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Sabine On Fifth Auction Results

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UPDATE: As of 3/24/10 there are five units remaining at the Sabine.  Send me a message for availability.

[youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWCrXuNJJRk]

In a packed house, over 200 registered bidders showed up for the auction of 31 units at the Sabine on Fifth condos.  31 29 buyers walked away very happy, as this was believed to be the last great buying opportunity for attainably priced downtown Austin new construction.  Where 27 units were originally intended to be auctioned, earlier in the week CWS (developer) decided to include three more, then in the final minutes of the auction they included another 1bd.

The building has 80 units total.  Once the 31 auction units close, there will be 13 new construction units remaining.  These will be sold through traditional channels.  36 units closed before the now settled lawsuit was filed in February of 2009.  During 2009, the 44 remaining units were taken off of the market due to litigation.  This auction marked the “re-debut” of the Sabine.

# of units offered = 31 (29 bids accepted as of 4pm Sunday)
Avg winning bid (inc. 4% prem.) = $228psf
Avg original asking price = $326psf
Avg discount from asking price = 30%

You’ll recall that the Brazos Place auction fetched an average of $281psf, and that was an avg 29% discount from original asking price.

-Jude

Auction Planned For Downtown Austin Condo – Sabine On 5th

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*** 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the developer of the Sabine On 5th, and the building’s condominium association (which was under CWS’s control) has been withdrawn as the parties have reached a settlement agreement.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

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Waller Creek District Update

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The entire Waller Creek District Master Plan can be downloaded here.

Waller Creek District Master Plan - Open Spaces
Waller Creek District Master Plan – Open Spaces

The vision for more and safe public spaces along Waller Creek, including park like connectivity from Waterloo Park to Lady Bird Lake, was a primary motivation for choosing to live at the Sabine.  When I tell people about Waller Creek, a common response is “Waller Creek… they’re still tryin’ to get that done, huh?”

The Waller Creek Tunnel Project and subsequent improvements to the district represent one of the most significant urban renewal project in Austin.  I was appointed to the Waller Creek Citizens Advisory Committee (WCCAC) last month.  Since then my understanding of what’s happening with Waller Creek has improved significantly – The Waller Creek Tunnel is on time and on budget and will break ground in late 2010 or early 2011.

Waller Creek District Master Plan - Land Use
Waller Creek District Master Plan – Land Use

At last night’s WCCAC meeting, ROMA delivered a highly compelling draft of a master plan for Waller Creek.  While we were only presented with a draft, ROMA’s Waller Creek districting plan creates a vast amount of public space and a Sabine Street promenade is one example of a progressive districting plan as a whole.  Sabine Street’s wide and underutilized right-of-ways could be converted into a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly promenade.  The promenade would most likely deliver large 30ft+ areas for al-fresco dining, bicycle lanes that connect back into the Waller Creek trail system, and enough room for limited automobile traffic to still get through.

On October 24th, ROMA will present the entire plan at a town hall meeting.

-Jude

A Sabine Condos Auction?

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UPDATE 01/05/2010: The Sabine auction has been confirmed.

UPDATE 02/28/2010: The Sabine auction results!


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This should be interesting…

In a conversation with a credible source I learned that CWS, the developer of the Sabine condos in downtown Austin, is on an almost certain trajectory to place the remaining units at the Sabine condos up for auction.

Information is a little spotty, but 20-25 undetermined units could be auctioned off in mid-October, just in time for buyers to qualify for the $8,000 first-time home buyers tax credit. The remaining units would be sold in the open market.

In February, a group of owners filed a lawsuit against the Sabine HOA, controlled by CWS, which has prevented any units from being sold since then.

This would be the second downtown Austin auction, the first being Brazos Place.

Updates will soon be forthcoming. 🙂

-Jude

p.s. As a current resident/owner, and former listing agent for the Sabine, I have a personal interest in this story. Investors and buyers desiring original pricing, unit availability, and insights into the building and specific units to pursue/avoid should contact me directly – judegalligan [@] gmail.com