AUSTIN | 70 Rainey | 419 FEET | 34 FLOORS | Complete

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by The ATX

I'm ready to say that this one is on hold. Back on October 11th they made this comment on their Facebook page regarding the halt in activity on the site:



That big crane should have arrived by now.

One of my friends walked by the site yesterday and said the crane was going up, but they could have just been fooled by the base that was already there. Can anyone confirm?

[The ATX]

Despite my skepticism about this project and the developer's suspect marketing, it is still my favorite project. I hope it gets back on track:


https://www.facebook.com/SeventyRain...type=3&theater

[clubtokyo]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Despite my skepticism about this project and the developer's suspect marketing, it is still my favorite project. I hope it gets back on track:


https://www.facebook.com/SeventyRain...type=3&theater

If they really add all that green, I would be ecstatic!

[KevinFromTexas]

The American-Statesman had a fluffy article on it on November 8.

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/busi...-towers/ns5cK/

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

The American-Statesman had a fluffy article on it on November 8.

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/busi...-towers/ns5cK/

That article is bizarro. It's old (and somewhat false) news. I was surprised to see that it was written by Shonda Novak.

[clubtokyo]

Originally Posted by The ATX

That article is bizarro. It's old (and somewhat false) news. I was surprised to see that it was written by Shonda Novak.

How is it false? One is for sure under construction and the 70R has movement.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by clubtokyo

How is it false? One is for sure under construction and the 70R has movement.

I think the 'somewhat false' part of the article he's referring to is this:

...70Rainey, a 34-story condo tower under construction on Rainey Street...

70Rainey isn't under construction. They are still looking for $140M in financing, as per this post from earlier in this thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=406

[madcatmk3]

Hey all,

This is my first post on the forum. I fell in love with Austin the first time I visited and looking to buy a place for investment that will eventually become my home.

I looked at 70 Rainey and wanted to get your thoughts on the price. The building and amenities seem amazing, but $700+ per SQFT just seems extremely steep for the neighborhood. That's higher than most plans that I saw at 5th and West or Austin Proper.

As a side note, they told me their "reservations" will convert to contracts end of the month, not sure if that signals that they have lock down financing or not.

[427MM]

Originally Posted by madcatmk3

Hey all,

This is my first post on the forum. I fell in love with Austin the first time I visited and looking to buy a place for investment that will eventually become my home.

I looked at 70 Rainey and wanted to get your thoughts on the price. The building and amenities seem amazing, but $700+ per SQFT just seems extremely steep for the neighborhood. That's higher than most plans that I saw at 5th and West or Austin Proper.

As a side note, they told me their "reservations" will convert to contracts end of the month, not sure if that signals that they have lock down financing or not.

All just opinions at this point--but I don't feel you can go wrong buying anywhere in DT Austin. It's such an amazing place and the amount of demand incredibly outweighs the supply. Our current land development code dramatically pushes down the ability to create walkable environments and as that trait is the fastest growing desire of our current market trends these areas will outperform all others for years to come.

The development team behind this project is extremely talented--they will produce a great product.

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by madcatmk3

Hey all,

This is my first post on the forum. I fell in love with Austin the first time I visited and looking to buy a place for investment that will eventually become my home.

I looked at 70 Rainey and wanted to get your thoughts on the price. The building and amenities seem amazing, but $700+ per SQFT just seems extremely steep for the neighborhood. That's higher than most plans that I saw at 5th and West or Austin Proper.

As a side note, they told me their "reservations" will convert to contracts end of the month, not sure if that signals that they have lock down financing or not.

I know the architect for this building and it's going to be an incredible product. The growing density is such that in Austin, this building may have objectively some of the best views if you get a west facing unit.

Austin Proper and 5th and West are in the same neighborhood and you can't go wrong there. In the CBD and close to the bars on West 6th, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's. That's probably the more versatile area. At the same time, Rainey has a really cool niche and is really just a hop on the trail away from the 5th and West/Proper neighborhood. You might feel more sucluded and peaceful there. Although, the nightlife is booming and if a few projects that are slated in that area get built, it may get more mixed use down there (Office/Hotel).

