Austin Development News

[jonathaninATX]

Btw dirt is turning on the Gables Park tower site also, saw a few construction workers there a few days ago.

[jonathaninATX]

City plans 208-acre, mixed-use development in East Austin

ByMarty Toohey
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 9:44 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012

With 208 acres of rolling, city-owned land as a backdrop, Austin officials announced Wednesday that the city would be creating a mixed-income, mixed-use, environmentally friendly development in a hardscrabble slice of far East Austin.

City officials envision, in at least the most general terms, something similar to the Mueller development, which is being built in stages on the site of the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, also in East Austin.

The process of figuring out exactly what to build in Colony Park and how to get it done will take three years, according to city officials. Among the possibilities: a partnership or set of partnerships between the city and private interests.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Austin a $3 million grant to create a master plan for the site.

"We want to create a community that is affordable but has other things," such as housing that is

energy- and water-efficient and close to jobs, said Anthony Snipes, chief of staff for City Manager Marc Ott. "When you have 208 acres, there is so much that can be done."

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...n-2080858.html

[jonathaninATX]

$3.4 million Sabine promenade could anchor Waller Creek district

ByBen Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 7:51 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012

There's a good chance many longtime Austinites have never been to Sabine Street. After all, only four-plus blocks of the downtown road exist, broken into two out-of-the-way segments near Interstate 35.

The City of Austin aims to change that by transforming the larger piece between East Fourth Street and East Seventh Street into a promenade that, according to a 2010 master plan for the Waller Creek district on downtown's east side, "can become a catalyst for the revitalization of the area."

Although the promenade details remain to be worked out, that master plan for Waller Creek, which meanders just east of this section of Sabine, anticipates that more than 55 feet of the street's existing 80 feet of right of way would be given over to broad sidewalks on each side, with a double row of trees on one side and a single row on the other.

The makeover would be similar to other "great streets" designs the city has done and continues to do elsewhere downtown, but this one would be oriented even more toward those on foot and on bikes.

Cars and trucks would still be allowed, said Jim Robertson , the city's urban design manager, if only because businesses such as the Palm Door events facility would need access for deliveries. But that traffic could be restricted, Robertson said.

Much of the three blocks is lined with one-story buildings and parking lots, labeled in the master plan as "development opportunities."

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...r-2083098.html

[jonathaninATX]

New Rainey Street Apartment Tower Proposed: The Austin Skyhouse

by Jude Galligan
2012 January 10

According to an administrative site plan filed with the city today, the Austin Skyhouse is a proposed downtown Austin mixed-use apartment tower at 47 Rainey Street. If built, the tower could deliver more than 300 apartments to downtown Austin’s hot rental market.

The ~1.4 acre site, shown below, is directly north of the Legacy apartments (187 units), and across the street from the Milago Condos (240 units). The CBD zoned property has long been expected to be developed into a tower, so this shouldn’t be received with much surprise.

According to the application: “The applicant is proposing to construct Apt. Tower/Retail and Garage/Retail with associated improvements.” The applicant is familiar to downtown Austin development – Novare/Andrews Urban – the same team who developed the successful 360 Condos.

Since Milago has the dominant lake and city view for the first twelve floors, we’ll hopefully see a tall tower over podium design where most of the units’ views would clear Milago’s roof. Given the parking challenges in the Rainey Street district, perhaps we’ll see extra parking included in the design which could be used by visitors to the neighborhood. If any variances are needed for the project, bringing extra parking to the district would be a good point of discussion.

http://downtownaustinblog.org/2012/0...se/#more-13718

[jonathaninATX]

New 23-story apartment tower planned in Rainey Street area

By Shonda Novak | Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 06:02 PM

The developers behind a 44-story downtown condominium high-rise near the Austin Music Hall said today that they are planning their next project: a 320-unit apartment tower that would rise 23 stories in the Rainey Street area.

An affiliate of Novare Group Investments LLC and its Austin partner, Andrews Urban LLC, said they plan to break ground this spring on the project, to be named SkyHouse Austin. Located at 47 Rainey Street on downtown’s eastern edge, the tower would include significant retail space, Novare/Andrews Urban said in a statement.

Novare/Andrews Urban developed the 360 condominium tower with 430 residences at Third and Nueces.

“We are excited to be working with Taylor Andrews on another project in Austin,” said James Borders, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Novare Group. “SkyHouse Austin will complement a vibrant and growing Rainey Street District with a great new residential community with many amenities, the primary one being its location in downtown Austin.”

