:haha: run for your lives!!

ya, that area could at some point be a mid-rise neighborhood, stair-stepping up the further it gets from the alamo. i doubt that it will be anything but more hotels, though, if that....i remember andres talking about how tall something has to be in order to be a money-winner...the land is so expensive that there has to be REALLY expensive residential (la cascada/alteza) or a ton of hotel rooms. a five-story building affords neither of those options.

Just think, if the Days Inn phenomenon continues to grow, they might just take over the city. The Days Inn could even take over the Grand Hyatt, assimilating all Hyatt employees into Days Inn employees. The Days Inn would then plant their sign atop the Grand Hyatt as a victory statement, claiming the city's tallest title for sure and slapping Marriott in the face to 2nd place. Beware of Days Inn. :evil:

I've always wondered about those two parking lots myself. Whatever is built there had better be attractive, because it would be on just about every postcard of the Alamo. That little fact would mean whatever is built would itself become quite famous.

^^^Shoot, forget the Hyatt, they should just turn the ToA into the Days Inn Observatory & Suites, with a big sunny flag floating in the breeze at 750 feet up. Maybe they could serve the continental breakfast at the bottom of the tower and turn the fountains in Hemisfair Park into a swimming pool.

:haha: good one

Days Inn actually has a new logo, a more cheery one compared to the dull black and yellow. I don't guess the dt Days Inns have changed their signs yet...

do i sense some love for days inn there...? we better keep an eye on you... ;)

they can take over whatever they want if it means they'd build something over those parking lots. the city should offer incentives for any DT building over a certain number of stories (8?) that goes up where there is currently surface parking.

:???: Which city are you talking about again?? I'm sorry, this is the San Antonio downtown discussion thread, and no such nonsense about government incentives for dense, vertical development is allowed. Power centers and suburban mid-rises only, please. Unless you're a hotel developer, in which case, feel free to build something 14-stories on the Riverwalk, as long as its in a neutral color and won't make an impact on the skyline.

/sarcasm

I love Days Inn!!!!!

J/K. I've never even stayed in one. I will say though, about an hour ago when I got on here, when I clicked on the TX/SC section there was an advertisement for Days Inn up at the top - new logo and everything ;) Coincidence? Or fate? :haha:

i imagined your old avatar as i read that beautiful rant. :tup:

we should hire d'antoni to go on the local news and complain about power centers and exurban, italian-themed condos until he's purple.:hell:

06/02/08 webcam view of The Vistana...found at http://thevistana.com/index.php/base/webcam

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...081500000N.jpg

^^^ I saw it Friday looking down Commerce...it's like a big dead end from that view so it's gonna be great for density. Also saw it coming into DT on I-10 and it's going to be great from that view as well.

Ya, from the west side, it will really impact the skyline tremendously. You probably won't see it from the east side - which makes it the perfect companion to Vidorra, which you can't see from the west side but looks like a beacon from the east.

Just as a throw-it-out-there type of question...who do we think is going to be living at Vistana - and what percentage of the residents might be UTSA-DT folks...?

If the response is really great, this could be the beginning of a small housing boom near UTSA-DT. I was reading their master plan the other day and they are eventually looking for something like 1500 beds down there for students. If the private sector builds them (as in Vistana) we could get some very nice additions to the area. And reaching for that number would give us something like the need for 3 more Vistanas...

Looks like they are on the 13 floor already!

This baby is 14 floors right?

The Vistana will be have 14 levels plus the 3 level tower that will be at the south west corner.

The tower will be one apt. unit with a balcony

Other buildings count all occupied levels, Vistana has 17. I am puzzled, so many insist on saying there are 14 floors in the development.

i guess everyone is preoccupied by the fact that the large floors end on 14 and the spire/penthouse is the final 3 floors.

so, 17 it is....keep us honest, schertz1.

The Dillard's in the Old Joske's is closing but for a good reason!




This is great news as this gives Ashkenazy much more room to play with in the redevelopment of Rivercenter Mall.

I thought they has build lofts on the top floors of the Dillards building. Our had plans for lofts at one point.

Taken by MiguelVazquez @ Flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/...01c552b9_b.jpg

There has been talk of lofts, but the new owners are going to focus mostly on the restaurants and retail. And the Fogo de Chao isn't actually going to be in the Joske's, it'll be at the entrance to the mall, like where the Hooters is.

Here's a newer version of the story with more detail .... http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/met...N.36e07ff.html

Late Dusk Photo
 

Hey where were you when you took that shot,
did you sneak into the Big Tex Grain Mill?
Or is it easy to access, or maybe you were in a helicopter?

Nice shot, I hate that most of the time the Grand Hyatt has to cover up the Marriott, I don't feel like we gained a new High rise building, it just seems like
we tore the Marriott down and built a new one.

Even from views from the North, Marriott is surrounded by the Hyatt that you
can't even notice that the Marriott is in front.

Also any word on the hotel that would replace the Rivercenter mall parking garage?