Austin, TX

Hobby Building in downtown Austin up for sale

Published

1 year ago

August 16, 2023

Hobby Building in downtown Austin up for sale

The for sale sign officially went up at the Hobby State Office Building in downtown Austin. The announcement comes with the condition that the new development there will include affordable housing for government employees.

AUSTIN, Texas – The for sale sign officially went up at the Hobby State Office Building in downtown Austin. The announcement comes with the condition that the new development there will include affordable housing for government employees.

The Hobby State Office Building has been closed off for several months. The state agencies once there were relocated, some into new buildings north of the State Capitol.

Tuesday, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham put up a for sale sign.

“This is a premier-mixed use vertical redevelopment site in the heart of downtown Austin,” said Buckingham.

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The Hobby State Office Building was built back in 1984. It’s now surrounded by new high-rise development, which has made this one-time landmark between 3rd and 4th Streets easy to miss. Purchasing the entire downtown block comes with conditions.

“I am looking for a visionary proposal to bring substantial workforce housing with childcare to this site,” said Buckingham.

Buckingham made the stipulation for affordable housing with several government employees standing next to her and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.

“It’s huge. There are people, people who keep trying to move out of town because it’s just not affordable to live in Austin anymore,” said Nancy Sisk, a nurse who works downtown.

For more than a decade, city leaders have promised to make housing more affordable, only to see prices in Austin skyrocket. Sisk believes the idea is still possible.

“It can. Of course, it can. Will it? You know, it’s the last thing to lose is hope. I mean, I don’t know what to say. I mean, I have to hope that it will,” said Sisk.

The Hobby building, over the past few years, has been infested with rats and bugs that fall out of ceiling tiles. Repairs estimates were at almost $50 million which prompted the decision by state lawmakers in 2019 to sell it.

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SB 1349 was filed by then State Sen. Kirk Watson. The legislation was sponsored in the House by State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, and after, the passage was quickly signed by Governor Greg Abbott.

As part of the legislation, the property cannot be sold for “less than the property’s fair market value, which is to be established by an independent appraisal obtained by the asset management division of the General Land Office (GLO).”

Offers to buy, and redevelop the site are on the clock. They must be submitted within the next 90 days. The state wants developers to be creative. They don’t want a reflection of what’s already been built here in Austin. That’s why they’re not saying how many affordable units they want or how much they should cost.

“So you can’t jump to conclusions about what actually might come out of it. But the goal is to get workforce housing out of this development, something that would be very unique and something that frankly, most people didn’t think would happen when the Hobby building was redone,” said Mayor Kirk Watson.

The sales pitch from Buckingham did come with a warning.

“Now, some developers may not hear me or think that I am not serious if we do not get a response matching our goals the first time around, we will put it out for solicitation again,” said Buckingham.

Money from the sale is to go to the Permanent School Fund which is managed by the Texas General Land Office. The final decision on any offer will be made by the 5 members of the School Land Board, which includes Commissioner Buckingham.

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Austin, TX

Texas boasts 10 restaurants on OpenTable’s top 100 list for 2024

Published

3 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Texas boasts 10 restaurants on OpenTable’s top 100 list for 2024

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas had a strong showing on OpenTable’s 2024 Top 100 Restaurants with 10 establishments making the list.

What You Need To Know

The best foodie city in Texas, at least according to OpenTable, was Austin, with seven restaurants making the list

The rest of Texas’ major metropolitan areas–Houston, Dallas and San Antonio–each only had one restaurant on the list

OpenTable compiles its top 100 list every year by looking at diner reviews from its 14 million verified users

The Lone Star State had the second-most restaurants on the list, tied with Illinois, behind California, which had a whopping 19 restaurants featured.

The best foodie city in Texas, at least according to OpenTable, was Austin, with seven restaurants making the list.

Aba – Austin
J Carver’s
Jeffrey’s Restaurant
Red Ash Italia
Sammie’s Italian
Uchi Austin
Uchiko Austin

The rest of Texas’ major metropolitan areas–Houston, Dallas and San Antonio–each only had one restaurant on the list.

Steak 48 – Houston
Signature – San Antonio
Hudson House – Lovers Lane – Dallas

OpenTable compiles its top 100 list every year by looking at diner reviews from its 14 million verified users.

According to OpenTable’s website, restaurants with enough reviews are automatically considered and are evaluated by their ratings, percentage of five-star reviews, number of alerts set, percentage of reservations made in advance, percentage of capacity and direct searches.

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Austin, TX

‘Superman!’ Jelani McDonald Proves to Be Crucial Piece to Texas Longhorns Defense

Published

12 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

‘Superman!’ Jelani McDonald Proves to Be Crucial Piece to Texas Longhorns Defense

AUSTIN — Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald made his mark in the Longhorn secondary on Saturday.

McDonald recorded his first career interception, and it was one for the books.

With five minutes left in the first half as Texas led 14-7, Kentucky had possession. The crowd went wild as McDonald dove for the ball to get possession back to the Longhorn offense. Commentators described the play as a “Superman” performance.

WENT FULL SUPERMAN FOR THIS PICK 👀🤯@TexasFootball x 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/ZV5AxOSWo7
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 23, 2024
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McDonald’s teammates also had their takes on the play.

“Superman…I mean everybody knows how athletic Jelani is, we’ve been talking about that all season, and even tied back to last season,” Michael Taaffe said. “He’s so athletic. I’m glad he finally got to show that and for you all to see, because we’ve known that forever.”

McDonald has totaled 22 tackles this season, playing in every conference and two non-conference games.

While he’s not a name on everyone’s mouths, like Quinn Ewers, Isaiah Bond, Taaffe or Kelvin Banks Jr., McDonald proved once and for all his impact on the team. McDonald could very much have a breakout season in 2025, and this play, which recorded Texas’ 16th interception of the season taking the national record, opened up the doors for his campaign.

That pick could even be awarded play of the year.

“I’ve been just happy to see him grow and get better as a player,” Anthony Hill Jr., who played with McDonald in the Freshman All-American game, said.

“He was playing corners, so I was like ‘Who’s this guy,’ and then one the game, he’s playing linebackers, and at one game he’s playing safety,” Hill said.

McDonald has one more shot to showcase his talent in the regular season as Texas faces Texas A&M next Saturday. But with two years left of eligibility, the sky is the limit.

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Austin, TX

No. 3 Texas ends UK’s bowl chances

Published

21 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

AUSTIN, Tx. (WKYT) – The Kentucky Wildcats (4-7, 1-7 SEC) ended their SEC slate with a 31-14 loss on the road against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns (10-1, 6-1 SEC). For the first time in eight seasons, UK will not be bowl eligible.

Junior quarterback Brock Vandagriff started the game for the Cats, going 3-7 for 51 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The staff opted to once against start true freshman Cutter Boley in the second half. The LCA alum wet 10-18 for 160 yards and an interception in the loss.

The Wildcats went 1-2 in the red zone and just 2-12 on third down conversions.

Senior inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson had a 25-yard fumble return for a touchdown, and also led the defense in tackles with eight.

Texas junior QB Quinn Ewers went 20-31 for 191 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns.

The season concludes next week as Kentucky hosts the Governor’s Cup game against Louisville at Kroger Field. Kick-off is set for noon on the SEC Network.

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