knowledge of which neighborhoods our elected officials hail from. For most people their homes are their biggest investment, and I generally believe our politicians are pretty typical.  There is some interesting information contained in these values.   For instance, former Austin Neighborhood Council president Laura Morrison’s Old West Austin property is worth $1,429,485!  I’ve heard through the grapevine that as recently as last year Marc Ott rented in downtown Austin’s AMLI on 2nd, but is currently in Circle C.  Mayor Will Wynn lives with his family in downtown Austin’s Austin City Lofts.  Randi Shade lives in a Clarksville condo.  Brewster McCracken is perhaps renting north of UT at the mixed-use development, the Triangle.  Mike Martinez lives in the Holly district of East Austin (I couldn’t find the record but I know the neighborhood).  Mayor elect Lee Leffingwell calls Highland Park West Balcones Neighborhood home.  Sheryl Cole and her family live in the neighborhood I can best describe as Cherrywood or northern French Place.

See the list after the jump!
[Read more…] about Political Property

Car2go spotted in downtown Austin

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Howdy, youre not from around here, huh?

Yesterday, leaving the office on W 5th, I noticed a car2go branded smart car out front of Austin City Lofts.  Maybe Mayor Will Wynn was getting a test drive?  Earlier this year the Statesman reported the car share initiative would work like this:

“The city will set aside urban-core parking spaces for 200 of Daimler’s “Smart” cars. Rather than paying for the spaces, Daimler will let city employees use the cars for a number of hours that’s equal to the monetary value of the spaces. (That amount hasn’t been determined yet; it will be negotiated over the next few weeks, city officials said.)…The program will start in October and run for six months. Daimler will pay for fuel, maintenance and insurance during that time, said the city’s transportation director, Robert Spillar.”

I’d like to point out that Austin’s first viable car share program, Austin Car Share, was developed assisted by city council candidate elect (!) Chris Riley.

-Jude

[Thanks to Mark for the clarification: Chris Riley was an active board member of Austin Car Share]

Austin's Tale of Two Cities

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Just found this terrific article about how Austin’s growth pattern is driven by the ‘freakonomics’ of Central and Old West Austin.  I didn’t realize who the author was until the end.  It was a nice [but not unexpected] surprise to see that is was authored by Chris Bradford!  Great job, Chris!

Below are two great quotes from the article:

“Families also did not have to flee central Austin to escape dense, overcrowded neighborhoods. The typical central Austin neighborhood is no denser than a typical suburban neighborhood. Most central Austin neighborhoods consist almost entirely of single-family residences. Indeed, in some, nearly 90% of the residential acreage is set aside for single-family housing, with multi-family developments relegated to busy streets. And yard sizes in suburbs are frequently little larger than the yards in the central neighborhoods.”

“Yet there’s an ironic side to this. Alarmed by the decline of families in the city, the same city council that enacted the McMansion ordinance created a new task force a few months later to determine why central Austin has now so few families with children.”

Stubbs: More of A Good Thing

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The ABJ is reporting that the planned expansion of Stubbs in downtown Austin is inching forward.

“Austin City Council approved Stubb’s request to waive on-site parking requirements, with the exception of handicap parking, and to become classified as an outdoor entertainment venue.”…”The expansion will add 4,295 square feet to the restaurant, 6,445 square feet to an outdoor concert amphitheater, and a new 35,753 square feet indoor auditorium.”

Waller Creek Tunnel Project Moves Into Final Design

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Waller Creek (the nice part!)
Waller Creek (the nice part!)

From the Spring 2009 Waller Creek newsletter:

Early tunnel activities, which included survey work, geotechnical studies, physical modeling, and public outreach, have drawn to a close.  The project has entered into the final design.

The design phase is expected to continue through January 2010 and will be followed by a bid and award phase, when the City seeks contractors to do the construction work. Actual construction is expected to begin in 2010 and be completed in 2014.

Design of this large project is separated into distinct sections, including:
• A Parks and Recreation Department boat house adjacent to Lady Bird Lake
• The tunnel
• The inlet
• The outlet
• Two creekside inlets located between 4th and 5th, and 8th and 9th Streets.

A 3 hour public meeting to discuss downtown Austin’s Waller Creek District Master Plan will be held on Wednesday, May 13th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm in Ballroom C of the Austin Convention Center, 500 E. Cesar Chavez Street. The meeting will include a presentation of existing Waller Creek conditions and a brief presentation of the flood control project.  In addition, the Consultant will lead a general discussion of the community’s desires for activities along the Creek and within the District, potential character, and private development along the Creek.

-Jude

You can download a pdf of the Waller Creek newsletter here

Ideas For Austin

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Brewster McCracken - Ideas For Austin
Brewster McCracken - Ideas For Austin

Now this is an example of a inclusive mayoral campaign.  Brewster McCracken has launched “Ideas for Austin” – a website that works much like digg.com – visitors can suggest city initiatives and vote on their importance.  What’s interesting is that ANYONE can participate.  Including those supporting Lee Leffingwell or Carole Strayhorn.  We can all agree that it gets old being pandered to by our politicians.  This is one of the most progressive platform tools I’ve seen.  The City of Austin should take notes and provide the citizens a site this well done.

-Jude

Pecan Street Festival This Weekend

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Pecan Street Festival
Pecan Street Festival

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend walk on over to Sixth Street’s old Pecan Street Festival.  Let’s see if I can recall the old street names…. 5th Street used to be “Pine”, 4th used to be “Cedar”, 7th used to be “Bois de Arc”.  Check out this old map of downtown Austin for more.

The House On The Hill: Norwood House

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Norwood House Garden
Norwood House Garden

You know that house on the south bank of the lake, just west of and next to I35?  It’s on the top of the hill?  You’ve undoubtedly seen it if you’ve been to the dog park on Riverside Drive.

That’s the Norwood House in Travis Heights, and it needs your help.

The first time you look at that house you ask yourself, WTF?  “Look at that view of downtown Austin… how could this house be allowed to deteriorate?”  The answer: the City of Austin purchased it in 1985.

Ironically, in a city that’s known for having a plan for everything, including making plans, the city didn’t have a plan for this.

Norwood House today
Norwood House today

Originally constructed in 1922 by Ollie and Calie Norwood, the house quickly became one of Austin’s most notable residences. Here you can see the house in its glory days. Tennis courts, tea gardens, and a dramatic view across the river (it wasn’t a lake at the time) of downtown Austin.   Ollie Norwood is the name behind downtown Austin’s Norwood Tower.

The house has been examined and can be saved.  The Austin Parks Foundation is partnering with a group of activists called the “Norwood Posse” to raise funds to rehabilitate the house.  Since the house is part of Austin’s park system, its use must be open to the public.  If you would like more information, or to contribute to Norwood House’s rehabilitation you can contact Wolf Sittler at 447-2150, email restorenorwood [@] yahoo.com, or visit AustinParks.org.

-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.