Two New Downtown Towers Planned

[suzerain]

Downtown apartments on track to ascend

Plans call for 24-story high-rise on W. Fifth St. and a 28-story tower on Colorado St.

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By Shonda Novak

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Monday, March 28, 2005

Two new luxury residential projects announced last year for downtown Austin are moving forward, including one that would become downtown's biggest residential complex.

Zom Development Inc. plans to break ground in September on a 24-story high-rise at 805 W. Fifth St., land currently occupied by Miguel's Imports.

The building will have 290 apartments aimed at affluent renters, although pricing details are not available. The project will include a four-story townhouse building above street-level retail shops.

New York-based MetLife Inc. filed plans last week with the city for a 28-story apartment tower at 101 Colorado St., now the site of a drive-in bank. The high-rise will have 196 apartments plus six townhouses facing Cesar Chavez Street.

That project originally was scheduled to break ground last year. City officials said today that the company has not given an updated timetable for when construction might begin and a company spokesman did not return phone calls.

A letter filed with the city says the project will have 23 levels of apartments and retail on the ground floor. It will be west of 100 Congress, an office building also owned by MetLife.

Both projects reflect the trend of higher density downtown.

AMLI Residential Property Trust, meanwhile, plans to start construction in November on its second apartment complex between Second, Third, Guadalupe and San Antonio streets. That complex will be a 17- to 18-story building with 240 to 280 units , said Craig Brockman, who is overseeing AMLI's downtown projects. Rents have not yet been set.

Charles Heimsath, a local real estate consultant, has said he thinks there's enough demand for 300 to 400 new units a year downtown.

The projects are filling up, even at higher prices. Downtown apartments rent range from about $1,400 to more than $3,000 a month. Prices for newer condos range from $159,000 at the Milago, at the foot of Rainey Street, to $2.8 million in the Hilton Austin downtown.

AMLI's 220-unit apartment complex on Second Street between Colorado and Lavaca streets is 80 percent leased. And the condo projects are sold out or have only a handful of units remaining, said Kevin Burns, a real estate broker who owns Urbanspace Realtors, which specializes in downtown residential properties.

[guess]

Here is the ZOM project:

[Talbot]

Man, that is awesome. Im starting to get quite envious of Austin.

[marc]

Man, that is awesome. Im starting to get quite envious of Austin.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Me too Talbot, me too.

Austin is beautiful, as we all know. So many residents resisted urban growth out of fear of losing their small big town atmosphere. Personally, i think once a city establishes her personality, then she retains it forever-regardless of pop. growth.

I must say, Austin does select many unique and beautiful buildings to dot the skyline- in and out of down town.

Projections (if anyone can believe them) has Austin being #3 by 2015-2020. Technically, SA is now TX #2.....sorry Dallas. But then again, that is just inside the boundaries of the city, not the metro area. But i digress.

My point is...........I do love Houston.........but will probably retire in or around the Austin area. To be a young urbanite living in DT Austin seems very much "happening" these days.

m.

[marc]

...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yeah, yeah, I know. I am working on getting rid of those dots.

Look on my recent posts. You would be proud.

m.