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The brainchild of 1-800-Contacts founder Jonathan Coon and Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts will soon come to fruition with plans for multimillion-dollar lakefront residences by Lake Austin.
Updates on the project, which was first proposed by Coon three years ago, came out Tuesday, confirming that Coon and his development team were partnering with Four Seasons to create The Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin. This is Four Season's first standalone residential development in the state, joining the ranks of current locations in London, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The development sits on 145 acres and will create 179 units that will range from smaller vacation homes just under 2,000-square feet to 7,000-square foot penthouses.
The luxury residences will sprawl across a stretch over a picturesque hillside overlooking Lake Austin. (DBOX for Austin Capital Partners)
The luxury homes will start at $4 million and will emphasize comfortability, beauty and privacy. In addition to units that soak in views from multiple directions, the development will include an indoor garden, an athletic center and spa, a private two-story restaurant, clubhouse and theater.
Half of the cliffside views will also turn into a public overlook above the lake and will include free parking, similar to a nearby Pennybacker Bridge overlook located just west of the property.
According to the Austin Business Journal, Coon said that developers will break ground in early 2023 and should be completed by the end of 2025.
In addition to Coon and Four Seasons developers, others working on the project include executive architects Handel Architects LL P and Page Southerland Page, Inc., project engineer Arup Group Ltd. and sales and marketing team Eric Moreland Group.
Coon said the homes will be made with care for a special reason—he and his wife will also be living on the property.
"Our goal is really to maximize the customer experience, probably because we plan on being customers," Coon told ABJ.
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Popular
(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police have charged Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, a local cyclist, for the murder of Moriah "Mo" Wilson.
Wilson, a rising star in the gravel and mountain bike community, was found dead with gunshot wounds inside an East Austin home on the night of May 11 when she was in town for the weekend Gravel Locos race in Hico, Texas.
Police believe Wilson was having a relationship with a man Armstrong was also in a relationship with. The man, another gravel cyclist, Colin Strickland, has since issued a statement on the murder.
In his statement, he said he had a brief romantic relationship with Wilson in October 2021 before he resumed his relationship with Armstrong, but that he remained friends with Wilson. "There is no way to adequately express the regret and torture I feel about my proximity to this horrible crime. I am sorry, and I simply cannot make sense of this unfathomable tragedy.
NEW: Austin professional cyclist Colin Strickland has just released a statement about the murder of cyclist Moriah Wilson, clarifying his relationship with her and expressing “torture about my proximity to this horrible crime.” pic.twitter.com/KnIna3mWrE
— Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) May 20, 2022
Wilson, a 25-year-old Vermont native living in Colorado, had won a slew of races becoming a fan favorite. She had just become a full-time racer this year.
Anyone with information on this crime can contact Austin police at 512-974-TIPS or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 512-472-8477.
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Kelly said the planned homeless housing hotel suffered months of damage. (Mackenzie Kelly)
Austin has added 24-hour security to the city-owned Pecan Gardens property, which will be converted into supportive housing for people exiting homelessness, after the former hotel was found with months of damage and vandalism May 5.
The building, which was broken into and stripped of copper and had people illegally sleeping inside of it, has been secured, Kelly said in a Friday press conference. Kelly said the city confirmed a measure to implement 24-hour security, including updates every 60 days until the property opens up as supportive housing.
"We cannot let this happen to any vacant city-owned property ever again," Kelly said. "This blatant act of disregard and criminal behavior will not be tolerated in our community."
The city bought the former hotel in August 2021 for $9.5 million with plans to renovate the property into a 78-unit supportive housing property. Those 55 or older that are experiencing chronic homelessness can qualify to live at the site once it is completed in late 2022-early 2023.
While the council was set to discuss a $4 million deal with Family Eldercare to begin converting the property Thursday, Kelly pulled the item for a later executive session due to security concerns. But the council did approve an item to authorize city leaders to begin negotiating other renovation contracts.
"I want to thank my colleagues for pumping the brakes on this contract and realizing that we owe the community not only an apology, but reassurance that the protection of the assets the city owns is vital to the success of achieving our intended goals," Kelly said.
When the building was found vandalized May 5, Kelly, who presides over the district containing the property, said damage included:
- Damage spanning all three floors of the building and is in nearly every room.
- The entire hotel was stripped of copper.
- Destroyed washers, dryers, air conditioners and electrical wiring.
- People sleeping at the hotel without permission.
On Tuesday, Austin’s Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Gray apologized and said there was no security due to a delay in processing the request.
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