AUSTIN | Project Updates Thread Part II

[kingkirbythe....]

I remember back in the Aughts when this was first being discussed.



City of Austin election, politics to likely play a role in Lions Municipal's fate

https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/p...lions-municipal-golf-course/69494127007/

Area golf fans who skip past the American-Statesman’s local section to focus all their attention on the sports page might want to rethink that approach as local elections get closer. Austin politics will likely play a sizable role in any decision on Lions Municipal, a beloved local course that's still on precarious footing.

Last Friday, a large group gathered at the course for the annual Forever Green fundraiser, which benefits the Muny Conservancy. This nonprofit is hoping to partner with the city and the University of Texas to maintain the historic course.

The land on which Muny sits is part of the 500 acres known as the Brackenridge Tract, all owned by the university. The course is considered the first fully desegregated municipal course south of the Mason-Dixon line and the city has leased 140 acres for Muny since 1936, paying UT about $500,000 a year. If the parties don’t come to an understanding, the university could be free to lease the property to another entity, develop it or sell it.

Scotty Sayers, a boyhood friend and agent for two-time Masters champ Ben Crenshaw as well as one of the founders of the conservancy, said he assumes the timeline will speed up after the upcoming elections.

“I don't think anything's going to happen in the next couple of months because we have a mayoral race and on the city council there are a number of seats up,” Sayers said. “There's a lot going on with our city government and that needs to be determined and then that group can help negotiate with the University of Texas to find out what's going to happen to these different pieces of land in the city.

“And quite frankly, this one happens to be on a place where the traffic grid is pretty full. So we think that Lions has a really good chance of surviving as a green space.”

Sayers said he hopes anyone in office will understand how golf fits into the city’s composition.

“City politics are interesting. We don't have a council right now where a lot of the council members are golfers, but they may not be swimmers or tennis players either,” Sayers said. “And all of that is part of the fabric of a city. You want things for people to do, whether it's your parks, whether it's your tennis courts or swimming pools and your golf courses, and what we have to do is make them recognize that there's a boom in golf since COVID and people realize that it's a game you can play in the outdoors, you can social distance if you want to or you can play with your best friend.“

Among those on hand at the annual fundraiser were Crenshaw, 1996 PGA Championship winner Mark Brooks, movie star Luke Wilson and local radio personality Ed Clements.

[chinchaaa]

Build build build! Go golf somewhere else.

[J78704]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

Build build build! Go golf somewhere else.

Agreed! Redevelop that whole area including the UT student housing across the street. So much development potential that is WAY under used given proximity to downtown. If the city were serious about affordable housing it would open more development opportunity West of MOPAC rather than East of I35 alone.

[lonewolf]

zero point zero zero chance lions goes away

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

Build build build! Go golf somewhere else.

no. make a park? maybe? Fill in.
Just no.

[drummer]

I'd be okay with the Brackenridge Apartments getting redeveloped to better utilize the space. Golf course or not, I'd like the Lions portion to remain a green spot. Large plots of green like that in the middle of the city are precious and few, despite Austin actually doing pretty well in that area compared to many other cities.

[ahealy]

We need as much housing as humanly possible, anywhere, anyhow. I don't care what it looks like, or if it has retail of any kind. Build it! Build it! Build it!

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

no. make a park? maybe? Fill in.
Just no.

.. what?

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by drummer

I'd be okay with the Brackenridge Apartments getting redeveloped to better utilize the space. Golf course or not, I'd like the Lions portion to remain a green spot. Large plots of green like that in the middle of the city are precious and few, despite Austin actually doing pretty well in that area compared to many other cities.

i've been scratching my head over how the breckenridge apartments have stuck around for 10 years now. i imagine as the clarksville development and lake austin heb finish in the near future a lot of attention is going to be on that land as well as the gateway apartments tract

t won't be going away as a green space i wouldn't bother worrying about it

[Sigaven]

I've always thought if Austin were to host a World's Fair this could be a good fairgrounds, lol.

