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…
News
Austin real estate news combined with editorial and opinion.
Seaholm Rezoning Under Way
Over the next decade, the redevelopment of the Seaholm power plant and Green Sewage Treatment Plant will forever transform Austin’s downtown. By reclaiming a dozen blocks in the core of downtown between Lamar and San Antonio, 1st and 3rd streets, these projects will provide a multi-use urban district that connects the second street district to Whole…
Introducing Austin’s Municipal Parking Authority
As downtown Austin continues to grow and thrive, it gets harder and harder to find a parking spot. For city planners, there are two ways to view this phenomena: either as a problem or an opportunity. It is clear that parking is becoming a problem: the easier it is to park downtown, the more people…
Huge Downtown Site Slated for Development
Over the last few years, much of Austin’s downtown has been redeveloped — or planned for redevelopment. Whole Foods has transformed an area of car dealers and auto body shops. The second street district transformed a region of old warehouse and industrial buildings. Seaholm power plant has been decommissioned and is now slated for mixed…
After 3 Months, Monarch Converts Back to Apartments
In an embarrassing reversal, the Monarch Condominiums has decided to convert from a 100% condo project to a 100% rental project. This follows the projects switch from rental to condo just 3 months ago. At the time of the switch, the condo market was very strong and and the downtown rental market appeared unable to…
Major Downtown Condo Project On Hold?
Rumors have been circling for months that AquaTerra, a 163 unit 20-story project planned for Barton Springs road between Congress Avenue and south First street, has been having trouble getting off the ground. In fact, the building was supposed to be complete by 2008 — yet construction hasn’t even broken ground. While we have not…