Downtown Post Office Redevelopment
February 07, 2007 20:45 Filed in: Condo Projects
Not everybody is thrilled with the rate of development downtown. However, most Austinites would agree that the downtown post office at 6th & Guadalupe is one of the worst developed sites in the city. They took a prime downtown lot and built a small ugly 2-story post office that takes up less than 30% of the block. They surround it with a parking lot and a couple of mailboxes.
Last year, Mayor Wynn went to DC to lobby for redevelopment of the site. The fed agreed, proposals were submitted, and Novare Group Holdings of Atlanta---the firm behind the 360 project--was selected. Today, more details were announced:
Novare plans to build an incredible 900 condo units in two towers. The first tower would contain 400 units in a 35-story tower that would open in 2009 on an adjacent block at fifth and San Antonio. The site would also include a new low-rise post office to open in 2008. The second tower, to be built on the current post office site after the new post office opens, would hold 100 hotel rooms, 25,000 feet of ground floor retail, and 500 condo units in a roughly 40-story structure. The development will include a 7-story parking structure.
Both towers will need zoning variances to allow for the planned height. Supposedly, the projects will be priced in the same range as the 360 project, with prices ranging from under $200,000 for a one bedroom, $300,000 for a two bedroom, and $500,000 for the most expensive unit. These prices seem to hit a sweet spot in the downtown market where there is incredible demand right now.
Last year, Mayor Wynn went to DC to lobby for redevelopment of the site. The fed agreed, proposals were submitted, and Novare Group Holdings of Atlanta---the firm behind the 360 project--was selected. Today, more details were announced:
Novare plans to build an incredible 900 condo units in two towers. The first tower would contain 400 units in a 35-story tower that would open in 2009 on an adjacent block at fifth and San Antonio. The site would also include a new low-rise post office to open in 2008. The second tower, to be built on the current post office site after the new post office opens, would hold 100 hotel rooms, 25,000 feet of ground floor retail, and 500 condo units in a roughly 40-story structure. The development will include a 7-story parking structure.
Both towers will need zoning variances to allow for the planned height. Supposedly, the projects will be priced in the same range as the 360 project, with prices ranging from under $200,000 for a one bedroom, $300,000 for a two bedroom, and $500,000 for the most expensive unit. These prices seem to hit a sweet spot in the downtown market where there is incredible demand right now.