Proper is going to be a hotel as well, so that's a consideration as well. Depends on if that's your thing as it should really feel like you're at a luxury hotel. Proper is supposed to have a ground floor restaurant run by the group that operates some of my favorite places downtown. Rainey is littered with food options too. Honestly, you can't go wrong! Best of Luck!

[loonytoony]

Originally Posted by madcatmk3

As a side note, they told me their "reservations" will convert to contracts end of the month, not sure if that signals that they have lock down financing or not.

Rumor is they they've now got funding. While source of funds wasn't disclosed the little birds strongly hinted this came from the recent China/TX summit. With all that's happening in Vancouver currently, and how prominent Austin has become nationally, I reckon we may start to see more foreign funding in Austin. I sincerely hope this doesn't lead to a lot of vacant "investment" units though. Either way, hopefully we'll see that crane in short order..!

[drummer]

Vacant investment units are not at all uncommon with Chinese investors - though my knowledge of this is largely limited to China. Typically they purchase them to sell at a higher price later or look to rent them out. Other times, they purchase them (as a concrete shell) and plan to renovate them for their children or for themselves down the road (sometimes years down the road). Given that the market is so hot in Austin, I don't see them sitting empty one way or another - or at least, that's my hope. When I lived on the East Coast of China near Shanghai, there were entire buildings in my complex that sat empty, but every single unit was owned. Granted, our "complex" was about 100 buildings ranging from five to twenty stories tall.

All that said, investment in general is good for this one and for Austin. I'm looking forward to seeing this come to life.

[The ATX]

During the past several days there have been four local fluff pieces (two by the ABJ, one by the Statesman and one from Community Impact) promoting this project. They were obviously prompted by the developers, so maybe that Chinese money did come through. Hopefully this means work on the site resumes soon.

[madcatmk3]

Originally Posted by 427MM

All just opinions at this point--but I don't feel you can go wrong buying anywhere in DT Austin. It's such an amazing place and the amount of demand incredibly outweighs the supply. Our current land development code dramatically pushes down the ability to create walkable environments and as that trait is the fastest growing desire of our current market trends these areas will outperform all others for years to come.

The development team behind this project is extremely talented--they will produce a great product.

Don't get me wrong, it's an extremely beautiful building and the amenities look amazing.

But there is a lot of risk being the first luxury in Rainey. The cheapest units are comparable to those at 5th and West with the best view. The ones with that beautiful west facing view at $900+ minimum.

It just scares me off that it is this expensive this early. Of course once you get Chinese money involved buildings can easily take off despite zero occupancy as you guys pointed out. It's fairly common here in NYC.

Maybe I'd be the only one using all the amenities. I could make friends with everyone here inviting you guys to try out the empty pool .

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by madcatmk3

Don't get me wrong, it's an extremely beautiful building and the amenities look amazing.

But there is a lot of risk being the first luxury in Rainey. The cheapest units are comparable to those at 5th and West with the best view. The ones with that beautiful west facing view at $900+ minimum.

It just scares me off that it is this expensive this early. Of course once you get Chinese money involved buildings can easily take off despite zero occupancy as you guys pointed out. It's fairly common here in NYC.

Maybe I'd be the only one using all the amenities. I could make friends with everyone here inviting you guys to try out the empty pool .

Yes you could

[The ATX]

The site is still dead. The weeds will be taking over again.

[clubtokyo]

From 70R instagram:



Are they going to really build this tower or what? LOTS of Marketing.

[JoninATX]

A quote from them stating that phase 1 is complete. Now waiting for phase 2 which is the arrival of a large crane.

It's on the first comments.
https://www.facebook.com/SeventyRainey/?fref=ts

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by JoninATX

A quote from them stating that phase 1 is complete. Now waiting for phase 2 which is the arrival of a large crane.

It's on the first comments.
https://www.facebook.com/SeventyRainey/?fref=ts

Their Facebook page post about "waiting for the big crane to arrive" was posted two months ago. The crane must be stuck in traffic.

[OKTX]

Good news. The business journal is reporting that they closed on the construction loan today, and the equity is in place (Chinese). This should be out of limbo now.