[Austin] Monarch Updates
 

Couldn't find a specific thread for the Monarch. This bridge connects the Monarch to the sidewalk that runs along Shoal Creek. I thought I remember the developers saying they would donate some money toward Shoal Creek beautification. I hope they were talking about more than this bridge - it is a nice bridge though. The money I thought they discussed was for Shoal Creek cleanup and structural reinforcement or something to that effect, or at least that is the way I thought they positioned it. This bridge will be really cool if it is a way to enter the shops.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...601_103430.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...601_102801.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...601_102742.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...601_102711.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...601_102641.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...601_102614.jpg

I agree, I hope the bridge is just a part of a plan that they have. It looks really cool.

Great shots! That bridge is definitely new, since the last time I visited the area. And you're right, there is not currently a thread dedicated to Monarch, though I have posted several pics in the Austin Update and Austin COnstruction Threads. I'll start posting in here too.

Nice shots, kind of big.

Cool. I'll have to check it out sometime.

They are definately going to donate money to the trail. They have sent it through the Austin Parks Foundation. If you noted when you took the pictures, the trail does not connect between 5th and 3rd...right where Monarch and 360 are located. For this reason, APF is going to be rebuilding this part of the trail soon.

what is needed other than the trail is some major weeding. invasive species everywhere here. lots of lantana. cleaning it up could make this stretch of the shoal creek greenbelt rival town lake for beauty.

I can't wait for Seaholm to arrive.

What's going on with the Gables and their plans for low-rises at Lamar, reconfiguring Sandra Muriada Dr. to Cesar Chavez? Will they ever break ground?

From 360 to Monarch and Spring and points between, you've got western downtown poised.

For now it seems like Spring and Legacy will be the bookends, so to speak.

I agree, the real problem with this area is the invasive species. Also when the water flows, which an above water sidewalk would cure.

Very good to hear they will connect it. I presume you mean with an above ground sidewalk similar to what is installed north of fifth street. I bike thru this area often, and it is connected, it is just not a cake walk. But hey, isn't that what they invented "mountain" bikes for? Or in my case, a 1989 15 speed converted into a "mountain" bike :jester:

When does the rebuild commence?


Me Too!! Its going to be very cool!

Those apartments will have nice balconies. The bridge reminds me on one on the UT campus just behind the alumni center under the stadium.

I walked past the bridge at Monarch today. That is a great addition! Does anyone know if the Monarch side of the creek will have a public walk space? I can't image it would not.... but there does seem to have been much room left for one.

As far as biking that area goes..... yeah it does take some creative biking at a few points! That can be fun. I am assuming "they" are looking to make it more in keeping with most of the townlake hike and bike trail and be more accessible to non mountian bike folks.... does anyone know the plan?

Is the monarch going to have units for sale or lease? And if they are for sale have they released any prices?

It was originally intended to be all apartments for rent, but their new website implies that it is actually now condos for sale:

http://www.monarchaustin.com/

I don't think we've gotten any concrete info one way or the other.

I have to ask where does that bridge lead to, does it follow along Shoal creek or drop you behind the 5th st. retail area around Wholefoods and that gym in the building with the Starbucks. I have walked the trail on the opposite side a few times and it seems to end near that area, or else it seems to get overgrown. If I'm not mistaken many of the condo's were s'posed to do upgrades to Shoal cr. or actually donating the funds to have the city do it for signing off on the projects.

The bridge goes from the monarch to between the gables west building. Gables west actually has a nice little courtyard that the bridge opens up to.

I always thought they would be up for sale as well but being so far into construction shouldnt they have atleast started taking reservations. They are losing lots of potential buyers to the 360 (Me) and the Spring, dont you guys think?

Pedestrian bridge near the Monarch
 

I can tell you for a fact, that bridge has been there for at least 3 years. I remember seeing at least that far back. It was built when they built that apartment/condo complex next to the monarch. I work on 6th and baylor ( a block west of Lamar) and drive the neighborhood fairly often.

Doug - You may be thinking of the bridge by 404 Rio Grande. It is vaguely similar. This one is definitely new.

Yep..... it was designed in the same vein. Go check it out. I don't believe you can see it from the road, if you can it would be from W5th looking south down the creek on the west side of the Monarch. (oh, I did good with directions!)

Bridge by the Monarch
 

Well I guess I need to drive by after work, but I know that when I stop by office max, and then take that back road (the one running between the site that will be the "spring" and the railraod tracks) heading east and turn left when it dead ends, there's a bridge there. tucked away, and I'm pretty sure that's right next to the Monarch site. I'll scope it out on the way home to see if I'm confused.

Doug

bridge by the monarch
 

I just looked up a map on Mapquest and it looks as if the bridge I'm talking about is just west of "West street" on the creek, between 5th st and 3rd st.

Is this the same bridge in the photos?

Doug

There are now three bridges in this immediate area, 2 pedestrian and one road. The West Ave bridge, Pedestrian on east of West Ave, and new one, which connects to Gables sidewalk and the Monarch. You can see by the photos the bridge is new, the steel floor still does not have concrete poured on it.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...&t=h&z=19&om=1

I swear I am trying to help here...... there is a ped/bike bridge that runs parallel to West between 3rd and 5th.... but it is on the east side of the street. But, yeah, I think that is the one you are thinking about. Follow the trail west and as it curves to the north around the Monarch you will find the new bridge that is in the above photos!

From Saturday's Statesman

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/2...hic6207xj3.jpg

:previous: Thanks for the update! I'm looking forward to all of these projects.

The Monarch heights from the blueprints
 

I sent an email to find out what the heights of The Monarch will be to certain points on the building. I also got some info about its design concept.

