AUSTIN | Project Updates Thread Part II

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by Dcbrickley

Buy now. Ride the wave. There won’t be 15k people for years and years.

True, true. Guess I should hurry up and start a GoFundMe for that down payment . . . .

So that whole area is weird; Robinson Ranch is both huge and completely unconnected to the rest of the city. Apple HQ2 looks like it will only have one ingress/egress and that'll be out to Parmer. Which, at rush hour, is ALREADY hellish.

Part of me wonders if this breaks the seal on more Robinson Ranch planning or news to come. It would seem that a project like this will need more housing in the immediate area, will need more infrastructure than just the part the map is showing, and will need more commercial nearby, etc. Parmer itself is going to need a big rethink about how to deal with those increased trips.

What's clear from my conversations with neighbors is that everyone has really put Robinson Ranch out of their collective minds. It's just considered raw unused land that the trains come through. It feels very rural, even though on a map it's obviously just a big gap in the middle of the unbroken suburbs. No one anywhere has a master plan for what it will look like when it starts to be developed in earnest.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by We vs us

True, true. Guess I should hurry up and start a GoFundMe for that down payment . . . .

So that whole area is weird; Robinson Ranch is both huge and completely unconnected to the rest of the city. Apple HQ2 looks like it will only have one ingress/egress and that'll be out to Parmer. Which, at rush hour, is ALREADY hellish.

Part of me wonders if this breaks the seal on more Robinson Ranch planning or news to come. It would seem that a project like this will need more housing in the immediate area, will need more infrastructure than just the part the map is showing, and will need more commercial nearby, etc. Parmer itself is going to need a big rethink about how to deal with those increased trips.

What's clear from my conversations with neighbors is that everyone has really put Robinson Ranch out of their collective minds. It's just considered raw unused land that the trains come through. It feels very rural, even though on a map it's obviously just a big gap in the middle of the unbroken suburbs. No one anywhere has a master plan for what it will look like when it starts to be developed in earnest.

Robinson Ranch does have a master plan of sorts, but it is just at a zoning level, and not an urban design master plan. See the exhibits in the annexation agreement and note the densities allowed.

http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=82936

There was also a 'vision' done for the TOD area where the rail lines cross through Envision Central Texas, but I can't find a link to it now.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by We vs us

True, true. Guess I should hurry up and start a GoFundMe for that down payment . . . . .

Sure that could work, you can also dip into your 401k penalty free, or borrow from parents. Work ankther job till you save it.

I bought my first property with a buddy of mine. We bought a duplex. We ponied up 1.5% each for the dn payment. You can do it. I was a idiot and I did it. Not trying to be glib, you really can.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by We vs us

KUT's coverage has the first pic I've seen:

That's Robinson Ranch, aka Austin White Lime. It's been a long time since they carved off a piece of their property as large as that for commercial development. Of course it's a small piece compared to their overall property. And I know they were one of the sites pitched to Amazon by the Chamber.

Except for a pinky-toe of the first entrance, no part of the Apple campus is in Travis county. I do wonder what incentives the two counties offered Apple.

Edited to add: I answered my own question with google: https://communityimpact.com/austin/n...pus-in-austin/

In exchange for investing $400 million in purchasing the land and developing the campus as well as creating 4,000 new jobs, Williamson County would abate or reimburse 65 percent of ad valorem taxes for real and business personal property for 15 years, according to the proposed terms of the agreement.

County commissioners will vote on the Chapter 381 economic development agreement Dec. 18 and will comment on the deal after the vote.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by H2O

Robinson Ranch does have a master plan of sorts, but it is just at a zoning level, and not an urban design master plan. See the exhibits in the annexation agreement and note the densities allowed.

http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=82936

There was also a 'vision' done for the TOD area where the rail lines cross through Envision Central Texas, but I can't find a link to it now.

This is good to see. And honestly I assumed stuff like this was out there, anyway. I know that the city and the Robinsons have thought about preliminary questions, like: to which city does the land belong; what kind of development is -- broadly -- allowed; etc. But the Ranch needs much much more than this piecemeal development, where they release nibbles off of the ranch proper without any sort of broader goal or vision in mind. It's a recipe for disaster. Especially if a given nibble includes a corporate campus for 5k-7k new workers.

EDIT: on an unrelated note -- why would this parcel have a slice in Travis County, when the majority of it -- and all the buildings -- are very obviously built to be in Williamson County? what purpose does that empty land in Travis Co serve?

