The W Austin Hotel and Residences is an important project for downtown Austin. It’s located at the heart of the emerging Second Street District. It’s a $300 million multi-use project including a much-needed hotel, a prominent condo project, retail, and entertainment. It’s the home of the new Austin City Limits studio. Until this week, the…
Secret Congress Avenue Town Home on Market
Although not widely known, there are a small number of private town homes on Congress Avenue between 8th street and the Capital. They are well hidden — when you walk by you would never know that these buildings are private residences. If you have $6 million, if you want to live downtown but need more…
Recession Over in Austin: What Will Happen to Housing Prices
A new report from Moody’s shows that Austin and 78 other metropolitan areas (out of 384 cities in the U.S.) moved from recession to recovery during the month of August. The report labels cities on a four level scale indicating (1) Expansion, (2) Recovery, (3) At Risk, (4) In Recession. Austin was rated as (2) Recovery….
12-Floor “Capital Terrace” Development Proposed
A 12-story multi-use project near the Doubletree hotel on Lavaca and 14th street that was originally announced in 2008 is likely to rise next year. The developer, Palmco, is asking the city council on December 10 for a height variance to allow construction of the 163-foot tall building in an area zoned for construction of…
The Downtown Density Debate Resurfaces
Is downtown density a good thing? That’s the big question this month as the Austin City Council reviews proposals that would dramatically change the rules for downtown development. Over the last decade, the City has freely granted density variances in order to get more people downtown. During this period, downtown has been the one place…
A Tale of Two Unemployment Rates
In the last week, the following two stories were published on regional unemployment: “The unemployment rate in the Austin area dropped slightly in August as seasonally-expected hiring offset some of the significant job losses the region has endured.” “California’s unemployment rate in August hit its highest point in nearly 70 years, starkly underscoring how the…