Hindsight Speculation
Dear Suzy,
I'm a photographer looking for a unique space to rent/buy(?). I have noticed several vacant - often boarded up - spaces for rent. How do I find out who owns them and how I should approach the owners?
One location I'd be interested in is the former Nighthawk restaurant at the corner of Riverside and Congress. I think it would make a great studio space.
- Eric
Dear Eric,
Finding out who owns property in this burg is as easy as tripping over a baseball park booster. Simply call the Travis County Tax Collector (if the property is in Travis County) at 473-9473 with the physical address of the property you're interested in and they'll give you the name and the address of the owner. The approach is as tricky as finding someone who supports the arts. You're on your own, but I foolishly believe honesty is a good start.
Eons ago, back in the late Seventies when Flashdance was just a twinkle in some schlocky writer's eye, my college roommate and I thought about pooling our meager savings and buying one of the abandoned warehouse spaces downtown.
We'd become two urban bohemian chicks, single-handedly revitalizing a downtown which, at the time, consisted of the Paramount Theater (where I worked), a Dunkin Donuts (where I ate), and Wylie's (where I drank). Throw in a few roving transvestites and that was it for nightlife in the center of the city. Hard to image in this day of sidewalk coffeehouses and slick eateries, no? Even harder to imagine is that the cavernous space we looked at - big enough to run our pack of dogs through with room to spare - was a mere $45,000. But then our safety-conscious parents took one look at the neighborhood and... well... we returned to our lives as average college girls with shattered dreams.
I hate to shatter your dreams, but unless you have several thousand dollars to spend on rent each month, forget the Nighthawk. As for other downtown spaces, sources tell me you can expect to pay a cool half mil to buy and finish out an 8000-square-foot space. That's a lot of 8"x10" glossies. My friend, Eric DeJernett (not the same Eric), a broker with Commercial Industrial Properties Company, suggested you and another photographer pair up and consider sharing a studio space with separate offices. For the best buys, he recommends looking in the east central area. I say, for the best buys, look into time travel and take me back with you to the Seventies, at least long enough to get to the closing table just once.
Be sure to catch the EcoFair at the Austin Convention Center, October 6 & 7, where you can learn about rainwater harvesting, sustainable building, solar products, organic gardening, and tons more. Maybe even time travel? - Suzy