AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Has anyone else noticed the small billboard CLB Partners has erected at the site of their proposed 7th & Rio Grande tower (it’s sitting atop the one-story office building)? If so, did you also notice that the sign mentions a "34-story” building and not the originally proposed 32-story structure?

I sent one of the developers of the building an email today. Here's what he said:

I am not certain as to the final floor count yet. They are currently thinking to begin this fall (September-OCt).

So it sounds like they're still hammering out the details.

[StoOgE]

Yeah, I dont get highrise prices in Austin. 360 Prices made sense to me, but I own a 1250 SQ ft condo (that I rent) in Clarkseville that I didnt pay anywhere near what some of these are going for.

Its 2 blocks off lamar, and it even has a small yard.

I get the highrise and slightly better location with the ammeneties making it more expensive, but some of these things are going for 4 times the price that I paid for similar sizes less than a half mile away.

[RocTX]

Hey everyone,

I'm contemplating a move to Austin sometime in the near future. What are some nice areas around town for someone of relatively average means and with children? I'm not really interested in Hutto/Round Rock/Pflugerville sprawl but, unfortunately, I don't think I can afford high-rise condo living either, as appealing as that may be!!

[ATXboom]

Hi Rock,

Always good to contemplate a move to Austin!

I suggest looking at some reasonably priced central neighborhoods... There are some nice properties in central Austin around North Loop/Burnet/Lamar areas.... or on up to Crestview.

Also central and still cost effective are areas off S. Lamar and Congress closer to Ben White... south of Oltorf.

If being central is not a concern I love the areas west of town near Lake Travis. You can find a deal hear and there [near Stiener Ranch area]... and it is certainly not round rock or pflugerville... IMO one of the nicest looking areas in all of TX.

[RocTX]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Hi Rock,

Always good to contemplate a move to Austin!

I suggest looking at some reasonably priced central neighborhoods... There are some nice properties in central Austin around North Loop/Burnet/Lamar areas.... or on up to Crestview.

Also central and still cost effective are areas off S. Lamar and Congress closer to Ben White... south of Oltorf.

If being central is not a concern I love the areas west of town near Lake Travis. You can find a deal hear and there [near Stiener Ranch area]... and it is certainly not round rock or pflugerville... IMO one of the nicest looking areas in all of TX.

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to check out some of those areas. I may be mistaken, so please forgive me if I'm off track...but Austin seems somewhat odd in that the city is fairly narrow east to west and downtown sits towards the south of town. Most of the development seems to be in the North. Seems like someone could get much closer to the city in other directions from town. Is there a reason everyone seems to be going North?

[crewer]

Originally Posted by RocTX

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to check out some of those areas. I may be mistaken, so please forgive me if I'm off track...but Austin seems somewhat odd in that the city is fairly narrow east to west and downtown sits towards the south of town. Most of the development seems to be in the North. Seems like someone could get much closer to the city in other directions from town. Is there a reason everyone seems to be going North?

They aren't all going north. Look into SW Austin along the Mopac corridor. There are reasonably priced homes down there that are a lot closer into downtown.

But what you really should do here is some homework. First consider what you're willing to spend on a house that will enable you to still, you know, live a normal life. Once you find homes in your price range, look into the tax rate for the area. Austin taxes are sky high. Rock Rock's are more affordable.

Couple that with where you'll be working. You don't want to spend the better portion of your week sitting in Austin traffic.

Next, consider the schools. You have kids, so school quality should be a prime consideration. Austin ISD has some excellent schools, but they also have some lousy ones. When you find a place you like, I'd make a point to visit the school, check out how overcrowded it is and what type of community it draws. Check out Check out www.publicschoolreview.com for a good start on school research.

Hope that helps a little.

[AllBusiness]

Originally Posted by RocTX

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to check out some of those areas. I may be mistaken, so please forgive me if I'm off track...but Austin seems somewhat odd in that the city is fairly narrow east to west and downtown sits towards the south of town. Most of the development seems to be in the North. Seems like someone could get much closer to the city in other directions from town. Is there a reason everyone seems to be going North?

