Northwest Austin Impacts — May 2008

Northwest Austin Impacts — May 2008

Written by Staff Friday, 23 May 2008

1. New pizza place

North Austinites can now enjoy the New York-style pizza that Round Rock has been enjoying for years. The Original Brooklyn Pie Company opened its second location at 8127 Mesa Drive, Ste. B-202.

2. Get your groom on

Roosters Men’s Grooming Center has moved its corporate headquarters to its newest Austin location at 13343 US 183, Ste. 215, which will open mid June. The gentlemen’s barbershop was opened in 1999 by Joe Grondin, a barber for more than 30 years. He says Roosters is a men’s grooming shop with a family atmosphere.

3. Children’s Courtyard

The Children’s Courtyard is now open at 1178 Metric Blvd., Bldg. A. They opened their first childcare center in Arlington in 1986 and now serve more than 8,000 children in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Austin areas. Their program is designed to foster a lifelong love of learning and positive self-concepts for infants and young children in a homelike setting. For more information, call 835-4326 or visit www.childrenscourtyard.com.

4. A step away

Arthur Murray Dance Studio is moving from 2700 W. Anderson Lane to 13343 US 183, Ste. 285 in June. The studio has been in the Austin area for more than 50 years teaching salsa, rumba and merengue to beginning and advanced dancers. For more information, call 454-7663 or visit www.texdance.com.

5. Access to airport made easier

The last Austin portion of Toll 130 opened last month, finishing 49 miles of toll road from Georgetown to US 183. Drivers can now get to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport without traveling along IH-35. The section of highway will eventually connect with Toll 45 when completed next year.

Carpool

The River Cities Rideshare program is offering a free online service to help match commuters for carpooling in the Austin-San Antonio region. The program is funded by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, Capital Area Council of Governments and Alamo Area Council of Governments. Interested individuals can visit www.rcride.com to set up a free account and enter a starting point and destination. The program will match people with similar trips. For more information, call 974-2529.

6. Cleaner parks

Thirty-five volunteers from Milwood and Walnut Crossing participated in “It’s My Park Day” on April 12 at Balcones District Park, 12017 Amherst Drive. The team picked up a truckload of trash, painted more than 10 picnic tables and weeded and painted a horseshoe pit.

7. 3M Ingenuity Grants

The 3M Foundation awarded $3,500 to Cathy Kidd, Linda Shepard and Lauren Meyer, teachers at Davis Elementary, in Ingenuity Grants for their “Space Center Science” program. Awards were presented to the winning teachers April 30, at the 3M Innovation Center, RM 2222 and River Place Blvd.

8. CTSI moves to Austin

Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization, a nonprofit industry trade organization, will be moving its headquarters to Austin, possibly as early as June. CTSI locating in Austin will increase the global brand awareness of Austin as a leader in sustainable technology commitment and bolster Austin’s clean technology community and regional economic development efforts. CTSI headquarters may share office space with the Clean Energy Incubator, a program of the University of Texas near the J.J. Pickle Center and the IBM campus. For more information, visit www.ct-si.org.

9. Eco-Box awarded for excellence

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality awarded a Texas Environmental Excellence Award to Eco-Box, 2212 Rutland Drive, for demonstrating positive effects on land resources. Sam Lee opened Eco-Box in 1994, which now has three locations in the Austin area. Eco-Box sells moving and shipping supplies with a focus on buying and selling used boxes for shipping. For more information, call 836-7644.

Tax break on Energy Star products

During Memorial Day weekend, Texas shoppers get a break from state and local sales and use taxes on qualifying energy-efficient purchases beginning midnight, Saturday, May 24 through midnight Monday, May 26. For more information, call (800) 252-5555 or visit www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx98_836.

Education granted

The E3 Alliance received a $40,000 grant from the KDK-Harman Foundation to establish stronger pathways for students spanning from middle school to post-secondary and career success. Recognizing that the two professions in Central Texas with the highest unfulfilled demand are nursing and information technology, the E3 Alliance will work with regional high schools, higher education institutions and businesses to provide more streamlined pathways for students to prepare for these professions.

