2020 Congress Condos

Purchasing a condo here has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in Austin. It’s a perfect location. It’s clean, and safe, and the neighbors are mature, kind, and quiet.

I bought my condo in August, and have loved every minute of it. We are on the third floor of building 3, so it’s indoors (like the hotel it was converted from). We have awesome neighbors/​community and no real issues. I’d love it if the neighborhood around would get cleaned up even more. We have hoodlums from the middle school across the street pass through twice a day which has caused some problems, but nothing too terrible. The location is awesome, and overall, my boyfriend and I love living here.

oh boy…
«I will revise this review, if the situation is rectified in the next hour or else…» situation got rectified in under 10 minutes!“
So before I could finish my sentence above, my cellphone rang and maintenance was on his way… it was a Saturday morning at 11A and I had to be downtown by 12N… the shower had no water coming out of the hot water side… I left a message at the end of the dreadfully long recording on the property vm. The maintenance guy called me within 5 mins of leaving the message and he was at the condo within 10 mins… he fixed the shower in 2 minutes. I made my 12n appt.
I’m not sure how much it costs to rent the condo’s but if it’s inexpensive, then this is a good alternative as long as you are no-​nonsense, want a kitchen and don’t need any amenities other than free wifi, fitness center and a pool. It’s bare bones but by no means awful. I’d say the website paints a fancier picture of the property and I think it’s a bit deceptive as the condo that I was in and the one my friend was in had no décor at all, no wall hangings, no rugs, no ambiance (and no hair dryer)… so if you can bring the ambiance (and a hair dryer) and it’s inexpensive, then I’d say go for it. It’s a block from Magnolia Café and a short walk to the shops on South Congress.
I posted photos of the condo I stayed in — room 1316.

I previously wrote a review but I see that it has been removed. Used to live here. The condos are decent, but mice filled. We had a huge mice problem for months and Kline Properties failed to address it. When our air condition broke they installed window units right below the rain gutters which resulted in a flooding of one of the bedrooms in our condo. The maggots had the nerve to charge us for the resulting ruined carpet. Total slumlords. You do however, get to live in «soco» for pretty darned cheap so I guess it depends on what you’re willing to put up with.

I’d like to say that we do not live here, and I am only able to review 2020 based upon one weekend experience.
My husband and I did a VRBO last weekend for his birthday and stayed in a 2020 condo. When we first arrived we were really impressed with the «modern» façade and the location.
The condo itself was small and cozy, a studio with one bathroom and a patio near the pool. The updated kitchen and bathroom were nice but kind of miss the mark on accomplishing the «modern» look. It still has the look and feel of an old apartment complex.
The pool was kind of dirty, but it was so hot outside, it felt nice to cool off. I think the pigeons felt the same as we were joined on a few occasions by some feathered friends.
One bad experience we had (which could entirely be an isolated incident) was with cockroaches. During our stay we saw two of the biggest ones I’d ever seen running around the condo. We were assured by the owner that he sprays regularly, so this could have been an anomaly, I can’t really say.
I have no idea what it costs to purchase one of these places, and I can’t really give you a full review based on having lived here. We of course did not deal with management, nor did we spend time at the fitness center or the laundry. But, if we were moving to Austin, I doubt we would consider living here.

As a owner I dont expect to find condos in the 78 704 zip code for these prices in the near future. Especially, near tear down homes that wont sell for under 200k.

This is a great place to live now that the units have been completely remodeled into luxury units! The area is very hip, and these condos are in the center of Austin’s coolest, up-​and-​coming neighborhood.
The management has done a lot to rehab EVERYTHING, including put in stainless appliances and a new central air unit. Best deal in 78 704 if you ask me…

