2019
July 29
First Look: Colorful commercial condos to rise on Lake Travis
Tiny spots can be used for storage or workspace
by Erin Edgemon
Don’t call it self-storage.
A mixed-use commercial condo building slated to be constructed near Lake Travis in West Austin beginning this fall is much more than that, said the founders of XSpace Group.
... We are producing an asset that doesn’t exist in the marketplace,” said Adam Fike, a broker with Southwest Strategies Group Inc., who is listing the units for sale. “XSpace is solving a problem that not only Australia had but the U.S. has.”
XSpace, which will be built at 4229 N. FM 620 Highway, will have 114 for-sale condo units across three stories. They will range in size from 300 square feet to just over 1,000 square feet. Units start at $82,000, but most range in price from $100,000 to $200,000.
“Small warehouse space — 400 square feet to 700 square feet — doesn’t exist,” Fike said. “You can’t go buy or lease it.” XSpace units are cheaper than renting self-storage space long-term or renting or buying small office space, he said.
June 27
First Look: KMFA 89.5 to build in East Austin near RBJ Center large mixed-use development
by Erin Edgemon
Texas’ oldest independent all-classical radio station KMFA 89.5 is preparing to build a permanent home in East Austin. Construction will begin next month and should be completed by 2020.
After leasing a space for 52 years, mostly recently at 3001 N. Lamar Blvd., the public radio station purchased less than an acre adjacent to the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center for an 18,000-square-foot building with room for expanded offices, event space and broadcast studios.
The freestanding building will triple the size of the current KMFA studios and will allow for new amenities including performance and recording spaces, according to an announcement Thursday. The radio station will be part of a yet-to-be-named, 18-acre mixed-use development on the RBJ Center property just east of Interstate 35 on the north shore of Lady Bird Lake.
June 27
Innovative multi-use condos coming to Lake Travis area
by Leslee Bassman
Although XSpace co-founders Byron Smith and Tim Manson are a long way from their Australian hometowns, the two entrepreneurs have set their sights on Lake Travis as their first U.S. XSpace building, a multi-use condominium facility designed for storage, business and personal use.
The project is an iteration of Smith’s family business in Sydney, combining the business box with traditional self-storage units and adapting the hybrid model to meet the needs of American consumers.
... According to Adam Fike, brokerage manager at Southwest Strategies Group and the project’s leasing agent, about one-third of the units have either been reserved or are under negotiation as of June 19. One of the prospective owners is an optometrist who is contemplating a unit to store some of his professional materials, as well as two accountants and an attorney, he said, adding that the prospective purchasers currently work from home. Most of the individuals interested in the project are small business owners or investors, with the possibility of investing in the units as rentals, Fike said.
“The majority of interest has come from this area,” he said. “I would say a 5-7 mile radius from the site, (from) Bee Caves to Four Points.”
June 25
Multiuse storage facility on RM 360 could begin construction in October
by Brain Rash
Pending approval from the city of Austin, which could come in September, Australian business partners Tim Manson and Byron Smith said they are planning to begin construction on their multiuse, multilevel storage facility across from the Mansfield Dam on RM 620 in October.
“We are still on target for a June [or] July open next year,” Manson said during a community engagement event June 19 at The Grove in Lakeway.
Manson and Smith, who call their company XSpace Group, purchased 5.43 acres at 4229 RM 620 in Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction in January.
Plans for the facility call for 95,000 square feet with 60,000 square feet of units within the building up for sale. Included within the facility plan are a fourth floor and a 3,000-square-foot owner’s lounge for personal and business use.
June 7
Travis Flats Affordable Housing Complex Breaks Ground
by Lilli Hime
Friday afternoon, May 31, Travis County leaders gathered at 1700 Guadalupe for the groundbreaking of the new Civil and Family Courts building, financed in part by the sale of the Downtown parcel on which the county failed to secure voter approval for a courthouse in 2015. On Monday, June 3, many of the same leaders gathered at the county's North Campus property to break ground on the Travis Flats development – bringing mixed-income affordable housing to county-owned surplus property in what developer Diana McIver of DMA Development Company calls "a game changer for redevelopment along Airport Boulevard." Of Travis Flats' 146 apartments, 122 will be priced for residents at or below 60% of the area's median income; the complex will also include over 80,000 square feet of office space developed by Southwest Strategies Group.
March 8
Multiuse, multilevel storage facility planned for area across from Mansfield Dam
by Brain Rash
Business partners Tim Manson and Byron Smith, both from Australia, are planning to build a multiuse, multistory commercial condominium project directly across the street from Mansfield Dam in Northwest Austin.
