downtown Austin's real estate and neighborhood blog
The City of Austin has posted a video of the new parking meters with instructions on how to use them. The kiosk style meters are solar powered and accept credit cards – nice! I’ve always believed the mechanical parking meters contributed to urban blight in a small way. I also make a point to never carry change so the credit card option will be very useful.
-Jude
[non-downtown news]
I just learned that the Sage condos on South Lamar (about a mile south of Alamo Ritz) will be auctioned off on Saturday, August 22nd by J.P. King. This is the second auction announcement this week as the Bel Air condos on South Congress will go to auction on Sunday, August 9th.
The Sage has 32 units total, 24 will be auctioned, 10 will be sold through absolute auction (i.e. without reserve). It is a great time to be a buyer. Details on previewing access and opening bids are sparse. More to come.
-Jude
This is interesting. How would you re-envision Americas suburbs?
“In a future where limited natural resources will force us to find better solutions for density and efficiency, what will become of the cul-de-sacs, cookie-cutter tract houses and generic strip malls that have long upheld the diffuse infrastructure of suburbia?”
Anyone can enter the competition. Entries must be submitted by August 1st.
Re-Burbia website
Yesterday, I received more details about the downtown Austin apartment-to-condo conversion at 904 West Ave. They managed to squeeze 33 units into their plan: 31 one-bedrooms and two commercial spaces. The units begin at 429sf and increase in size to [a sprawling] 744sf. The target average price is close to $360/ft and an average unit cost of $220,000 +/-. Here is an example of a floor plan.
I’m skeptical about these prices. Buyers have other less expensive options in central Austin neighborhoods. For instance, at 2020 condos on South Congress, a similar apartment-to-condo conversion originally constructed in the 1960s, units can be had for $99,000. Though quality issues have been rumored at 2020 Congress.
To be fair, the rendering indicates 904 West Ave is aiming high in terms of design and I haven’t seen any details on the finish outs. I’m looking forward to seeing more from 904 West Ave.
-Jude
Not much is being released about the 904 West Ave apartment-to-condo conversion. The two-story complex originally constructed in the 1960’s should yield 22 units +/- depending on floor plans. The sign indicates the units will start at $160k and will be ready by the fall. From the street it appears they are still in the demolition phase of construction. No floor plans nor pricing have been released (I’ve inquired).
Located in the “Original Austin Neighborhood”, 904 West Ave part of a great downtown Austin neighborhood – equidistant to West 6th as are the 360 condos, Duncan Park is around the corner, and I would enjoy walking to Emerald City Press each morning.
Before he earned the position of Austin City Councilmember, Chris Riley had prepared an interactive map of OAN that includes the history of some great properties – very cool!
904 West Ave has a splash page, but not many details currently.
-Jude