(Ok, I’m going to copy the testimonial I gave on the 2020 Website because I’m lazy)
When I first moved to Austin for a job, I did some research online and found that South Congress looked like a great match for me. There were plenty of cool restaurants, coffee shops and stores all within walking distance — something which I value quite highly. The SoCo neighborhood is just close enough to downtown where you can walk to downtown on a nice day, take a quick bus, or a $ 5 cab ride. However, I do like trees, space, and quiet time when I’m sleeping, so downtown or East side living was not really for me. South Congress and South First offer a bunch of great dining and diversion options as well — so there isn’t always the need to go downtown for a fun distraction.
I lived on Congress Ave for 2 years, renting a somewhat overpriced apartment at the State House before deciding that it was time to start putting my housing money into owning a place of my own. I was pretty sure that I wanted a condo, although there are plenty of homogeneous-​looking beehive apartment complexes and condos in Austin, I really wanted something with a little more character than the standard-​issue 1980’s/1990’s cardboard-​built units. When driving down the street one day, I saw a sign at 2020 Congress for «Condos starting in the $ 90’s». Really? In this neighborhood? I had to check it out.
I met with a Realtor and walked through the three floor plans. I was quite impressed with the conversion and renovations they were doing on this quaint, older apartment complex. Everything was done is a pleasing contemporary décor, and there were nice small amenities like granite countertops, undermount sinks, real wood floors and stainless appliances. I also looked at several other condos in 78 704 within my price range and nothing really offered the same value or style. Even some of the brand new condos on the East side seemed to skimp on the flooring — offering «green» bamboo floors which I’ve read don’t last long and need to be replaced frequently.
You can’t get much more green than converting an older building into something new. 2020 has a shared HVAC chiller and boiler, which is certainly more efficient than having individual central air. There are also hookups in many of the units for a combo EnergyStar HE washer/​dryer. The Live Oak trees in the courtyard are large, beautiful and mature and create a canopy over the whole space. The downtown condo towers and east-​side projects can market themselves to be as «green» as they want, but in the end they are leveling land, not growing trees, and using many more materials than a renovation project does.
After some heavy thought, a pre-​sales contract signing and several months of renovations later, I was one of the first people to close and move in to 2020 in November, and have been loving it ever since. Though my old rented apartment was slightly closer to downtown, I actually find 2020 more convenient. I’m closer to HEB & CVS, 3 convenient stores within a 1 minute walk, and 2 outstanding taco stands and am now walking distance to an additional bus line which goes directly to my workplace. The rest of Congress Ave is right up the street — no less convenient than before. The low cost, however, is much much more convenient.
What would be the point of living in SoCo if you couldn’t afford to go out and enjoy it due to a jumbo mortgage? Moving to 2020 Congress allows me to afford to play where I live.
When I tell some co-​workers about my new home they inevitably ask about the square footage. Many are quite shocked that I would buy such a «small» condo and don’t understand how I could live in it. On the flipside, I have a hard time understanding how they put up with 60+ minute round-​trip commute times, lawn and exterior maintenance, and cleaning the interior of large cookie-​cutter homes built for five people but inhabited by just one or two. All to live in a neighborhood thats not close to anything and offers the «privacy» of just 10 feet between homes? No thanks. That may work well for families of four, but it isn’t for my single lifestyle. I prefer two feet less of counter space for a more suitable lifestyle. Its all about trade offs. Yes, the kitchen is smaller — but that also means that there is less to clean and when cooking everything is literally at arm’s reach. It turns out that after experiencing it, I actually prefer it to be a bit smaller — it just seems counter intuitive at first.
Now I’m building my own wealth through housing payments — not a rental management company’s. I get to change what I want to the interior of my condo. Hang shelves, paint, drill, add light fixtures. Best of all, I get the luxuries of a well-​maintained courtyard view without the responsibility of taking care of it myself — leaving extra time for an entertaining urban lifestyle or hosting friends for a cocktail party at my new home.

I am glad to hear that the new owners of 2020 renovated the property correctly. It is a great location and the prices for the condos seem great. My review was for the apartment complex and not the condos.

2020 Apartments is probably one of the most «Keep Austin Weird» places to live in Austin. I lived there for a year and half in the one bedroom courtyard apts and I was sad the leave. I now live at State House and really miss 2020, Just far enough away from the SOCO traffic but close enough just in case. Also it was nice to be able to walk to ⁷⁄₁₁ or Magnolia whenever I wanted, 4am or 4pm!

I lived in the studio apts. I liked my place but it was only temporary.
It was small but if you have a knack for decorating you can make it look decent. Overall it’s a cool neighborhood and close to everything, but it’s not worth the price for the age and condition it’s in.
Once a maintenance man was coming to fix my sink and when i got home i found a turd in my toilet that wasnt mine. Damn maintenance people!

Unfortunately, I used to live in this craphole. The regular apartments are okay size-​wise, but in very poor shape. Going condo will hopefully bring improvements. One word of advise… stay away from the studio apartments. Don’t rent one, don’t even visit a friend who lives in one. This place is a magnet for bums and crackheads. This is the reason I moved out! With the huge price increase on the studios and the rest of the place going condo, I’m sure there will be improvements in both the complex and residents, but in the meantime – stay away!