First, I learned a little bit about the design. The east and west sides of the tower at the top will have "butterfly wings" folding up from the mainroof. This is where the name "The Monarch" comes from. These will hide the mechanical penthouse which encloses the elevator motors.

The Monarch heights are:

323 feet to the top of the "wings". This is the official height of the building.
312 feet to the top of the mechanical penthouse.
300 feet to the mainroof.
287 feet to the highest occupied floor, (the 29th floor). That height is to the 2nd level of a 2-story unit on the 29th floor.

These heights came from RTKL Associates, Inc. which is the architect of the building. The heights came from the blueprints.

The renderings. Nothing new here, just posting for reference.
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/7...ch99lx2.th.jpghttp://img510.imageshack.us/img510/1...ch96qv7.th.jpg

Thanks for the updates Kevin. The design of the building's crown/wings has intrigued me all along. There have as of yet been no renederings released that give us a detailed view of this area. I'm really looking forward to it take shape.

The views from this tower are amazing.

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/3...ch01ql8.th.jpg

The first of the angled roof pieces have gone up on The Monarch. Picture taken Saturday, 9/8.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...110591EDIT.jpg

This 30-story, 323' tower will become one of the interesting-looking towers in downtown Austin. No where near some of the "really interesting" designs popping up around the world (namely Asia, Australia, and the U.A.E.), but good enough for Texas – at least for now...

I hear that while the building goes to the 29th floor (which are 2 story penthouses) indicating a 30 story building - the 13th floor has been left out. Technically a 29 story building.

Some advanced selling has begun on this building. 31 units sold on Saturday - some on Sunday (sorry, I don't have a count on those).

*I am a Realtor who represents buyers downtown and have no affiliation with the building or the listing agent. That being said, there seem to be some temendous values in this building. Some of the units in this first round of units are in the $280's per foot! PM me if you would like more info re: the pre-selling phase.

Other interesting news:

One bedrooms and three bedrooms get priority on purchasing extra parking spots. $25K each. The parking structure will be five levels (much higher than it is now) with parking on the roof (all "extra" spots are roof top parking). 78 storage units available @ $6K each.

HOA dues - $.30/foot - GREAT! This was attributed to being on the COA cold water loop.

Kevin

Maybe I'm reading this wrong but $25,000 for an extra parking spot and $6,000 for as storage unit? Really? I hope I'm just reading that wrong.

Yep. That is correct. Similar prices at the 360 too...

It is rumored that the resale parking places across the street at Austin City lofts trade in the upper $30K's...(they are covered spots though)

Also, if the storage spaces could be leased out at +/- $75/month, they would be one of the best cashflow investments downtown! :)

Correct. Monarch has 29 floors. The two-level penthouses are on the 28th and 29th floors. If it is being called a 30 storey tower, it is because they are not counting the 13th floor and shifting the floor numbers down 1 level.

Does anyone have any recent photos of the garage? They began erecting precast a week or two ago.

Hmmm..... That might be an issue to other home owners though - strangers off the street renting parking spaces and storage units. How would that work?

I really find that hard to believe that a parking space at the 360/monarch/ACL is more expensive than a ton of cars!

Someone really needs to explain to me why a painted section of concrete costs so much. :)

It wouldn't be marketable to strangers off the street - only to owners/tenants that have access to the building.

There are 78 storage units for 305 residential units.

For perspective, you can easily spend more than the price of a decent used car on the upgrade to 100% hardwoods in either building's unit. Or more than a new Mercedes payment on HOA dues at some of the luxury buildings in order to be able to send the concierge out to get your dry cleaning!

The parking space makes a much better investment than many things you could spend the money on...

New Renderings
 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1011/...448a2913_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/...d187527f_b.jpg

280 a foot? Thats insane! Is anyone else here thinking this is a great deal? My family has been looking for a nice condo for sometime, I may convince them to do this. What is everyone else's opinion on the Monarch condos?

The only thing that I have found is that they have a very small work out room. Also, that 280 sq foot price is probably for the smaller condos that do not have a view (i.e. look into the parking garage or trees etc). One of the emails I got said that they do not go over ~380ish per sq foot. :)

I do like the long patios on each unit compared to the tiny ones on the 360.

Any idea what this project is doing to property values at Austin City Lofts? I know that ACL was quite a pricey project, but it doesn't seem to hold any great advantages to the Monarch, and now the Monarch may be partially blocking some of the views from the ACL units.

Are ACL unit prices dropping or becoming harder sells in this market?

I forgot to take into account that the lower floors have views of the garage :haha:
Regardless, however, many other projects are in the 400s/sq ft. I went over to austintowers.net and looked at the MLS for 78701 condos and the cheapest I could find for the newer condos was in the low to mid-300s/sq ft. For a brand new condo, the price per sqft is very cheap. The shore, which is also brand new, has listings for 450 per/sq ft. I just dont see what advantages all these other places have over monarch.
As for ACL, I don't think anyone has a definite answer about its future value. I would bet that the value doesn't decline dramatically since there are very few units, thus very few MLS ads for it.

Actually there were low, West facing units in that price range too. those may not have had "long" views, but pool and Shoal Creek treeline wouldn't be bad... These prices will increase as the sales process continues. ZOM is using a sliding price scale like Novare did on the 360. Early = wholesale... last one in pays retail... The target I heard was to average $365/sqft.

Where is the pool going to be for this place?

I think it will be on the west side of the building, next to the creek.

I have to say again I think the plain white exterior is a real stinker. :yuck: :yuck: :yuck:

I thought the building was much more pleasing with the colors.

They haven't really started putting the final coat on the EIFS yet. There will be two primary colors. The renderings were done before the final color scheme was selected.

Well my family went ahead and got a unit one of the upper floors looking east. I cant wait to see the views!

LUCKY! It'll probably be 20 years or so before I can move into downtown. =/