... Southwest Strategies Group is a brokerage firm that has partnered with XSpace Group on the project. Southwest Strategies representative Adam Fike said the fundamental difference between this and other industrial-level storage facilities is the fact that these units are for sale, not rent. Fike said initial plans are for unit space sizes starting at 300 square feet call for a price point at $72,000.
Fike said XSpace Group has so far taken 10 reservations from customers for units of varying sizes.
2018
May/JunE
Public-Private Power Texas Architect
by Aaron Seward
For four decades, the Seaholm Power Plant generated electricity for Austin. After decommissioning, it sat mostly vacant for the next 25 years. Becomling an occasional cultural venue and beloved sentinel of industrial dereliction in a town without much of an industrial past. Now reborn as a mixed-use development of residences, office space, and retail. It is another example of how downtown Austin is creating urban density.
... This turned out to be an essential ingredient in Seaholm's success. Soon after the project was awarded to the developer Southwest Strategies Group and architecture firm STG Design in 2005, the financial crisis of 2007-08 turned the market on its head. "When we started competing for Seaholm, mixed-use projects were really the hot thing," says John Rosato, a principal at Southwest Strategies Group. "The projects that incorporated hotel, office, condo, commercial — all of that together really were doing well. When the crisis hit, almost all of those started to fail, for various reasons. The outcome was that banks were no longer interested in funding mixed-use projects."
The initial scheme located offices and a hotel in the tower, apartments in the low-rise structure, and retail space in the turbine hall. After the crisis, the program was rearranged: Apartments were located in the tower, retail and commercial in the low-rise structure, anda corporate headquarters — the offices of Athenahealth, designed by Charles Rose architects — in the turbine hall. While construction was underway, Southwest, noting a pent-up demand, switched the tower apartments to condos. It turned out to be the right move. All of the tower's 275 condos sold in 10 days, and by the time Southwest sold its interest in the project it was able to reimburse the city 100 percent of its investment.
May 17
Now Open: Hank's
Our favorite things about the Windsor Park restaurant
by Margaret Williams
Hank’s owners Andy Means and Jessie Katz are clearly excited about their new restaurant, as well they should be. The sprawling eatery filled in equal measure with natural light and greenery is everything you want it to be. Delicious food and drinks (at prices that make a strong argument for another round), an easy going wait staff and a kid friendly patio all work together to make this our new favorite neighborhood joint.
Means and Katz previously owned Henri’s Cheese & Wine, which was forcibly closed two years ago after a disastrous fire. The couple already happened to be looking for a second location when the fire occurred and despite the setback kept moving forward with their partners, Danny Roth and John Rosato (owners of Southwest Strategies Group and Seaholm Power Plant developers). About the space Katz says, “We saw it and didn’t really know that much about the neighborhood [Windsor Park] but immediately fell in love. We loved the building and all the old trees. The neighborhood felt so old Austin, untouched and diverse.”
Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 10 am.
Rebekah Baines Johnson Redevelopment
Groundbreaking Ceremony
March
"Good Luck with That" : How Three Urban Eyesores Became Community Jewels
by Anita Erickson
I attended the monthly breakfast of the Urban Land Institute last week and heard a fascinating panel discussion (sounds like an oxymoron, but it was fascinating) with the developers of three adaptive-reuse projects in Central Texas. I came away inspired and wanted to share.
... Perhaps the most risky of chances was taken by Southwest Strategies Group, which spearheaded the creation of the Seaholm district in partnership with the City of Austin. The original power plant was a brownfield site, meaning "redevelopment may be complicated by the presence of hazardous substances and pollutants." Asbestos, check. Water leaks, check. Tar pit in the parking lot, check. Doesn't that sound fun!
And that was just in the power plant. The 280-unit condo tower was being built next to the train tracks, and when the choo-choo came by every few hours they had to stop construction meetings untill it passed. Southwest Strategies principal John Rosato eventually ended up signing a $1.9 million dollar change order to replace all the glass with a special sound-resistant version so they wouldn't have to teach every resident sign language.
... Today, the Seaholm district is an internationally-acknowledged urban redevelopment project. Featuring residences, retail shops (including Trader Joes, finally!), restaurants and events spaces, it also houses the Under Armor corporate headquarters and several other offices.
2017
July 22
29 Ideas to Activate Empy Spaces in Your Community
by John Karras
Strategy #2: Unique Redevelopment Projects - Seaholm Power Plant (Austin, TX)
Developers around the globe are making use of massive, obsolete power plants, using their prime locations and award-winning architecture for mixed-use development opportunities.
