I've decided that i'm not really against all the construction downtown. It's unavoidable as Austin is a popular city to live in, so I might as well look at it positively. (I mean, I can't stop it, so sitting here bitter and in a bad mood is not going to solve anything!)
I don't mind if they replace old "tear downs" with new development, however, it does still annoy me, when they take perfectly good bars like The Gingerman, or restaurants like Las Manitas and force them out.
On site I like to go to from time to time to catch up on what's going on downtown is Austin Towers dot net.
I run downtown almost daily, so it's kinda fun to know more about all the construction going on, and this site is the best one I've found so far. Especially the blog they have, and the details of each building. (If you use iGoogle, or Google reader, you can subscribe to their blog off their site)
Here are some interesting facts I learned today (and have borrowed from their site):
- The Monarch -- one of the first downtown rental projects to open this year -- is 45% leased and 25% occupied today. That leaves a lot of units looking for tenants.
- Gables Residential has announced plans to build a new 20-story apartment tower at the edge of the warehouse district. The site, on the corner at Fourth and Guadalupe, is the current location of the Gingerman pub and the former location of the Fox and Hound Smokehouse & Tavern.
- The future 290 room Hotel Van Zandt and the 55 luxury Residences at the Hotel Van Zandt have announced that they are abandoning plans for the condo portion of the project. (also going down from 29 to 16 stories)
- The 10th floor of The Austonian, when finished, will serve as an urban garden complete with a 75-foot pool, fountains, private cabanas, two outdoor kitchens, two outdoor fireplaces, a secured dog park and wireless Internet. (Let's not forget that the Austonion will be 56 stories high and carries really affordable Price Ranges: $559,000 to $8M+)
- Downtown, there are 1,000 fewer rental units being occupied today than at the beginning of the year.
- First, AquaTerra was cancelled. Then the Monarch converted from condos to rental units. 1155 Barton Springs was indefinitely postponed. Now, the Metropolitan (11th street by the capitol) has decided to throw in the towel and shut down prior to construction.
- This is my favorite thing to keep track of, so i can think of how much people are paying every month just for the monthly building fees. ( I added the $$ number on the right to quickly see how much you pay for a 1000 sq foot condo per month)
Fee by Building - - - - - $ / SF / Month----(per 1,000sq foot)
Avenue Lofts.....................$0.28----$280
Milago.................................$0.31----$310
The Sabine.........................$0.33----$330
360......................................$0.33----$330
Plaza Lofts..........................$0.33----$330
The Shore...........................$0.36----$360
Spring..................................$0.38----$380
Five Fifty Five Condos......$0.40----$400
W Hotel & Residences.......$0.61----$610
Four Seasons Residences.$0.61----$610
Austonian.... . . . . ........ . . .$0.64----$640
Average......................$0.42----$420
(Now I understand why Qua, Pangaea and the Belmont are thriving.)
4 comments:
If the units downtown were affordable, I'd be there. I love to ride my bike to work and walk places and to be able to go pick up groceries when I feel like it, not when I have time and to go get a cupcake on a whim...not when I'm in town. Right now I live east of the city limits and pay $400 a mth all bills paid - cute house even if it is small, a pal for my dog and my cat can go outside and not get run over. In the long run it's worth the drive in.
So, are you saying that it only costs $640/month to live in a 1,000sq ft place at the Austonian? That's actually cheap, unless I'm reading it wrong. I pay more than double that for my condo on 2222.
That's just the HOA fees.
As much as I love living near Barton Springs I plan to sell my condo in the next year. Portland here I come.
Good post. I am wondering about the 1000 fewer downtown units being occupied. Wonder what this means? Does it mean the downtown area is being overbuilt?
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