Wednesday, March 5, 2008 - 3:50 PM CST

Austin Business Journal

The steel and glass residential towers set to reshape the downtown Austin skyline aren’t a pipedream. They’re coming–and they’re going to be filled, a new study shows.

The analysis from Texas economist Ray Perryman suggests that while the nation battles a housing correction, Austin’s residential market remains relatively healthy. Moreover, says Perryman, there is clear demand among Austinites to live in the city’s vibrant downtown.

There are currently about 6,000 people living downtown. And with about 4,000 residential units under construction or planned around downtown, that population is expected to double over the next two years. Perryman says with the Austin area adding more than 40,000 new residents annually, the local housing market will continue to fair well, and rising energy costs and traffic woes will drive a growing interest in urban living.

“This housing market will fundamentally support the type of housing being developed downtown,” Perryman said at a morning press conference at City Hall organized to discuss the report. “There is an amble population to absorb these units.”

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Tags: austin, building, buyers, condos, downtown, economy, investing, neighborhoods, real estate, urban living by Aria
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By Shonda Novak | Thursday, February 28, 2008, 12:47 PM

Work is expected to start in about a month on the $120 million BartonPlace condominium development on Barton Springs Road, after the project won unanimous City Council approval for a zoning change today, the developers said.

The 270-unit project will replace the Shady Grove Trailer Park on Barton Springs, behind Austin Java.

The developers are Larry Warshaw and Perry Lorenz of Constructive Ventures Inc., builders of the The Pedernales, Saltillo Lofts, TwentyOne24, and Este condo projects in East Austin. Constructive Ventures is partnering in BartonPlace with Rick Engel, co-owner of Austin Java, Little Woodrow’s, Paggi House and Uncle Billy’s.

The development team has signed a private agreement with the Zilker Neighborhood Association that will forever limit the development of the portion of the property that fronts Barton Springs Road, to help preserve the local businesses that make up Austin’s popular “restaurant row.”

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Tags: austin, austin real estate, building, buyers, condos, downtown, economy, investing, marketing, money, neighborhoods, real estate, urban living by Aria
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By Shonda Novak | Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 03:25 PM

Groundbreaking has been delayed for the condo project called 1155 Barton Springs, which is destined to replace the long-vacant Treehouse restaurant and nightclub at Dawson and Barton Springs Road.

Developers Elisabeth and Steffen Waltz and their partners had hoped to start construction on the project by the end of 2007. But yesterday, Elisabeth Waltz wrote in an email:

“These times seem to call for a measured approach. It may take us a few more months to start construction; we will start when we have 50% or more of the residences sold. (Personally, having been a real estate broker for many years, I would prefer all of them pre-sold).”

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Tags: austin, austin real estate, condos, downtown, economy, environment, financing, green, investing, neighborhoods, sellers, staging, urban living, where to buy by Aria
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The burbs no longer beckon residents who want to end commutes and be close to it all.

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, February 10, 2008

‘Urban Re-Renewal: Downtowns making a comeback as places to call home.”

“Downtown Living All the Rage.”

“Crazy for condos: Downtown Scottsdale joins nation’s upscale urban living boom.”

Headlines in cities across the country document the continued popularity of downtown living, a trend that re-emerged in the 1990s locally and nationally. In this sense, Austin isn’t so weird after all.

Like Boston, Detroit, Denver and many other cities, Austin has its share of singles and young professionals, executives, empty nesters, retirees and, increasingly, young families headed to where the action is: downtown.

They’re being drawn by the dining, music, nightlife and recreational and cultural amenities, from galleries and performing arts venues to Lady Bird Lake.

They are a diverse group, of all ages and occupations.

“Time is the most important commodity that people have in their lives, and living downtown means people spending less time stuck in traffic and more time enjoying life,” says Larry Warshaw, a co-developer of four condominium projects in East Austin and the 42-story Spring tower under construction downtown. “I see it being a trend that will continue for several decades.”

Warshaw echoes the views of other experts, including John McIlwain, senior fellow resident for housing with the Urban Land Institute who himself moved from the suburbs of Washington, D.C., to live in that city’s downtown.

“There are and always will be those who want a house with a yard in the suburbs,” McIlwain says, “but more and more are opting to move to the revived cities. Decades of major investments in cities by the federal government along with mayors focusing on the basics have made cities safe and vibrant places to live.”

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Tags: austin, building, buyers, condos, downtown, investing, money, neighborhoods, urban living, where to buy by Aria
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