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Development Plans for Austin |
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Over the next decade, the Austin skyline is set to look quite different than it does today. With near 30 large scale projects on the board, these improvements are certain to draw attention. Many of the projects aim to bring urban living to Austin with several high-rise condominiums. Other plans aim to improve city parks and other community centers which will benefit all. To compliment these new construction projects, Capital Metro has just begun to roll out their mass transportation plan , which will connect the majority of Austin by rail. As this plan is completed over the next twenty years, Austin may find itself among the worlds great urban cities. A mass transit system is certainly preferable than adding tolls to existing highways, and still alleviates the growing traffic problems on I-35, Mopac and 183.
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New Austin High Rise Condos - Downtown Austin Emerging Projects |
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1. Austin Market District, North Block
Re-tenanting and expansion of existing development, to include new REI, is starting May 2006.
 2. Spring
Construction is expected to start in mid-2006 on a 36-story, $60 million condo tower in the southwest quadrant of downtown,
two blocks south of Whole Foods Market’s flagship store. The project will have several levels of parking above and below
ground, plus shops on the ground floor with 20-foot sidewalks shaded by awnings. Plans call for 220 units, priced from
under $200,000 to $400,000, with most units selling for around $250,000.
3. Goodwill Site (Phoenix Properties)
Dallas-based Phoenix Property Company, the developer of 404 Rio Grande, is building a 4- to 6-story, 126 unit, warehousestyle apartment building at the current site of Goodwill Industries at Third Street and Lamar Boulevard.
4. Gables Park Plaza
Gables Residential is developing a project of primarily residential (approximately 314 apartments and 100 condominiums), along with 40,000 s.f. of retail and 20,000 s.f. office.
5. Seaholm Power Plant Reuse / Seaholm District Master Plan
The City of Austin is negotiating with Seaholm Power, LLC, led by Southwest Strategies Group, to redevelop the circa 1950 Art Deco Seaholm Power Plant and adjacent property, into a high quality, mixed-use cultural attraction.
6. Pfluger Bridge Extension
Plans are in progress to extend the Pfluger Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge across Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
7. Bridges on the Park
Dallas-based CLB Partners LLC, developers of the Austin City Lofts, recently broke ground on a six-story condominium building with 105 condominiums, an outdoor pool, courtyards and 9,000 square feet of street-level retail. The Paggi House restaurant, housed in a 160-year-old building, will be incorporated into the project. Units will cost from the upper $200,000s for an 850-square-foot unit to about $550,000 for 1,650 square feet.
8. 300 Lamar Boulevard South
Phoenix Property is planning a 5-story, 137-unit apartment project with ground floor retail and restaurants, on the site currently occupied by Binswanger Glass Co.
9. 1155 Barton Springs
Preliminary plans are for 22 condos in a mid-rise building, and 13 apartments in a low-rise building, on the site of the former
Treehouse restaurant.
10. Town Lake Park, Phase II
The construction of the second of four phases of the 54+ acre urban park started in February 2006.
11. Long Center for the Performing Arts
Construction is underway on this project that will transform the existing Palmer Auditorium into a multi-theater performing arts center to provide performance and rehearsal facilities for all of Austin’s performing artists. The center will be the permanent home to Austin Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Austin, and Austin Lyric Opera.
12. 210 Barton Springs
This is planned to be a 20-story building (8 levels of parking below 12 floors of apartments) with 213 apartments.
13. Hyatt Regency
Fairfield Residential LLC, a residential developer based in Grand Prairie, plans to renovate the hotel, adding meeting space, and eventually add housing, shops and restaurants on the site.
 14. 98 San Jacinto
This residential mixed-use tower, adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel, is being designed by internationally renowned
architect Michael Graves. The project is a mix of 200 to 240 apartments on the lower floors and 70 to 80 condos on the
upper levels
15. 101 Colorado
MetLife Inc.’s Dallas office has developed plans for a 28-story tower on the half block lot just west of the 100 Congress. The
tower will include 23 levels of apartments (190 units) above a 4-level parking garage and ground floor lobby, visitor parking
and retail space. Fronting Cesar Chavez will be 6 three-story townhomes.
16. 200 Congress
Benchmark Land Development is planning a 700’ tall tower that will have 250 luxury condominiums units and retail space at the key Congress Avenue - Second Street corner. The building is being designed by Ziegler Cooper Architects of Houston.
 17. 2nd Street Retail District
The 2nd St. District is an emerging, adventurous urban neighborhood with 225,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and
entertainment venues, as well as living spaces and offices. Many of the shops on the first block, between Colorado and
Lavaca Streets, are already open for business.
18. Block 21
The City of Austin is negotiating with Stratus Properties to develop this key full block in the emerging Second Street Retail
District. The project will have hotel and residential above streetlevel retail, and is expected to also be the new home for the
Austin Children’s Museum.
19. 2nd Street Retail District Residential Tower (AMLI - Block 22)
Construction started in April on this project that will have 231 residential units in a 18-story mixed-use building with 41,000 sq. ft. of street-level retail and restaurant, and aboveground parking.
20. Green Water Treatment Plant
The City’s Water Utility is proceeding with studies to construct a new water treatment plant on another, more appropriate site,
and make the current site available for redevelopment.
21. 360 (3rd & Nueces)
This project, a 580-foot, 432-unit high-rise residential tower with 15,000 s.f. of ground floor restaurant and retail space, on
a site overlooking Shoal Creek in the southwest quadrant of downtown, broke ground in June 2006.
22. Austin Museum of Art
Austin Museum of Art is exploring options for the joint development of this full-block site is located just south of
Republic Square.