Taylor Andrews, president of Andrews Urban, said adding 320 more residences “will play a significant role in fulfilling the city’s vision for the Waterfront District and provide needed tax revenue for the Waller Creek Tunnel project.”

The tower is among a new wave of apartment construction planned or under construction both in and around downtown, and the larger Central Texas region.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte..._tower_pl.html

[jonathaninATX]

EA unveils new offices in North Austin

By Brian Gaar
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Updated: 5:10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012

As video game publisher Electronic Arts debuted its newest Austin expansion on Monday, company officials said their local staff has grown to 600 people, beginning to make good on their vow to bring new jobs to town.

EA officials unveiled their new digs in an office park just east of Parmer Lane near Anderson Mill Road in North Austin. This will be home to the customer support division.

Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore called it the company's new "worldwide consumer experience center" and said that it will handle calls from customers and manage EA's other customer service centers around the word. About 50 full-time employees will work in the new space of about 50,000 square feet.

"If there was a corporate headquarters for customer experience for us, it's right here in this building," Moore said.

The new location opened less than six months after EA announced that it would expand its Austin presence, ultimately bringing 300 jobs to Central Texas along with its famed EA Sports game division.

http://www.statesman.com/business/te...n-2091990.html

[jonathaninATX]

Area home starts could jump as much as 10% in 2012, expert says

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 10:43 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012

New home construction is expected to increase in 2012 for the second straight year, with the number of starts projected to rise 5 to 10 percent over last year's level, a housing expert said Thursday.

Eldon Rude , director of the Austin market for Metrostudy , delivered his projection at the fourth annual housing forecast hosted by the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin and the Austin Board of Realtors. The forecast covers Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties.

Last year, builders started construction on 6,115 homes, 5 percent more than in 2010, housing industry tracker Metrostudy found in its most recent survey. Demand is coming from continued job, population and household growth in Central Texas, along with sharply higher rents in the current tight apartment market that are pushing more tenants into the single-family home market, Rude said.

This year, Rude forecast that builders will start construction on 6,400 to 6,700 homes — and possibly as many as 7,000 if job growth and the economy continue to improve. Starts have averaged slightly more than 6,200 a year for the past three years, Rude said.

Builders had pulled back dramatically during the recent recession, and home prices have been relatively flat during the past three years. Last year's 6,115 starts were off nearly 62 percent from the peak in 2006, when builders started on 15,977 houses. However, experts have said the Austin-area housing market fared better than many other parts of the country.

But strict mortgage lending criteria and tepid consumer confidence will limit new home sales in the coming year, Rude said.

http://www.statesman.com/business/re...s-2099202.html

[TXForever]

I'm sure JoninAtx was going to get to this. But i'll go ahead and oblige in advance...

New Renderings of Circuit of the Americas


http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/..._Update_23.JPG http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/..._Update_22.JPG http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/...-Update-24.jpg
http://www.statesman.com/sports/form...k-2099095.html

[jonathaninATX]

Originally Posted by TXForever

I'm sure JoninAtx was going to get to this. But i'll go ahead and oblige in advance...

New Renderings of Circuit of the Americas


http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/..._Update_23.JPG http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/..._Update_22.JPG http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/...-Update-24.jpg
http://www.statesman.com/sports/form...k-2099095.html

[jonathaninATX]

ACC’s Hays campus clears final legal hurdle

The Texas Supreme Court has cleared the path for the Austin Community College District to move forward with construction of the new Hays Campus. On January 13, the court ended a resident’s legal challenge to the college’s Hays CISD annexation election by declining to hear his petition for review.

“We are gratified to bring this to a successful conclusion,” says Cobby Caputo, ACC legal counsel. “With this decision, the college can secure financing and break ground.”

Nearly 7,000 voters in Hays CISD – a 59 percent majority – voted to approve annexation into the ACC District in November 2010. Ray Wolbrecht, a resident of Hays CISD, filed a challenge to the election the following month. All rulings throughout the case were favorable to ACC, but because of Dr. Wolbrecht’s continued appeals, the college had been unable to issue bonds to finance campus construction.

ACC will now resume the bond issuance process; bonds are expected to be secured by late spring. Once that is complete, the college will be able to set the project budget, determine a groundbreaking date, and finalize the construction timeline.

http://haysfreepress.com/2012/01/13/...-legal-hurdle/

[jonathaninATX]

Hanover South Lamar



http://hanoverco.com/home

[greencitizen144]

Did anyone hear about the new office tower proposed for whole foods?

