Green by Design Workshop
Saturday, August 16th , 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Austin Energy Green Building™ holds its one-day Green by Design workshop four times a year. Austinites preparing to build, buy, or remodel a home can learn how to improve energy and water efficiency, increase comfort, and reduce maintenance.

This workshop will give you an overview of the green building process. You’ll come away with a framework for making better design and building decisions, including:

·Assessing what your family needs in a home
·Choosing a designer and builder
·Selecting a lot or making the most of the one you have
·Increasing comfort and reducing utility bills
·Making smart material and appliance choices
·Developing a beautiful landscape that saves water, time, and money
·Creating a home that benefits your family and the planet

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 la Crosse Ave
Austin, Texas 78739
Click here for directions

To register for the workshop:
Print the Registration Form (pdf) and fax to (512) 482-5441; or e-mail to register.
Registration fee is $35 per person.

Deadline for registration: Wednesday, August 13, by 5:00 p.m. Sorry, there is no registration at the door.

Click here for more information about this event

Tags: austin real estate, building, green, green energy, housing by Aria
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For those of you interested in the project at 4113 Avenue G in Hyde Park, Austin, Texas, the plans are available publicly:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/agenda/2008/downloads/d3nrd20080088.pdf

It is my opinion that objecting to this project based only on the fact that an old house that is being removed (probably torn down, possibly moved) and being replaced by a new house is against the plans for growth that keep our local economy in Austin healthy. While there are many projects in Hyde Park that don’t conform with many people’s ideas of what is appropriate in Hyde Park, we must also remember that it is a high-density, urban neighborhood now. That comes with thousands and thousands of opinionated people. One may hate a particular house and another may think that it’s the most beautiful in the neighborhood. Many love all the old bungalows complete with all their aging, others find them small and in need of a fresh coat of paint and a update to accommodate the modern family.

I am one of the few outspoken Hyde Park residents for progress. A 700 square foot bungalow that has been recovered in asbestos and needs new electrical, plumbing, and many other repairs is not an asset to the neighborhood in my opinion. When these properties are going for $300,000+, who wants to spend that kind of hard-earned money to live in a cramped home with no closet space? If you want to protect your investment in Hyde Park, I believe in supporting managed progress. Well-kept historic homes should stay, but many, especially in northern Hyde Park, are essentially crumbling track-homes. I think the neighborhood deserves to be taken care of, and that includes removing houses that have not been maintained.

We have great systems in place through the design guidelines and the Historic Preservation committees and groups. We cannot object every time someone wants to add on some much-needed space to a cramped home. And hasn’t anyone noticed that new builds have slowed dramatically? That’s because land values have gotten so high that it doesn’t make any sense to build at today’s prices. New homes can easily get up to $1,000,000. And although I think that some blocks of Hyde Park support these prices, they are few, far between, and lined with historic mansions.

When you object to any and all change, it creates a great deal of conflict. I see that conflict every day in the Hyde Park N. A. Yahoo! group and in neighbors who know that I am a resource to ask on where to go and what to do next. I’ve seen neighbors attach 50-year-residents of Hyde Park for adding on to their homes while the aggressors went home to crumbling eyesores. It’s all a matter of opinions, and like my Kindergarten teacher once told me, you have to learn respect other people’s opinions and feelings. And anyone with a Psych 101 education can tell you that aggressively approaching someone will put them on the defensive and will not get the results you are looking for.

Also, I wanted to remind everyone that the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association is a ‘Neighborhood Association’ and not a ‘Home Owner’s Association’. The difference is, a Neighborhood Association is not mandatory and can not pass and mandatory rules. The HPNA has drafted and sucessfully pushed legislation in the interest of the neighborhood, but you need only the City’s approval for any plans on your Hyde Park property. The City will approve or deny based on all local laws and codes, including some which affect Hyde Park alone.

I encourage comments and I’m sure I’ve struck a few buttons.

