About Austin's Brentwood

The neighborhood of Brentwood in north central Austin was originally a cotton farm until about 75 years ago, when the City of Austin annexed the land and land was purchased to build a school, Brentwood Elementary, which opened in the early 1950s. Brentwood is the name used to refer to the area of Austin between Lamar, Justin Lane, Burnet Road and 45th Street, and the school is in the middle of the neighborhood. There is also a tree-lined street called Arroyo Seco which runs through the middle of Brentwood and divides the neighborhood in half, forming what are jokingly referred to as Northern Brentwood and Baja Brentwood.

The median household size is smaller than average in Brentwood than most in Central Texas, at 1.9 people per household on average, and the demographics of the Brentwood neighborhood suggest a professional population of the age group most likely to be employed, with 45% of the residents being between the ages of 25 and 44; in addition, 50% of the homes in Brentwood are occupied by a single adult, many of whom are professionals in the high tech industry or U.T. grad students and professors.

There is a smaller percentage of school age children in Brentwood than most neighborhoods in Austin, and most of the residents of the neighborhood are slightly older than average, with 86% of the residents being over the age of eighteen, yet only 17% reporting being over the age of 65.

74% of the residents in Brentwood report Caucasian ancestry, with about 20% reporting ethnicity including both Hispanic and Caucasian roots, with the remaining population being comprised of a variety of ethnic backgrounds, so Brentwood has a fairly diverse population as well.
Students who attend school in Brentwood go to Brentwood Elementary, Lamar Middle School, or McCallum High School, and 95% of those who are employed in Brentwood work within Travis County. The median family income in Brentwood is around $47,000, and the residents are well-educated, with 57% having a college degree and 28% currently reporting working on their graduate degrees.

Since the University of Texas is in close proximity to the neighborhood, there are numerous housing opportunities for students, professionals, and young families, with a plethora of new condominium projects and apartment complexes as well as many single family homes. The average price of a home in Brentwood was about $170,000 in 2003, with the higher end of home prices being around $385,000. This is roughly about average for the Austin real estate market. Home values have risen dramatically in the area since the closure of Mueller Airport, since the flight paths of planes travelling to and from the field are no longer directly over the homes in the area, eliminating a great deal of the noise.

Brentwood is a very scenic area with a creek meandering through most of the neighborhood,along Arroyo Seco,and the neighborhood is known for old-fashioned hamburger joints and taverns, as well as the farmer's market, which has been in operation since 1947. At one point, the Stallion, Frisco Shop, and Threadgill's all offered a down-home chicken fried steak or juicy burger with home made fries in or very near the neighborhood, for a workingman's price.

There is a large, peaceful park in the neighborhood, Brentwood Park, which included nine acres of green space along with tennis courts, hike and bike trails, soccer fields, a baseball diamond and a playscape. There is also a festival called the Violet Crown Festival which is held on the lawn in Brentwood Park every year, and the neighborhood takes pride on its lights and decorations during the holiday season, especially on Arroyo Seco.

There are many churches and institutions, as well as city and state facilities in Brentwood, with choices of Faith Lutheran, Austin Bible, and Crestview Methodist Church for churchgoers, among many others, and some of the facilities in the neighborhood include the Texas School for the Blind, the Texas Department of Health, and the Austin Community Gardens, where residents can grow their own fresh produce.

For dining out, residents and visitors can choose between the Korea Garden, Fonda San Miguel, Phil's Icehouse, the Omelettry, and Jalisco, all of which are in or very near the Brentwood area, as are quite a few other restaurants and clubs, as well as fast food joints.

Brentwood offers something for everyone, and with its scenic beauty and history, yet urban, hip reputation, it is the perfect place to just visit or move in and settle down!


Ki works as a real estate agent in Austin Texas. His site is filled with information on the Austin real estate market. It also provides information on neighborhoods like Brentwood Austin along with a search of the Austin MLS.

Our statistics for MLS Area 2 in February 2009 have a few positive notes that help cancel out the fewer sales. While 08 to 09 total sales are down for the month, they doubled from January 09. Not only did we see more sales, but the average days on market and sales price also increased. A few points to watch as we head into the busier Spring / Summer seasons. Stay tuned.........

