For a while, 2007 seemed like the year of the downtown Austin condo project. Since last August, however, the market has changed. While most of the projects coming on the market in 2008 are sold out and many of the others are proceeding smoothly, at least three early stage projects for 2009 and beyond seem…
News
The Most Controversial Project: Version 3.0
The Congress Avenue Marriott — a 1,000 room hotel complex on 2nd and Congress avenue — is the most controversial, and one of the least popular downtown projects. The project is best known for displacing Las Manitas and other local businesses. While the full details of the current plan are not known, the last two…
The Austin Parking Enterprise has Arrived
As expected, the Austin City Council has cleared the way for creation of a municipal parking authority that will build and operate for-profit parking structures in downtown and other high-density regions of the city. Proceeds from the garages will be used t support the hike and bike trails, bicycle lanes, and other alternative transportation projects….
Is That Really the View?
Many of the swanky downtown Austin condo projects present prospective buyers with images of the actual view from the units they are considering. This is an amazing feat considering that many of these buildings have not even broken ground. For example, here are two “views” from future units in the Austonian — a 50+ story luxury…
New Destination Library May be Incorporated into Seaholm Plan
Over the last year, a task force has been working on a plan to create an ambitious new destination library for downtown Austin, This flagship facility would incorporate world class architecture and a prime downtown location to create a dramatic new public space that will be a prime asset for downtown denizens. The big question…
The Beginning of a Congress Avenue Comeback
Prior to 1960, Congress avenue was the center of retail and commerce for the City of Austin. Over the last 5 decades, Congress Avenue has been in a steady state of decline as city residents increasingly looked to suburbs for shopping and commerce. Today, there are only 13 retail business on the prime central stretch…