Northwest Austin Impacts — June 2009

Northwest Austin Impacts — June 2009

Friday, 26 June 2009

1. ZARA opens at The Domain

ZARA, an iconic European fashion retailer, opened last month at The Domain in an 11,500 sq. ft. building. The store carries men’s, women’s and children’s clothes, shoes and accessories. This is Austin’s first ZARA location, although the retailer has stores in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. Visit www.zara.com.

2. Green-living shop opens

A new eco-friendly store offering everything from green apparel, gifts, office and pet supplies opened last month in the Arboretum area at 10225 Research Blvd., Ste. 900. Eco Shoppe is owned and operated by the Vitamin Shoppe and is the first of its kind to be opened by the company, which touts it as a one-stop shop for eco-friendly products, services and education. Visit www.ecoshoppe.com.

3. New medical offices

The Cedar Bend Professional Center, which will cover 70,000 sq. ft. and house medical and professional offices, is opening at 12301 N. MoPac, near St. David’s North Austin Medical Center. Construction on the project, which is being developed by Live Oak-Gottesman LLC, could start by the end of this year, though officials working on the project said they have not yet confirmed a timeline. The developing company said the offices are meant to capitalize on the growth in medical fields occurring in northwest Austin. Visit www.liveoak.com.

4. High school theater

The Connally High School Theatre Department will soon take its act to the stage in Scotland. The department was selected to perform at the American High School Theatre Festival, which runs in conjunction with the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest performing arts festival in the world that takes place each August in Edinburgh, Scotland. Only 100 programs are selected in the U.S. and Canada from thousands of nominees. The group will perform in August 2010. To raise funds for the trip, the department is selling advertising space in its theater programs for the 2009-2010 school year. The school is located at 13212 N. Lamar Blvd. E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

5. New phone store opens

Cricket Mobile Link Wireless opened a new location recently at 13096 Research Blvd. The new store sells cellular phones and wireless accessories and is one of more than 40 locations in the Austin area. Call 252-8877 or visit www.mobilelinkusa.net.

6. Furniture store relocates

Cox Office Furniture recently moved from its location at 10938 Research Blvd. to 8650 Spicewood Springs Road, Ste. 140. The new store, which offers furniture from top name-brands, is roughly 10,000 sq. ft. As part of the move, the store has new hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store is closed Sundays. Call 345-7691 or visit www.coxofficefurniture.com.

7. Sewing to benefit charity

The Stitching Studio, located at 9725-B Anderson Mill Road, is offering new sewing classes at a reduced price that will benefit charities. The new “Beginner Garment Series” starts in July, and students will make children’s pajama pants for local charities, including SafePlace and Helping Hand Home. Materials and patterns for the project will be supplied by Charity Craft Volunteer Network, and proceeds from the class fees will be donated to help cover operating costs at the volunteer network. Call 219-0321 or visit www.austinstitchingstudio.com.

8. New townhomes

A new, 27-unit development in the Northwest Hills neighborhood opened in early June. The Bluffs at Balcones development, 6533 E. Hills Drive, is comprised of townhome-style units, mixing both modern and rustic looks with views of Austin’s skyline. Randy Ziehe, who grew up in northwest Austin and whose company, Spicewood Development Property, created the project, said the development used energy-efficient construction methods designed to lower households costs. Call 343-6533 or visit www.bluffsatbalcones.com.

9. Hospital earns award

Seton Northwest Hospital was recently recognized nationally for its critical care unit. The hospital, located at 11113 Research Blvd., received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Recipients of the award are measured on patient outcomes, healing environment, research and evidence-based practice, recruitment and retention, as well as other criteria. The hospital is a member of the Seton Family of Hospitals. Call 324-5826 or visit. www.seton.net/locations/northwest.

10. New library opens

The Austin Public Library recently celebrated the opening of its North Village Branch at 2505 Steck Ave. The newly constructed 11,000 sq. ft. library is replacing the 5,000 sq. ft. lease facility located in the North Star Home Shopping Center at 2139 W. Anderson Lane, where it has been located since 1971. Call 974-9960.

11. Children’s clothing store

Sabi Kids, a children’s clothing store, opened recently at 6507 Jester Blvd., Ste. 505-A in the Jester Village Shopping Center. The shop, owned by Janet Jones, offers the Keedo clothing line. Clothing at the store is available for children ranging from infants to 9 years old, she said. Call 465-2993 or visit www.sabikids.com.

Seton receives endowment

An emergency medicine group pledged $250,000 to the Seton Nurse Scholarship Endowment this month in memory of Rick Gastelum, a University Medical Center Brackenridge ER nurse who died in July 2007 from an accidental death at age 62. The donation was made by Emergency Service Partners, LP. To make a donation in memory of Gastelum, visit www.setonfund.org.

Making the Fortune 500

Three Central Texas-based companies made the annual Fortune 500 list. The businesses are Dell Inc., located at 1 Dell Way; Whole Foods, headquartered at 525 N. Lamar Blvd.; and Freescale Semiconductor Inc., which has a location at 7700 W. Parmer Lane.

Love your pets

Austin Pet Love, a local pet-sitting and home-monitoring company, recently expanded its service area to parts of northwest Austin. The company, created a year ago by Lisa Poth, previously served mostly west Austin. The service is now available to the 78750 and 78759 ZIP codes. Call 413-6592 or visit www.austinpetlove.com.

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