The Austonian Blog - Downtown Luxury Condo in Austin, Texas

Taking Mixed Use to New Heights: The Austonian Luxury Condos’ Award-Winning Design

Last week The Austonian luxury condos won a “Best Commercial Real Estate” award in the Mixed Use category from the Austin Business Journal. Here are a few components of the mixed-use design:

1) Density and green building. The Austonian provides luxury living for 166 families on less than two-thirds of an acre. This supports energy conservation – less water for lawns, a reduced number of car trips per resident per day, and more efficient cooling via chilled water from a central plant. The Austonian has received a four-star rating from Austin Energy Green Building, which is comparable to a LEED Gold rating.

2) The creation of a vertical neighborhood. Within The Austonian, there are over 40,000 square feet of amenities where residents can entertain guests and relax. Facilities include a green roof terrace with outdoor kitchens and a pool, a 10^th-floor pet park, a 56^th-floor fitness center with 360-degree views, and the 55^th-floor Austonian Club, which can host parties up to 300.

3) Creating a 24/7 downtown neighborhood. While The Austonian serves as a mixed-use community within the building, it also connects to the surrounding neighborhood, adding residents – a critical need – to downtown Austin. Grocery stores, dry cleaners, and places to eat, shop and hang out are within a few minutes’ walk of The Austonian.

More information about The Austonian luxury condos in downtown Austin is available at www.theaustonian.com.

Photo: The view from The Austonian Club (55^th floor), Credit: Thomas McConnell

BerryAustin2Go Yogurt Shop Opens Today at The Austonian

 
Today is the grand opening of BerryAustin2Go, a premium frozen yogurt shop, on 2^nd Street in The Austonian. The shop, which has indoor and outdoor seating, features ten rotating flavors of soft serve frozen yogurt. In addition to the non-fat and low-fat options, BerryAustin2Go always carries one no-sugar added and one non-dairy sorbet for those with dietary restrictions. Additional menu items offered at BerryAustin2Go include floats, fresh yogurt parfaits, smoothies, coffee and an assortment of frozen drinks.

 

The fun and relaxed interior features local images depicted in mosaic and collage by owner Kathy Steele and fellow artisans.

 

This is the second BerryAustin location in Austin. The west Austin location on Balcones Drive opened in 2009.

“We love our second location on 2^nd Street,” said owner Kathy Steele. “It’s a vibrant part of downtown and we are really looking forward to joining the two restaurants, bar and coffee shop to round out this little corner of downtown Austin.”

Follow Berry Austin on Facebook for news and updates.

 

The Brown-Dumas Blacksmith Shop

A cast bronze and concrete welcome mat including horseshoes and nails playfully marks the entrance to the recently restored Brown-Dumas Blacksmith Shop façade located at the base of The Austonian. In the early 1900s the Brown-Dumas building was the largest building on the block.

 
The space fronted by the historic façade will soon be home to the second location of Berry Austin, a local frozen yogurt shop.

Multi Family Executive Magazine Writes About Density and Green Building at The Austonian

Multi Family Executive profiled The Austonian this month in an article entitled “High on Green: A luxurious, green residential tower in Austin, Texas heeds a former mayor’s call for a livable, populated urban core.”

Read more about The Austonian and the vision behind the project here.

(Photo credit Mary Sledd)

The Austonian Wins Green Building Award from Austin Business Journal

The Austonian has received a “Going Green Award” green building award from the Austin Business Journal for its commitment to green living. The Going Green awards, announced on January 26, honor those in Central Texas who make efforts to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices.

The building is going green to celebrate – see our “smile” tonight after dusk.

Read more about it in today’s Austin Business Journal.

The Austonian Wins National Construction and Design Award

Last month, The Austonian won a national construction award from McGraw-Hill Construction. The Austonian is the only award-winning project from Texas. A total of 21 national winners were selected.

The Austonian was selected for a 2010 Best of Award in the Multi-Family Residential/Hospitality category. The Best of Awards recognizes design and construction excellence. The national winners were selected from a pool of regional winners that were announced in McGraw-Hill Construction’s ten regional publications. The Austonian received a regional Best of award from Texas Construction in December 2010.

Read the full press release here.

(Photo credit Thomas McConnell).

The Austonian’s Four-Star Rating: Historic Preservation

(Photo taken from Congress Avenue looking west down 2^nd Street circa 1910)

Last week, The Austonian was awarded a Four-Star Rating from Austin Energy Green Building, becoming the highest-rated high-rise residential building in downtown Austin. The rating process considered material used in construction, the reduction of construction waste, the conservation of energy, and historic preservation, among other things.

The Austonian is home to the façade of the historic Brown-Dumas Blacksmith shop, which is located along 2nd Street. At the turn of the 20th century, the Brown-Dumas Blacksmith Shop, along with a few other shops and a grocery store, were integral parts of Austin’s thriving commercial core. The Blacksmith shop was built in 1905 and remained at the site along 2nd Street until it collapsed during a wind storm in 2006.

During construction of The Austonian, the development team brought on ClaytonLevyLittle Architects to take the remains of the shop’s facade and incorporate it into the tower. The facade was in a state of extreme disrepair and had to be disassembled and restored off site. Incorporating original building materials as well as a reproduction of the original painted sign on the side of the building, the historic façade now sits at the base of The Austonian along 2nd Street.

“Restoration of the building was no small feat, as the shop was literally on its last legs,” said architect Emily Little, FAIA, of ClaytonLevyLittle Architects. “To be able to reconstruct the façade at the base of The Austonian, using original materials, has been quite an exciting task. Brown-Dumas will live on as a reminder of the scale and construction of early 20th century buildings.”

The Austonian Earns Coveted Four-star Rating from Austin Energy Green Building

This week, The Austonian announced that the downtown condo project has received a four-star rating from Austin Energy Green Building. A press conference was held on the 10th-floor green roof terrace of The Austonian.

Speakers at the event included Mayor Lee Leffingwell, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, City Council Member Chris Riley and Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weiss.

The Austonian is the first and only high-rise residential building in downtown Austin to receive such a rating. Read the full press release here.

Barkitecture, Nov. 6th in Downtown Austin’s Second Street District

Barkitecture, an Austin favorite event hosted by Animal Lovers of Austin, Inc., is this Saturday, November 6th from noon to 4 p.m. This architecturally-dog-centric fundraiser showcases doghouses created by some of Austin’s best and brightest architects, designers and builders.

This free, family-friendly event includes a silent auction for 27 one-of-a-kind designer doghouses, an Annie Ray PhotoBooth, a Fashound Show, an awards ceremony and the official Barkitecture after-party at Design Within Reach from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Animal Lovers of Austin, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization created to help raise awareness and funding for local area animal rescue groups. Proceeds from the event and donations will be distributed to Blue Dog Rescue, Austin Pets Alive, Austin Dog Rescue and Wee Rescue.

For more information about the event, visit: http://www.austinbarkitecture.com/.

(Photo credit Ed Lehmann)

Austin’s Changing Skyline

Every year since 2004, photographer Jay Janner has taken a photo on top of a hill overlooking the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The addition of new stages, bands and fans isn’t the only thing that has changed throughout the years. Austin’s skyline is reaching new heights with the addition of numerous skyscrapers outlining the cityscape. The Austonian first made its appearance in 2009 and continues to stand as the tallest building in the city, as well as the tallest residential building in the western United States. To view Austin’s urban transition, visit http://photoblog.statesman.com/austins-changing-skyline