[The ATX]

The Statesman has an article about the state of the downtown housing market. Here are some highlights:

> 6 X Guadalupe breaks ground in the spring

> Genesis' (The Travis) is planning a 52-story tower (no mention of second tower)

> Genesis plans to start demo of the Villas on Town Lake in January with tower construction starting in 2nd Qtr.

https://gatehousenews.com/downtown-d.../statesman.com

[Echostatic]

Originally Posted by The ATX

The Statesman has an article about the state of the downtown housing market. Here are some highlights:

> 6 X Guadalupe breaks ground in the spring

> Genesis' (The Travis) is planning a 52-story tower (no mention of second tower)

> Genesis plans to start demo of the Villas on Town Lake in January with tower construction starting in 2nd Qtr.

https://gatehousenews.com/downtown-d.../statesman.com

Insert "It's happening!" GIF here

[ahealy]

[ahealy]

PS. Anyone notice the narrow blue strip of lighting on the Austonian last night? Appears they're wrapping the LED effect to include North/South parts of the crown.

[austlar1]

I seem to remember that the Austonian used blue and or red LED lighting around the crown when the building first opened. I think it even cycled back and forth between red and blue. Later it became just the white lighting of the crown.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by austlar1

I seem to remember that the Austonian used blue and or red LED lighting around the crown when the building first opened. I think it even cycled back and forth between red and blue. Later it became just the white lighting of the crown.

It is able to change in all colors and has done so a few times over the years but is very random, something that I don't understand at all. I mean if you're going to invest in lighting on a prominent building, you might as well use it all the time I say..

I don't think Austin has a system in place to coordinate with DT towers in lighting schemes like other cities do. It's a shame because I think our skyline looks great at night when all the building's are lit. Just looks too dark much of the time with even some of our most iconic buildings (One American Center and more recently the 100 Congress step pyramid) not lit up all the time like it once was. I was hoping maybe they were changing out the tube lighting for LED but doesn't appear like they have done anything.

[The ATX]

Here's a new site plan ap for a "multi-level condominimum" project called "17th Street Condominiums. This may be directly behind the "17th Street Hotel" (Hilton Garden) project.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...ertyrsn=943011

[Echostatic]

I noticed that there's scaffolding on the eastern side of Shore Condos. Anyone know what it's for? Are they doing renovations?

[Jdawgboy]

They are indeed putting in new lighting on the Austonian. I got a good look at it tonight. They are lining the very top of the crown and will include the north and south face.

[smith_atx]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

They are indeed putting in new lighting on the Austonian. I got a good look at it tonight. They are lining the very top of the crown and will include the north and south face.

Awesome!

[The ATX]

This could be the start of something big. A zoning change request was filed to rezone the Austin Symphony Orchestra Society building at the corner of 12th & Red River to CBD. That can only mean they are looking to develop the site or sell it to a developer. The ZC is being billed to Greystar Development. Due to a CVC, any tower built on it would have to be designed a la Block 87.

Here's the site from Streetview. It's right across 12th St. from the vaporous Hotel Mirabeau site. It is also adjacent to the Velocity Tower site (a.k.a. 610 East.) Velocity also submitted a site plan to build a four lane drive through bank on their 705 East site which was the Velocity "mid-rise" Tower site due to CVCs. So I suspect Velocity will be vacating their current bank at the 610 East site so it can be developed. Maybe both sites could be for a single project?

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by The ATX

This could be the start of something big. A zoning change request was filed to rezone the Austin Symphony Orchestra Society building at the corner of 12th & Red River to CBD. That can only mean they are looking to develop the site or sell it to a developer. The ZC is being billed to Greystar Development. Due to a CVC, any tower built on it would have to be designed a la Block 87.

Here's the site from Streetview. It's right across 12th St. from the vaporous Hotel Mirabeau site. It is also adjacent to the Velocity Tower site (a.k.a. 610 East.) Velocity also submitted a site plan to build a four lane drive through bank on their 705 East site which was the Velocity "mid-rise" Tower site due to CVCs. So I suspect Velocity will be vacating their current bank at the 610 East site so it can be developed. Maybe both sites could be for a single project?

Fun fact. Back in the 90s Austin Outyouth was in that building. I would go there occasionally. Just walking down memory lane. Will be interesting to see what is planned. Hopefully it will tie into Waller Creek and Waterloo Park.

[deerhoof]

District Cooling Plant #3

https://austinenergy.com/ae/about/be...strict-cooling

• Video Link

[austlar1]

Well, won't that be special.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Fun fact. Back in the 90s Austin Outyouth was in that building. I would go there occasionally. Just walking down memory lane. Will be interesting to see what is planned. Hopefully it will tie into Waller Creek and Waterloo Park.

Yeah, it was actually the home (mid 1990s) of the fairly short-lived Austin Gay and Lesbian Community Center. Waterloo Counseling was there too. AIDS Services may have operated out of there for a while also.