downtown Austin's real estate and neighborhood blog
Located along Waller Creek at the base of historic 6th Street, and adjacent to the newly renovated Hilton Garden Inn, downtown Austin’s Sabine condos (aka. Sabine On 5th), is an 80 unit adaptive reuse of a former downtown Austin office building.
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OK, not really troubled water, but I couldn’t resist a title so apropos for a city that likes to bitch and moan about growth, yet doesn’t make the hard decisions necessary to steer growth and prefers to react to it, (breath) imagine the hostility we’re going to see for this bridge. One look at the notoriously poorly moderated comment sections of the Statesman’s online posts (seriously, take a look to feel less good about humanity) is all you need to run far, far away from the headaches of local public policy making and sound urban planning.
2) Rainey Street getting smart about traffic
Last week’s commentary by a Milago resident about the perils of walking in the Rainey Street district has spurred the City into action. “Those people” move into the district and now they want to change it with crazy things like sidewalks. Less than 48 hours after this video editorial aired, there were pneumatic traffic counters straddling the district’s streets recording passing cars, and adolescent kids (primarily DAB readers/writers) jumping on them.
3) Oh, hi! Ummm… We’ll be needing your land. KTHXBAI
City approves the use of eminent domain, should it be necessary, to get control over an important piece of land for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project. For decades this assemblage of lots that front I-35 has been a surface level parking lot. For the next 4-5 years it will be a staging area for creek diggin’.
*** UPDATE: Sabine auction results ***
A selection of the remaining units in downtown Austin’s Sabine On 5th building will be auctioned on February 28th. A lawsuit filed by residents against CWS, the developer of the Sabine On 5th, and the building’s condominium association (which was under CWS’s control) has been withdrawn as the parties have reached a settlement agreement. The lawsuit was filed last year as residents grew tired of lack of action by CWS regarding “persistent and major problems” relating to elevator repairs, amongst other problems.
The HOA has been turned over to the owners, which is unusual in buildings where less than 50% of the units are sold. The specific terms of the settlement agreement have not been released. Scott Dixon Smith, president of the Sabine On 5th HOA, indicated that “there will be major renovations to the building to alleviate the concerns of the lawsuit.”
Greg Miller, vice president of investments at CWS, has confirmed that steps are being taken to prepare the Sabine for the auction. 27 of the remaining 44 units will be available for bidding.
During the litigation no units were available for sale, and CWS’s loan had twice been posted for foreclosure by Compass Bank. The first time in September, when Compass Bank granted CWS an extension to remedy issues. Then in December, it was reposted for January’s courthouse auction. CWS was able to restructure the debt and is expected to offer most of the remaining inventory for sale via an auction this February.
There were several condo auctions in 2009, and when the Sabine goes to auction, it will be the second major development in downtown Austin to do so. The first, Brazos Place, was auctioned last year by Kennedy Wilson. Brazos Place is frequently compared to the Sabine on 5th since both structures are located east of Congress Avenue and are adaptive re-use condo conversions
Originally built as an office building in 1981, and converted into condos in 2007, the Sabine is located along the west bank of Waller Creek, on Sabine St between 5th and 6th Streets. With the success of developer discounts at 360 Condos and the Shore Condos, the Sabine is the last “attainably” priced building with new inventory left.
Email jude [@] downtownaustinblog.org, or send me a note, to inquire about the Sabine auction and the status of Waller Creek.
-Jude
I live on the east edges of Downtown Austin, and one of my very favorite things about my location is that I can walk to East Austin on a whim. It’s like I get the best of both worlds. There’s soooo much happening on the east side of I-35, and many of my favorite retail/restaurant stops are located in East Austin.
One of the best (in my opinion) coffee shops over that way is Cafe Mundi, an earthy, hidden coffee shop with one of the tastiest, but simplest, breakfast sandwiches in Austin. I was dreaming of said breakfast sandwich this past Saturday, so I took a nice and bundled-up walk over. As I was removing the million layers of clothing I had donned for my walk, I noticed a postcard advertisement on the table for a farmer’s market called HOPE (which stands for Helping Other People Everywhere) Farmer’s Market – which is held near 5th and Waller. Cafe Mundi (along with Daily Juice, Moonshine, Big Red Sun, and the Austin Art + Music Partnership, and others) is a sponsor of the HOPE Farmer’s Market, described on their website as “a weekly community gathering space where local farmers, artisans, community groups, families, and urban consumers can find fresh foods, community programs, artistic creations, agricultural education and wellness workshops.”
Now, this has been going on since October 25th, but I’ll be honest, I am generally either working on a project or nursing a hangover on Sunday mornings from 11 am – 3 pm, and have not had the opportunity to attend. I’m planning on changing that this weekend and going out and taking some pics and doing a little recon for all the DAB readers. Stay tuned for updates!
This evening is our monthly meeting of the Waller Creek Citizens Advisory Committee (WCCAC). I’m especially interested to get the updates on the I-35 makeover project.
WALLER CREEK CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING AGENDA
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE WALLER CREEK CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL MEET ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12th, 2009, AT 6:00 P.M. IN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, CITY HALL, 301 WEST SECOND STREET
The City Council Waller Creek Citizen Advisory Committee may go into a closed session under the Open Meetings Act, Section 551.071, of the Texas Government Code, to receive advice from legal counsel on any item on this agenda.
Call Meeting to Order
1. Approval of Minutes – (October 22, 2009)
2. Citizen Communication (3 minutes)
3. Waller Creek Master Plan Update – Discussion
Jim Robertson, COA
4. IH-35 Makeover Project – Discussion
Erica Leak, COA
5. WCCAC-Parks Board Joint Subcommittee – Discussion
Sara Hensley, COA
6. Waller Creek Tunnel Update – Discussion
Gary Jackson, COA
7. Competitive Design Process – Discussion
Jude Galligan, WCCAC
8. Waller Creek District surface improvements/2010 Transportation Bond Election
Discussion and possible action
Jeb Boyt, WCCAC
9. Future Agenda Items for December 3, 2009 Meeting
Discussion and Possible Action
