According to the Statesman, 23 new security cameras are planned for police-use downtown for the purpose of “force extension”.According to the Statesman, “the City Council unanimously agreed Thursday to accept $250,000 from the Downtown Austin Alliance for 23 cameras between Interstate 35 and Congress Avenue, north of Fifth Street and south of Seventh Street. Officials…
New! Keep up with AustinTowers
Unbelievably, this month marks the fourth year of AustinTowers. For our anniversary, we’re excited to add new ways for our thousands of frequent readers to keep up with the News on AustinTowers! Facebook First, we’ve added integration with Facebook so you can share stories with friends directly from each post. Simply click on the Facebook…
New Office Tower Planned for Downtown Block 51
After developing and selling out 360 — one of the most successful downtown projects — Novare Group announced in 2008 that they would build two new towers on Block 51 & 52. The prime downtown blocks, one the site of the downtown post office and the other on an adjacent block to the West of the…
Forecast: Austin Rents to Sharply Rise
According to the Austin Business Journal, “apartment occupancy rates jumped notably in 2010, prompting decreased supply and higher prices, according to a recent report.”As demand continues to outstrip supply this year, the City is predicted to become the country’s second best industry performer — in terms of rent growth — after San Jose, California.According to…
Are Downtown Property Appraisals Too Low?
The $21.75M purchase last week of a prime downtown block adjacent to Republic Square for a new 17-story Travis County Courthouse exposed problems in the county’s tax appraisal accuracy. If you look at the historical tax appraisal data for the downtown lot, the appraised value was clearly significantly below market: 2005 Value: $7.6M2006 Value: $7.6M2007…
Ignoring Criticism, Travis County Buys Key Downtown Block
Ignoring public criticism and without a public process, Travis County closed on a prime downtown block just South of Republic Square in downtown Austin for $21.75 million. With this transaction, Republic Square is likely destined to become a dead block surrounded by government buildings. As a result of the transaction, the prime park block is…