SAN ANTONIO | Urban Core Development Thread - Page 101

sirkingwilliam · #**2001** Posted **Jun 14, 2009, 12:37 PM**

how long will you be in tokyo?

miaht82 · #**2002** Posted **Jun 14, 2009, 12:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

how long will you be in tokyo?

Hopefully through the end of July. It is amazing; so much to see, experience and learn. The density is ridiculous!! People everywhere!

tgannaway89 · #**2003** Posted **Jun 15, 2009, 12:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by miaht82

Its the interior parking garage for the apartments that are going to be built; similar to the Quarry Village. Around 250 units in 2 buildings. Like I said, the housing is slowly creeping in.

Isn't a large portion of that going to be section 8?

miaht82 · #**2004** Posted **Jun 15, 2009, 1:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

Isn't a large portion of that going to be section 8?

Actually, all phases are mixed-income, even the townhomes. 49 are going to be public housing, 12 will be affordable housing, and the rest, 184 will be market rate. Not exactly section 8 housing but it is a SAHA project, part of the reason it got the money to be built.

Having grown up in that area as a kid, I can tell you that this is definitely a step up from the 660 units that were public housing in the old Victoria Courts.

Most housing that takes place early in revitalization has to be affordable and at the most market rate. The goal is for SAHA to act as a sort of catalyst to increase density that will hopefully add to residential services needed in the DT area once a certain level of mass is acheived. Once there is an increase in density and resident services are added, then you can add the above-market-rate housing which is usually when the private projects come in to play. Its all a step in the entire process.

Keep this in mind becasue SAHA owns land on the Museum Reach and might be one of the first to announce a project in the area since they have more access to city grants, HUD grants and Federal funding.
Now I believe the entire Union Stockyards apartments are going to be entirely affordable housing.

The Model · #**2005** Posted **Jun 15, 2009, 6:35 PM**

I miss the old stock yards, I would like to see some historic photos of that area off of IH 35. As a child I remember it looking very industrial, and also remembering rolling up the windows.

sirkingwilliam · #**2006** Posted **Jun 15, 2009, 11:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

Isn't a large portion of that going to be section 8?

Short answer.

No.

jaga185 · #**2007** Posted **Jun 16, 2009, 6:32 AM**

Development eyes October restart

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...r_restart.html

"1221 Broadway may someday be offices, retail and apartments. There has been virtually no construction on it since October 2004 because of lawsuits, other disputes and financing problems."

miaht82 · #**2008** Posted **Jun 16, 2009, 9:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaga185

Development eyes October restart

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...r_restart.html

"1221 Broadway may someday be offices, retail and apartments. There has been virtually no construction on it since October 2004 because of lawsuits, other disputes and financing problems."

Just another example of how public programs are helping private developers to get projects moving. The numbers are going to pile up and things are definitely headed in the right direction.

The Model · #**2009** Posted **Jun 19, 2009, 2:41 PM**

Went pass downtown two days ago and notice the crane going up for the new justice center addition over of Nueva street and Main.

sakyle04 · #**2010** Posted **Jun 19, 2009, 3:44 PM**

Anyone have details on the tilt-wall construction going on at the victoria commons site closest to I-37?

The Model · #**2011** Posted **Jun 23, 2009, 5:10 PM**

Good Afternoon,
I posted a new SA skyline shot to my website this morning. I shot it yesterday from the southeast side of town near Fair Ave and New Braunfels.
Also Sunday I took a shot of the Vistana from a direction I'm sure you will all like, its also on my site. Enjoy

ooo0mercury0ooo · #**2012** Posted **Jun 23, 2009, 6:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Model

Good Afternoon,
I posted a new SA skyline shot to my website this morning. I shot it yesterday from the southeast side of town near Fair Ave and New Braunfels.
Also Sunday I took a shot of the Vistana from a direction I'm sure you will all like, its also on my site. Enjoy

Hey Model i wanna take a look at your website.. how can i access your website... lemme know please..

The Model · #**2013** Posted **Jun 24, 2009, 3:17 PM**

If you click on my user name, I have the address in my profile.
I got to go on the roof of the Miliam Building on Monday as well, so I will post some of those photos very soon as well.

ooo0mercury0ooo · #**2014** Posted **Jun 26, 2009, 4:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Model

If you click on my user name, I have the address in my profile.
I got to go on the roof of the Miliam Building on Monday as well, so I will post some of those photos very soon as well.

Thank you very much..cool pictures by the way.

necropolis · #**2015** Posted **Jun 27, 2009, 4:56 PM**

So as I crept over to look at the buildings under contruction on TX...over 400 ft and such I saw, well didn't see, that San Antonio was nowhere to be found. I know we have a few midrises ready to go soon but what awes people is height...the kind where you have to tilt ur neck to look up. I'm all for any development DT but height impresis people and attracts them to the core. People feel comfortable if they can relate a building to where they are at instead of midrises which will just blend in...again and again and again. So does anyone know of even the slightest proposal for future buildings that will stick out of the skyline...but hopefully not they way the Grand Hyatt jolts out. (though I must say that there are certain times during the day and evening that the Grand Hyatt doesnt look too bad). I guess I just want to know if SA is ready to move forward with the present and not play catch-up over and over.

sakyle04 · #**2016** Posted **Jun 27, 2009, 8:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by necropolis

