Special offer

The Austonian- First Look

By
Real Estate Agent with Spyglass Realty and Investments

Last week I had the unique opportunity to tour the near complete Austonian Condos in Downtown Austin.  Everyone in Austin these days has to only look up to see this towering structure.  At 56 floors with 188 units, it’s nearly impossible to miss. 

To check out our video blog of this unit click here.

The first thing we did before touring the actual building is stopped by the model unit.  The kitchen is comprised of Scavolini Italian Cabinetry and your choice of granite, marble or limestone cabintrey.  The fridge melts into the rest of the cabinetry and is great Sub Zero model.  The dishwasher, a Miele model, also blends right into the cabinets, so much so that if you don’t know its there, you may have a hard time finding it.  Either a Miele espresso machine or a wine cooler come standard in the unit, or you can have them both as an upgrade.

The first thing you see when walking in is a wall to wall entertainment center.  This does not come standard but is a worth upgrade for those who value their entertainment system.  On the wall of the living room is a control panel that basically controls just about anything electrical you can think of, including contacting the concierge to order valet, reserve guest quarters, etc.  For an upgrade, you can get a hand held control panel that does everything the wall unit does and more.  I am not quite sure if the wall unit does all this, but I know on the hand held you can reserve the theatre room, check the weather and just about anything you can think of.  Not too shabby.   

Motorized shades are available as an upgrade, but non motorized come standard with the room, which is more than you can say for most of the downtown condos.  Adjustable lighting is located as can units in the living room and of course this can controlled by the hand unit.  You can program the entire room to cut off the lights, lower the shade and turn on the TV with one touch of a button.  The adjustable light allows you to highlight different areas of the room or a particular piece of art.  Buyers get their choice of engineered wood for flooring throughout the unit. 

Balconies for these units are inset so as to provide residents with extra privacy and wind protection.  The common areas on the 10th floor have gas grills and the builders sell electric grills for use on the balcony.

For the master bedroom, both walk in showers and soaking tubs are provided, with choice of either a hand held or rain shower head. Bathroom cabinets are finished our with the same Scavolini Italian cabinetry which comes standard.  Double vanities are available in the bigger units and countertops as well as the floors are marble. @@@

The Austonian building itself is incredible.  Its not only the highest building in the downtown Austin condo market, it is the tallest residential building in the Western United States. The common areas were halfway finished and got a peak at those, including the dog grooming park and the Spa area.  The developers are  partnering with Milk and Honey Spa to so as to provide spa services to the human occupants, as well as Dirty Dog for their pet residents.  In this general vicinity are 4 guest quarters that are available for the residents to reserve for their out-of-town guests.  The plan is to get a general rental rate for downtown hotels and provide a 25% discount off of that rate for the fees. 

The pool area is halfway done, but we did get a peak at it.  It is located on the 10th floor and 75 feet long.  It also has an inset sitting area for resident lounging.  This area has cabana tents, a hot tub, and a 600 square foot dog park.  The dog park has synthetic grass that was actually tested and approved by a “focus group” of canine participants.  Snazzy!!  It has a drainage system underneath for easy cleaning. 

Next stop, 54th floor penthouse.  You have to see to believe. Crazy, shaky cages that run along the outside of the building are not for the faint of heart.   The owner of this 54th floor penthouse will have private access to the elevator which can only stop at his floor with a key card or similar device.  One entire floor consisting of roughly 6,000 square feet dedicated to ONE sole resident.  Ah, the good life.  Incredible views from every angle of this unit. Looking down at the Frost Bank building is a trip.  Talk about a Kodak moment; take a look at our photos of the views of the capital, UT Stadium, South Congress and Lady Bird Lake.  Far from being done, you can actually hear the whistling of the wind running across the metal.  Even from our video, you can hear this.  The builders will close the unit in and leave it unfinished so the owner can pick his finish out.

Although we did not get to look at the 55th and 56th floors, That is where the Austonian Club and fitness center are located.  The Austonian Club is 6,000 square feet and dedicated solely to residents.  It  includes 500 square feet of protected outdoor terrace, as well as a catering kitchen, buffet and bar equipment. Finally, the 56th floor houses an additional 6000 square feet that is the fitness center.  This will be co-managed by a local Austin gym.  Included in this area are state of the art gym equipment such as the cardio equipment equipped with personal TVs and ipod docks. This area will also have a room for classes, such as yoga and aerobics.  A fee will be charged to the homeowner for the classes alone, but we are told it is very affordable. 

The 11th floor is nearly finished out, we are told.  We were not able to gain access at this time but  I am going to try to arrange a sneak peak as soon as I can.  Owners can start moving in as soon as 7 months time!!  Unit prices start at $586,000 for just over 1,200 square feet and go up to just over 4.1 million for 4,129 square feet.  We were not given any prices for the penthouse units, but should someone have any interest, I am sure I can be persuaded to find out J.  The condo fees are 61 cents per square foot and that helps pay for the many amenities available.

I am very optimistic on how this building will turn out..  I see this building as being a staple of the downtown market for years to come.  Oh and FYI, for you rumor spreaders out there, Kanye West is NOT occupying any of the penthouses out there. 

Spyglass Realty and Investments is a full service brokerage that specializes in downtown Austin real estate and investment property.  For more information or to schedule a showing of this or any other downtown Austin unit, please click here.

Comments (0)