City of Austin, The Austonian

Today we met with the City of Austin's Fred Evans, Economic Growth and Redevelopment, Christopher Johnson, the Head of Development Assistance, Michael Knox, Downtown Economic Development, and Richard Morgen, from Austin Green Energy Building.

We Learned that the City of Austin, has an interesting approach to development, with many of their projects having a Green requirement and co-operation from the development community. There are a variety of tax incentives and offerings available and a "one stop shop" to aid developers, new and experienced alike, to work through the development process.

The city has a drive to move development toward downtown to maximize the usage of existing infrastructure. They also have some affordable housing programs to keep the city from gentrifying. SMART Housing for example offers assistance on down payments for qualifying buyers.

After lunch we met with Terry Mitchell who has been involved with the new Austonian project. This extreme luxury high rise is positioned with the concepts of Convenience, downtown location, Luxury, all the best and newest amenities including: theater, fitness room located on the top floor, entertainment area, pool table, swimming pool and some trees planted on the 10th floor. The project has an intentional air of exclusivity, for instance, Governor Rick Perry was asked to obtain a residents invitation to make use of their entertainment facilities for a recent function. The elevator only stops on the floor where your apartment is located, helping with security and adding to the sense of exclusivity.

As one of the survivors of the recent financial meltdown, this project is astounding. I am glad to see that it has continued to sell and am confident that this location has become and will continue to be an iconic structure in Austin.