Although I have no expertise whatsoever on this subject, I found your observation interesting. The short answer to the apparent northward expansion is IH-35 and the explosion of Williamson county's population in the last decade do to Dell's arrival in Round Rock in 1993. With the boost in sales tax revenues, Round Rock's property taxes became much lower than Austin's, further encouraging growth.

Limited expansion westward could be attributed to the exclusive (expensive) nature of central Texas' rolling hill country, Lake Austin, and Lake Travis. There aren't many affordable options this direction. However, highway 71 around Bee Cave has some great new retail growth that should encourage expansion.

The east has been stagnant for many years do to low income developments east of downtown. Just recently the area has been experiencing some improvements. Since the new Airport was built to the SE, the east side of town has taken a turn for the better. The upcoming http://www.villamuse.com/ project should do great things as well.

Just my initial reaction to your question. I would love to hear other's responses.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by RocTX

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to check out some of those areas. I may be mistaken, so please forgive me if I'm off track...but Austin seems somewhat odd in that the city is fairly narrow east to west and downtown sits towards the south of town. Most of the development seems to be in the North. Seems like someone could get much closer to the city in other directions from town. Is there a reason everyone seems to be going North?

First of all... hope the move works out... and that you will love Austin as much as many of us do.

I am sure you will get lots of good advice. The best is to be aware of cummute time! Living on the side of town you work on will help tons! Some great neighborhoods were suggested by ATXboom. North central inside 183 and South central inside Ben White.

The area that has not been addressed is the east. That is an area that is going thru quite a change. It was an area that had a large percentage of lower income house holds. Because it is so close in it has slowly become a very poplular part of town. It has a much more diverse cultural mix, which I think is great. And lots of artist studios,etc. HOwever, It is not undiscovered territory.... meaning lots has been grabed up by investors and developers. But, there is still room for exploration. Check out east 5th/6th/7th. And look up behind Capitol Plaza as well.

By the way. There are also many new deveopments growing up in east Austin around the new expressway/loop. (Thought this is probably just the next Round Rock!....personal opinion) I'm sure there are folks on here that can addrees which developments are building new schools as well.

There is also the new Muller development at the old airport site.....

Best advise..... get here and spend a few days driving around! Be glad to answer any other questions!

[RocTX]

Thanks for all of the advice. Commute time is one of my biggest issues here in Houston, and it's one of the reasons that I'm looking at Austin. I currently spend three hours a day in the car and my job is on the same side of town as were I work...I certainly do want to avoid that scenario in Austin!! The job I'm considering is described as "Southwest Austin" which is one of the reasons I'm a little scared of Round Rock and other areas North... Of course, schools and cost of living are both major factors too.

[NYC_Longhorn]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone... in response to RocTX, (I'm also new to the blog), I think the advice given thus far is dead on... you should definitely explore the SW region of Austin (this is where my sister lives)... lots of new exciting developments and some charming old ones as well.... I personally believe in being close to Zilker if you have kids and want good access to work and play... living in Austin is a totally different way of life... it takes a while to get used to... I find New York to be more similar living in Austin than when I lived in Dallas and Houston... sounds crazy, but the ability to walk and live and meet friends and eat out... the emphasis is more on what is outside your door, rather than what is inside... so I say, go for location and get something closer in with a good location.... everyone's different though, but living in New York has taught me I don't need as much of a back yard and square footage as I thought I did... with bike trails, Barton Springs and Town Lake so close by, there is just so much to do outside the home. Hope this helps... I can't wait to get back to Austin! Only a couple of years to go!

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by RocTX

Thanks for all of the advice. Commute time is one of my biggest issues here in Houston, and it's one of the reasons that I'm looking at Austin. I currently spend three hours a day in the car and my job is on the same side of town as were I work...I certainly do want to avoid that scenario in Austin!! The job I'm considering is described as "Southwest Austin" which is one of the reasons I'm a little scared of Round Rock and other areas North... Of course, schools and cost of living are both major factors too.

I find NYCLonghorns assesment to be correct in many ways. It will be interesting to find out what is considered SW Austin by your potential employer! To be sure if that means the Zilker area, great! But if it is further out there are plenty of areas that can provide the green space. Check out proximity to the green belt or the wildflower center. One of my fav neigborhoods (well, actually small city next to Austin that if you didn't know you would just assume a neighborhood) is Rollingwood. Prices there have been climbing..... but if you can find "the worst house on the best block".... it is, for me, one of the best "in town/ out of town" locations there is.