10. Beautifying Austin

Celebrating their 20th year in business, Beauty Store Salon & Spa opened a fourth location at 10710 Research Blvd. at Braker Lane next to H-E-B May 19. Its other locations are at 4001 N. Lamar Blvd., 3300 Bee Cave Road, and 4006 S. Lamar Blvd. For more information, call 733-8333.

11. Cupcakes and coffee

Cupprimo, a cupcakery and coffee shop opened May 5 at 8650 Spicewood Springs Road. They specialize in cupcakes for any occasion and catering is available. For more information, call 335-7746 or visit www.cupprimo.com.

Keep Austin wild

The City of Austin and National Wildlife Federation are challenging Austin neighborhoods to certify the most yards within their boundaries as wildlife habitats. Neighborhoods will have the chance to win the challenge and help Austin earn points towards becoming certified as Texas’ first NWF certified Community Wildlife Habitat. The Neighborhood Habitat Challenge goes through Oct. 31. Residents can certify their yard by visiting the National Wildlife Federation’s website, www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife. For more information, visit www.keepaustinwild.com.

Austin’s McCallum High Class of ’78 Reunion

The A.N. McCallum High School Class of 1978 will hold its 30th anniversary reunion Friday and Saturday, June 20-21. The reunion will be $55 per person or $100 per couple. To RSVP, contact Jody Ray Smith at McCallum High School, JRay2@austinisd.org or go to www.mac78reunion.com.

Scouting for conservation

Boy Scouts from Troop 164, chartered at Pond Springs Baptist Church, spent Earth Day weekend working toward scouting’s highest conservation award, the Hornaday Award, at Lost Pines Scout Camp in Bastrop, on the LCRA Lost Pines Scout Reservation. Conservation organizations with potential projects should contact Brian McClure at brm@austin.rr.com or 413-5577.

12. Homemade Southern-Mexican food and pastries

Margarita’s Restaurant and Bakery, 14735 Bratton Lane, is a family-owned and operated restaurant serving up Southern-Mexican dishes and a bakery with a complete line of Mexican pastries made from scratch. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. except closed Saturday. For more information, call 670-3561.

13. Bring in the subs

Firehouse Subs will open a new location at 11101 Burnet Road, Ste. 120 the first week of June. The sub shop offers 20 different sub sandwich combinations and 60 different hot sauce choices.

14. Mexican Restaurant

Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, Molcas Mexican Restaurant, located at 8127 Mesa Drive, has a wide array of Mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For more information, call 535-4923 or visit their website.

15. Get aligned

Dr. Bobby Curtis, D.C., a licensed chiropractor, recently opened an office in the Anderson Arbor Shopping Center, 13343 US 183, Ste. 290. The chiropractic office offers a relaxing atmosphere where the main focus is the patient. For more information, call 258-9355 or visit his website.

16. Commercial real estate updates

Thomas Properties Group Inc. signed two leases at properties in Northwest Austin, which include 70,000 combined sq. ft. of office space for AT&T Inc. and Digital Motorworks Inc. The 24,000 sq. ft. AT&T office will be located at Great Hills Plaza in the Arboretum area. Digitial Motorworks will expand its existing lease to total 50,000 sq. ft. at Park Centre, 8601 RR 2222.

Red light cameras launch

“Keep Austin Safe,” the city’s red light camera program, will be launched Memorial Day weekend. Intersections will be activated and phased in over the next several weeks. In Northwest Austin, red light cameras will be at Mopac northbound and southbound at Howard Lane/Wells Branch Parkway. For more information, visit www.cityofaustin.org.

17. Travesia Corporate Park

Vertical construction on North Austin’s newest business park started this month. Travesia Corporate Park, a joint venture between Dallas-based Champion Partners, Newport Beach-based Buchanan Street Partners, and Stream Realty Partners of Austin, features three buildings with a total of 175,950 sq. ft. Nestled on a 26-acre tract, the site is located near the intersection of four major roadways: IH-35, SH-45 North, FM 1325 and MoPac Expressway. The park is part of a 200-acre, mixed-use development which will ultimately include retail space, industrial space, multi-family and single-family homes. Construction on the first phase of the new office/flex space is expected to wrap up by year’s end.