Austin Real Estate Scene

Here is a rendering of a great new Condo/Hotel development called the 21c being drawn up for Waller Creek area on the east side of Downtown Austin. Read the full story here in the Austin American Stateman: 
Waller Creek Condo Development Story

(From the article:
Work is scheduled to start in early 2009 on a 16-story 21c Museum Hotel, which will have 243 rooms and double as a contemporary art museum. The museum will be open free to the public year-round.

The hotel will be followed by a 49-story condominium tower with 295 residential units, and in the future, a 425,00-square-foot tower with offices and shops or more housing, according to the Poe Companies, a Louisville, Ky.-based real estate firm.

The company expects the hotel and condo towers to open in 2011. Prices have not been set for the condos.

The condo tower would rank among the tallest being built or planned amid downtown’s residential building boom.

This is a $350 million project on 3.5 acres and is going to pump a millions of property tax dollars

This development is a great for this area of downtown Austin because it will become a draw for people in the downtown area for the parks and water. It’s possible this could be the Austin version of the San Antonio River Walk. People love to be around parks, water, bars and restuartions.

“This is like that proverbial place in Central Park in New York City,” said Steve Poe, president and CEO of the Poe Companies, which is one of the partners in the project.. “That’s what we’re creating.”

Wow.. Mr. Poe!…This isn’t anything like Central Park yet! That’s a little over the top about this area.

There is going to a world  key attraction in the project is expected to be its restaurant, which will serve contemporary American cuisine and has a big name behind it, Michael Bonavides, who was a founding partner of the restaurant group that owns and operates Tribeca Grill, Nobu and Rubicon.

Perry Lorenz who own this land for many years and probably making a ton of money selling it now that the Downtown Austin real estate is so Hot! This project is the start of more areas like this throughout downtown Austin from 15th St. to Lady Bird Lake (Townlake) over the next 10 years.

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/04/03/0403hotel.html

http://www.21cmuseumhotel.com/austin/