Austin Development News

[jonathaninATX]

H-E-B plans first-of-its-kind green store at Mueller

By Gary Dinges
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 9:50 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011

The wait for an on-site supermarket is almost over for residents of the Mueller development.

H-E-B, the region's dominant grocery chain, put an end to years of speculation Wednesday, announcing it will build a first-of-its-kind green store at Mueller, part of a 110,000-square-foot shopping center planned for the southeast corner of East 51st Street and Berkman Drive.

Work on the 75,000-square-foot H-E-B will begin late next year, and the store is scheduled to open in 2013. Details on the store's look and feel, as well as its selection of unique-to-Mueller offerings, are still being worked out, the grocery chain said.

"Every H-E-B store is tailored to the specific neighborhoods they serve, and that's exactly what we plan to do at Mueller," said Jeff Thomas, senior vice president and general manager for H-E-B's Central Texas region. "This store will include innovative practices in sustainability and green building, and we look forward to getting to know the diverse neighborhoods this store will serve and understanding exactly what our shoppers need and want from their H-E-B."

Members of the Mueller Neighborhood Association say they're pleased that Catellus, the community's master developer, has landed a grocery store, something residents have pushed for since the first homes started to go up in late 2007.

"I'm delighted with the selection of H-E-B and getting on with the market center at Mueller," said Corky Hilliard, a member of the association's steering committee. "With the continuous addition of new residents, this is an important day not just for Mueller but also for the surrounding neighborhoods."

From the start, Mueller residents have played an active role in shaping development in the area, and members of the neighborhood association say they expect to work closely with H-E-B as plans for the store are finalized.

http://www.statesman.com/business/h-...d-1809258.html

[jonathaninATX]

New Alamo location to have 'micro-cinema,' cocktail lounge, 'food lab'

By Gary Dinges
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 7:50 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011

Alamo Drafthouse's newest location will feature a 34-seat "micro-cinema" for screening niche films, a cocktail lounge and a "food lab," where new menu items will be tested before being rolled out to the entire chain, founder Tim League said Wednesday.

The eight-screen cineplex, which will have about 800 seats, is set to open early next year in the Parkside Village development at Slaughter Lane and MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1).

The 400 Rabbits, the Alamo's bar, will have indoor and outdoor seating and will be open to everyone, not just movie-goers. It will focus on drinks with agave, mescal and tequila but will serve beer and wine, too.

Guest feedback on "food lab" test offerings will determine what does — and doesn't — get added to menus chainwide. Themed feasts, an Alamo staple, also are planned.

http://www.statesman.com/business/ne...l-1809068.html

[jonathaninATX]

New Rendering of the Marriott Marquis





http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles...el-development

It also says in the article that construction for the 17st Hyatt will began next week..

Booming pipeline
Supply growth in Austin isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. According to STR, there are three hotels under construction, representing 214 rooms; 22 projects representing 3,085 rooms in the final planning stage; and 20 projects representing 3,169 rooms in the planning stage.

One of those developers who sees big opportunity in Austin is White Lodging, which has been active in the Austin market since 1993 and operates 20 hotels in the metropolitan market. White Lodging commenced construction on its 21st hotel in Austin, a 296-unit Hyatt Place one block from the Austin Convention Center, next week.

[jonathaninATX]

Details emerge for Lamar Plaza redevelopment

Austin Business Journal by Cody Lyon
Date: Thursday, September 8, 2011, 10:12am CDT

A site plan filed at Austin City Hall contains new details about the planned redevelopment of Lamar Plaza, which is home to iconic businesses such as the South Austin Gym, Alamo Drafthouse and The HighBall nightclub.

The shopping center was built in the 1950s and sources said that when it’s redeveloped, Alamo Drafthouse and The Highball will have newer — possibly larger — homes.