So as I crept over to look at the buildings under contruction on TX...over 400 ft and such I saw, well didn't see, that San Antonio was nowhere to be found. I know we have a few midrises ready to go soon but what awes people is height...the kind where you have to tilt ur neck to look up. I'm all for any development DT but height impresis people and attracts them to the core. People feel comfortable if they can relate a building to where they are at instead of midrises which will just blend in...again and again and again. So does anyone know of even the slightest proposal for future buildings that will stick out of the skyline...but hopefully not they way the Grand Hyatt jolts out. (though I must say that there are certain times during the day and evening that the Grand Hyatt doesnt look too bad). I guess I just want to know if SA is ready to move forward with the present and not play catch-up over and over.

beggars can't be choosers...

there is the potential hotel tower at rivercenter (phase 3) which has no rendering, no flag, and no actual prospect of being a reality.

other than that, i only know of a few mid-rises speckled throughout DT that may or may not happen.

oldmanshirt · #**2017** Posted **Jun 28, 2009, 12:53 AM**

Nothing wrong with the skyline that filling in a few gaps couldn't fix.

I really think the only reason SA's skyline suffers is because its in the same state as Dallas and Houston. Among Southwestern cities its not noticeably lacking in height, and actually compares well with some larger cities/metro areas like Sacramento, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland. I'm talking pure height here, not urbanity or quality of downtown living or recreating.

I used to think SA needed to get some 500'-600' towers downtown like yesterday, but after seeing the quality and beauty that can go into a "short" development like the Vistana, I'm more of a mindset that a 17-25 story building can be just as good if it interacts well with the street and the surrounding buildings. Lets focus on getting people in downtown and eat up some surface parking however we can, and leave the you-know-what measuring to other cities

jaga185 · #**2018** Posted **Jun 28, 2009, 2:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanshirt

Lets focus on getting people in downtown and eat up some surface parking however we can, and leave the you-know-what measuring to other cities

necropolis · #**2019** Posted **Jun 28, 2009, 8:39 AM**

I used to be the other way around, haha. I loved SA's height until i finally did some exploring of other cities. SA is really missing out. I'm not asking for a 1000ft building, though that would be nice, but I do want to see omething stand out. One thing i did notice though is that our DT is slightly more spread out for its size which contributes the most to the way it looks. Ive been to many cities in the Midwest and East Coast and with buildings much closer they look larger and grander even though there are fewer of them which are shorter too. Any infill though is great. My greatest fear is that we are going to become too much of a tourist city to attract any major business to the core at least. I used to love going to the riverwalk until it got to the point where i Moved only 20 feet a min during the summer without risking falling in. I love the Vistana because it makes itself known...It was a bold attempt downtown which paid off incredibly. If more midrises could make themselves known as the Vistana did then we'd have one heck of a DT.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanshirt

Nothing wrong with the skyline that filling in a few gaps couldn't fix.

I really think the only reason SA's skyline suffers is because its in the same state as Dallas and Houston. Among Southwestern cities its not noticeably lacking in height, and actually compares well with some larger cities/metro areas like Sacramento, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland. I'm talking pure height here, not urbanity or quality of downtown living or recreating.

I used to think SA needed to get some 500'-600' towers downtown like yesterday, but after seeing the quality and beauty that can go into a "short" development like the Vistana, I'm more of a mindset that a 17-25 story building can be just as good if it interacts well with the street and the surrounding buildings. Lets focus on getting people in downtown and eat up some surface parking however we can, and leave the you-know-what measuring to other cities

miaht82 · #**2020** Posted **Jun 28, 2009, 2:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldmanshirt

Nothing wrong with the skyline that filling in a few gaps couldn't fix.

I really think the only reason SA's skyline suffers is because its in the same state as Dallas and Houston. Among Southwestern cities its not noticeably lacking in height, and actually compares well with some larger cities/metro areas like Sacramento, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland. I'm talking pure height here, not urbanity or quality of downtown living or recreating.

I used to think SA needed to get some 500'-600' towers downtown like yesterday, but after seeing the quality and beauty that can go into a "short" development like the Vistana, I'm more of a mindset that a 17-25 story building can be just as good if it interacts well with the street and the surrounding buildings. Lets focus on getting people in downtown and eat up some surface parking however we can, and leave the you-know-what measuring to other cities

(here I go)
This is true, height adds to the look, not so much the feel of a "DT" area.
I've been in Tokyo now for a month and have made MANY observations of what is possibly the closest thing to perfect urbanity in the world.
Height has nothing to do with anything but office space. This is never more noticeable than in Tokyo City, CBD. I went there on a Sunday and it was dead. Nice skyline, (city and Nissan Skyline GTR's too) but it just lacked that something that the midrise apartments add to every other "city" that has a major train station. You can google image some of these; Yokohama, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Fujisawa, Akihabara, Roppongi, Ginza and they can all be interchangeable. These cities/stations, are only about 2-3 km apart and repeat about 20 or so times in the entire metro area. Almost like a shopping mall in the US. The only thing that is different is the things that within walking distance, whether it be landmarks, or certain office buildings or parks or "specific" districts (such as electric town, kitchen district, high-end shopping, cool tokyo). But when you look outside of these shopping areas (usually about 16 blocks or so of retail and more) there are the 3 or 4 blocks deep, when looking at radius, of high to midrise housing. Even the smaller stations have small shopping areas around them with mid-rise housing around that.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that skyscraping offices are not really necessary to have a nice urban area. The surely add to it, but new offices are almost the last step in revitalization, only after the old offices have been converted into quick housing and then new office space becomes necessary.
It would look nice, but I'd rather see more MF housing in empty lots or unused lots; build up that density.