Tags: austin, building, development, economy, real estate by Aria
2 Comments »

April 1, 2008

Just announced this morning, Walmart has their sights set on yet another central Austin location. In addition to the Northcross location at Anderson Lane and Burnet Road, a new store at 42nd and Guadeloupe is set to open in the summer of 2009. Plans are currently underway to purchase 32 homes in the vicinity which will be demolished in order to make way for Hyde Park superstore. In order to keep neighbors happy, this Walmart will include a roof-top park and swimming pool as well as an in-store Starbucks.

Neighbors have mixed emotions about welcoming the mega-retailer into their quaint Hyde Park neighborhood. Chelsie Howard, a resident of the neighborhood, welcomes the store saying “Traffic is so horrible in Austin, having a Walmart in Hyde Park will enable residents to get out of their cars and walk, run, or bike to a store stocked with all of their needs.” The store is expected to boost Austin’s economy by 3.4% by 2012.

Walmart chose this location after other retailers, like the Walgreens at 45th and Guadelupe, reported booming business and even nation-wide sales records. This store will be the 5,784th in the nation and will stout the title of “Greenest Walmart in the U.S.” with energy saving features such as roof-topsolar panels powering fluorescent lighting. The store’s plans include selling excess solar power back to the city at 7.8 cents per kw hour as a way of “giving back” to Austin’s community.

(image from PRNewser)

To read the complete press release, click here.

——————

April 10th, 2008 - Update

This post is receiving so much traffic, I thought I’d make sure everyone notices the date of April 1st on the post.  There’s no need to email me in a panic, this is an APRIL FOOLS post!  It’s been fun, but don’t worry because there are no plans to put a Walmart in Hyde Park.  There are, however, plans for a Walmart at Burnet Road and Anderson land in the Northcross Mall shopping area.

For information on the Northcross Wallmart, check out the developer’s site and (of course) an Austinist post on the outrage caused by the plans.

Tags: austin, building, carbon footprint, development, downtown, economy, green, green energy, groceries by Aria
2 Comments »

 So what was the real story with Austin’s Real Estate Market?  Is the bottom really going to fall out?  And why hasn’t it yet?  I feel like a broken record sometimes, but the falling prices we keep hearing about on the news are in totally different markets in the east and west coasts.  In these areas, prices flew up by 200, 400, and even 600%.  So it’s really no surprise that home prices have fallen in these markets.  Here in Austin, we’ve stayed smart as always.  Prices consistently rise, on average, 4-6% each year.  What we’re seeing in Austin right now is a slow-down, and after the huge boom we saw that peaked in 2006, it really shouldn’t be a surprise.  Prices were still climbing steadily in this period, but there were many, many more new homes built to meet a rising demand, and do-it-yourself HDTV fans flocked to invest in their own “flip” projects.  At some point in early 2007, supply met demand, but some were still creating supply.  And projects begun late in 2006 still had to be finished before being placed on the market.  Some areas of Austin saw this more than others, and in particular, Central Austin, East Austin, and South Austin saw the biggest booms.  Suburbs saw more production, but not on the scale of these urban areas of Austin.  Now, we’re waiting for demand to catch up with supply.  We are currently in a buyer’s market, but not on the gloom and doom scale of other parts of the country (or even Austin in previous recessions).  If I was thinking of buying a home, I would buy now while deals are good, sellers are willing to negotiate, and the market has some catching up to do.  If I were a seller in this market, I would be ready to be patient, and prep my house to it’s absolute peak, hiring professionals to make sure that everything is at it’s absolute best — the best way to ensure that when a house does sell in your neighborhood, it’s yours.

 I am still confident that there is no reason to panic.  Austin has grown to the point that it can withstand most anything you can throw at it.  We have many, many different industries to sustain us.  There are advantages to out-growing the medium-city way of life and I believe we are seeing it now.  New construction has slowed but is still strong.  The best builders out there will survive and others will move to a different industry.  This is a strong city now!