[TXForever]

Originally Posted by greencitizen144

Did anyone hear about the new office tower proposed for whole foods?

http://www.statesman.com/business/wh...n-2110412.html

[jonathaninATX]

Hampton Inn to rise at site of unfinished project on Lavaca Street

n eight-story, $24.5 million Hampton Inn & Suites soon will rise at the site of an unfinished building that has been a eyesore and caused traffic problems on parts of Lavaca Street.

Construction started Thursday on the $24.5 million hotel project at 1701 Lavaca St., just one day after Austin VHR LLC, an Austin-based hotel development and investment company, purchased the site and shell from the lender, Texas Capital Bank. The bank had posted the property for foreclosure last year.

Houston-based Vista Host Inc., a hotel management company, will operate the hotel.

It is due to open in September and will have 137 guest rooms, underground parking for 95 cars and meeting space for 100 people. The design will feature a traditional brick base and porch facing Lavaca Street.

http://www.statesman.com/business/re...d-2113072.html

[jonathaninATX]

Lakeway hospital developer envisions apartments, retail, offices as part of medical campus

By Marques G. Harper

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

As workers put finishing touches on the main hospital of the Lakeway Regional Medical Center, slated to open this spring, its developer is focusing on what's next for the land surrounding the hospital.

During Tuesday's City Council meeting, Lakeway council members and the public were given a glimpse by James Kerby, a partner of developer Phin-Ker Ventures, of the future of the medical campus off RM 620. Council members didn't vote on any issues related to the site Tuesday night but urged Kerby and the hospital's chief executive, Dave Kreye, to consider traffic and water issues as the campus grows.

According to Kerby and Phin-Ker's website, the planned 93-acre campus, with the 274,500-square-foot, 106 bed-hospital, will include:

• Restaurants.

• Apartments.

• 75,000 square feet of retail space.

• An extended-stay hotel.

• A day care center.

• About four miles of trails.

• Three 53,000-square-foot medical office buildings.

• An assisted-living facility.

• A 75-bed rehabilitation hospital near the main hospital.

• A recovery center.

http://m.statesman.com/statesman/pm_...tguid=wNhmcJoW

[jonathaninATX]

LCRA wants to secure new water supply by 2017

By Farzad Mashhood AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012

The Lower Colorado River Authority's general manager said Wednesday that she plans to secure 100,000 acre-feet of new water supply by 2017.

The LCRA has a maximum reservoir storage of 2.01 million acre-feet, but amid the current drought, the LCRA's two main reservoirs, lakes Travis and Buchanan, have dropped to 738,000 acre-feet of water. An additional 100,000 acre-feet would be enough to supply roughly 300,000 households with water for a year.

"The basin, for its own economic help, has got to have new supplies of water," Becky Motal told the LCRA's board of directors Wednesday.

Building a storage reservoir, such as Lake Travis, is not likely because reservoirs typically take 10 to 15 years to build and can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Motal said that the water would most likely come from rain runoff and other river flows that pour into the Gulf of Mexico. She also said the LCRA would still keep enough water in the river for environmental health of the waterway and Matagorda Bay.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...y-2110244.html

[AusTxDevelopment]

Interesting PDF document prepared by the City of Austin:

Emerging Projects - Austin
Prominent Development Projects In Planning Or Construction Phases In And Around Austin

Stumbled across this while searching for something else.
ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/GIS-Data/p.../ep2011det.pdf

[jonathaninATX]

Cool... but the link isn't working.

[jonathaninATX]

Round Rock approves zoning change to allow for apartment-townhome complex

By Benjamin Wermund

ROUND ROCK — The Round Rock City Council voted Thursday night to annex and rezone a tract of land off University Boulevard to allow for the construction of an apartment and townhome development.

The planned development will divide the 41-acre tract into two sections. One 36-acre section will house multifamily apartments, while the remaining 5 acres will be reserved for either senior living facilities or townhomes. A total of 720 units will be allowed on the property.

The City Council also agreed to spend about $20,000 on off-site infrastructure improvements — including installing traffic lights on University Boulevard and Sunrise Road — needed to develop the tract.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...r-2128724.html

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by jonathaninATX

Cool... but the link isn't working.

The link works for me, but I'm using an old version of Explorer. I copied it to our FTP site. Try this link:

(link removed)