Moving To And Living In Austin

Manor is Growing

A new major development is happening just south of Manor, 13 miles north east of downtown Austin.  A Fort  Worth company, Taurus Holdings, bought 2,200 acres and plans to build a giant master-planned community with over 8,000 new homes, townhomes, and condiminiums.  The community, called Whisper Valley Ranch, will include 11 soccer fields,  9 baseball fields, stocked fishing lakes, and plenty of hike and bike trails. The first homes should be ready by late 2007 with prices ranging from $150,000 to $500,000.  Four years from now, Whisper Valley Ranch will include 300,000+ square feet of shops and retail space.  The property is located near the 10 lane highway, Texas 130, which is scheduled to be complete in mid 2007. (http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/11590318/pumpkin_patch.html)

Halloween in Austin--Its a Big Deal!

Halloween in Austin has always been a big event.  Whether you are dressed to the nines, bumping through the crowds and highly intoxicated on Sixth Street, or tromping around with your little goblins, you are sure to find a ghoulish time in Austin on Halloween.  Here is a list of some of the most popular things to do around Austin this Halloween:

1. Visit one of the many Haunted Houses around town.  Be prepared for a scream and a very long line.  Nightmare Factory Haunted House, 17050 S IH 35, 445-3327. 

House of Torment, Behind Highland Mall across from Foley's, 523 Highland Mall Blvd. 

Mansion of Terror, 2000 S IH 35, Round Rock, Exit 251 behind the Taco Cabana, 576-9570.

To find out more about Austin Haunted Houses follow this link: http://austin.about.com/od/halloweenhauntedhouses/fr/mansionofterror.htm

2. A more family-oriented Austin tradition is the Pumpkin Patch at Grace United Methodist Church in Travis Heights.  A festival for all ages, this event includes storytelling for kids and plenty of great autumn food.  For a list of dates and times go to:  http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/11590318/pumpkin_patch.html

3. Of course if you are up for a wild night of partying (or at least plenty of good people watching) head down to sixth street where you can see hoards of people dressed to the nines in the gaudiest, trampiest, funkiest costumes around.  (If you are planning on buying or renting a costume, make sure to do it early, say, the week before Halloween.  The stores can have lines out the door the few days before Halloween just to purchase or rent costumes.)

4. Austin Ghost Tours offers walking tours of some of the most haunted buildings in the city, including Sixth Street, the Warehouse District, and parts of downtown.  The tours usually last ninety minutes.  617 Congress Ave. 853-9826.

5.  For a safe trick-or-treating experience (or to avoid adverse weather), Barton Creek Square Mall offers trick-or-treating from store to store.  For more information call: 327-7041.

The Domain

One exciting development for North Austin is the new Endeavor project, the Domain.  Located just north of Braker Lane on Mopac, this huge development will complete a retail mall in about a year.  In two years a new hotel and a new apartment complex will be added.  By 5 years nearly the whole area between Braker Lane and Burnet will be bustling with office buildings, new retail, and living spaces.  You can check out the website at www.thedomainaustin.com.  Combined with the new commuter rail planned for that area, the Domain  should significantly add value to the homes and duplexes in the area.

Great News for Austin!

This is the category you will go to for interesting and important news about Austin and the surrounding areas.  An important part of being your Real Estate Consultants for Life is making sure that our clients are informed about the happenings in our beautiful, ever-changing city.  The new development in Austin excites us, and of course affects our clients' real estate decisions.  If you know of something that we haven't posted here, let us know about it!  We love hearing about the latest developments to our favorite city.