I was walking along Red River this weekend and noticed clear signals that Sutton Company is pushing forward earnestly with the largest private development ever (!) proposed in downtown Austin – Waller Park Place.
Most of the aging structures from Cesar Chavez to Davis Street have been vacated… and can now be razed.
There had been productive month-to-month leases in place. Probably not a huge amount of money coming from those leases, but money none-the-less. So this seems like a good indicator that demolition will coming in the next couple of months, and in fact, we’ve confirmed demo permits have been issued.
Birds Eye View
Most of these lots had been owned for decades by another local developer, Perry Lorenz, who began acquiring them back in the ’80s. At the time, the only “density” in the Rainey Street neighborhood was Villas on Town Lake and Towers of Town Lake.
When Sutton closed the site earlier this year, by fate of timing, they also assumed the role of being one of the first developers that will participate in bringing the Waller Creek District Master Plan to life (the other being the Fairmont Hotel). Not a small task, but this isn’t a small development either. My conversations with Sutton about Waller Creek bode well, as the importance of getting it right is understood by all.
If you look, it's pretty easy to see the prep work happening along Red River for Waller Park Place @WallerParkPlace http://t.co/7V1VutqMYy
— Austin Towers (@austintowers) July 23, 2014
Bonus: raise your hand if you remember when this site was slated to be 21c Residences (ahh, memories). Double bonus: remember when this site was intended for Vignette?
-Jude
