In spite of the difficult economy, the major downtown Austin condo projects continue to move toward completion. Lots of news updates this week:

- Tomorrow, Spring will celebrate its topping off. The 42-story building on 3rd and Bowie just east of Lamar has reached the top and is on track for completion in July. The 246 unit tower will be the first project delivered in 2009. According to the developers, an impressive 55% of units have already been pre-sold. With units starting around $300k, Spring is the most affordable downtown skyscraper currently under construction.

- 360, which was completed last year, has now officially sold 99% of its 430 units, making the project effectively sold out.

- The Four Seasons released a very detailed update of current sales and downtown market conditions including the news that they have now pre-sold nearly 50% of units:

"As we enter 2009, Four Seasons Residences Austin is nearly 50% sold. Understandably, the last quarter of 2008 was slow, but sales activity in 2009 has picked up considerably. In the last week we signed a new contract for a 2,700 square foot residence and have a number of additional contracts in process. We continue to see an influx of interest from people who love Austin and are exploring the opportunity to live at Four Seasons. . .

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Tags: Project Update, news, four seasons, 360

When buying a condo in a project that is little more than an idea on paper, a hole in the ground, or a stubby concrete shell -- it takes some imagination to put real money down. These days, this is the major challenge facing many of the downtown Austin condo sales centers as they try to sell units to prospective buyers.

To solve this problem, the Four Seasons Residences has created an unusually over-the-top video rendering of ttheir future building. Since thd buidling is little more than a 20 foot tall concrete shell supported by wood planks, the video does an amazing job of capturing the experience of the new buidling.

Here it is:



For reference, here is what the Four Seasons Residences looks like today:

Tags: four seasons

After seven years of planning and multiple iterations, the Four Seasons Residences will break ground this week. As we have seen with many of the recent downtown Austin condo projects, they are not truly real until construction begins. Having reached that milestone, the 32-story Michael Graves-designed tower is now expected to open to residents in 2010.

With 166 condo units priced from $500 - $750 per square foot and monthly condo fees of $0.61 / square foot, the Four Seasons Residences represents an ambitious super-luxury project for Austin. It was not too long ago that the Four Hotel Seasons hotel itself was almost a strange site in such a down-to-earth town. But times have changes and demand is strong. The project reports that they have received 10% deposits for 40% of the planned units. Interestingly enough, half of the buyers so far hail from outside of Austin -- a new twist for the emerging local high-end condo market. However, with 60% of units to sell, much work still lies ahead.

When combined with the Austonian and W, the Four Seasons Residences represents an entirely new ultra-luxury urban high-rise experience that has never existed and that will not exist in Austin until the first of these projects hits the market.



Here is a summary from the Statesman:

The Four Seasons Residences, one of downtown Austin's highest profile luxury condominium towers, will break ground this week, seven years after initial plans were thwarted by the tech bust of 2001.The newly designed 32-story tower will rise in the parking lot next to the Four Seasons Hotel overlooking Lady Bird Lake. The building's 166 residences will be priced from $400,000 to $4 million, with units from 880 to 5,500 square feet. Four Seasons will manage the building, which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2010 and become a landmark on the evolving skyline.The $125 million project is a venture between local developers Ardent Residential and Atlanta-based Post Properties Inc, the financier. Michael Graves & Associates Inc. designed the tower, which will have a terra cotta-colored brick base that will blend with the hotel, developers say.The first major sign of construction will come later this week when crews begin demolishing the hotel's 123-space surface parking, which will be redirected to an underground garage. The new tower will include five levels of above-ground parking.The construction entrance and staging area will be on Trinity Street to minimize disruption for the hotel, said Art Carpenter, a principal with Ardent Residential.

Tags: new projects, news, four seasons

Since many of the large new condo projects are being privately marketed through in-house sales agents, the only way to get unit details and pricing is to schedule a meeting and visit the sales center. Recently, however, the Four Seasons Residences has added a number of units to the Austin MLS -- making the details publicly available for the first time.

