Zilkerites Love Zilker Elementary

From observing the Zilker list serve during this crisis, it’s clear: Zilkerites love their neighborhood and Zilker Elementary is a big part of that. Geographically, the school sits in the middle of the neighborhood. It’s connected to a lovely neighborhood park, Little Zilker. It’s not just parents with kids at, or soon to be at, the school…. My favorite signal of protest so far were all the hand-made signs done by the students themselves. “Save my school”. “But my brother needs to come here too.” etc. Everyone has been showing their support of the school.

Barton Hills and Zilker are Good Neighbors

Barton Hills is the neighborhood to the west of Zilker. Barton Hills is also at risk of losing their neighborhood school, Barton Hills Elementary. The two neighborhoods have banded together to share information about how to save both schools. Parents, neighbors, the PTA and the neighborhood association of each neighborhood are working tirelessly to ensure our schools stay open. It’s amazing to see such togetherness in the community, such tenacity and such action!

78704 Attracts Musicians

South Austin/78704 has often been considered a spot for musicians to live. At a rally to save the schools Tuesday, January 11, three local musicians sang. Ben Kweller, Matt the Electrician and Sarah Hickman all showed their support. How wonderful to have respected neighbors willing to lend their voice to the cause!

While budget shortfalls as large as this one are hard to overcome, it would be a shame to lose any of the neighborhood schools if they add to the community of Austin. Let’s hope for some good news soon! In the meantime, I’ll be cherishing my neighborhood and its people.

This morning on the Zilker list serve someone posted a note saying three roosters and chickens showed up in her back yard (was anyone missing theirs?) Later, someone posted that she was missing hers (popped the fence over a street, she said – has anyone seen them?)

On the list serve, plenty of information has passed about the standard stuff: lost dogs and cats, dogs and cats found, etc.

But also we’ve seen information about parrots in trees outside their kitchen window, a pack of parakeets (were they the ones released years ago? – no one could be sure), wandering peacocks (were they from Bouldin Creek’s Green Pasture restaurant? – no, called the owner, not theirs), a fox on the loose (keep your small pets inside!)….

When I first bought my property in Zilker, a neighbor from across the street startled me as I was checking my tire.

I was down low and felt like she was hovering over me. She had a parrot on her shoulder. If she noticed my surprise, she sure didn’t show it.

Later in the week, she brought her goat over to eat my grass. Saved me a mow.

And while I haven’t seen any pot-bellied pigs in Zilker, I have seen them, and turkeys, and bunnies, just one neighborhood over, in Bouldin.

78704? Full of interesting surprises. Gotta love it.

The Lowdown for this Zilker Property

2003 Ford St. Unit A is a 1950’s house that has 836 SF. It has great bones and HUGE closets (see photo). If someone gave it a bit of TLC, it would make a great home or rental. The main areas ready for updates are the kitchen, the floors, the interior walls (paint me happier colors!), exterior paint and the roof facia. The windows are the original aluminum casement windows. Most of the door frames and windows are metal. It has a great porch for sitting outside and watching all the kiddies walk to school.

Since this is such a fantastic location (see below), someone could also buy the property as a home to expand upon (we have plans we can share) or as a lot to build on. (A lot that has a rental property in back…. Segway….)

Unit B was completed in 1998 according to the tax records. It’s 608 SF with full bath and kitchen. It had a defined bedroom but the wall was taken down to use it as a music studio. Now it’s a large room. An owner could leave it or convert it back to what it was. It could be used as a home office or man cave and guest house. It could also be used to generate income as a rental or vacation rental.

Like I said, 2003 Ford St., while it needs some work and is being sold “as is”, has lots of potential.

The Zilker Neighborhood

Zilker is a wonderful neighborhood located south of (but up the hill from) Zilker park along S. Lamar. This means it’s just south of Downtown Austin with easy access to the S. Lamar bridge into Downtown Austin.

Awesome Zilker Street

2003 Ford St. is located in the Zilker neighborhood almost half way between the neighborhood’s Bluebonnet Market and Zilker Elementary (which, if you don’t know, I should tell you are very close). Good education and a small park, one way: convenience, the other. Not only is it a great Zilker location but, so far, our fellow Fordians are fabulous.

What’s nearby to enjoy?

Down the hill from Zilker are Barton Springs, Zilker Park, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, Austin’s Botanical Gardens and Barton Springs Rd’s Restaurant Row. And S. Lamar has a lot going for it: restaurants, bars, stores and the Saxon Pub are all within walking distance to Zilker residents. Lastly, there’s easy access Downtown Austin, Mo-Pac and Ben White Boulevard. Whole Foods, Central Market and the Barton Creek shopping mall are all about five minute drives.

Zilker Elementary

Right in the middle of the neighborhood is Zilker elementary, ranked Exemplary in the state and federal accountability rankings in 2010. Many of the parents in the neighborhood walk or bike their kids to school. Behind the elementary school is a lovely neighborhood park with playscapes. The park’s main grass area is used as an unofficial dog park and dog owner meetup.

This unit is a pocket listing meaning it’s not in the MLS yet. Contact me for more details.