The long-dormant Seaholm Power Plant in downtown Austin is now the centerpiece of a dynamic mixed-use redevelopment. This project took over a decade from start to finish, but has turned out to be a phenomenal success story thanks to the collaborative public-private partnership involving the City of Austin and a development team led by Southwest Strategies Group. The project includes a new 300+ unit residential condo tower, a new central library for the City of Austin, downtown's first Trader Joe's grocery store, office space including Under Armour's Connected Fitness division, and of course, the old power plant building which is home to Athena Health's corporate HQ and a diverse group of smaller firms. I took the photo and came away totally impressed. It's the most unique office space I've ever been in.
Office space inside Seaholm Power Plant (Austin, TX)
July 3
World's Finest Become World's Finalists for 2017 Global Awards for Excellence
The Urban Developer
Developers around the globe are making use of massive, obsolete power plants, using their prime locations and award-winning architecture for mixed-use development opportunities.
Twenty-five extraordinary developments from around the world have been selected as finalists for the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2017 Global Awards for Excellence.
... “Each of these finalists demonstrates a thoughtful, innovative approach to urban development that is adding to the sustainability and liveability of the communities in which they are located,” Global Awards Jury Chairman Wendy Rowden said.
“The attention paid to project detail, flexible design, and neighbourhood context were among the factors making these entries stand out. They represent the type of development that will withstand the tests of time and change.”
Seaholm Power Plant Re-Development
Austin, Texas, United States
Developer: Seaholm Power Development, LLC
Designers: STG Design, Clayton and Little Architects, TBG Partners
June 26
You Won't Believe What These Restaurants Used to Be
by Elizabeth Stamp
Developers around the globe are making use of massive, obsolete power plants, using their prime locations and award-winning architecture for mixed-use development opportunities.
While many restaurants open in traditional commercial buildings, some risk-taking restaurateurs are investing in nontraditional spaces, from old schools to former churches. With teams of architects and designers by their side, owners are reinventing these spaces into captivating locations to show off their cuisine. Giving old spaces new life is part of the architectural movement known as adaptive reuse, which helps preserve history and eliminate the waste that’s created by demolishing a building and erecting new construction in its place.
... 2/10
Austin’s Seaholm Power Plant was converted into a mixed-use development, with the plant itself housing office space and Boiler Nine, a four-level restaurant with a rooftop bar and underground cocktail lounge.
June 15
The "Loan" Star State - Texas is an alternative finance nexus
by Paul Sweeney
Developers around the globe are making use of massive, obsolete power plants, using their prime locations and award-winning architecture for mixed-use development opportunities.
We're at Able Lending in Austin, Texas, a financial technology company occupying three floors deep in the heart of the Seaholm power plant overlooking Lady Bird Lake. The fortress-like building anchors an inner-city complex of offices and residences, chic restaurants, boutique shops, and a Trader Joe's.
Once the main source of electricity for Texas's capital city, the natural gas-fired boilers have given way to a warren of glassed-in offices and meeting rooms connected by angular metallic stairways and a carpeted mezzanine.
It is here, in a tiny conference room, that Will Davis, a slim man of 35 and an alumnus of Harvard Business School, is drawing a bell curve on a whiteboard. Dressed for the balmy Texas weather in tan Bermuda shorts, a black tee-shirt and Nike running shoes, the company's chief executive and co-founder is explaining how Able's friends-and-family lending formula "widens" the risk curve.
June 5
25 Finalists Named for ULI Global Awards for Excellence
by Trisha Riggs
Developers around the globe are making use of massive, obsolete power plants, using their prime locations and award-winning architecture for mixed-use development opportunities.
Twenty-five extraordinary developments from around the world have been selected as finalists for ULI’s 2017 Global Awards for Excellence, widely recognized as one of the land use industry’s most prestigious award programs.
A group of winners chosen from the finalists will be announced in October at the 2017 ULI Fall Meeting in Los Angeles. The finalists (with the names of the developers and designers in parentheses) are as follows:
Seaholm Power Plant Redevelopment, Austin, Texas, United States (developer: Seaholm Power Development LLC; designers: STG Design, Clayton and Little Architects, TBG Partners)
May 15
Outdate coal, electic plants are becoing the world's largest redevelopment sites
by Cameron Sperance
Developers around the globe are making use of massive, obsolete power plants, using their prime locations and award-winning architecture for mixed-use development opportunities.
Developers around the globe are making use of massive, obsolete power plants, using their prime locations and award-winning architecture for mixed-use development opportunities.
... "What made it worth redoing is that it's all concrete. What made it a challenge is that it's all concrete," Southwest Strategies Group principal John Rosato said. "It's a building built for engineers by engineers."
