Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Design Workshop Inc. has taken up permanent residence in a 2,500 square foot space at 801 Congress Avenue a couple of months ago. Seven employees from Denver moved into the space in May 2008, hoping to grow their numbers to over 20 in the next three to five years.

Design Workshop is, according to their home page, ‘an award winning, international landscape architecture, land planning, urban design, and tourism planning firm.’ Combining concerns of environment, economics, art, and community, Design Workshop offers urban planning and affordable housing strategies, feasibility and environmental impact studies, project facilitation between the public, the corporate sector, and the community, as well as a host of other diverse land planning and design services.

Rebecca Leonard, a graduate of Ball State University College of Architecture and Planning, will lead the office. Her focus will be on developing projects for the firm, not only in the state of Texas, but will serve clients nation wide and in the Caribbean as well.

Texas projects by Design Workshop have thus far included master planning and design for the second phase of the Domain project in North Austin, initial planning for Hardy Yards in Houston and Bellaire Sustainable Development in Hurst.

The Domain development is a mixed-used community in Northwest Austin, combining commercial and residential uses in one area. The second phase of the Domain project will cover 27 acres south of the original Domain and plans include a three storey Dillard’s, an 80,000 square foot Dick’s, and an eight screen cinema complex, as well as a 340 room Westin hotel. Construction begins this summer, 2008, with plans for opening in November of 2009.

A unique planned community in Port O’Connor offers not a site for your home but one for your boat as well, with lots starting in the $100,000 range, and ready access to prime fishing waters. The Caracol coastal master-planned community is located along the Intra-coastal Waterway near Port O’Connor on the Gulf of Mexico. It’s convenient to Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, and yet far enough away to be a relaxing vacation destination. With the Gulf in the backyard, a homeowner in this gated community can park the car in the driveway and the fishing boat at the slip.

Port O’Connor is known world wide as a prime close- and deep-sea fishing location. Just off shore, the waters teem with red snapper, king fish, tarpon and jack fish. Farther out, tuna, dolphin, and blue martin are abundant. Port O’Connor hosts the annual Poco Bueno fishing tournament that attracts sport fishermen from all over the globe.

The planners building Caracol aim to provide a second home for serious fishermen in an upscale gated community. Construction has begun and, when completed, the development will boast 74 home sites in various sizes, ranging from 40 to more than 100 feet of waterfront. Future development plans include a mid-rise condominium with a marina attached. There will also be a community pool and pavilion, which is currently in progress.

Caracol is a joint venture of Trend Development, Inc., and Forestar Real Estate Group. Trend Development is a privately held real estate development company with several large-scale projects in progress throughout Texas. Forestar Real Estate Group operates in two areas: real estate and natural resources. The real estate segment holds interests in ten states. The natural resources part manages oil and gas resources and wood fiber sales from land located in Georgia.

As the cost of oil rises into the record books, businesses, regardless of size, are looking for ways to reduce consumption, and thereby improve the bottom line. Managing energy costs has become a new industry as companies such as LPB Energy Management in Abilene, Texas, come into being and carve out a niche for themselves, advising businesses on lowering energy consumption.

Construction comes into play first and foremost, with details such as which way the building faces, how air and sunlight moves throughout the day, and how best to take advantage of existing topography. In Abilene, costly alternative energy sources are not as in demand as the consumer doesn’t have the benefit of selling extra power back to the utility grid. So, innovations in design and construction are needed to meet the desire for greener, more environmentally friendly buildings.

LPB has provided advice in energy management to the Abilene Independent School District. As a result, more efficient lighting systems – those that incorporate motion detectors – were installed in AISD’s newest building, Craig Middle School. Motion detectors are an easy, low cost way to realize an immediate savings in energy costs. The motion detectors have an added bonus of being a security feature.

The heating and cooling system at Craig is monitored and controlled at the central maintenance office, meaning the system can be powered down at a specified time to save on energy when no-one is occupying or using the building. Eventually, all systems within the AISD buildings will be monitored and controlled in this way.

LPB monitors electricity, water, and natural gas usage for its clients and plays a large part in negotiating the best rates possible from regional providers, and saves its customers the headache of wading through contracts and rate negotiation.