AUSTIN | Aloft Austin & Element Hotel Downtown | 328 FEET | 31 FLOORS | Complete

[futures]

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by futures

Awesome! So this might seem weird, and I'm going to get a closer look tomorrow but the crane pieces on the ZaZa site seemed to be gone today (I didn't have the best vantage point but I'm pretty sure it was as desolate today as its always been).

I also started thinking there is no way the site is at the point of a crane installation. They dug down a little on the North side before all the utility issues started, but there's no base for a crane whatsoever.

Then I saw this picture and that's the same blue portable crane vehicle and the same white steel pieces that were at ZaZa the other day. Is it possible they went to the wrong site, and then realized their mistake? It seems ridiculous but what else explains the equipment being removed from ZaZa.

[the Genral]

Then I saw this picture and that's the same blue portable crane vehicle and the same white steel pieces that were at ZaZa the other day. Is it possible they went to the wrong site, and then realized their mistake? It seems ridiculous but what else explains the equipment being removed from ZaZa.[/QUOTE]

I wanted to say something on the ZaZa thread about this but I didn't want to seem like a debbie downer, but I was going to say that I thought the ZaZa lot was being used as a staging area for the crane pieces destined for a different contruction site. If these are indeed those pieces, then I would have been a genius if I went through with that post.
Anyway, this is going to go up fast, perhaps 2 floors every 7 to 8 days once they get passed the first three or four. Topping out should be April - May, unless of course, they get the 2 to 3 man crew who worked on the library.

[KevinFromTexas]

Ah, that's what I thought. Those crane pieces at the Hotel ZaZa site seemed out of place since they hadn't even set up the crane bases yet. Also those looked to be at least double the height of the usual tower crane shafts - which are about 20 feet long. I didn't say anything, but I was assuming they were using the ZaZa site as a staging area for some other project. I'm surprised they used that site, though, since it's so far away from the Aloft location.

[JoninATX]

At least we can agree on is The Aloft/Element Hotel is moving forward. That picture just shows how dense Austin is getting.

[The ATX]

Blinded by the crane pieces. In hindsight, the fact that the three below ground parking levels haven't been excavated was a red flag.

[Flatiron]

It was interesting to see the crane get assembled yesterday:

[ivanwolf]

11/24/15
I can see this too, Crane up!

[Flatiron]

From tonight. (12/5/15)

[KevinFromTexas]

Man, that car that is about to clobber those pedestrians is about to get clobbered by that bus.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Man, that car that is about to clobber those pedestrians is about to get clobbered by that bus.

I'm Downtown at night and on weekends a lot because of work, and the amount of awful driving, bicycling, and pedestrianing I see is freaking amazing.

[KevinFromTexas]

Yeah, I see it all the time. Because I ride my bicycle a lot, I've become programmed to watch like a hawk. I notice dangerous driving and risky moves all the time. To say nothing of discourteous driving.

[drummer]

I know I bring up China a lot, but you guys come and spend a month or so riding your bike here (or driving, for that matter), and you go back to the States and think, "Man, these are the most courteous drivers in the world." It's amazing how perspective changes things.

But seriously, I second Kevin in that someone in that photo is about to get clobbered for sure.

[Jdawgboy]

I went out lastnight and was crossing Congress @ 5th and 3 cars turned as we were making our way across and it was our right away. It's very true that there are many wreckless drivers and im suprised more people aren't hit more often crossing the street but thank goodness it hasn't gotten to that point yet.

Still, the biggest issue in this city that's causing wrecks is simply wreckless driving. Common courtesy has really deteriorated and it's across the board with all kinds of drivers whether it's on the expressway or the average street. I'd go as far and say it's become worse than drunk driving since car ride companies like Uber and Lyft have really helped to drop the amount of drunk driving related incidents. Because of that drop, it's become very clear that there are a lot of people in this city who just don't care how they drive or whether they break the law and they just do it on purpose.

I say it's time to suspend licenses for bad driving much sooner like by the second offence. Tickets alone are not lessening the problem because people just don't care. They may care if they aren't allowed to drive for a few months and have to take a drivers ed course to jog their memories again about how to obay the law and drive safely.

Back to the Aloft hotel, I'm really curious how the south facing wall is going to end up looking? Could they figure out a way to lessen it's impact?

[Tech House]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

...the biggest issue in this city that's causing wrecks is simply wreckless driving.

That one misplaced w transforms an ordinary observation into an oxymoron.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Tech House

That one misplaced w transforms an ordinary observation into an oxymoron.

LOL. Nice catch.

[Flatiron]

This one should be above ground soon:

[Syndic]

From today, 12/24/15.

[Jdawgboy]

You know the blank wall is really going to stick out like a sore thumb from certain angles viewing the skyline. I parked at the garage by the Performing Arts and Palmer Events Center. I happened to notice that the crane was visible then realized that the south side will really stand out.

[Flatiron]

What is the black and yellow box rising out of the excavated area?