Anyone know much about the 969 Agave "green" neighborhood? (Center: apartments, condo)

[ImOnFiya]

Originally Posted by Greypoupon

I went yesterday and visited some homes. They are well designed and look like they would be fun to live in and very easy to maintain especially if you do not have children. I would not buy here however...the nearby jail, the surrounding squalor, and the high power lines would, I think, seriously impact the potential resale value. I love the designs and think there is a market for these types of houses in areas around Circle C and closer to town as well...I would buy in a heartbeat! I have no doubt that neat people are drawn to these interesting houses but unfortunately in real estate everything is about the location. In this case the houses are great but the location is not.

I finally decided to take a look at this thread dreading at the all class-and race-euphemisms that I'd I knew what show up with WASPS from the suburbs considering whether a new urbanist community would work (or was appropriate) with the surrounding (mostly minority) working-class neighborhoods.

Attention people: those working-class neighborhoods at the edge of East Austin were there long before upper middle class whites considering living near people of color in East Austin was even considered a possible dream. Those people living in 'squalor' (are probably) more real Texan and native Austinite than you'll ever be able to handle. ('Cause we are a handful!)

I can sum up this "cultural architectural analysis" in a few short words: if you problems with [blank class] and [blank race], then you don't belong there.

No need to waste words, or drone on and on with BS replies. Just be honest and say what you mean. But remember, some of those people who live in 'squalor', or whose presence may be 'sketchy', may subscribe to this forum and may reply..

[ImOnFiya]

P.S.

It's not all bad news!

The advantage of the area being so bad is that 'hippy' elements can actually build something there to make the "culturally"-sensitive majority more comfortable. This project should escalate upper middle-class 'retention' and help stabilize nearby housing values until the demographic changes in East Austin become complete!

It's new! It's innovative! It's more of the people that matter! Welcome, Kaleidoscope Village (Kaleidoscope Village | Building a Village in the City) !

Coming soon to FM 969 & Johnny Morris Rd!

[verybadgnome]

Not an apples to apples comparison but I chose Central East Austin over Mueller and I would still choose the latter over Agave. I would even choose Sol over Agave even though Sol isn't in the best location either. Agave's location is useless if you want to walk and bike to restaurants, grocery stores, coffee places, bike shops, farmer's markets, etc. Actually for the prices they are charging one could probably buy a vacant lot in Central East Austin for $50-$100k and build a custom home for almost the same price.

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by Greypoupon

I went yesterday and visited some homes. They are well designed and look like they would be fun to live in and very easy to maintain especially if you do not have children. I would not buy here however...the nearby jail, the surrounding squalor, and the high power lines would, I think, seriously impact the potential resale value. I love the designs and think there is a market for these types of houses in areas around Circle C and closer to town as well...I would buy in a heartbeat! I have no doubt that neat people are drawn to these interesting houses but unfortunately in real estate everything is about the location. In this case the houses are great but the location is not.

I think ImoFiya called the racist dumbness of this nicely, but at least, someone cares about what the houses look like. Locations change - 15 years South Congress was the equivalent of Rundberg. 25 years ago, Clarksville was considered a no go zone for respectable white people - it only got paved roads in the mid 1980s. And now??? Some of the most desirable (and expensive price per square foot ) real estate in the city. Agave is 6-7 miles from downtown and is the only newly built suburban neighborhood (it is not New Urbanist) in the MSA with any kind of thoughtful design values.(Let's see what SOL looks like). You can't live anything like an urban life there, and VBG is correct that Central East Austin offers many more urbanish amenities, and some great residential modernist infill is happening there. For me Mueller is somewhere between a missed opportunity and an aesthetic disaster. I wish it looked more like Agave. Instead what they have built so far is cheap, generic and nasty looking "traditional" exurb style houses with no yards, and the almost all the minimal retail is big box. The town center is postponed indefinitely, and it is new urbanist in name only - you live somewhere bland, ugly, and treeless, and still have to get in a car to do almost anything. Location is all Mueller offers in my book. I am quite sure Agave is going to thrive - it provides something Austin does not have - a design-driven suburban neighborhood, and I hope it requires developers and realtors to recognize the diversity of housing desires - not everyone wants to live in a huge brick or stone-clad clapboard house with a 2-3 car garage that looks like every other huge brick or stone-clad clapboard house between Pittsburgh and the San Fernando Valley. Austin has no shortage of those kind of houses. Agave is, at least educating Austinites architecturally. I thought Austin was supposed to be edgy and cool, but most (not all) of the city offers only suburban neighborhoods of the blandest, most generic and boring architectural styles. While I am not holding my breath that this will change, Agave is, at least, trying to raise design standards in a city that for the most part has none. A boy can hope.

[CptnRn]

Good design begins with picking a good site, Agave totally screwed that up. I seriously doubt the edgy design will ever be able to overcome the lousy location.

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Good design begins with picking a good site, Agave totally screwed that up. I seriously doubt the edgy design will ever be able to overcome the lousy location.

Agreed, that it's a lousy location for risk-averse middle class white families who need good public schools and want to be surrounded by people like them. That's not everybody, as the posts from people who live there attest. I can imagine for some people the location is a plus - Agave is 6 miles from downtown, less to U.T., and you don't have to get on a highway, which given the state of Austin highways is a good thing. The development is on a hill in pretty rolling terrain - many of the houses have downtown views. I suspect Agave has held its value as well if not better than any new suburban development in the Austin MSA in the current recession. Where else can you buy a house designed by a leading local architect in a neighborhood where all the other houses are designed by leading local architects within a 15 minute drive to central Austin for less than 300K?

[pcw127]

I am now a new resident at Agave and after a month I have to say that this is by far the best investment I have ever made. I came out to see the Agave 969 houses when they were under construction and five years later I find myself in an original designed home here at Agave 969. Prior to buying I was well aware of the negatives like water treatment plant, railroad and jail and but none of that effects my everyday life. As for bad school zones, there are plenty of private schools including an excellent academy nearby.

Beside the amazing modern design, all construction were very solid. I was really taken by the high standard of the construction. 4-Star energy appliances, high end ceiling fans, tankless water heater, seer 14 HVAC and AC as well energy efficient double pane Windows. All room have recess lightning with multiple zone control. The Agave residents embraced all different professionals that appreciates modern architecture and energy efficiency. The sense of community at Agave is immediate and everyone here looks out for their neighbors.

I will make another post an about a year but so you know the positive posts I read from 2009 still holds true. A testament to the resilience of this truly modern and unique neighborhood.

[10scoachrick]

Thanks for the interesting update. From what I can gather, the prices have been all over the place with a number of foreclosures in the past 3 years. I reckon one's attitude toward the 'value' might be colored somewhat by the price paid as well as the lifestyle. (It would also be interesting to hear from some of the folks who have been there since '09...to get the perspective of a 'long'-time resident.)

[tfresca]

I loved those houses, was actually with someone who considered getting a more regular house in the nearby neighborhood. I think the area is just a little too far away, time wise, to being gentrified for me to recommend it. I wish there were more developments like that in outlying areas.

[verybadgnome]

I've never seen a development so much in need of landscaping and trees as this one. I think the combination of the home designs, their dimensions (specifically height) and the fact that most are on a hillside make them stand out too much from their surroundings. Homes should blend in with the landscape, not look like they are just randomly plopped down from the sky.

A walk score of 9 in a "green community?" Is that a joke? I'll go even farther in saying that in the last 100 hundred years - comparing this to old East Austin - we have gone backwards in our urban designs and standards.

I'll restate that I would choose Sol or Mueller over Agave.