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Sabine Residents File Lawsuit

Jude Galligan | March 14, 2009 |

Shonda Novak is reporting on the recent lawsuit filed by the Sabine on Fifth residents against the developer, CWS, to repair the elevators and resolve the property tax issues.

I am a resident owner at the Sabine and understand that ALL condominiums face challenges. While the issues sited in the article are serious, the solutions are within reach. Ironically, the residents’ and developer’s interests are somewhat aligned – fix the problems and refocus on what makes the Sabine a great place to live: its uniqueness, its residents, and its location.

-Jude

Dillo hours expanded during SXSW

Jude Galligan | March 13, 2009 |

From City of Austin website:

“Capital Metro’s Dillo service will run until 11 p.m. each night and its “Night Owl” routes will provide late-night travel between midnight and 3 a.m. Check www.capmetro.org for downtown routes. “

Chronicle Takes Notes on the Downtown Austin Condo Market

Jude Galligan | March 13, 2009 |

OK. I just got blindsided by this story.

The Austin Chronicle has just published one of the most balanced and insightful articles about Downtown Austin condos I’ve ever read. Below are a handful of quotes taken from our beloved local-leftist-zealously-liberal rag(?)

“…Austin has a reputation nationally as being a pain-in-the-ass city in which to get a project done. (Thank demanding city regulations and laborious processes, environmental protections, and our activist neighborhood associations and citizens.) Our reputation actually helped stabilize the Austin market, discouraging overbuilding and a Miami-like volume of investor-driven projects.”

Benefits to the city:

“As Mayor Wynn points out, on average, 80 percent of all taxes generated Downtown go to provide services outside of Downtown, in effect subsidizing other areas of town”

Benefits of high density:

“High-rise development also contains city costs, in comparison to the suburban model. “If 178 families live on 1-acre lots, the city is charged with maintaining four to five miles of streets, water lines, wastewater lines, drainage pipes,” and so forth, said Mitchell, as well as city services to 200-plus acres. “The Austonian abuts 334 linear feet of streets, water and wastewater pipes, and drainage pipes and consumes less than an acre of land. That makes it far more sustainable, and less expensive to the city, than a sprawling subdivision of similarly priced homes.“

DAP phase II approved!

Jude Galligan | March 12, 2009 |

Great news! According to our knowledgeable members of DANA, the vote passed 7 – 0 this morning. Laura Morrison moved to postpone the vote but there was no 2nd.

Just in from the ABJ…

“The Austin City Council approved a a professional services agreement with San Francisco-based Roma Design Group for planning services to complete the Downtown Austin Plan.”

Insider Deals

Jude Galligan | March 12, 2009 |

My business is Downtown Austin Real Estate. Not West Lake, not Circle C, not Hyde Park, not Tarrytown – simply Downtown Austin!

Deals are getting done in Downtown Austin. Sellers are loathe to publicly lower prices. Instead, they sporadically reach out to a handful of market makers and suggest a price when they need to get a deal done. I’ve seen developers require a non-disclosure agreement! Who cares, you just got a great deal because you were in the know. Recently, my firm has negotiated deals of 30% off asking price.

Are you in the know?

I am opening up my insider deal contact book to prepared buyers that are pre-approved and ready to negotiate. This is an invitation to join my short list of buyers who receive a heads up whenever a seller contacts me motivated to make a deal. This goes for condo sales AND apartment leases.

Being prepared to close is the key to negotiating a super deal. You, or someone you know, can be added to my distribution list by sending me an email including:

-a pre-approval letter from your lender (if you are buying)
-your desired amount of space

Jude Galligan, Downtown Austin Realtor
judegalligan [@] gmail.com
512-226-3414

City Council to Vote on Phase Two of Downtown Austin Plan

Jude Galligan | March 12, 2009 |

On today’s city council agenda, item #4 is a vote to fund phase two of the Downtown Austin Plan. The city and downtown Austin stakeholders have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in time and money to design a downtown befitting a world class city.

Laura Morrison, Lee Leffingwell, and Mike Martinez are expected to align themselves against downtown. After all, if you study the Statesman you’ll realize that it’s en vogue to hate on downtown. Though, these council members will vote against downtown under the guise of fiscal responsibility.

Dont’ be fooled!

Politically they are posturing themselves to support a comprehensive plan for the city. Something that could take years, will certainly require more expensive consultants, and just as easily could be thrown out as they seem to want to do with the Downtown Austin Plan. The City’s shelves are thick with research studies and improvement plans which have never been implemented.

I hope I’m wrong. We should know by lunchtime how each council member voted.

Austin Community College Purchases Two Downtown Properties

Jude Galligan | March 8, 2009 |

Thanks to DANA board member Roger Cauvin for the heads up!

ACC has purchased 800 and 812 w 12th Street (Gmap). Combined, these properties take up a chunk of the Northwest corner of 12th @ West Ave. This isn’t surprising as ACC’s enrollment has surged in recent years.

From the article:

“The ACC District approved the purchase of two downtown properties this week. ACC paid $1 million for the sites at 800 and 812 W. 12th Street in Downtown Austin….General obligation bonds paid for the purchase.”

Waller Creek Tunnel – council approves budget for engineering review

Jude Galligan | March 5, 2009 |

Waller Creek Tunnel project inches forward. According to the ABJ, “Austin City Council approved an agreement with Austin-based H.R. Gray to provide engineering services for the Waller Creek Tunnel project. The contract amount is up to $300,000. H.R. Gray will conduct an engineering review of the Waller Creek Tunnel project’s design and construction plans.”

Baby steps.

City Parking Meters

Jude Galligan | March 5, 2009 |

City of Austin getting new parking meters

Rob Spillar stopped by the DANA board meeting this past Tuesday to share his recommendation to replace the existing parking meters. Quite simply, the recommended system is VASTLY superior (ppt) to the old meters.

Highlights:
1) potential to partner with CapMetro to purchase bus/rail tickets
2) potential for city to compete with parking garages on weekend nights
3) time purchased is transferable to other parking locations
4) free parking for motorcycles and scooters

Today, Austin City Council approved the new parking meters on consent.

-Jude

No more weekend Dillo

Jude Galligan | March 5, 2009 |

According to CapMetro, weekend Dillo service isn’t getting enough ridership to support its continued operation. My question is, at $0.50 per two hour pass, were they ever expecting it to?

This would be especially frustrating news for commuters if the Commuter Rail was running weekends… but it’s not.

http://capmetro.org/news/news_detail.asp?id=6335