Search Results for: park plaza

Downtown Austin Open Houses

Jude Galligan | October 11, 2009 |

(Looking for this week’s open houses? You’ll find them here.)

The great thing about downtown Austin open houses is that you can generally walk from building to building. Take a stroll downtown now that summer is over and the temperature is cooler.

Today is the Downtown Living Tour, which means on this weekend’s calendar you’ll find the Austin City Lofts, 360 Condos, and the opportunity to tour the inside of several other buildings. I will be working registration for the DLT at Gables Park Plaza. Hope to see you there!

Sunday
1) 800 W. 5th Street #908, 2bd, 2ba, $995,000, 1-4pm [Tate Property]
2) 360 Nueces St #1616, 2bd, 2ba, $450,000, 2-4pm [Keller Williams]
3) 360 Nueces St #3801, 1bd, 1ba, $334,500, 1-3pm [Urbanspace]
http://actris.mlxchange.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=1076900420&s=AUS&t=AUS
4) Downtown Living Tour buildings, 12-5pm

DANA's Downtown Living Tour

Jude Galligan | October 8, 2009 |

Downtown Living Tour route - click to see a list of buildings on the tour

The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association is hosting its annual Downtown Living Tour this Sunday. Each year, hundreds of guests attend the DLT for the opportunity to take a walking tour of downtown Austin, and to see inside dozens of downtown buildings.

Tickets are $15. VIP Tickets are $25, and include access to the VIP Reception, Saturday, October 10th from 7-9:30pm at BoConcept, celebrating event sponsors, volunteers, and hosts.

Sunday registration will be held at Gables Park Plaza. I will be working registration on Sunday morning. Hope to see you there!

Purchase tickets here!

Check out the Statesman’s write up.

Oh, if you think downtown living is out of reach… consider this.

Does Austin Need A Market For Air Rights?

Jude Galligan | November 29, 2016 |

I’m not talking fresh air. I’m talking about the ~~municipal zoning~~ God given right to build to the heavens.

The recent plan for 3rd & Colorado – a residential tower that I’m excited to see more of, if not disappointed that it isn’t taller – reminded me of a policy discussion that lost steam a few years back focused on preservation of the Warehouse District. Back in 2009 influencers with a preservationist slant vocalized concern that the charm of the Warehouse District would eventually lead to its demise unless measures were taken to limit height and density in the district.

Back then, one of the recommended approaches to preservation was facilitating the Transference of Development Rights (TDR), aka. “air rights.” That seemed like a smart way to handle preservation of low-rise historic-ish buildings sitting on highly desired CBD building sites. Creating a market for air rights in Austin would, in theory, enable property owners to capture the value of their dirt, without having to build on the site, thus able to preserve historic buildings.

Transferring Development Rights (aka "Air Rights") to facilitate preservation and density. — Transferring Development Rights (aka “Air Rights”) to facilitate preservation and density. Image via nyc.gov

The topic was dropped in 2011 when the Downtown Austin Plan (DAP) was formally adopted featuring a “density bonus” program. Recently, I’ve been participating in the DAA’s CodeNEXT task force, and we’re discussing policies that would encourage building tall on small CBD sites, notably sites that are mid-block. With CodeNext happening, this seems like a good time to rekindle the discussion.

Why would a builder want to buy air rights?

additional density
protect views

Why would a property owner want to sell air rights?

property is too small, oddly shaped, or mid-block thus more difficult to develop
capture value without having to redevelop

Why would a city want to permit air rights to be transferred?

additional density
encourage more development on smaller lots
historic preservation

That last question is the one I can’t reconcile completely. The City of Austin uses the Density Bonus program to subsidize affordable housing.

Would an air rights market, in its simplest form, circumvent those fees-in-lieu [of building affordable housing] from being collected? [Read more…] about Does Austin Need A Market For Air Rights?

Windfall – Villas on Town Lake is being sold

Jude Galligan | June 22, 2016 |

Downtown Austin’s Villas on Town Lake condos home owners’ association (HOA) will agree to sell the entire property – comprised of 57 individually owned condos – to The Sutton Company, who beat out a handful of bidders. More than one source close to the deal has rumored the amount of the offers [plural] were in the ballpark of $50,000,000.

This is exceptionally interesting because we normally expect to see development activity on surface parking lots, or on an assemblage of adjacent parcels. The Villas is a fully occupied condominium! This means there are multiple owners, strong personalities, and diverse motivations. Corralling everyone into agreement is a herculean task.

What’s so special about the Villas?

Situated along Waller Creek, the Villas on Town Lake condominium is one of downtown Austin’s older mid-rise residential buildings. Villas is a modest, courtyard-style, community, built long before the Rainey Street neighborhood became a “district.”