[Urbannizer]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

i've been scratching my head over how the breckenridge apartments have stuck around for 10 years now. i imagine as the clarksville development and lake austin heb finish in the near future a lot of attention is going to be on that land as well as the gateway apartments tract

t won't be going away as a green space i wouldn't bother worrying about it

I wish the city would open up everything from the south end of West 6th to Red Trail/Lions for redevelopment w/o height caps. One idea for the University-owned area is to create a RFP for all the land they own and sell to a developer while requiring them to maintain/add additional student housing and a park along the River. I’ll keep dreaming 😴

[hookem]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

zero point zero zero chance lions goes away

Word was that Elon was looking for a “signature property”

He could afford it… and could afford putting his name on every building at UT if he needed to grease the wheels.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by hookem

Word was that Elon was looking for a “signature property”

He could afford it… and could afford putting his name on every building at UT if he needed to grease the wheels.

[Sterling]

Originally Posted by hookem

Word was that Elon was looking for a “signature property”

He could afford it… and could afford putting his name on every building at UT if he needed to grease the wheels.

Forgive me for thinking he'd fence it and nobody would ever see it again. He may be IN Austin, but he isn't OF Austin. Maybe he needs a golf course to bury his wife though.

[enragedcamel]

Originally Posted by Sterling

Maybe he needs a golf course to bury his wife though.

What?

[wwmiv]

Delete

[kingkirbythe....]

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

What?

It is a joke comparing Elon Musk to Donald Trump (who buried his ex-wife at a golf course).

I laughed pretty hard.

[kingkirbythe....]

Austin ISD is considering turning two properties into teacher and staff housing

https://www.kut.org/education/2022-09-20...roperties-into-teacher-and-staff-housing

Austin ISD is considering turning two of its properties into housing that teachers and other staff could afford as rising housing costs make it harder to retain and recruit employees.

District officials have been holding public meetings on proposals for the Anita Ferrales Coy Facility in East Austin, the former Rosedale School in Central Austin, and Pease Elementary in downtown Austin, which closed in 2020.

Jeremy Striffler, Austin ISD’s director of real estate, said it’s important to the district to invest in the three sites by finding new ways of using them.

“Whether or not a campus is actively being used, it has value to us as an asset in terms of how we can serve the community,” he said. “And it’s something we’ve been really challenging ourselves to think about in the past few years.”

[Urbannizer]

Just alluded to Fogo De Chao’s upcoming relocation to 2nd & Congress (formerly Second Bar & Kitchen) in another thread and moments ago ABJ is out with an article regarding a potential skyscraper for their current site. Anyone have full access?

Skyscraper likely to replace Fogo de Chão

There are indications that yet another property is being wrestled away from embattled real estate firm World Class Holdings and its owner, Nate Paul. This one involves a prime downtown site near the Austin Convention Center that's expected to go high-rise in the future.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Just alluded to Fogo De Chao’s upcoming relocation to 2nd & Congress (formerly Second Bar & Kitchen) in another thread and movements ago ABJ is out with an article regarding a potential skyscraper for their current site. Anyone have full access?

Skyscraper likely to replace Fogo de Chão

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2022/09/20/firm-could-snap-up-world-class-property.html

After the top two winning bidders from the July auction failed to close, other qualified bidders were invited to re-bid on the site. DHA's $20.1 million offer was accepted, and it now faces an Oct. 10 deadline to close. Sam Affanhe, the broker representing DHA Capital in the deal, said "the money is there" to close the deal.

Sources familiar with the site told Austin Business Journal the property could support about 440,000 buildable square feet or a 50-story tower. DHA Capital would likely build a vertical mixed-use development at the site, with retail on the ground floor and condos or apartments above. The firm has primarily focused on multifamily developments in New York, according to its website.

"We would anticipate being able to start ground work and construction within a year, year and a half," Affanhe said.