I've been thinking the same thing - for the past two years.

Getting close (10/10/16):

http://i.imgur.com/7U5IEBDh.jpg

Demo was 4th quarter of 2014. It effectively started then and was supposed to be delivered mid-2017 which sticks with the standard 2-year construction timeline for a project this size. I know there were utility issues, some flooding but what is going on? I walk by this site daily and it's always very active. There was a quote by one of the developers in the summer of 2014 saying that it'd peak above the hole around November. November of LAST year. I'm a little impatient because I'm really looking forward to this one, but I'm also confounded. It's a small footprint and they've been plugging away at the garage for what? Six months? They hit the bottom of the site a long time ago. Serious question: Are they giving off the illusion of serious activity but stalling because of financing. I'm sure they were advertising a 2017 finish to prospective buyers. This is easily 18 months off. 4th Quarter 2018 at the earliest.

Informal Poll:

Will the Independent top out before this one moves above street level?

A) Yes
B) No

Haha, I'll take a risk: A) Yes

No way. I'm no expert, but there could be factors that could slow construction, at this point we should be able to rule out financing since they wouldn't have gotten this far without it. So, it may be simply taken this long to construct the underground structure, there could be a labor shortage or dispute, there could have been a quality control issue or safety issue, they could be purposely slowing down contruction to push back the completion time, late material arrivals, poor management, the Longhorn defense and Charlie Strong (seems everyone is blaming them for something so I thought I'd throw that in). I'm going with; it takes a while to construct a deep underground structure. Maybe it takes longer for the concrete to cure with little to no air circulation. And this is the foundation of the entire tower and needs to be strong and water tight, (my Captain Obvious conclusion). You can't rush this critical component of this building. This will be poking out of the ground and well on its way up by 1st quarter 2017. Independent will only be starting to make its mark on the skyline. My prediction for the end of the 1st quarter 2017, Independant - 21, Fifth & West - 11, weather permitting.

LOL about Charlie Strong! Yeah, a pollution charge involving Shoal Creek was brought against them in early June. They had a lot of difficultly with groundwater seeping into the site so I bet a lot of the delay had to do with the fact that they were basically working in a mud pit. My point was more that it appears extremely active when I walk by it so I didn't think labor or time spent were an issue. Just thought five parking levels would rise faster. I was totally kidding about the Independent topping out before this one peaked above ground haha. I agree with your assessment. The Independent is almost to the third floor of the parking poduim and the actual tower portion is small enough that it should rise very quickly. 5th and West has the slant due to the CVC, which reduces its footprint considerably. Once this one does go vertical, shouldn't be more than 12 or so months to top out. Like you said, weather permitting.

From what I've gathered is we are dealing with a shortage of construction workers and it's not just in Austin but other Texas cities as well. It's so bad that some sites have security guards during the day to keep contractors from "poaching" workers by offering them better pay.

It may not be the only reason but I have a feeling it's a big one.

True, seen it happened when I worked construction back 10yrs ago. They would come on site to offer better pay, my boss would always threaten them. I gotta say those were some good times. :haha:

Anyways I do agree Jdawgboy that there's a construction shortage not only in Austin, but Texas as a whole. With Austin Proper and 3rd & Shoal now starting, I wonder who's project going to move the fastest? Also the slowest?

If I remember the Element/Aloft started a floor or so under ground and has nearly topped out in the time it has taken them to dig the hole and get to ground level...

I do think the challenge with the flooding and design of the flood gate were their initial issues, I also think they have a very tight space to work in one of the smallest footprints of a building, I would think deliveries and such is a nightmare to coordinate along with limited projects going on at one time with a potential shortage of workers.

The construction fence was partially down yesterday for some reason. I see rebar (10/26/16):

http://i.imgur.com/PixwBCUh.jpg

Yay! It's finally reaching to the top of the pit.

They have a webcam, but it apparently is not setup for public access. Here's a time lapse Vimeo video from the webcam. They also have the video on their website and Facebook page.

https://vimeo.com/190289181

Nice to see it finally rising out of the ground.

The link on their Facebook page to the timelapse view from the webcam refreshes once per day. So that's better than nothing. We should see the ZaZa crane in either the Saturday or Sunday refresh:

https://www.5thandwest.com/construction-time-lapse/

Excited for ZaZa as well. Been a long time coming, more like long over due.

Zaza has been on the same space-time continuum as Fifth & West. The only difference is that Fifth & West has had continuous albeit very slow progress.

True, but I just glad both are starting to see noticeable progress.

It seems to be moving at a snail's pace. Would like to see a little more activity. At this rate the Independent will be topped out before 5th and West.

Maybe it will start to move faster now that it's above ground.

http://i.imgur.com/nSLygYs.jpg?1

Not as long as 2 out of the 4 workers are just sitting there. The 360 in the background reminds me of the cheese grater I just bought.