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Originally Posted by M1EK
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In Fact Daily
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Thirty story condo planned for 7th and Rio Grande
Another high-rise residential development—this one stretching to 30 stories if developers get the density requested—is headed for Downtown Austin, at Seventh Street and Rio Grande.
Dallas-based CLB Partners will be partnering with land owner Mike McGinnis to develop the project, which will back up to the Ranch 616 restaurant. Attorney Steve Drenner, who represented the developers at last night’s Downtown Commission meeting, described the 400-foot tower as the right kind of urban infill for downtown. He compared the project, in scope and size, to the nearby Spring condo point tower.
Still in its conceptual design phase, the Seventh and Rio Grande project would start with ground-floor retail followed by four floors of garage space. Atop that would sit 25 floors of condominiums. The developers intend to dig into bedrock to provide two additional levels of underground parking for the project, which will feature 158 condo units.
CLB Partners is the developer of the Austin City Lofts. In Dallas, the group is known for its hip upscale loft projects on McKinney and Cedar Springs avenues. CLB Partners is also behind the 104-unit Bridges on the Park, which is under construction on Lee Barton Drive in South Austin incorporating the Paggi House. Units in the six-story condo project will start in the low $300,000s.
The Capitol Corridor for the Lamar Bridge clips the edge of the property, Drenner said. That’s one reason why the floor plates for the retail and parking garage will be slightly larger than the actual condominium tower, although it’s not quite a point tower.
Drenner described, at length, the developers’ desire to enhance the Ranch 616 restaurant next door, providing both parking and clientele for the restaurant. The project will relieve the restaurant of the tax burden of its parking lot that ended up costing $100 per space in property taxes each year, Drenner said.
CLB Partners originally proposed a waiver for 12-to-1 floor-to-area ratio. Drenner said it would only be necessary to seek 11-to-1 FAR. Questions on the project were few except for those that are offered on most projects: Teresa Ferguson of the Music Commission wanted to make sure the building, close to semi-open music venues like Opal Divine’s, was properly sound-proofed. Richard Halpin wanted to make sure the building was going to provide sustainable construction.
The Downtown Commission approved the project, with its waiver, unanimously