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Austin is expected to deliver 800 condominium units in the next year, and then pause for at least four years before another project comes to market.
Four downtown condo projects — The Independent, Proper Hotel & Residences, Fifth & West and 70 Rainey St. — will come to market at the same time around the end of 2018, each with its own marketing sweet spot.
Sackman Enterprises President CJ Sackman took the media on a hard-hat tour of the 34-floor 70 Rainey condominium development last week.
"We are looking down the Lady Bird Lake and at the skyline," Sackman said as he explained the project. "Our view sets us apart."
Sackman is so committed to that lake view that Page designed the tower on a 14-degree pivot. That way, the tower is looking straight on to the farthest point down the river, Page Senior Principal Larry Speck said.
Speck said the current condominium projects are the only ones in the pipeline close to breaking ground. Urbanspace CEO Kevin Burns, who is marketing The Independent, said the earliest the market could possibly see new units would be 2022, given the time frame to get construction underway.
"People see all these cranes downtown and they think condo, but the reality is those cranes are working on office projects, retail projects," Burns said. "We're not going to have another project until 2022, at the earliest. It takes a year to stand up a project and three years for construction."
The delivery of condominium units to the downtown Austin market has been fairly modest. Burns counts only 1,100 over the last decade. Given the growth in population in Austin, such a small number is "just the tip of the arrow," Burns said. He predicts even more units will eventually arrive.
Amenities on the current projects differ but are fairly comparable in quality. Sackman has devoted a mid-tower floor deck to an infinity pool, fire pits and a dog park. The Independent has two floors of amenities. Both Fifth & West and Proper will have hotel space.
The cost of 70 Rainey, which was secured with a $106M construction loan, is running about $800/SF. That is in line with the other three projects under construction. Construction on 70 Rainey should be complete by year's end.
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