Currently, there are 8 units listed ranging from a 1,060 SF one bedroom unit for $580,000 to a 2,692 SF three bedroom, three bath unit for $1,918,000. One interesting note is the wide variance in price-per-square-foot which ranges from $459 to $764 -- it's highest for the largest units.

The listings, as well as new listings for Sabine on 5th, are available Here: AustinTowers Downtown Condo Listings

Tags: costs, listings, four seasons

Condo fees fund the daily operations and maintenance of most condo buildings. They cover security, landscaping, cleaning of common area, common area energy use, maintenance, and other key building functions.

With this posting, we are publishing the condo fees of two new ultra-luxury projects, The W Hotel & Residences and the Four Seasons Residences, for the first time. Our previous analysis has noted that he prices in the new buildings that we have looked at are surprisingly constant -- they have varied from $0.28 / SF / Month to $0.40 / month -- an amazingly tight range. With these two new projects, this is no longer the case. According to our research, the condo or home owner association fees at both buildings are set at $0.61 per month -- 50% higher than any other building we have reported on and 85% higher than middle-of-the-road projects like 360. While it should be no surprise that the Four Seasons and W are more expensive than the Hilton, it's sets a new and unprecedented price for luxury condo living in Austin.

Almost universally, Austin condo fees are calculated on a dollar-per-square foot basis. The rate typically remains relatively constant on all units throughout each building. So, condo fees are not higher for more expensive units, or units with more bedrooms, or units on higher floors compared to less desirable units of the same size in the same building. The only thing that matters is the number of interior square feet. If anyone has numbers for other buildings, send them to us and we will add them to the list.

Here are the updated building-by-building statistics:

Fee by Building - - - - - $ / SF / Month
Avenue Lofts.................$0.28
Milago.......................$0.31
The Sabine...................$0.33
360..........................$0.33
Plaza Lofts..................$0.33
The Shore....................$0.36
Five Fifty Five Condos.......$0.40
W Hotel & Residences.........$0.61
Four Seasons Residences......$0.61
Average......................$0.40

Tags: condo fees, costs, market analysis, four seasons, w hotel & residences

The Four Seasons Residences, the new condo project adjacent to the hotel, has released new renderings which provide a great feel for what the building will look like when it is completed. The renderings also show a slightly modified exterior design: more upper floors have been added with full glass walls. These replace the lower floors with smaller windows. The change is the result of the elimination of rental apartments which were initially planned but since have been replaced by additional condo units. The building is designed by Michael Graves, a world-famous architect.

The pictures show sample units as well as the rooftop amenities: a pool, yoga deck, and sun deck more than 30 floors above town lake. The pictures complement a very impressive "walk-through" video rendering of the project which can be viewed in the Four Seasons Residences appointment-only sales office.

As previously reported, the project recently opened the lower floors to prospective buyers after more than 80% of the units on the upper floors were reserved in the initial sales phase. The project seems to be on track to sell out by ground-breaking sometime this fall.




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Tags: four seasons, news

This just in: we confirmed today with the developers that 80% of the Four Seasons Residences on floors 14-32 have already been reserved after just 6 weeks on the market. As a result, they have now opened the lower floors - floors 6 to 13 -- for reservations. Prices for the 166 unit-project start at $400K and top out at more than $4 million.



This is great news for the downtown condo market. One of the big mysteries has been how strong the demand would be for super-luxury projects such as the Four Seasons and the Austonian. While they are only reservations, the high level of interest is very encouraging. This is especially amazing given that the project has not even broken ground!

As for the lower floor units, the sizes range from 806 to 1,815 square feet with prices starting in the $400s. Amenities include a roof-top pool and terrace, concierge service, and room service provided by the hotel. The project is designed by legendary architect Michael Graves. The full profile can be found here.

Tags: news, market analysis, four seasons

After seven years of proposed projects, the developer behind the Four Seasons Residences claims that the project will break ground this year. Apparently, the developer is self-financing the $100 million project -- eliminating the pre-sales hurdles which stall many projects before construction.


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Tags: news, four seasons, new projects