Looking for a quiet place to focus and get some work done? Look no further than the Tea Embassy. Located in the heart of Original Austin, this bungalow is filled with old-world charm.
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SnappATX: Using Social Tech To Improve Influence At The City
There’s a new way to be heard and see what others are saying about transportation in Austin. Since the urban core of a large and fast growing city like Austin needs effective transportation, every Downtown Austin Blog reader should also get snapping.
SNAPPatx – Social Networking and Planning Project in Austin, TX – began with UT students sitting around a table talking about how to give students a better way get involved in transportation decisions that mean so much for the their lives in Austin. These students, the City of Austin’s Department of Transportation, and Alliance for Public Transportation coordinated with Texas Citizen Fund to applied for and won a Federal Transit Administration PTP grant to innovate the use of social media as an easier and more convenient option for engaging Austin’s Strategic Mobility Planning (ASMP).
SNAPP focuses communications specifically toward some of the population segments least likely to show up to traditional planning meetings, e.g., younger adults/students, adults with young families, and seniors.
How SNAPPatx functions
SNAPP coordinates with the City of Austin, and other information resources, to develop and push out timely information about issues and decisions related to Strategic Mobility Planning.
SNAPP actively encourages discussion by:
- Capturing comments related to transportation in Austin.
- Communication specialists who ask questions to ensure each commenter is providing clear input related to Strategic Mobility Planning.
- Hosting surveys and other unique activities.
- To promote even more conversation, all of this is displayed as transparently as possible in aggregate on the SNAPPatx website and separately, Facebook fans see Facebook comments, Twitter followers see tweets, etc.
Finally, SNAPP analyzes all of these comments for type of comment, themes, topics, trends and sentiment. Specific “gaps” identified are sent directly to the City to become part of their gaps database. A detailed report on trends, topics, and themes is provided to the Strategic Mobility Plan staff and contractors as additional input into the planning process. And, the analysis of trends, themes, and topic is pushed back out into the SNAPP conversation as well.
Start snapping today
The clock is ticking. SNAPPatx has only months to show the world that Austin figure out how to use social media as a handy way to make a difference in planning – Austin Strategic Mobility Plan to be specific. So we need you to connect with us by:
Follow us on Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook
Or just go through our website for e-mail or blog connections.
Connecting is the easiest way for you to see information as well as things your neighbors are saying about transportation, and then to contribute your own ideas and thoughts.
DAB STATS – June Transaction Summary
In June we made local real estate history.
1) We observed the most expensive (per foot) recorded transaction ever in downtown Austin: the 43rd floor 2bd/2ba 2022ft penthouse at 360 Condos, once owned by the building’s developer, sold for $717psf. Note, this sets the record for a recorded transaction in downtown, that is auditable via the MLS. We’re familiar with the off-record purchase of the 11,000ft penthouse at the Four Season Residences for more than ~$1,000 per square foot.
2) The Austonian posted in June a 3bd/3ba 45th floor unit for sale @ $1120psf. This is the most expensive (per foot) unit ever listed in the MLS area “DT”. Mind you, the 45th floor is well below the penthouse.
3) The Austonian and Four Seasons now have residents, and each building has closed more than a dozen units, with more in queue. These transactions are not reflected in the summary data below.
The transactions in aggregate show year-to-year growth for the month of June from 13 to 17 transactions, selling at an average of $296psf to the current $321psf, respectively. Compared to last month, prices are up from May’s average of $284psf. As always these numbers require qualification. Prices did not surge 13% from last month as the raw data would indicate.
In May, nearly 25% of the transactions occurred in buildings outside of the downtown core (Cambridge Tower, Penthouse, Greenwood Tower). These buildings can generally trade $100psf less than the average, so when there is an abnormal number represented in “DT” sales, it brings the averages down. In June, there were only two of these transactions.
I’m increasingly using a modified version of the DT boundary that brings the boundary south from MLK to 15th Street, as this better represents the core, but I will always indicate this to you when doing so.
Registered members of DAB can download a complete statistical and transaction detail report here.
-Jude
Downtown Austin Miscellany
Below are a few photos from the past week.
The former location of Thai Tara has been razed…
In the Rainey Street district, next door to El Naranjo…
We’re seeing progress on Icenhaur’s
The lone house on Bierce Street…
This billboard on W 5th Street is completely blocked from view by the bank building. It’s always been a curiosity to me.
New Office Tower On Congress Ave?
Jacob Dirr, with the ABJ, is reporting on a new office tower being planned for Congress Ave.
A 16-story, 88,000-square-foot office tower is being planned for the 900 block of Congress Avenue, a site currently occupied by three vacant buildings, according to city documents.
Located directly across from Little City, the derelict structures have been sporting plywood facades for years, and have been a general blight on downtown Austin. My understanding of these properties was that there was tension amongst the ownership that inhibited combining all three into a develop-able tower, until recently. According to the article, the developer, Dalton Wallace, will restore the facades as part of the building.
From the applicant’s presentation to the Design Commission…
909 Congress is a mixed use office and retail project located mid‐block on the east side of the 900 block of Congress Ave. The site measures 69’ x 160’ and is composed of three lots 907, 909 and 911 Congress, zoned CBD‐H and the allowable FAR is 88,000sf. The project will consist of retail at the ground floor along Congress with one level of parking below grade and seven levels of parking above grade plus eight levels of office space. We will be restoring the three historic two‐story building facades and setting the tower back 10’ above the historic buildings. We will also be respecting the Capital View Corridor along Congress with an additional setback and remain under the Capital Dominance Cone height restriction. The parking access will be from the alley behind the site and will be serviced by two automobile elevators and valet staff. The above ground parking will be screened from view. The building will be located between two larger office buildings at 919 Congress and 823 Congress.
