It’s Not Looking Good for Downtown Austin’s Conrad Hotel Tower Plan "A new listing posted Wednesday by commercial brokers CBRE offers the full half-block south of East Second Street from San Jacinto Boulevard to Trinity Street for sale, which includes the Conrad site currently owned by an LLC connected with Intracorp along with the corner property now occupied by Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken and other tenants." (James Rambin, Towers)
Compass buys Realty Austin, Realty San Antonio "The purchase is a significant one, as Realty Austin and its Realty San Antonio offshoot handled $5.24 billion in sales in 2022, and the brokerages boast more than 630 agents. As part of the deal, local leadership at the brokerages will maintain direct oversight over day-to-day operations. Realty Austin had been held up as the largest independent brokerage in town." (Cody Baird, Austin Business Journal)
East Austin hotel will have 133 rooms and a cocktail lounge "Plans are in the works for a five-story hotel in East Austin on a half-acre at 1604, 1606, 1610 and 1612 E. Seventh St., according to site plans filed with the city. The properties of East Austin 7th Street Hotel, as the project is currently called, are owned by 1610 JFH LLC, documents show. Florida-based Floridays Development Co. is also listed on the documents." (Lori Hawkins, Austin American-Statesman)
Austin hopes to generate nearly $400 million with its new hotel tax plan "City council members signed off on a plan to create a Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID), which would partner with Austin hotels to implement a 2% fee on overall stays. The 10-year deal could generate up to $390 million in revenue as a result." (Kelsey Sanchez, KVUE-ABC)
Travis County narrowly approves Central Health budget and tax increase "After weeks of discussion and debate, Travis County commissioners gave final approval to a $744 million budget for local public hospital district Central Health on Tuesday. ... Commissioners also approved a tax rate of 10.07 cents per $100 valuation, which will add $56 to the average homeowner's bill." (Olivia Aldridge, KUT 90.5)
TxDOT ignored I-35 expansion health concerns, county says "The Travis County Commissioners Court says the Texas Department of Transportation has ignored their concerns about the impact of Interstate 35 expansion on the health of Austin residents. 'We specifically asked TxDOT to do a number of important studies – environmental and air-quality studies – affecting public health. And they didn’t. They ignored them, basically,' Precinct 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea said." (Ken Chambers, Austin Monitor)
Real estate firm wants those priced out of Austin to consider rural cabins "BuiltBy Den — the homebuilding platform of New York-based cabin designer Den Outdoors Inc. — will target customers that have been priced out of urban areas. The service will operate by connecting prospective homeowners with local builders and managing the entire project, from purchasing land to attaining financing and finding a builder." (Austin Business Journal)
