11-17-2007
Historical castle to become part of new condo development
Historic building will be preserved with view intact
By Kate Miller Morton, AMERICAN STATESMAN

It's been a military school, the office of a controversial Austin developer and, most recently, an illegal gathering place for teenagers and vagrants.
Now the Castle, the historical turreted building that looms over the central city from a hillside just east of the Clarksville neighborhood, is poised to become the centerpiece of a planned high-end office and condominium development.
Built in 1870 as the Texas Military Institute, the Castle will remain largely office space with the possibility of a single residence on the top floor.
Developers Dick Clark and Vic Ayad plan to build as many as 28 upscale units up the hillside in front of the Castle.
Two duplexes and one single-family home behind the Castle would be replaced with nine town houses.
It took Ayad, who has made a career out of turning around distressed businesses and real estate, more than a year to wrestle the Castle and most of the project's site out of developer Gary Bradley's complex bankruptcy proceedings — a feat accomplished only after he settled with a dozen parties with claims on, lawsuits against or an interest in the property.
The partners have begun restoring the historical building, which was neglected and vandalized in the past several years.
"It was a sea of beer bottles and drug paraphernalia, and every conceivable space was covered by graffiti," Ayad said.
Negotiating the support of the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association, which has typically opposed dense development in its traditionally single-family areas, was almost as difficult.
Jean Stevens, zoning and land use committee chairwoman for the association, said the neighborhood has worked "hand-in-hand" with the developers for about seven months.
Clark and Ayad made concessions to the neighborhood, including capping the number of condo units at 28 instead of the 39 allowed under city regulations. The developer also agreed to build town and garden houses to the rear of the Castle on Blanco Street, where the property bumps up against single-family houses.
And it helped that the project was on the edge of the neighborhood's single-family core.
The neighborhood association is not endorsing the project, but it is not opposing it.
"Personally speaking, I like the project; I think it's well done," Stevens said. "As far as the neighborhood is concerned, I know as far as density, concerns have been expressed. But we have been able to work together to have a project that all of us are comfortable with."
Clark, an architect who is known for his contemporary designs, said the condos will be modern but will complement the Castle.
"Things don't have to be of the same period to look good together," Clark said.
The condos will be built in a tiered fashion from Baylor Street up the hill to within 80 feet of the Castle.
Clark said the buildings will be stacked like a wedding cake with the roof of one condo serving as the deck of the one above it.
This isn't the first time developers have tried to build up the hillside.
In the 1980s, developer Rick Hardin had plans for a condo project there, but a faulty foundation and legal problems halted the project. The foundation of the project remains as a popular gathering place for views of downtown and the Capitol.
Clark and Ayad said that building failed because it was improperly designed for the expanding and contracting clay beneath it. They say they are confident it will not happen again.
The developers say they "self-imposed" a view corridor to the Capitol that will be preserved by leaving a valley in the middle of the project so the view of the castle from the central city will remain the same.
The developers still must get zoning changes to the property that would allow a residence in the Castle and increase the floor-to-area ratio on the hillside condos. The case is expected to go before the City of Austin Planning Commission on Nov. 27. The changes are not opposed by the neighborhood.
The developers say they hope to start construction in the spring and finish in late 2009.

btw. Maybe some of you don't know where is the castle, it is between W. 11th street and W 12th street on Castle Hill Ct. (Street).