by Tom Linehan
A view of downtown from Burnet Road? That's what Amy Bankowski, Community Manager of the new 5350 Burnet Apartment development tells me you will have leasing one of their fourth floor units. You can see the UT tower and downtown Austin. Who would have thought? The road known for used car lots and used clothing stores is going upscale. Is Allandale ready to be “the Real Austin”, as referred to in the 5350 Burnet apartment brochure? It likens Burnet Road to South Congress and says it's filled with “funky shops and restaurants.”
I recently took a tour of the new 5350 Burnet complex to find out what one gets for $2,000 a month renting a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit at the new development. Amy was kind enough to give me a tour of the place with the caveat they had just opened the leasing office and not all of her show units were ready, including the fourth floor unit with the view. That was fine with me. I was more interested in providing readers a first look at the development, the first of its kind on Burnet Road.
The eight floorplans in the new 5350 Burnet apartment complex are named after area neighborhoods and familiar streets in Central Austin. The smallest floorplan, a 572 sf studio, is the Allandale. It rents for $930, provided the renter qualifies under the affordable housing criteria. Ten percent of the 175 units or 18 units are set aside as affordable for households earning $41,000 a year or less. Their largest floorplan is called the Shoal Creek. It's a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1,220 sq ft apartment with balcony. A unit like that rents from $1,995 to $2025. These rents are list price. The development is running opening specials so people signing leases today are getting in cheaper.
5350 Burnet is a four story apartment development with retail space on the bottom floor. The leasing office opened in mid-January. When I visited they had not signed on a retailer or restaurant for the bottom floor. Amy tells me there have been a number of inquiries and she felt confident an announcement was imminent. She gave me a tour of their two model units they had open at that time, a 2-bedroom unit and a 1-bedroom unit. The complex has three courtyards. The units I toured had a balcony that overlooked the 25 meter lap pool under construction (see photo). The other two courtyards, Amy tells me are smaller.
Although the leasing office is open, the complex is still under construction. The pool and club/fitness center are nearly finished. The entire development will be completed in April.
So who wants to live in an upscale apartment on Burnet Road? Young professionals and recent college graduates most likely. They had a recent inquiry from a couple living in the nearby Kensington Apartments who wanted to stay in the neighborhood but looking for something nicer. Amy tells me the appeal is people wanting to live close to downtown but not in downtown. Burnet Road is close to downtown and it certainly has some funky businesses but I don't consider it quite the hipster hangout that South Congress is. Ginny's Little Longhorn is no Continental Club, and that is OK.
The premier floor plan should have been named the Allandale in recognition of the great neighborhood where the complex resides. I have included some photos in the event you know someone that fits their target demo and is curious. Better yet, direct them to the the 5350 Burnet web site: www.5350burnet.com.
Seems overpriced given the market. I pay half that to live in a duplex on the other side of Burnet with my own yard. The type of people who don't mind living in a humbler, less hip area further from downtown are usually not the luxury condo set.
Posted by: L | Jan 29, 2010 at 12:20 AM