According to the Downtown Austin Blog , 7Rio may be back on the drawing board. The previously proposed 32-story condo project on 7th and Rio Grande — on the site of Ranch 616 — is now supposedly being redrawn as a 24-story rental tower adjacent to Ranch 616. With the rapid rise in rental rates, developers are racing to…
New Gables Tower Breaks Ground
Gables Residential has commenced construction on a new 18-story apartment tower on Lamar just across from Cesar Chavez and Ladybird Lake. The new project is the second face of its Park Plaza development. It will have 222 units and will open in 2013. Fortunately, it’s more attractive than it’s larger, shorter Park Plaza neighbor. The…
2nd Street: 3 More Fancy Blocks Coming Soon
In many ways, Second Street has become the center of downtown Austin activity. With a dense mix of retail and restaurants, Austin City Limits, and the W Hotel, the 2nd street action continues to accelerate. One of the ways that the City has made 2nd street social is by creating broad sidewalks with benches, rooms…
Downtown Post Office Sold to 360 Developer
The downtown post office building may be the worst structure constructed downtown in the last century. It wastes a prime central block (Block 51) with an enormous elevated parking lot. It leaves all four sides devoid of retail, restaurants or cultural use. It places the structure in the middle of the block, far from the…
Plaza Lofts: Once You Move In, You Don’t Move Out
Plaza Lofts is something of a mystery. Built in 2002, the 60 unit 14-story condo tower has surprisingly low turnover. This year, only two units have sold. Over the last 6 months, no sales have been recorded in the MLS. In comparison to other projects, the rate of turnover is very low. So far this year, just…
$350M Downtown Plan Approved
After a 4-year process, the City Council finally approved a comprehensive master plan for downtown Austin. The plan subdivides downtown — defined as the area between the lake and MLK, I-35 and Lamar — into 9 distinct areas with differentiated development and preservation plans. The plan will guide downtown development for the next 10 years….