23. Federal Courthouse
The U.S. General Services Administration is developing a new 230,000 sq. ft. Federal Courthouse in downtown Austin, on the
former Intel site, just west of Republic Square. Demolition of the Intel building is expected to occur later this year, and
construction of the courthouse will start late-2008 or early-2009.
24. Republic Square
The City of Austin is working in collaboration with the Downtown Austin Alliance, the Austin Parks Foundation, the US General
Services Administration (GSA) and a variety of downtown stakeholders to transform this historic square into a beautiful green
place buzzing with people and activity. This project is now being done in coordination with the development of a new Federal
Courthouse on the block just to the west of the square.
25. Residence Inn / Courtyard by Marriott
Twin 16 story towers (170-room Residence Inn and 270-room Courtyard by Marriott) are under construction just west of the
Austin Convention Center, and will open this summer.
 26. 5th and Congress - TStacy
Tom Stacy, a longtime Austin developer, is planning a 675 foot tall project will be one of the city’s tallest buildings and the most ambitious downtown mixed-use project.
The 47-story, 925,000-square-foot tower, will have offices, condominiums, stores and and a private club.
27. 721 Congress
Austin Architect Sinclair Black is renovating an existing onestory building at Eighth Street and Congress into a six-story mixed-use building. The project will have 16 condos on the top four floors, restaurant on the street level, and office space on
the second floor.
 28. The Monarch (ZOM Austin)
Located at the western edge of Austin’s Central Business District overlooking Shoal Creek, ZOM Austin will feature 297
residential units and 8,000 square feet of street level retail. The residential units will be housed in a 24-story high-rise
tower, with a four-story townhome structure over the retail shops. Construction started in June 2006.
29. The Lofts on Shoal Creek
This project is a mid-rise residential mixed-use development on the northwest corner of W. 6th and West Avenue, overlooking Shoal Creek.
30. The Shore Condos
High Street Rainey, L.P., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co., plans a high-rise towers for condominiums, with other associated improvements. Construction of the project, in the “Waterfront District” (as dubbed by Trammell Crow) at Davis and Red River streets, should start in the third quarter of 2006. The 22-story project will include 192 condominiums units over five parking levels. Prices are expected to range from $145,000 to $1.3 million. The project will be linked to a planned adjacent Kimpton hotel (C42) by a sixth floor terrace.
Map of Austin Development Projects Below
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Google Unveils The New "Google Checkout" |
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On Thursday, 6/29/2006, Google announced the release of their new merchant gateway - "Google Checkout," and I am quite impressed with their offer. To see what I mean, lets take a look at the competition
1)Paypal. Anyone who has bought on Ebay before is probably familiar. On the bright side, Paypal allows merchants to begin selling without having to jump through hoops for Visa and Mastercard just to accept credit cards. Paypal handles the payments, and the money is deposited into a Paypal account. From there, the merchant has to withdraw the money to their personal/business bank account (which can take upwards of three business days). But for many, Paypal has been one of the biggest nightmares a merchant could face. Although there is no monthly fee, Paypal charges 2.9% of all sales. And because there are so many Paypal scams floating around the internet, Paypal will lock down accounts from time to time - and freezes the funds within. Since Paypal is not considered a bank, the merchant has little recourse other than to plead with Payal to remove the restrictions from the account. Horror stories available at http://paypalsucks.com/sitemap.shtml
2)2checkout (2CO). This solution caters more to websites who work outside of ebay. Merchants can offer products, and 2CO will accept the payment for the merchant, depositing the funds directly into the merchant's bank account. The integration is quite simple, however the fees are steep: 5.5% of all sales with an additional .49 cents on each sale - almost double that of Paypal.
Now we can examine Google's new offer - Google Checkout.
- Fee is 2% + 20 cents per transaction. This is is more than fair; and without significant volume, this is probably cheaper than a merchant could obtain directly from Visa/MC. The deal is made sweeter since this rate also applies to Discover and AMEX who typically charge upwards of 4%.
- Money is deposited directly to the merchants bank account
- Advertisers will recieve FREE processing for 10X their advertising spend on Google!
- FREE fraud protection, FREE chargeback protection (as long as certain guidelines are followed)
Put plainly, this deal is unbeatable for a merchant. This is also a great deal for the consumer. Google offers protection against fly by night websites, and since the merchant never receives any credit card numbers, buyers can feel confident that their information is safe. If you haven't figured it out yet, my suggestion is that Google Checkout is better than Paypal and 2CO on almost every level.
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 One of Austin's most attractive features is the trail around Town Lake. Joggers can choose a route from 1.5 miles all the way up to 15 miles+. Every day you will find thousands of runners making their rounds around the lake. It is quite refreshing to be able to run somewhere with such a great atmosphere. Because the trails around Town Lake are in the heart of Austin, it is an easy to opt out of a treadmill, and make a quick five minute drive to Austin Town Lake.
If you have not been out yet, its never to late to start. You will probably find the fellow joggers' enthusiasm to be contagious!
While you are out, you will notice all kinds of people. Mothers and fathers pushing their children along the trail is a common site. You may also notice small groups of two or three joggers out for their daily workout. Other times you may notice couples just out to get a breath of fresh air. Or you may notice some extremely fast marathon runners in training. And during the summer, you may notice large groups of people waiting at sunset to view the nightly routine of Austin's bat colony making their way out to the feeding grounds. Whoever you see, one thing is certain; Town Lake has something for everyone. You may find that a run around Austin Town Lake to be just the time you needed to clear your head and give some thought to your next big business idea....and if so, don't forget to give us a call!
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