Austinist: New Condos Planned for the Shores of Barton Creek

LordEric

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:38:14 -0600

I think an interesting consideration is the lack of office space going up along with these condo towers. A great deal of the city's "core" is dominated by state office workers and the university. I can't imagine these workers can afford any of these new units. The people that I imagine can afford them work for the higher paying tech companies lining Mopac and 360. Aren't we just displacing traffic and congestion? Seeing how I'm a solidly middle class creative worker bee I guess I'll have to settle for one of those developments in Cedar Park where I could actually afford to pay a mortgage on more than two rooms and still eat at least once a day.

cram

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:09:10 -0600

Themo, Your original comment made it seem like you were being snarky towards the developers and essentially saying "Haha. Told you so! You're going to have to rent.. nanny nanny poo poo!" Considering they're saying The Shore, 360, and Spring are doing well/almost sold out, I don't think demand is abating quite yet even if one building is going back to an apartment business model. I have a sneaking suspicion that the developers know what they are doing when it comes to forecasting demand (before breaking ground). If they don't think they can sell out and make a good profit, they're just pulling up the tents and moving on like they've done with a few places down south (as reported on by the Austinist a few weeks ago). I don't think the development has been shortsighted -- those buildings will all be filled, but whether or not they are filled with owners who can afford the payments or renters who are living paycheck to paycheck just to be downtown remains to be seen.

themo

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:36:44 -0600

cram, i was just saying that maybe all of the development has indeed been short-sighted, as there don't seem to be enough sellers. i was not saying it was a good thing that there would not be rented units downtown.

Patrick C

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:30:35 -0600

Man, screw all you people and your Wanfu Too hate. Where the hell else am I supposed to get three meals' worth of Sesame Chicken at 1:30 a.m.?

themo

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:25:33 -0600

allegedly, the shady grove condos worked very hard to keep all of the healthy trees on that site. during recent tours of the property, they went to great lengths to let people know they have been very conscientious in their building. take from that what you want

cram

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:20:44 -0600

themo, Does it matter if the building is apartments vs condos? I'm not sure what the difference would be for people who are against this kind of development. The property costs just as much to build and just as much to live in per month... you just need to have 10-20% cash available to purchase if its a condo. The only differences I can think of would be the yearly turnover and income of the residents. The fact that the downtown residents in an expensive apartment tower ($1650/month starting price according to your link) will likely be $45k/year "millionaires" instead of people who can actually afford to live there is bad long term. The lack of a downpayment will just result in more young Austinites spending a ridiculously large percentage of their monthly paycheck on rent. That's not a good thing (probably).

mdahmus

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:02:03 -0600

PS: We don't have a "condo craze", we have "single-family house craze" with a tiny glazing of condos. For every downtown condo built this year, there were dozens of shitty suburban homes built from which people will drive one-per-SUV for 20,000 miles per year and slurp up subsidies from Austinites, especially those condo dwellers.

themo

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:00:44 -0600

I was wondering just YESTERDAY about when some of these developments would give up the ghost and have to start renting instead of selling. Wait for it...THE MONARCH back to its rental plan. I am not saying development is a bad idea, but i imagine more and more of these places will be looking for renters instead of buyers. Not that they will be much less than your mortgage would be, but it seems inevitable.

Grape Ape

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:00:25 -0600

All I said was that I didn't like the sign and that I heard they were leaving only one tree in Shady. What else was wrong with my comment - do you not agree that condos should be built wherever possible? I think Barton Springs pool would make a great location - leave one side for the public and another for a development, there is nothign wrong with that. So long as the environmental impact is minimized. The same is True of Zilker park, there is no reason why they can't take a few hundred feet of the park on the shore side to build - that would be an awesome location and it wouldn't hurt to put a coffee shop or a convenience store in there so the people who visit Zilker could get something to eat etc...

mdahmus

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:22:13 -0600

A condo killed Grape Ape's puppy when he was just a little monkey.

