Real Estate Blog

Back on September 30, we posted the breaking news that The Austin Business Journal designated Southeast Austin as the "next big spot" in town based on the $250 million F1 track going in on the SH-130 corridor. (That post also has a number of source links if you want to read up on the background of the project.)

Okay, so, latest news -- and it's good news. Construction on the track, which is near FM 812, will get underway in December with a slated completion in 2012. The numbers attached to the project are looking fantastic for Austin:

- 3,000 seasonal and construction jobs
- $100 million pumping into the economy

They're looking at developing a year-round calendar of events, starting a motorsport driving club, getting a kart track going, and coordinating it all out of a new welcome center.

What's really exciting is that we've had a look at the draft of the track now. It's the brainchild of world-famous track architect Hermann Tilke and it is sweet.

The site itself has some nice elevation changes that Tilke has built into the design, which also pulls ideas from some of the world's best circuits. If you want to take a look (in 2D and 3D) and read a turn-by-turn breakdown of the design, click here to pop over to Formula1.com website.

All told, we're looking at 20 turns with a 133-foot elevation change and a hairpin Turn 1 that should make for a lot of excitement. The emphasis has been on spectator visibility throughout, a must in building a steady fan-base for the track.

I also like the way the organizers are approaching the start of construction. They're reaching out to minority- and woman-owned contractors. That's good economic stimulus and community spirit and says a lot about how the track will be run.

As we discussed in replying to questions on the last post, the track is in the Creedmoor zip -- 78617. That region will be absolutely hopping with investment potential in coming months -- residential and commercial. Definitely needs to go on your map as you're looking at potential properties.

And if you're like me, it's time to learn a little about the sport itself. I'd recommend starting with these sites:

- Formula 1^TM - The Official Website
- Formula 1 on Wikipedia

This is going to be a tremendous asset to our area, so whether we're in the stands or not, we're all getting ready to love F1 racing!