Sales at The Modern Austin Residences, a 56-story condo tower in downtown Austin, have surpassed the halfway mark for market-rate units. Urbanspace Development, the company behind the project, has completed more than half of these sales at its property located at 610 Davis Street in the Rainey Street Historic District.
Urbanspace CEO Kevin Burns stated that strong sales momentum since Thanksgiving helped secure a recapitalization of the construction loan now that the building is finished. “The strong pace helped the firm secure a recapitalization of its construction loan now that the building is complete, giving Urbanspace more breathing room as it finishes selling out the project,” Burns told the Austin Business Journal.
The building contains 319 units in total, including 20 affordable workforce housing condos. Market-rate units range from about 600 to 6,000 square feet and are priced between $400,000 and over $5 million. Penthouses start at $9.2 million according to Urbanspace’s website.
Refinancing was arranged through a joint venture with Peregren Capital Group and Koch Real Estate Investments. Senior financing came from Axos Bank. JLL Capital Markets’ Doug Opalka led his team in representing Urbanspace during this transaction.
Opalka commented on what this means for Austin’s real estate environment: “The refinancing shows strength and confidence in Austin’s luxury residential market,” he said, adding that location and design were important factors for investors.
Despite The Modern’s success, overall condo development in Austin has slowed due to higher costs, tighter lending standards, and reduced demand. Burns noted that The Modern could be downtown’s last new condo tower completed this decade as many other projects are delayed or remain in planning stages.
Other local developments have been affected by market conditions as well. Construction on Northland Living’s Luminary condo tower—where Urbanspace handles marketing—has been postponed until further notice. Endeavor Real Estate Group is also delaying its planned West Sixth Street project while monitoring market trends.
Recent data from Team Price Real Estate shows December inventory for condos reached an all-time high of 4,240 units across Austin while sale prices continue to decline.
