Trammel Crow Co., a well-known developer of industrial and office space in urban areas, has been active in Austin for some time now. However, it has not had the public presence other companies have garnered and has instead worked in the background, hoping to one day obtain the project and the reputation it so justly deserves.
That waiting recently paid off when Trammel Crow won the city bid, with partner Constructive Ventures, to build the Thomas Green Water Treatment Plan. The project is one that many vied for, as it is six acres and four city-blocks, and fronts Lady Bird Lake in southern downtown Austin. City officials with executives from both Trammel Crow and Constructive Ventures are currently finalizing the details of the plan - something that could take up to a year.
While that is being done, Trammel Crow is continuing to move forward and expand its presence even more in Austin. It currently has $224 million of real estate under development in the city. The Shore, Trammel Crow’s 192-unit condo on Lady Bird Lake, is due to open in a few months. Similarly, 64,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, along with residential buildings will soon be complete. And Lakeline Mall, a 272,000 square-foot project, is scheduled to be finished by January 2009. In addition to those, there are many more projects in the development or proposal stages.
Clearly, Trammel Crow is a force that will become even more dominant in Austin in the upcoming months. It has proven repeatedly that it can and will develop quality projects, and that it is prepared to tackle both large and smaller plans. And with the acquisition of the Thomas Green Water Treatment Plan it has shown the better known companies that it too can compete . . . and win.
Two Kenedy County wind plants will go on, as planned, thanks to a federal judge’s dismissal of a case against them. Judge Lee Yeakal of the U.S. District Court in Austin announced on August 4th that he would be dismissing the case that was to be heard later in the month. It is unknown as yet what the reasoning behind the dismissal was, but there are no approvals needed to place such plants on private land, as was the situation in this case.
The Coastal Habitat Alliance had filed the suit against PPM Energy and Texas Wind, as they felt that the companies had not done enough research and investigation as to the effects of the plants on local wildlife habitats. This suit was their second attempt to halt the building of these two plants. The first was also dismissed by a judge, but will be appealed. The alliance has not yet decided as to whether they will appeal this dismissal, as well, as the judge has yet to release a statement on his reasoning.
According to the investment group responsible for the project, Australian based Babcock & Brown, their projects are intended to help the environment by providing renewable energy and to minimize damage to habitats and natural resources. The first phase of these wind farms is under construction and slated to be completed by the end of the year, while future additional turbines will be added. The companies involved feel that they have been extremely mindful of their project’s impact and have taken necessary steps to protect the local environment.
In the middle of June, 2008, the Edwards Aquifer Authority declared Stage 1 mandatory ground water restrictions when the level of the aquifer fell below 660 feet above mean sea level. On Monday, June 23, 2008, the average level for the previous ten days was measured at 659 feet above mean sea level. These water use restrictions were put into effect in Bexar and Medina Counties as a whole, and also applied to parts of Atascosa, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe and Hayes Counties. These regions were told to cut back water usage 20 percent.
The Edwards Aquifer serves nearly 2 million people in the Central Texas region. It is the major ground water supply system in this area of the state of Texas. The Edwards Aquifer Authority regulates the amount of water pumped from the aquifer which is the primary source of potable water for San Antonio.
The start of the summer was certainly looking bleak for central Texans in light of this declaration. Then, a scant month later, along came Hurricane Dolly. Dolly, which was downgraded to a category 1 storm as it made landfall in southern Texas, dumped between five and twelve inches of rain across a line from Laredo to Corpus Christi, effectively ending the drought conditions and prompting the Edwards Aquifer Authority to lift the water use restrictions.
Officials at the authority are still requesting that residents and businesses continue to conserve water usages on a voluntary basis in light of worries that the drought conditions could return later during the remainder of the summer season.
There are plenty of reasons for you to choose green alternatives when building, not the least of which are the health of the planet and the health of you. But perhaps, so far, that hasn’t been enough to truly motivate you; perhaps you need a little more incentive. Well, the state of Texas has provided you with just that, an incentive - a tax incentive to be exact.