Most importantly, Villas On Town Lake is coveted for its location.

The site is one of downtown Austin’s most desirable. With only city-owned park land between it and Lady Bird Lake, if Villas were to be razed and rebuilt as a tower, it would deliver views of the lake and hill country, with adjacent access to Waller Creek, Lady Bird Lake, and the hike & bike trail. The site is not encumbered by Capitol View Corridors and has CBD zoning.

Villas vitals:

Located at 80 Red River Street, Austin, TX 78701
Built in 1982
Number of units = 57
Total Square Feet (private, conditioned) = 65,791
Total Square Feet (including Common) = 99,770
Average unit size = 1,154 ft
80% of air-conditioned area = 52,631.2 ft (appox: 46 units)
80% of Total Area = 79,816 ft

How does this happen?

Property rights in Texas are such that a condominium association can dissolve itself. When this happens ownership reverts to a single parcel with tenancy in common, and proceeds from a hypothetical sale are distributed based on percentage of ownership. The HOA can sign deeds of units that have not volunteered to sell.

(I welcome comments from real estate attorneys who can shed light on the mechanics of this.)

Years ago the Villas HOA had the foresight to realize the market would eventually grow to a point where the modest condo community was no longer the best use of the land. In 2006, the Villas HOA revised their bylaws to allow 80 percent of the Villas ownership could vote to dissolve the entire HOA. This change paved the way for a deep pocketed buyer to buy the whole shebang with only 80% of the owners needing to agree.

In September of last year, the Villas HOA issued a Request for Proposals from development groups. Groups like World Class Capital are rumored to have been among the bidders. The winning bidder, The Sutton Company, is one of Austin’s most prolific developers, responsible for several downtown Austin condo projects, including: Plaza Lofts, Avenue Lofts, Brazos Lofts, and the 5 Fifty Five. They also assembled the land for the Millennium Rainey, and are developing the land adjacent to the Villas as Waller Park Place.

Is it a good deal?

Yes, it is, for both buyer and seller.

If the rumored $50,000,000 is close to the purchase price, then the average price per foot of “saleable” space is $759/ft!! Based on the average unit size, were someone to try and accumulate control of 46 units – the number I estimate required to gain 80% control of the Villas – would take approximately 14 years to do based on historic sales velocity.

Accelerating 14 years of effort requires offering a premium to market right now; however, the winning bidder also owns the adjacent property and can reasonably expect to recoup that premium.

Villas on Town Lake - History of Sales — Villas on Town Lake – History of Sales

Per the MLS, 63 units have sold at the Villas since the summer of 1997. In 1997, market price for a typical condo at Villas on Town Lake was ~$100 per foot. Now, imagine for a minute that you’re an owner at Villas back in 1997 and a someone approached you saying, “I will pay you double the market rate, $200 per foot!” Most reasonable people would agree to less than double the market rate from an unsolicited offer. If anyone wants to pay me twice market value for my place… I’m ready to talk!

The most recent sales record we have for a one bedroom at Villas was from March 2015, when a 675 sf condo sold for $279,000. So, if the rumored amount of the winning bid – $50,000,000 – is close to accurate and proceeds are distributed by square foot, then that same built-in-1982 Villas one-bedroom may be closing for $512,325. That’s a windfall.

Kudos to the Villas for getting it.

~ Jude

A Drive Through Austin – June 1996

Jude Galligan | June 6, 2016 |

This is an amazing time capsule of a video.

Twenty years ago this video was shot by Pete Reid and his buddy, Brian. Pete was a visiting student from Scotland at UT.

The video takes us from UT, down the Drag, along Guadalupe into downtown Austin. The video quality isn’t great, but it is good enough for some good nostalgia to kick in. From Pete’s Youtube description:

“We drove down the Drag passing the Hole in the Wall, Tower Records, some drag rats, and Miami Subs. Then down Guadalupe passed the Dog and Duck, Liberty Lunch, an empty Austin skyline, and hardly any traffic. “

It starts off with shots of the Drag. For me the most interesting part is about five minutes in when you can catch glimpses of how downtown Austin has evolved. Notably:

0:44 – Tower Records on the Drag

5:24 – on the left, Guadalupe @ 5th, that parking lot is where Plaza Lofts is now.

5:52 – on the left, Guadalupe @ 2nd, that white building is now where Austin City Hall is located. The camera pans to the right to show Liberty Lunch.

6:27 – approaching and crossing Cesar Chavez

7:01 – shots of downtown Austin from 1st Street Bridge

Thanks to Pete Reid for sharing this on Youtube, and to Chris James putting it on my radar.

~ Jude