Southwest Strategies worked with a team that included State Street Properties, construction firm Capital Project Management, Centro Development and architecture firm STG Design to reactivate the seven-acre site. After being selected as the winning bid in a city request for proposals process that began in 2004, the team began to execute its vision of a Trader Joe's grocery store, a 275-unit condo tower and 215K SF of commercial space at the plant.
... "Eighty percent of the interest was from high-tech companies looking for a unique, open footprint," Rosato said. "[Many] talked of better retention and recruitment tied to the added value of being in a unique building."
May 5
Green buildings renew the core ofthe city of Austin
This liberal-minded city likes to think of itself as unique in Texas, a blueberry in the tomato soup of red-state politics. Electricity deregulation The state capital, it is home to the University of Texas, and, on the outskirts, to the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, an obscure and quirkily-named nonprofit responsible for putting Austin on the map as a maverick of the green movement.
Recently, nine landscapes maintained by BrightView in San Diego were recognized as the 2016 Beautification Award winners by the California Landscape Contractors Association’s (CLCA) San Diego chapter. - See more at: http://www.totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/brightview-landscape-awards/#sthash.jqg18ewB.dpuf Recently, nine landscapes maintained by BrightView in San Diego were recognized as the 2016 Beautification Award winners by the California Landscape Contractors Association’s (CLCA) San Diego chapter. - See more at: http://www.totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/brightview-landscape-awards/#sthash.jqg18ewB.dpuf Recently, nine landscapes maintained by BrightView in San Diego were recognized as the 2016 Beautification Award winners by the California Landscape Contractors Association’s (CLCA) San Diego chapter. - See more at: http://www.totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/brightview-landscape-awards/#sthash.jqg18ewB.dpuf
... A man lounges near repainted smokestacks, once part of the Seaholm power plant from which the Seaholm district takes its name. The three-story Art Deco main plant was refurbished into modern office space, but the massive stacks were preserved as historic icons.
“If cities continue to develop in a low-density, sprawling fashion, it becomes impossible to garner enough tax revenue to support and maintain all that infrastructure,” she says.
The Seaholm EcoDistrict is an 85-acre development on the edge of downtown, facing the shoreline of Lady Bird Lake, some of the most sought-after real estate in the city. Electricity in homes Once dominated by the city-owned power plant and a water treatment facility, Seaholm today is a high-density, pedestrian-friendly enclave of shops, restaurants, new offices, and open spaces that invite gatherings such as the kind of music events Austin is known for.
... On a walking tour, Athens shows off Seaholm’s perks: a small forest of trees, public art works, recharging posts for electric cars, a solar-powered park bench for recharging smart phones and laptops. Electricity water analogy The Art Deco power plant has been preserved and remodeled into office space, housing a healthcare company and Boiler Nine Bar + Grill, a new restaurant with plans for a roof garden to grow salad greens and other vegetables. Walking paths reconnect the site to the rest of downtown on one side and to a pedestrian bridge over the lake on the other.
March 20
Austin: Preserving History Through Office Adaptive Reuse
Penn Field - South Austin
The property at 3601 S Congress Ave. was originally built in 1918 as a U.S. Army air base, to be used by the University of Texas’ School of Military Aeronautics. World War I ended before the airfield was completed, so it went on to function as a radio school instead of a flight training facility. By 1919, five brick buildings had been constructed, amounting to 168,000 square feet in improvements.
March 15
Nine landscapes maintained by BrightView honored with awards
by Beth Hyatt
Recently, nine landscapes maintained by BrightView in San Diego were recognized as the 2016 Beautification Award winners by the California Landscape Contractors Association's (CLCA) San Diego chapter. - See more at: http://www.totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/brightview-landscape-awards/#sthash.jqg18ewB.dpuf Recently, nine landscapes maintained by BrightView in San Diego were recognized as the 2016 Beautification Award winners by the California Landscape Contractors Association's (CLCA) San Diego chapter. - See more at: http://www.totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/brightview-landscape-awards/#sthash.jqg18ewB.dpuf Recently, nine landscapes maintained by BrightView in San Diego were recognized as the 2016 Beautification Award winners by the California Landscape Contractors Association's (CLCA) San Diego chapter. - See more at: http://www.totallandscapecare.com/landscaping/brightview-landscape-awards/#sthash.jqg18ewB.dpuf
Recently, nine landscapes maintained by BrightView in San Diego were recognized as the 2016 Beautification Award winners by the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) San Diego chapter.
... BrightView's Texas Development team won Gold Awards for the green roof installation done at the University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School and for its work at the Seaholm Power Plant renovation.
BrightView Landscape Development was recognized for its work on the Seaholm Power Plant renovation in Austin, Texas, which was honored with a Gold Award from the Texas Nursery & Landscape Association. Photo: BrightView