[crewer]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

I find NYCLonghorns assesment to be correct in many ways. It will be interesting to find out what is considered SW Austin by your potential employer! To be sure if that means the Zilker area, great! But if it is further out there are plenty of areas that can provide the green space. Check out proximity to the green belt or the wildflower center. One of my fav neigborhoods (well, actually small city next to Austin that if you didn't know you would just assume a neighborhood) is Rollingwood. Prices there have been climbing..... but if you can find "the worst house on the best block".... it is, for me, one of the best "in town/ out of town" locations there is.

I agree with you on Rollingwood. That's a great neighborhood. It's amazingly close to town, yet it has a rural feeling to it. Best of both worlds. Unfortunately even the worst house on the block there will set you back around 400 grand.

[tildahat]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Hi Rock,

I suggest looking at some reasonably priced central neighborhoods... There are some nice properties in central Austin around North Loop/Burnet/Lamar areas.... or on up to Crestview.

Also central and still cost effective are areas off S. Lamar and Congress closer to Ben White... south of Oltorf.

Of course "reasonably priced" is completely relative and differs for each person, but I wouldn't call those areas reasonably priced - there are a handful of places under a quarter mill in those areas, but none under 200 and many over 300. Cheaper than Hyde Park, etc. for sure, but pricey by many standards. Crestview is more suburban and has bigger lots than much of the area between Ben White and Oltorf, though the area near Sunset Valley is also very suburban. Whether that's good or bad is a matter of preference.

Area 10N, South of Ben White and north of William Cannon(?) is appreciating very rapidly, but there are still decent places under 150k and you could get a very nice place for under 200K, possibly backing up to one of the creeks (I have some friends who recently got a great place backing up to Williamson creek for 165ish, needed some updating but basically good shape.) The area is definitely more "close in suburban" than urban, but the stretch of South Congress from Ben White to Stassney is part of the VMU and has one loft project already complete (Bel Air, don't like it personally, but there are worse things to have built near my house than lofts that cost 2 to 4 times what I paid for my place) and another planned (South Urban Lofts) that at least got rid of a seedy old motel.

As far as schools, we have basically accepted that we will need to use Austin's liberal transfer system. The good schools are mostly in expensive neighborhoods, Hyde Park, Brykerwoods, though some expensive neighborhoods have bad schools, like Bouldin and Becker. We plan on doing a transfer somewhere. I've heard Eanes (Westlake) is actually accepting transfers right now.

Hope that helps...

[KevinFromTexas]

I live in the area bounded by Stassney Lane, William Cannon, South First and Manchaca, just a thousand feet or so south of Stassney. This is south of Ben White for those of you who don't know.

We have three schools, all are close by. 2 of them are basically right in our neighborhood and within walking distance, (almost within sight) - Crockett, Bedicheck, and Odom. We also have a fire station a quarter mile to the south, (you're always glad it's there when you need it). There's a a library a quarter mile to the south and Austin Community College built their South Austin campus near there also, across the street from Crockett. We have bus service on all the major streets surrounding us, and on 3 small feeder streets inside our neighborhood.

There's plenty of retail nearby and some good restaurants.

Those three schools I went to were fine. People sometimes beat on Crockett. I recall someone transfering to Crockett once from Bowie because they moved, and I remember them saying that they were surprised at how nice the school is. I think they had some kind of bad image of it.

More on urban style lofts, the South Urban Lofts that tildahat mentioned is actually being planned to be 75 feet tall which would make it one of the taller buildings in the area west of Congress. There's also the Soco Lofts just north of Ben White. Not sure on the prices of those, but they may be a bit pricey.

As far as our neighborhood goes, it's still nice. There was a rash of car burgularies about 2 years ago. Actually my nextdoor neighbor recently had his work van broken into. BUT, oddly enough in the 23 years we've lived here, (it'll be 24 years next September that we moved in), we haven't once had a car burgulary, or home break-in or any vandalism other than teens whacking mail boxes and egging car doors. LOL, that all sounds worse than it actually is. Our neighborhood is still very quiet. I'm amazed at how quiet it is late at night. I'll walk outside to let out my dog and it's like silent. We have big yards here, 60 feet wide, and 150 feet deep from the street to the back fence. Well established trees, (great for shade). We have a Live oak in the backyard that's actually protected from being cut down by the City of Austin due to its size.

