Yeah, the design is a whole lotta meh. I hope it doesn't even crack 200 feet. This won't be real tall, so it won't show up too much (comparing it to The Shore next to it), so it won't be too bad. But really, I wish developers and architects took into consideration more that their building when in a prime and prominent spot in downtown, will show up in a major way on the skyline. I just really don't want a bunch of so-so buildings being the face of our skyline.
Take 21Rio for instance, while pretty bland and tall, it doesn't really harm the skyline all that much because of its location. It's sort of tucked away and forgotten sometimes. But if that building had been built along the waterfront, it would be awful. This new hotel isn't horrible, but it does make me think of some of the highrises on the UT Campus that were built in the 70s.
I was a big fan of the original design which I thought was one of the best ones we'd seen up to that point.
Here was the original design. 29 floors and 340 feet tall from what I remember.
Showing the new tower next to The Shore.