Developers from Greystar Real Estate Partners plan to transform the eight-acre site into an ambitious new mixed-use development with residential, retail as well as a large restaurant component.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...mar-plaza.html

[jonathaninATX]

New housing complex to hit West Campus by 2013

Published 24 Aug 2011 at 10:30 AM
By Jillian Bliss

A privately owned student-housing firm is working on a plan to bring another high-rise dormitory to West Campus.

The housing firm, American Campus Communities, has scheduled completion of the Callaway House at Austin for fall 2013. The 15-story building will be located on the site of two parking lots between 22nd and 21st streets currently owned by University Baptist Church. During a University Area Partners neighborhood association meeting on Aug. 23, representatives of American Campus Communities requested support from the West Campus community for plans to turn an alley way into a tunnel, allowing vehicles to continue through a 14-foot underpass bridged by living space.

Members of the West Campus neighborhood association voted to support the design after hearing from planners, developers and property managers involved in the proposed project.

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news...st-campus-2013

[AusTxDevelopment]

Cirrus Logic needs more space
Site bought next to HQ under construction
Premium content from Austin Business Journal by Vicky Garza , ABJ Staff
Date: Friday, September 9, 2011, 5:00am CDT

Cirrus Logic Inc. has bought another building downtown — this one across the street from its future headquarters — for a circuit testing facility, but its plans have received opposition from some nearby property owners.
The company — which makes analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits used by audio, energy and industrial companies — realized additional space was needed after construction started in January on its new 135,000-square-foot office building on West Sixth Street.

The decision to acquire the additional 16,000 square feet was based mostly on the company’s rapid growth during the past 18 months, Cirrus Logic spokesman Bill Schnell said. For its fiscal 2011 — reported April 28 — Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS) posted a $203.5 million profit on $369.5 million revenue versus a $38.3 million profit on $220.9 million revenue during fiscal 2010.
The extra space Cirrus Logic will use for testing, at 707 West Ave., is now home to Aziz Salon and several offices.
Cirrus Logic plans to make improvements to the streetscape and renovate the building so it can serve as a testing and research facility. The company currently tests its circuits at a facility it does not own in an industrial park in Southeast Austin.
The new building will also enable Cirrus Logic to consolidate its Austin operations to one area of town, Schnell said.
Before that can happen, the property needs to be rezoned. Chip testing is not an approved use under the current general office zoning.
The area would have to be zoned for “commercial services” to allow Cirrus Logic to use the building as it would like, but that designation would also permit other uses, including automotive sales, campgrounds, kennels, pawn shops, service stations and stables.
Cirrus Logic has reached an agreement with the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association and the Original Austin Neighborhood Association to enter into a restrictive covenant with the neighborhood associations that would allow electronic equipment testing but restrict most other uses under commercial services zoning.
“We have been working closely with the neighborhood associations to get the right language because we want it to be very restrictive to what we’re doing,” Schnell said.
Despite the deal, some residents are still balking.
One neighbor, in a letter to the city’s planning department opposing the rezoning, expressed concern that it would set a precedent.
Some surrounding property owners within 200 feet of the area filed a valid petition, meaning the zoning change must be approved by six of the seven City Council members to pass.
The case has already received unanimous, but preliminary, approval by the council. It must be passed on second and third hearing before it is official.
If the rezoning is approved, Cirrus Logic plans to give the existing tenants some time to move out and will move its employees into the headquarters and testing facility concurrently in July 2012.
Cirrus Logic currently employs about 600 people worldwide — with most of the positions located in Austin — and has plans to increase its headcount by 150 this year. The new headquarters building will be large enough to house about 500 people, and the proposed testing facility will house about 30.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...ore-space.html

[jonathaninATX]

New Austin Outpatient Clinic



http://www.csemag.com/events-and-awa...nt-clinic.html

[jonathaninATX]

Airport Blvd. to get makeover

Austin Business Journal by Vicky Garza , ABJ Staff
Date: Friday, September 9, 2011, 5:00am CDT

The redevelopment of upper Airport Boulevard is about to take off, and city planners are seeking input from the community to come up with a vision for the future of the corridor that has long served as an auto-centric community divider.