Grape Ape

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:16:24 -0600

Speaking of trees and condo sites. I was just recently told that they are only saving one tree for the Shady Grove development...I guess it won't be so shady now? Maybe they can change it to "somewhat, partially shady if you stand on the correct side of the concrete building at the right time of day grove." So if Wanfu is going to stay until phase 2; does that mean the hideous signage has to stay there until they're complete? Other than that, it sounds like a better plan than most - I'm just not sure about the environmental impact though - the thought of all that trash and waste that can potentially run off to the H&B and the lake...but, until there are condos on the banks of Barton Springs pool, Austin can not truly be a successful city.

seth

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:58:58 -0600

Hopefully someone will count and measure the trunks of all trees on this property. If the developer has to cut down any large oaks, the city will penalize them $2,000. Ouch. Maybe Wooley will pay the fine with a cuff link for star points. Seth

heyzeus

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:06:54 -0600

Can Ghostland Observatory play the benefit concert?

deadflowers

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:48:24 -0600

Wanfu is mostly beloved for causing various nasty gastrointestinal problems ;-) Also, I'm not sure, but I detected a heavy note of sarcasm in the writer's tone.

mdahmus

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:42:45 -0600

YEAH SHILLI I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THUNKED THAT WANFU TOO IS BELOVED. WHAT A MARROON!!!!1 Signed, Austin Residents Who Don't Get Sarcasm

Sean_Sallier

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:39:22 -0600

I'm certain the idiots moving in those condos will be complaining about the noise from the park soon enough. So this may be the last year for ACL Festival... good thing I guess since we gave up on ACL Fest a couple of years ago.

themo

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:28:16 -0600

all snark aside, it is nice to see a developer not looking for handouts or special treatment by agreeing to comply wih the current variances. if the market bears these condos, so be it. i guess we shall see. it seems it took 4+ years to finance and fill those condos on 5th street around the turn of the milenium, but now we can finance and fill 20 of them within 4 miles of downtown. i don't get how it will happen, but i don't get much.

YoYoMa

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:23:12 -0600

oh no, people are building stuff in Austin, will it ever end?!?!?! I wish I could go back to 1970 when none of us lived here. It was so much cooler then.

Mowank

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:15:58 -0600

It's my understanding the Wanfu Too would be displaced by a second phase. They'll be around just a little while longer.

7Towers

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:05:22 -0600

Yeah, I won't be missing Wanfu either, besides there is the original on Oltorf which is much better. On the condo end, I would think that the Austinist would be more of a proponent of these developments. I think they still pale in comparison to the sprawl that is happening in our town. They also lead to a vibrant, urban central core. The more people that live central the more rail will make sense. Yeah, it's getting boring at this point, but if we had a press release for every neighborhood development going up in Cedar Park, Round Rock, Lakeway, Kyle, etc. Everyone would be bitching about the sprawl and begging for more housing in central Austin.

heyzeus

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:05:20 -0600

Replace "beloved Austin icon" with "not very good eatery in a prime location" and that works out.

toroneg

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:04:54 -0600

Ummm...interesting article, except for the choice to refer to that craphole Wanfu Too using the words "beloved" and "icon". Is that meant to be ironic/sarcastic? Wanfu Too currently enjoys an overly generous two star average on Yelp, after nine less-than-glowing, but still too kind reviews. It may be slightly better than the truly execrable Maggie Moo's that was in that building a few short years ago, but "beloved" it's not.

Ursel

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:02:44 -0600

wonder how this could effect ACL?.......noise levels and such.

CarterB

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:56:38 -0600

"Beloved Austin icon Wanfu Too". Seriously? By who? I've never hear it mentioned and when I ask friends they say it's not very good.

themo

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:43:09 -0600

i got first dibs on the top floor condo built on the island in the middle of barton springs pool in 2012

ktwdw129

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:41:13 -0600

Will the condo craze ever end? Or will all of Austin be consumed...sad.

pd

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:23:48 -0600

Poor Sno Beach, fucked again...