Anyway, all in all our neighborhood is still very nice. There's people living here that have lived here for 15, 20, 25, even 30 years. A few people also inherited their family member's homes, parents or grandparents, and live there now, too. Ourselves included. I grew up in the same house as my father. So we have families that have lived here since the neighborhood was built in 1962. There's also a lot of families here that are related to each other. Both of my grandparents lived nextdoor to each other. Of course now we live here, and my grandmother nextdoor is in a nursing home now, but my aunt lives there now. And I have another aunt a few streets over.

Oh, and one more little cool thing about our neighborhood, and this area of Austin. Lots of surprising views of downtown. Not all are grand views, but there's atleast 8 places where you can see the Frost Bank Tower. One of these views about 2 miles west of our house is pretty awesome with about 20+ buildings in view including the Capitol and UT Tower day or night.

[tildahat]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

More on urban style lofts, the South Urban Lofts that tildahat mentioned is actually being planned to be 75 feet tall which would make it one of the taller buildings in the area west of Congress. There's also the Soco Lofts just north of Ben White. Not sure on the prices of those, but they may be a bit pricey.

Pretty sure South Urban Lofts is on the east side of Congress. Can't be too expensive initially given the stuff it's next to...

[ATXboom]

All great info... fun subject. The vertical growth of austin is funny. It has been addressed as to why north has grown so much due to Dell and lower taxes of Cedar Park, Georgetown. RR. Pflugerville, Leander, etc...

If you work southwest I would look off of south Mopac or Oak Hill. Escarpment and Davis Lane is a location southwest with very reasonably priced homes... and only a 10 min. drive from downtown when NOT rush hours.

East side is turning and could be a great investment. I think the far east side along the 130 coridoor will boom big in the next 10 years. Austin could stack a million more people out there without batting an eye... I imagine it will be more Houston like sprawl development though. Land is relatively cheap and there are few development road blocks other than lack of city services at the moment.

The west side is the most beautiful part of the city... it is expensive due to Balcones Canyonland preserve measures which cover large swaths of the area... limiting impervious cover [don't quote me but around 18% or so]. There is lots of green space and elevation change... proximity to lakes and good schools... but development restrictions drive prices up out there.

I would live "central" if I didn't know where I might work from year to year. I would live southwest if you knew you would be at your job for 5-10 years. This is barton springs, to rolling wood, south mopac to Oak Hill and out to Circle C... maybe off of Southwest parkway... some homes are pricey but you are only 10 minutes from downtown.

Austin is a walk to city [obviously in central city] vs. Houston Galeria area, etc... it is more neighborhoody than H town or Big D. in that regard. Try to embrace it!

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by crewer

I agree with you on Rollingwood. That's a great neighborhood. It's amazingly close to town, yet it has a rural feeling to it. Best of both worlds. Unfortunately even the worst house on the block there will set you back around 400 grand.

yep, he "ain't" wrong.... but for location vs access: can;t beat it! I would call it a "high-moderate" neighborhood. I guess you will be the one to judge that! You are getting lots o' good info here.

BTW (qas per a recent post in the forum from Forbes) the median price for a house in Austin is 176,200. However, like most places that is misleading when trying to buy a house "in the loop"....muchless in downtown. Can someone hook our Houston friend up with a map of home costs vs real eastate areas?

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by tildahat

Pretty sure South Urban Lofts is on the east side of Congress. Can't be too expensive initially given the stuff it's next to...

That's right, (duh). I think I was talking about west of I-35...

[RocTX]

Wow!! Lots of great info!! I can't thank you all enough--this is immensely helpful. I just found out that the location is very close to Barton Square Mall. They may move to Bee Cave, though. From the conversation so far, that area sounds quite exclusive.

What do you guys mean when you refer to the "Loop"? Is it 360? We in Houston have 610 and Beltway 8, but I don't see anything like that on the map of Austin.

[swollpatrol]

For those interested, there is now a B6 available at 360 on the 22nd floor for 544k. It's the large 1280 sqft NE facing unit.

cheers
will