Three new housing projects in Austin: a layman's review: Part I of III

The South 5th, SOL Austin & Cobra Studios projects represent a wide cross section of innovative housing options in the Austin area. I had the opportunity to visit each project last week. Below are some of my notes & observations - please chime in if you have other thoughts you'd like to share!

The South 5th

The overview: Designed by Sprout Design in Austin and built by Acero Construction. 18 townhome style condo units in current phase, Phase II construction includes 14 additional units. Located in the 78704 zip code & has a private community pool/cabana. All units have attached garages and average 2,000 s.f. of living space plus an additional 1.000 s.f. of private exterior space. Prices start at $450,000.

Green Stats: HERS index of 55 (30% more efficient than an Energy Star Home). Projected 5-star Green rating & LEED Gold Certification. Each home is outfitted with it's own 3kw solar array (all data collected from The South 5th website).

Goober on the Street (Moi) review: The South 5th is definately cool. Fancy-cool. The polished concrete floors & modern styling is enough to make you feel like you're in the home of a museum cureator. The roof patio is to die for - maybe even literally, because it's going to get pretty hot up there during a mid-July afternoon in Texas.

My biggest criticism of The South 5th is that the first-floor garage necessitates a 2nd floor kitchen & main living space. Without even having to live there I am annoyed by the number of trips involving stairs that would be required to carry shopping bags to the kitchen or master bedroom. At $225/s.f., I can only imagine that the person buying this house does a fair amount of shopping when they aren't lunching with the ladies or visiting art galleries. I would be interested in a dumb waiter option, but perhaps the hired help can take care of the heavy loads?

One last nit-picking item: is the graffiti on the pool cabana wall a nod at the urban "styling" of the project? One can only hope that white primer is thick enough to cover it up properly. As an architect friend of mine put it, "that was the saddest little misguided attempt...".

Summary: Clean lines, great detailing, excellent 78704 location. Great for someone who loves to climb stairs & has a boatload of cash on hand to purchase.

Additional pictures of the project can be found on my Flickr page.