Austonian - 55 Floor Downtown Condo

[Campus Loop(y)]

Seeing as how my house with a backyard and front yard situated one mile from downtown, close to both the new trolley system and a train stop coming in and one mile from campus, it sits very well with me.

My property has already more than doubled since buying it and this stuff is not even up yet. Yeah, it sits well for me since somebody is going to want a yard. I can sell, build a bit out of town, go off the grid in something earth friendly and not have a mortgage payment and toss much more into the Roth.

Then as land gains in value, the extra acres I buy with the Veterans Land Grant program can be sold to friends at a good price but enough to pay for the rest of the land. That way I can control who my neighbors are, friends get a super deal and my corner of the world is great.

I like this very much.

 

[Ramathorn]

campus, you consider us friends?

 

[Campus Loop(y)]

If you are friends with the Royer's you are friends with me.

 

[SomeMildLanguage]

I flipping love the Royers.

And their food. Especially that jalapeno cheese soup and shrimp BLT.

 

[alma]

huffines has a good take on austin vs. vegas/miami. many of those units were bought purely for speculative purposes, unlike Austin. In fact, many banks won't count units sold to known investors (or the second or third unit sold to the same person) towards the loan agreement's required hard contract percentage. If the bank's percentage isn't met, it won't fund the construction costs and the building never gets built.

 

[6th&Congress]

I'm curious to see if the city will meet it's goal of having 25,000 people living downtown by 2015. I certainly don't feel there is enough attractions such as restuarants, grocery stores, other entertaiment to make me want to live downtown. Additionally, I believe the people who want to live downtown can't afford it, and the ones who can afford it, don't want to live downtown. However, it'll be interesting to watch the boom in downtown development over the next 10 years. I just hope we are not left with a bunch of concrete frames like the Intel building, when things do not go as the developers had planned.

 

[dontlookatme]

They are blowing up the Intel building on the 25th.

I'd be scared to buy one of these places then in 6-7 years if I wanted to sell it I wouldnt be able to because there are 100's of empty units all over town.

 

[Punt on 1st Down]

Negotiations continue as to whether the Intel building will be demolished.

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[unpaintedhuffhines]

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[Ramathorn]

What attractions do other downtowns have that our downtown doesn't?

 

[Wrangler]

hornian,

Nice pic. Although I can’t tell for sure, it looks like in that photo that the building is occupying the entire block. That will not be the case, it is only the east half of the block.

Mesohorny,

101 Colorado and Monarch are apartments; although I always doubted that. Costs are too high for a rental project, most likely.

atxbaby,

The City does have height limits and maximum FAR (floor area ratios); however, because the City is pushing for more population in the CBD they are allowing variances from height limits.

 

[6th&Congress]

In terms of amentiies, I can't catch a movie downtown, unless I go to the Alamo. However, since it's only two screens, I have a slim chance of catching a movie I want to see there. Grocery stores, I'd prefer not to shop at whole foods and pay $25/lb for new york strip. That place makes Albertson's and Randall's reasonably priced. Clothing stores, there is no place I can shop if I want to buy some reasonably prices shirts or jeans. Sorry, I don't prefer to spend $200 for Jeans and $75 for shirts. Bowling ally, this is not a place to bowl. I can go on and on about places downtown Austin lacks.

 

[unpaintedhuffhines]

the first thing that would preclude me from living in a downtown area is no bowling alley....and no archery range. Guess I'm out of luck.

 

[6th&Congress]

The point of my post is that downtown Austin is weak and lacks a lot of places to shop and buy everyday items.

 

[unpaintedhuffhines]

so then I guess all of those people moving there are out of luck

or...

the point of my earlier post was that these things are ALSO getting developed downtown.

but seriously, there's no archery range so screw downtown. And for the record, Austin downtown is not weak. Could it get better...yes. Is it weak, hell no.

 

[6th&Congress]

I really just think the prices need to drop. I'm positive the market will take care of that.

 

[Wrangler]

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[Ramathorn]

It's not quite in the downtown area, but there is an heb down on congress and oltorf. Most people that live downtown have cars. For them, the trip would be quicker than what I have to go through to get to an heb here in Round Rock.


I didn't know many great cities had affordable grocery and clothing stores right downtown. The mall over isn't that far away either, and sometimes you can goto the 2nd street district.


I don't think clothes are cheap in San Fran or NYC either.

I just think some will loathe the idea of Austin being a growing metro area that's not following the same blueprint as other southern cities are or have become.


I have no problems cataching a movie at Alamo. Sometimes, I may have to by my tickets online, but big deal.


There aren't cheap downtowns in the US.

 

[VoodooChi|d]

There are some other condos downtown that will probably half as cheap as these. I'm assuming these are very upscale.

I've never lived in NYC, Chicago, San Fran or any other city with a high downtown population but I don't think they have bowling alleys, archery ranges, or Wal-Marts in walking distance.

If you want those things you obviously would prefer the urban sprawl that is Houston or Dallas.

 

[Campus Loop(y)]

Hey now, easy. All the man wants is to shoot arrows. How dare you call him a sprawler or even think it.

 

[6th&Congress]

I'm just a little more impressed with Denver's downtown area, it has all of it. I just think Austin could learn a lot from Denver, that is all.

 

[unpaintedhuffhines]

for the love of god, Denver's downtown was a ******** before it was revitalized. Can't you give the Austin downtown growth an opportunity to take shape as well?

 

[Ramathorn]

Denver is bigger/more populated as well. Maybe all this construction will help revitalize downtown?

NYC has a better downtown than Austin, alot of cities do. But, you sometimes have to build it first.

 

[Wrangler]

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[Ramathorn]

wrangler, the nyc comment was said in jest. 6th and congress said Denver's downtown was way better than Austin's. Well, no **** sherlock. Should we halt downtown development because of it?

 

[RollingwoodHorn]

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[CleverNickname]

I'm selling my condo at enfield & expo. 1/3 the price of downtown means more money for bowling, shirts and archery! And still a cheap cab ride from utter drinking oblivion. pm for more!

 

[orangebones]

Link

 

[Wrangler]

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[jtrc2]

I look at those pictures and all of the cranes in the sky and feel like I'm looking at Internet stocks in early 2000. Absolutely frigging absurd that the market for these things went from 0-60 so fast. The developers have access to cheap capital and they're using it. Gravity has a way of countering these types of things.

All that said, Austin wins big here. Urban living means fewer cars and less traffic. And virtually assures a very healthy market for downtown restaurants & bars. So I'm a fan.