Keeping you up-to-date,

Aria Schoenfelt McIntosh
http://liveaustinrealestate.com
(512) 771-1776

Tags: austin, austin real estate, building, development, facts, financial planing, hot market, housing, living, market, money, planning, real estate, realtor, sales, savings, statistics by Aria
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Hot off the press, the Austin-American Statesman is reporting today that the “Four Seasons condos break ground this week.” I’ve heard that before (for the past seven years, in fact!), and I know that many bets could be lost if the Four Seasons Residential does become a reality. The 32-floor, 166 unit luxury residential high-rise with views of the newly renamed Lady Bird Lake is now expected to open on 2010.

Many have been worrying that Austin’s downtown can’t support the prices of $400,000 to $4 million, but with nearly half of the units already sold with nonrefundable deposits, it seems that this project is very healthy.

Still, with sales slow in neighboring buildings such as Milago, which also has beautiful views of Lady Bird Lake and luxurious amenities, can Austin take all of the planned urban residential development?

For now, it seems that people are still willing to spend the money to live in Austin’s booming downtown. With sales still holding slow across the board (even in sub prime developments), it seems our quickly growing number of Austinites can afford the luxury of an urban downtown, but are taking their time like they are all over the city.

If you would like more information on this development or any other condos/flats in downtown Austin, call 512-771-1776 or email ariakristen@gmail.com.

Aria Schoenfelt McIntosh
BridgeOne Properties & Corias Homes, Inc.
http://www.liveaustinrealestate.com

Tags: austin, austin real estate, building, condos, development, downtown, living, real estate by Aria
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In the United States, buildings account for:

• 36% of total energy use/65% of electricity consumption
• 30% of greenhouse gas emissions
• 30% of raw materials use
• 30% of waste output/136 million tons annually
• 12% of potable water consumption

Source: U.S. Green Building Council

Yet, only 7% of American voters believe buildings contribute to greenhouse gases.

We used to drive an average of 12,000 miles per year PER HOUSEHOLD. That number has rises to 22,000. Hybrid or not, that’s a lot of emissions. What’s to blame? Cities have grown without effective transit systems.

Fluorescent Lambs have superior light quality, a wide range of color correctness, put out very little heat, and last longer than incandescent & halogen lamps. Plus, about 70% of the energy put it is in the form of light rather than heat (compared to 10% light to 90% heat in Halogen lamps).

There is no significant cost increase in building “green”.

Figure 2. CO2 Emissions by Sector

Tags: building, development, green, health, real estate, responsibility by Aria
2 Comments »

I’m postponing my Green Building blog for just a bit while I pass on some information I received an email today and had heard about this problem before as well.

http://extendourtrail.org/

This group is seeking support to extend Austin’s famous Hike & Bike trail that borders Town Lake, now dedicated as Lady Bird Lake.

This is a development issue if you’d like to make your voice heard in this day and age of re-thinking the way the city handles new construction and development, especially in sensitive areas like those right on Town -er Lady Bird Lake.

There are plans for new development at this old site to either rebuild on the current footprint or allow the Hike & Bike trail to go through.

Do you support the trail or the building? If you support the trail, visit the link above for more information and to sign a petition online.

It isn’t just about Austin’s joggers… This is a similar but different issue than allowing homeowners to add a bathroom or garage apartment for a caretaker or a builder building a 2500 square foot 2-story home where there was once a 1200 square foot bungalow in central Austin. I really believe this should be argued separately since this is for a large apartment building. It is LEGAL for the developer of this issue to develop either way but responsible building should be supported. If you have followed my projects in central Austin you’ll know that I do build larger homes than those build 80 years ago but they fit into today’s idea of central Austin architecture as well as functioning family spaces (more kitchen space, more than 1 bathroom).

Aria McIntosh
Builder, Realtor®, e-Pro
Corias Homes, Inc. & BridgeOne Properties
(512) 771-1776
aria@ariamcintosh.com
ariamcintosh.com
coriashomes.com
bridgeoneproperties.com

Tags: austin, building, development, health, responsibility by Aria
8 Comments »