There’s an adage that you hide in plain sight if you don’t want to be noticed. That’s why I think Elon needs this historic Austin pied-à-terre. He can keep his Starbase rental in South Texas, but everyone needs a place in Austin.
Whether you are a tech-savvy entrepreneur, a celebrity, an athlete, or a politician, privacy is at the top of the list when you are looking for a place to call home, especially a temporary home. Regardless of visibility status, most of us want to be in the heart of what’s going on, and frankly, if you are in the middle of a bustling city, people generally don’t notice you. Why do you think so many celebrities choose to live in New York? It’s about hiding in plain sight. It simply works, and there could be no better place in the capitol city to do that than this Austin pied-à-terre.
Opening straight onto Congress Avenue, you’d never know this home existed. The four-story building was built in 1874 as a retail space. After being damaged by a fire and abandoned, a clever buyer snapped it up, removed an unsympathetic 50s-era metal brise-soleil facade, renovated the interior, and restored the original stone embellishments on the exterior, thereby gaining historic status.
This Austin pied-à-terre is one of those extremely rare buildings zoned for commercial and residential use. In this era of work from home, you can genuinely keep business and home life on separate floors.
Virtual staging shows four different ways to use the first floor space
The home has a beautiful blend of original exposed stone walls with steel beams, glass panels, and clean lines. Natural light washes through the building from the windows on its west-facing front side and a series of skylights three stories high. One of the many highlights is that three of the four levels have kitchens! You can forget running downstairs or taking the elevator for that cup of coffee. Easy living is the catchphrase here.
The media room is flexible in use. 
It can be completely cloaked in darkness with floor-to-ceiling black-out curtains.
Of course, this four-story, 8,808 square-foot, five-bedroom, eight-bathroom (five full and three half-baths) Austin pied-à-terre is a smart home with state-of-the-art air and water filtration systems and all of your needs remotely controlled with the touch of a button. There is even parking for five cars, three in the garage and two in the alley, unheard of in downtown Austin!
What’s going to seal the deal for you, however, is the fourth floor. There is a rooftop deck, pool, spa, and lawn. Yes, I said lawn.
History and technology combined with luxury, what’s not to love Elon?
I suggest you grab this one before Elon comes to his senses. Give David Shaprio with Shapiro Real Estate Group at eXp Realty a call and enjoy hiding in plain sight at 811 Congress Avenue! He has this Austin pied-à-terre available to lease for $29,000 a month.
