The latest bike share hub being installed this morning at Davis & Rainey Street. Just in time for SXSW, this is a good choice of location in the neighborhood. Across the street Hotel Van Zandt is under construction.
Girls Night Out in Downtown Austin – Eat at Chavez
I never thought I’d say this, but if you want to check out a really cool new restaurant, you should hit up The Radisson at Congress and Cesar Chavez.
No kidding.
The Radisson is now the home of the simply hip and delicious new restaurant, Chavez, owned by Parkside’s (and Backspace’s) own Shawn Cirkiel.
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Development Team Closes On Block 1
According to a City of Austin release, representatives with the City’s Economic Development and the project development team closed on the GWTP property (aka “Block 1) on January 31st. The development team is Trammell Crow, the Hanover Company, and Pacific Life Insurance.
Block 1 is a pivotal downtown waterfront development. It will improve connectivity with Second Street through to Nueces Street, the new Central Library, and the Seaholm District.
Summary of what we know about Block 1:
- Located at Cesar Chavez and San Antonio Street.
- Total project size is approximately 1.7 million square feet of mixed use development.
- Block 1 totals 1.776 acres of land
- 38 floor three-tiered mixed-use tower
- expect 440 apartments, including 50 affordable units
- 40,000 square feet of office and retail space.
The residential component is still being referred to as apartments for rent, and given Hanover’s participation we’ll take that at face value. (Hanover developed the Ashton). We should see site work commence in February with public streets and utility work, including the extension of Second Street.
Back in August we caught a glimpse of what Block 1 tower could look like. According to today’s release, the development team continues to signal it will be a 38 story building with a three-tier design, which is consistent with the rendering and elevations we’ve seen.
If you look at the downtown skyline from the south (78704), you’ll notice there’s a giant gap in the skyline between the AMLI on 2nd to the east and 360 Condos to the west. This project should fill that gap nicely.
More importantly, the walkable connectivity this project brings cannot be understated. It’s literally creating more “grid” and that’s perhaps the greatest upside this project can deliver to city-dwellers.
-Jude
Storage Wars: Top Three Options For Condo Dwellers
I recently helped a couple downsize from a 3,000sf suburban home into a 1,000sf condo. Getting this empty-nester couple to move would not have been possible without storage. They purged a lot, but still ended up using all three of the options below.
Where space is scarce, storage is costly. Prices for storage units have gone up in recent years. A few times each year we see a storage unit come up for sale at the Shore Condos. The last one was ~$7500. Recently, I observed at 360 condos a storage unit trade for $15,000. Storage units at the Austonian will trade for ~$20,000, on average.
Storage units in building
Cost: varies, $2,800 – 20,000 (rent $75 – 200+/month)
Storage closets/units/lockers come in many shapes and sizes. Most high-rise condos do not convey with a storage closet (some do, for example Bridges On The Park and Brazos Place). The ones that do don’t always have enough storage to meet demand. Sometimes it’s just a fenced cage, other times it’s an actual closet with lockable door and electricity.
Unless a storage unit conveyed with the sale of the condo (a buyer can amortize the cost of the storage unit over the term of their mortgage) most transactions for building storage units are handled in cash. The cash-only aftermarket can put storage units out of reach for some owners. As you can see below there is a wide range of pricing.
Recent transactions: (sizes are ballpark based on owner input)
*5 Fifty Five – 4’w x 7’d x 7’h = $2,800-4,000.
*Milago = $3,750
*The Shore – 4’w x 7’d x 8’h = $7,500
*360 Condos – 5’w x 7’d x 9’h = $15,000.
Public Storage
Cost: varies, ~$100+ per month
Many downtown condo dwellers forget there is a Public Storage close by on W. 6th Street. As of this post, these rentable storage lockers start at $122 per month, plus a $75 move in fee, for a 5’w x 10’d.
I try to avoid renting whenever possible – it’s a sunk cost, and you need to drive to get there. However, when you’re downsizing and about to start moving, you just want an easy place to put stuff. This is where Public Storage is really helpful. Later you can transition into more permanent storage options once settled into your new digs.
USU “Urban Storage Unit”
Cost: fixed, $2000
The USU is sturdy box that sits in front/above your parking space. It maximizes space you are underutilizing. We have two of these and they are perfect for golf clubs, ski/snowboard equipment, holiday stuff, tools, and generally bulky items we want convenient access to from our door.
We needed to persuade our HOA board to let us install the USU, but now more buildings and HOAs are approving them based on the convenience and value these bring to their residents. You can see USUs in use at the Four Seasons, Spring Condos, W Hotel Residences, and the Shore Condos.
Hopefully, this will help those of you longing for some extra space. If you’ve seen more creative storage solutions, please make sure to share in the comments!
-Jude
[UPDATED: Though we’ve not used SpareFoot, we wanted to give them shoutout. SpareFoot is an online self-storage marketplace that allows storage seekers to search by price and area. So, you can price shop storage facilities across Austin. They are based in downtown Austin, too!]
Girls Night Out – Things to Do in Downtown Austin
Note: This evening’s itinerary also works for date night!
I like to do a group outing with girlfriends once every week or two, but sometimes we get into a rut – where we are doing the same things, going to the same places, etc. So, for 2014, I’ve made a commitment to try and mix things up a little (nothing too crazy) and try to do something a little different each time we get together. Last night was our first night since the holiday madness, and me and gals decided to hit up the northern edge of Congress near the Capitol – frankly, a seeming no man’s land in the evenings.
Stop 1 – 6pm: The Contemporary – The Jones Center at 7th and Congress
For a steal at $5, you can get in to The Contemporary – Jones Center, and view the exhibitions on site (apparently, your receipt gets you [Read more…] about Girls Night Out – Things to Do in Downtown Austin