MLS Area 2 February Statistics - data from ABOR

Month	Jan '08	Feb '08
Number of Sales	21	38
Average Price	$244,247	$227,797
Averge Days on Market	61	71
Month	Jan '09	Feb '09
Number of Sales	12	24
Average Price	$228,325	$240,545
Averge Days on Market	77	52

We've all heard about the test runs happening around Austin and Cedar Park of the new diesel-electric trains through the middle of the night. Well this past weekend surrounding residents from N Central Austin were able to board and learn about the trains at The Crestview which are scheduled to start running March 31^st.

There was quit a stir in the air, aside from the high winds and rapid temperature drop between leaving my house for coffee and actually arriving at the Crestview Station. The flaw that I learned, and several others, was parking might be a small issue if you live more than a couple of miles away. There were several volunteers flagging us into general parking that most likely will not be available once apartment residence move in and businesses open their doors. However, once aboard I noticed several racks to hang your bicycle if walking to the station is too far.

FARES

Approaching the platform you will find Ticket Vending Machines (TVM's if you want the proper lingo) where you can purchase MetroRail fare tickets. Two-hour passes are available here, or you can purchase a monthly pass at capmetro.org ($36 31-Day Full Fare / Discounts do apply for certain individuals). There are two zones that determine the fare depending on where you catch the train. If you are leaving from The Crestview Station a ‘One Zone' ticket of $1.00 should get you downtown and also valid for specific connector buses. An ‘All Zones' pass of $1.50 would get you from Leander to downtown. (http://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/capital-metrorail-fares.shtml)

TIMES / SCHEDULES

Right now trains are scheduled to run weekdays from 5:40 to 9:40 a.m. and weekday afternoons between 3:45 and 7:45 p.m. My understanding with talking to volunteers was the trains will travel between 30-35 mph, so this is no high speed European bullet train. But neither is MOPAC at rush hour! (http://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/capital-metrorail-schedule.shtml)

Wi-Fi

Now instead of recklessly driving down MOPAC reading email on your Blackberry to the office (admit it, you have done this more than once), simply open you laptop and connect to the available Wi-Fi service provided on board.

TRAINS

On board, the trains looked, felt and smelled new! The seats were comfortable and plenty of leg room even for a tall and lanky former swimmer who is accustom to having his knees smashed. They will hold up to 200 passengers, with 108 seats. As mentioned before bike racks are available inside, along with overhead storage racks. Two diesel-electric engines power the trains and reside in the middle of the two cars parked at the station this morning.

(http://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/capital-metrorail-vehicles.shtml)

All in all residence walking around seemed at least intrigued by the opportunity of the new public transit option. Time will tell on whether or not Austinites jump on board........do you have plans to ride the train?

It was a frigid morning on December 21^st, but the wonderful neighbors from Crestview and Brentwood fought the cold temps and wind to prepare the luminaries along Arroyo Seco for the coming week. Many families arrived to fill collected milk jugs with sand and then space them from South of 2222, all the way up to the Crestview Shopping Center. Approximately 500+ luminaries were created, set out and lit each night with the help of fellow neighbors taking turns during the week of Christmas.

I'm sure the pictures below do not accurately reflect how beautiful it looked walking down the street one night with family to admire the work. If you have additional pictures please post them! I'm a novice at photography, especially at night.

Not long ago the brick wall that shielded residents from back entrance of businesses in the Crestview Shopping Center along Woodrow was just that.... A roughly 6 foot, plain brick wall. Then Brentwood resident Jean Graham had a vision to celebrate the history and character of two great Austin Neighborhoods, Crestview and Brentwood. That kick started the Violet Crown Festival, held in Brentwood Park next to the Elementary School to raise funds for the tile mosaic project. Hundreds of neighbors would eventually help out, and many created their own special tile portraying personal and family history.

The tiles would be installed along the 120 foot long wall recreating fond memories and pulling a community together. Today people can be found daily walking the wall to admire the work Jean, and hundreds more residents, who carefully made and placed tiles. Not only do the pictures tell a story, there is actually a historical account which beautifully fits in amongst the art work. You won't be able to read the print when watching the video below, but make sure you stop to read the grey circles for blurbs of information. I learned Austin's first drive-in theater, Joseph's, opened at Justin Ln and Lamar in 1940!

Here is a short video, with poor production, walking from the South end to the North end of this beautiful masterpiece. But don't take my word, swing over to the Little Deli for lunch and walk the wall before heading back to the office.