Austin Condos and Lofts - New Page
March 16, 2007 on 10:43 pm | In Downtown Living, Condos | No CommentsWe recently added a new page that lists all of the developments going on downtown with the new Austin Condos and Lofts. You can access here by clicking Austin Condos and Lofts. Here is an interesting article from the statesman about new condos underdevelopment.
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Downtown Austin’s condo building boom is taking a twist, with several projects that are turning former office buidlings into residences.
Next up is Sabine on Fifth, a 10-story building of mostly empty offices that CWS Capital Partners LLC recently started transforming into 80 condominiums.
The building, at the northeast corner of Sabine and East Fifth streets, adjoins the Hilton Garden Inn.
Crews are gutting the building, where CWS plans to install new windows and walls, along with new plumbing, mechanical, electrical and heating and cooling systems.
Prices for the smallest one-bedrooms, with about 700 square feet, will start in the mid-$190,000s, lower than many of downtown’s new residences, said Kevin Burns, owner of Urbanspace Realtors LLP, an Austin-based firm that is marketing the units.
The highest-priced units, with 1,461 square feet, will be in the mid-$500,000s.
Just a few blocks away, Pomeroy Investment Corp. said Monday it is considering adding 25 “ultra-luxury” condominiums atop Capitol Tower, one of two downtown office buildings the Bloomfield, Mich.-based firm bought in January. The 20th penthouse floor would be expanded and a 21st floor added, with the condos occupying floors 19 through 21.
Prices would range from the $800,000s to more than $1 million, said Jerry Reinhart, Pomeroy’s president and chief executive. If the company decides to move forward, construction could start within 90 days, he said.
The rest of the building, which Pomeroy is renovating, would remain offices.
Nearby, Pomeroy is well under way converting the former One Commodore office building into Brazos Place, 74 condominiums at East Eighth and Brazos streets.
The smallest one-bedrooms, with 623 square feet, are priced at $189,900. The largest units, with 1,400 square feet, are priced at about $500,000. The largest unit, with 1,200 square feet plus a 900-square-foot balcony on the 13th floor, sells for $619,900. Units in the second phase will go on sale later this month, and prices will be higher, Reinhart said. The project also will include retail space and offices for sale and for rent.
The CWS and Pomeroy projects come amid a residential building boom, with numerous condo and apartment projects proposed or under construction south and east of downtown.
Though some real estate consultants say there’s ample demand to fill all the projects, some real estate agents wonder whether the central business district could end up with more housing units than residents.
“I’m very concerned that there’s a potential for a glut,” said Leigh Gambrell, a real estate agent with Kovas and Associates Realtors, echoing views that a few agents have expressed privately. “You sacrifice space for location, and the downtown living experience appeals to a smaller segment of buyers.”
With many of downtown’s new condos starting in the $300,000s and topping $1 million, “it’s just not an accessible price point,” Gambrell said.
But developers are betting on continued strong demand for housing downtown. Pomeroy, for example, is spending $25 million in improvements for its downtown projects.
“We’ve experienced strong demand . . . and the number of units we’re bringing onto the market is less than 100,” said Reinhart. “And we believe there’s sufficient demand to absorb those units, based on our own market research and the purchase agreements we have signed to date.”
The CWS project coincides with plans to revive the nearby Waller Creek tunnel project. Rising costs have mired plans for the flood control project, now estimated to cost $124 million, but Austin appears to have found a partner — Travis County.
In coming weeks, the county is set to approve a new taxing district that will dedicate much of the new property tax revenue from the creek corridor to pay for the tunnel.
Greg Miller, vice president for investment, said CWS is committed to investing in parts of downtown that traditionally have been overlooked. He said the company will proceed with Sabine on Fifth regardless of whether the Waller Creek project moves ahead.
