Press
Unique Museum/Hotel/Restaurant and Residential Complex Slated for Austin, Texas
'Art Drives Commerce' as Acclaimed 21c Museum Hotel Plans First Development Outside of Louisville
AUSTIN, Tx. (June 11, 2007) — Luxury condominiums, a high-end hotel, a world-class
contemporary art collection open free to the public 365 days per year, a landmark
restaurant and artists' lofts will comprise the 21c Austin project when it opens
in Texas' capital city in 2010. Project developers plan to break ground in the first
quarter of 2008.
The project will be the second 21c project and the first with residential units.
Developers stress that the Austin version will not replicate Louisville, Kentucky's
award-winning 21c Museum Hotel (www.21cmuseumhotel.com),
but will reflect Austin's famously laid-back lifestyle through an extraordinary
approach to art-inspired life and commerce.
"Our goal is to blend a love of art, Texas-style comfort and 21st Century technology
into a property that is uniquely Austin," Steve Wilson, Chairman of ACE (Art Commerce
Entertainment) Unlimited, one of the development partners, said. "The driver here
is art, in all its forms—contemporary art by emerging and acclaimed regional and
international artists; architecture of the finest caliber; and cuisine by true artisans
in the culinary world."
A soaring, 44-story addition to Austin's burgeoning skyline will house 21c Austin
and will be home to the project's 209-room hotel, 202 residential units, spa, pool,
museum, restaurants and other amenities. The project, including an underground parking
garage, will total 779,000 square feet and will represent a $200-million investment.
Each room in the hotel will feature original works of art, contemporary furnishings
and luxurious amenities.
The project will include an innovative and accessible restaurant that will emphasize
local and sustainable agriculture and feature contemporary American cuisine. Michael
Bonadies, CEO of ACE, was previously a founding partner of the New York-based Myriad
Restaurant Group, which owns and operates such well-known restaurants as Tribeca
Grill, Nobu and Rubicon. Bonadies was instrumental in the development of the 21c
concept. "21c is an experience-based brand, with its exceptional blend of art, great
food and fun surroundings," Bonadies said.
Some of 21c's most innovative aspects will be its artist lofts and new contemporary
art museum. Twelve artists' lofts will be made available at favorable rental rates
for living and studio space. The museum will provide a new venue for contemporary
visual and performing arts. "We intend to partner with local arts groups and look forward to joining Austin’s thriving arts community," Wilson said.
"Austin has seen a boom in condominium development, but the luxury condos of 21c
will fill a particular niche that is completely new to this market and which we
expect to be embraced by this innovative city, particularly at this one-of-a-kind
site," said Steve Poe, President and CEO of the Poe Companies, a Louisville real
estate investment, development and management firm.
The site is one of Austin's last under-developed downtown properties, just one block
from the city's main street—Congress Avenue—and one block from the Austin Convention
Center.
The team of architects for the project includes Deborah Berke & Partners (www.dberke.com),
a New York-based firm with a portfolio of institutional, commercial and residential
architecture; Goody Clancy Architecture (www.goodyclancy.com), a Boston firm that
brings deep expertise in urban design and large scale urban residential projects
to the table; and Susman Tisdale Gayle (www.stgarchitects.com), an Austin firm with
an integrated approach to architecture, planning and interior design.
Other team members include REI Real Estate Partnerships, an Indiana firm led by
Mike Wells, president; Austin-based Ironwood Real Estate, a partnership between
local developers Matthew Hooks and Scot Krieger; and urbanspace Realtors, led by
Kevin Burns, which specializes in marketing and leasing high-end residential and
mixed-used properties in downtown Austin.
Members of the 21c Austin team have a successful track record of collaborating on
development projects, including the $480-million, 62-story Museum Plaza, scheduled
to begin construction in downtown Louisville in September, 2007.