Almost a year ago to the day, the Austin City Council enacted a zoning change and turned over a public alley in the most effort to lure a major convention hotel to Block 18 — the Congress Avenue block that used to house Las Manitas and which was at one point going to be taken…
Downtown “Startup District” Proposed
Technology startups have played an important role in driving the Austin economy. Home-grown companies like Tivoli, HomeAway, and Solarwinds have become major local employers. In an effort to build a stronger community around startups with the hope of nurturing more entrepreneurs to success, the Statesman reports that “Austin may soon get a downtown startup district…
Wow! Strong April & May MLS Condo Sales & Price Appreciation
We’ve updated the AustinTowers | TOWERS Realty Downtown Austin Condo Market Index for April and May, 2011and the results are very, very good. With 42 MLS sales during the two month period (and as many as 40 non-MLS sales in May alone), our twelve month tracking index showed it’s highest average sales price ever: $368,929. The new record was the result of both…
DAB Reporting 40 New Building Closings in May
The Downtown Austin Blog is reporting that an amazing 40 units closed in May in the major new construction downtown projects. Here are the reported May closings by building: W Residences: 15 in May (Est. 51 now closed)Barton Place: 12 in May (Est. 90 now closed)Austonian: 4 in May (Est. 60 now closed)Spring: 4 in May (Est. 208…
AISD to Sell Downtown Headquarters
AISD has announced that it is putting it’s 5-building 128,000 square foot downtown headquarters on the market for $32M. The building could easily be converted to commercial and retail use. The headquarters building has long created a void on sixth street where its retail-less ground floor occupies a critical block just west of Lamar. The…
Top Downtown Austin Condo Projects Report Slow Sales
New data from four of the top five newly constructed downtown condo projects (the Austonian won’t release data) suggests that sales have been remarkably slow over the last six months at W Residences, Four Seasons, and BartonPlace and that many buyers who entered into contracts have failed to close. At BartonPlace, for example, 15 fewer…