Thomas Gohring — owner of two businesses on Airport Boulevard, Kick Butt Coffee and Master Gohring’s Tai Chi & Kung Fu — has worked in and lived near the area for 15 years.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...-makeover.html

[jonathaninATX]

This is the new rendering of Riverview Apartments which is U/C.



http://www.greenlivingllc.com/Green%...ew%20Page.html

[jonathaninATX]

Work has restarted on the Mopac / Ben White flyovers.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...s-1859098.html

[jonathaninATX]

Apartment tower to rise downtown soon

Austin Business Journal by Cody Lyon , ABJ Staff
Date: Friday, September 16, 2011, 5:00am CDT

Riverside Resources LLC is poised to build an 18-story apartment tower in downtown Austin at the northeast corner of Third and Brazos streets.

The former Whitley Printing Co. building will be razed in about a month, according to real estate sources, and will be replaced with:

• 275 multifamily units

• 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space that could be used for office or retail

• and a 6,000-square-foot restaurant.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/pr...town-soon.html

[jonathaninATX]

Concho Commons

Concho Commons is a five-story mixed-use retail/residential development located adjacent to Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. The property is ideally situated on the south side of the campus on Concho Street between N. LBJ Drive and Guadalupe Street and will include over 25,000 sf of shops, restaurants, and service providers catered to meet the needs of the Texas State students. Construction expected to commence in 2011.

http://caseydev.com/PROJECTS_develop.html

[jonathaninATX]

Thorpe Lane

Thorpe Lane is a 10.735 acre, 300 unit, 500 bed student housing project located in San Marcos, Texas. The tract is ideally situated between Thorpe Lane and IH-35 in close proximity to the Texas State University Campus and within walking distance to Bobcat Stadium. Construction expected to commence in Spring 2012 to be delivered for the Fall 2013 semester.

http://caseydev.com/PROJECTS_develop.html

[araman0]

Originally Posted by jonathaninATX

Soaring rents, occupancy rates have Austin apartment market among hottest in nation





http://www.statesman.com/business/au...g-1735648.html

With occupancy rates so high, high demand, and high prices, why aren't more apartments being built in Austin? I've always been puzzled as to why the rules of supply and demand don't cause there to be more housing construction in places like San Jose, San Francisco, and now Austin. Austin sounds like a great city to live in, and I'm sure new apartment buildings will be profitable in the city.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by araman0

With occupancy rates so high, high demand, and high prices, why aren't more apartments being built in Austin?

A number of reasons. Typically it can take months/years for a developer to buy the land, tear down the existing structure if needed, design the building, and then get cleared through the zoning/building permit process before construction can even begin.

[jonathaninATX]

Araman0 there are many apartments being built in and around Austin, this year alone there has been thousands of units in demand, and many more are to come in the next few years.

[jonathaninATX]

Green Manufacture could bring 230 jobs to Pflugerville.

By Blake Rasmussen Thursday, 15 September 2011



PFLUGERVILLE — Complete Energy Systems LLC—a company focused on green jobs and manufacturing—could be the first tenant of the Pflugerville Development Corp.'s proposed business park.

Floyd Akers, executive director of the PCDC, said Complete Energy Systems, a Florida-based company, would bring about 230 jobs over five years to Pflugerville if the PCDC board of directors and City Council approve an economic incentive deal with CES.

The PCDC is set to vote on the conditions of the economic agreement Saturday, Sept. 17. The City Council would then have to accept the agreement, likely at its regular Sept. 27 meeting.

The agreement, dubbed "Project Sunshine" by the PCDC, would be a five-year deal that includes $75,000 in moving expenses, a 50 percent property tax over five years, and $3,000 per job created, Akers said. The details of the deal are subject to change prior to the final votes.

