A current view of progress at the Natiivo site. On the left is the 44 East Avenue condo project. Photo by James Rambin
Only a year and change after its groundbreaking ceremony in August 2019, downtown Austin condo tower project Natiivo is officially topped out.
Members of the Natiivo development team sign the symbolic highest girder to be placed, along with a tree, at the top of the building as part of its “topping out” ceremony. Photo by James Rambin
Its 33 floors, rising at 48 East Avenue on the edge of the forever-growing Rainey Street District, will operate under a unique “home sharing” ownership model its developers at Pearlstone Partners and Newgard Development Group describe as a “first-of-its-kind, innovative concept in residential living” offering buyers “the benefits of home ownership combined with the ease and service of a high-end hotel.”
A rendering of the finished Natiivo tower. Image: STG Design / Pearlstone Partners / Newgard Development Group
Owners of one of the 249 units at Natiivo have the option to rent out their residences on any online platform like Airbnb or VRBO, and the building’s in-house staff and other features like laundry service allow these units to function like managed investment properties, providing owners the opportunity to offset costs with little personal involvement when they aren’t occupying the condo themselves.
A completed view of the 33rd-floor pool deck at Natiivo. Image: STG Design / Pearlstone Partners / Newgard Development Group
In addition to amenities like concierge and valet parking for owners and guests, the building’s lobby will contain a coffee bar, cafe, and lounge spaces open to the public — and the tower’s major outdoor spaces include a 10th-floor terrace and 33rd-floor rooftop pool. It’s a type of property (and business model) we haven’t seen in Austin before, and it’ll be interesting to see if the idea spreads even in the face of the current pandemic — for what it’s worth, representatives for Pearlstone say residences at the building are currently more than 50 percent sold.
The view of downtown Austin from the 33rd-floor pool deck now under construction at Natiivo. Photo by James Rambin
In spite of coronavirus-related delays for many projects in the downtown area — and even with increased safety precautions in place at its construction site — the Natiivo site has managed to stay on its original pre-pandemic construction schedule, making it the only new condo building currently underway in downtown Austin that’s still on track for move-ins starting next year. The building’s development team includes local architecture studio STG Design, general contractor AECOM Hunt, and New York-based interior design team INC Architecture and Design.
Looking southeast from the unfinished 33rd-floor pool deck of the Natiivo tower, providing us with a pretty good view of progress at the Hatchery project currently transforming East Austin’s RBJ Center
Though topping out isn’t the final step, it’s a welcome milestone considering many nearby projects are experiencing delays or other uncertainties in the face of a never-ending pandemic — and assuming all goes well, Natiivo should deliver in Q3 2021.
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