Property owners with solar, wind or biomass power sources installed on-site are eligible for a 100-percent property tax exemption on the appraised value of the device. Installers, along with the manufacturers and sellers, are eligible for a franchise tax exemption. Corporations with said devices can deduct the item’s cost or take ten-percent of it from the company’s income. With solar, wind or biomass power sources installed, companies are also eligible for economic development credits. And that’s just for power sources. There are other incentives for other eco-friendly additions.
The next time you decide to make a change to your home or company, think green and you’ll save green. Invest in alternate energy sources and power-saving materials., and take the natural route - the one that won’t deplete the Earth. You’ll be ensuring that you, your home and your wallet are sustained longer.
For more information on tax incentives in your area, call the Comptroller of Public Account, Tax Policy Division.
The last blog post was weeks ago and now that mom’s back on her feet from hip replacement, I’ll be writing more frequently. I read this today and had to post it. I’m glad that the state where big oil has dominated for decades now is dominating with wind power. I’ve never seen a wind generation field in person and it would be cool to see it. If you’ve been to a wind farm and seen it in west Texas drop me a line and let me know where you went. In the mean time check out this excerpt from the Neal Spelce Austin Letter.
When it comes to energy generation Texas, long the US oil field leader, is now the top wind farm state. As a result, oil derricks and water-pumping wind mills are now losing their dominance on the state’s horizon to giant, propeller-driven wind energy turbines.
Out west, Texans long-ago grew accustomed to a pumping sound, as oil was pulled out of the ground, and a clacking of windmills as water was pumped out of the ground. Now a new whirring sound has joined the cacophony and all these sounds mean money. The sights of structures piercing the sky and constant sounds from these machines are re-making Texas.
While still not as pervasive as oil rigs and wind mills, these wind turbines are growing in number and their size alone is amazing. Some of these wind machines are twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty and their blades have a span as wide as the wingspan of a jumbo jet. They are huge, and larger versions are on drawing boards. By and large, landowners - especially in hardscrabble West Texas — are welcoming them with open arms.
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Even with Texas leading the nation in wind farms, it’s still early in the development of wind energy. The City of Austin is contracting for electricity generated by wind. But it is still a small fraction of electrical usage. However, Texas is ideal for wind-power development (no, not because we’re a bunch of blowhards!) due to the availability of land for wind farms. The Gulf of Mexico may also be the site of wind power, much like the oil derricks sited offshore. So, look for more of these 20-story structures with blades longer than a football field to pop up.
As Texas is a non-disclosure state, I’ve never liked Zillow. People who think Realtors do nothing, but schmooze and collect paychecks love Zillow, because they feel it empowers them to do their own home sale. In reality, since non-disclosure states do not disclose all sales prices, Zillow often gives poor data because (1) it only has sparse data to give and (2) a computer program is never going to be able to select comparable sales as well as a human who can go and physically view the property and adjust subjectively. So basically, Zillow, while it may be fun, is completely unreliable here in Texas.
But what about Zilpy? It’s a terrible name, but I thought I’d check it out. I compared the data provided by Zilpy for three apartments and condos that I know the rental rate and occupancy for in Austin to gauge the usefulness and accuracy. It was remarkably accurate for all the places that I checked. Granted, the site doesn’t appear to delineate by class of dwelling, but the ranges it gives help make it seem more accurate.
If you have a rental, check it out and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.
Excerpt from Inman News.
Zilpy, the new ‘Z’ site in online real estate
Web site offers rental price estimates
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Inman News
Zilpy is like Zillow for rental properties, with rental price estimates, demographic data and heat maps based on median rental rates.
The new Web site, which launched last week and lists Zillow as a partner company, offers competition to Rentometer.com, another site that allows users to gauge rental prices in a selected area.
Zilpy.com is not a rental listings site. It is a rental research site that allows users to grab automated rental price estimates by address, city or ZIP code, and to refine searches based on type of rental property, a desired rental range, number of bedrooms and a range of square feet. One of the founders referred to the site as “the Trulia for the rental market.”
The heat maps show areas with higher and lower rental prices — red zones feature the highest median rental prices, while dark green shading indicates the lowest rental pricing.
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Screen shots from Zilpy.com