In exchange, the company will move eight people from Florida, hire up to 140 in the first year and increase to 230 total jobs within five years, Akers said.

If the agreement is approved by the PCDC and the city, Complete Energy Systems plans to move its corporate offices to Pflugerville almost immediately, renting a temporary space until their new building is ready, CES CEO Harvey Katz said.

http://impactnews.com/round-rock-pfl...o-pflugerville

[jonathaninATX]

Construction of Whole Foods at The Domain to begin in August

By Amy Deis Friday, 26 August 2011

Groundwork at the site of the 55,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market near the entrance to The Domain is slated to begin at the end of August with an anticipated opening in March 2013.

Ben Bufkin, a development associate with Endeavor Real Estate Group who is overseeing the development of The Domain, said the grocery store would be a two-story building with the second floor dedicated as a mezzanine for customers to sit and eat. Bufkin said the store would have a similar design as the Sixth Street location.

Whole Foods plans to relocate its store from The Gateway shopping center, 9607 Research Blvd. Bufkin said that he thinks The Domain is the perfect fit for a new location.

“It’s a place where you’re going to have a huge, dense population of residents and employees and a lot of daytime and nighttime traffic. It’s a place that has a 24/7 vibe, similar to downtown,” Bufkin said.

A Whole Foods representative said she could not comment yet on the design or features inside the store. Bufkin said the exterior of the store would be composed largely of glass and glazing, similar to the Sixth Street location, as well as rough-cut limestone, wood and metal. Surface parking and an underground garage will provide parking for 320 vehicles.

Preliminary site work is expected to last three to four months, during which time workers would be drilling into the ground to install the piers for the building, Bufkin said. Work on the frame of the building should begin by the end of the year.

http://impactnews.com/northwest-aust...egin-in-august

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by araman0

With occupancy rates so high, high demand, and high prices, why aren't more apartments being built in Austin? I've always been puzzled as to why the rules of supply and demand don't cause there to be more housing construction in places like San Jose, San Francisco, and now Austin. Austin sounds like a great city to live in, and I'm sure new apartment buildings will be profitable in the city.

It's true - permitting, the long lag time for site plan and permit approval and the lack of available infill sites means that Austin has a slow turn-around time for development - apartments, office, etc. That, along with how quickly our market switches from high to low to high again (4-5 year cycles have been the average), it makes it hard to ramp up for development. If you want hard some numbers, the City of Austin provides a quarterly multifamily development pipeline report that can be found here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/demographics/mfpage.htm Also, the Real Estate Center at Texas A & M University tracks multifamily development permits going back to 1980 in chart form (along with a gazillion other real-estate related items), here: http://www.recenter.tamu.edu/default.asp

[jonathaninATX]

Watson unveils plan for medical school, hospital, clinics

ByRalph K.M. Haurwitz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 12:04 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

State Sen. Kirk Watson today will outline an ambitious plan to establish a medical school, a teaching hospital, a series of neighborhood clinics and a health-related research institute in Austin.

"I'm going to lay out 10 goals for the next 10 years and, in addition, lay out an initial organizing committee — a group of people in a position to help make sure that this happens," Watson, D-Austin, told the American-Statesman on Monday. "Every 't' hasn't been crossed, and every 'i' hasn't been dotted, but it's time to go from incremental to transformational."

His proposal comes at a time of a growing consensus among civic leaders that Austin should have a medical school, the centerpiece of his plan. Austin is the second-largest city in the nation without a medical school, the largest being San Jose, Calif.

City leaders, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Seton Healthcare Family and St. David's HealthCare expressed support for a medical school more than three years ago. In the past couple of years, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and Seton have collaborated here to expand medical research and training, a partnership seen as a possible precursor to a medical school.

UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa said last month that he wants to expand the program so students could spend all four years of medical school here. Last week, UT-Austin President William Powers Jr. announced his support "to bring all this together in a medical school."

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...s-1867920.html