Friday, November 02, 2007

CENTRAL TEXAS DIGEST

Development

Simmons Vedder tapped to build more apartments at Mueller site

Simmons Vedder & Co. has been selected to build the second mixed-use multifamily component at the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport.

The new project is the second for Simmons Vedder at Mueller. The company's first apartment project, Mosaic, is under construction at Aldrich and Ragsdale streets.

The new project, adjacent to the future town center, will have more than 275,000 square feet, with four stories and 300 one- to three-bedroom units. It will also have two-story live-work units with commercial space on the ground floor, an amenities center and a pool.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for next summer, with completion in 2010. Ten percent of the apartments will be reserved for families that make 60 percent or less of Austin's median family income, and the project will achieve at least a two-star rating under Austin Energy's Green Building Program.

Gasoline

Prices at pump spike statewide this week; Central Texas up 9.1 cents

Gas prices spiked across Texas this week, according to AAA Texas' weekly price roundup.

The average price in Central Texas rose 9.1 cents to $2.85 a gallon. The biggest jump was 11.8 cents in Texarkana, to $2.84, followed by 11.1 cents in San Antonio, to $2.81. The smallest was 3.8 cents in El Paso to $2.81.

"Oil industry analysts say record crude oil prices hovering above $90 per barrel have put upward pressure on pump prices," AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said. "Every city surveyed saw substantial price increases this week."

Compiled from staff reports