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[wwmiv]

The Trammell Crow proposal actually does a very good job at providing density and height. There is an affordability aspect that the city has guaranteed (this being a public-private project), which should ensure that downtown gets a boost of activity. There is plenty of shopping that will be tied into the project in ground level retail along second street. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Trammell Crow was actually the best proposal in terms of ground level retail space.

Architecturally, I found both Trammell Crow and Stratus to be cheap and un-inspiring. The Stratus proposal's box-like layering reminds me of the worst of the sixties and seventies, while Trammell Crow looks like it came right out of 40 years from now. Neither are appealing to me. I like big beautiful glass boxes like Frost or W or the now defunct AMOA tower. My favorite of the proposals in terms of architectural appeal was Forest City. Oh, and FWIW, that brown building from the Stratus proposal is probably the ugliest design I've seen besides Louisville's Museum Plaza.

[UrbanTrance]

The Stratus Proposal just looked more filling, but after looking into the Trammel Crow one, it seems pretty good.

[LeoZ]

Alright! I'm very excited about this new Seaholm District. Not only will it add density to and expand the skyline, but the buildings and the area simply look awesome. Very interesting idea to put in all that development next to a defunct power plant. I'm also glad that the Trammel Crow proposal was chosen!

[LeoZ]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Green proposal (with renderings) - and they're using one of priller's photos.
http://www.bcarc.com/Project/31/images/530

Not sure I'm digging that design. Looks too much like they dropped Downtown Dallas next to Downtown Austin.

I tell you what I am digging though: that conceptual rendering of a Downtown H-E-B! Now that would be useful.

[chancla]

Originally Posted by LeoZ

Not sure I'm digging that design. Looks too much like they dropped Downtown Dallas next to Downtown Austin.

Don't worry, this was not the winning design.

Originally Posted by LeoZ

I tell you what I am digging though: that conceptual rendering of a Downtown H-E-B! Now that would be useful.

HEB was a partner in the Stratus proposal which also did not win. There are no current plans to have a downtown HEB, although the company's CEO recently told the Statesman that he would like a downtown location.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

The Trammell Crow proposal actually does a very good job at providing density and height. There is an affordability aspect that the city has guaranteed (this being a public-private project), which should ensure that downtown gets a boost of activity. There is plenty of shopping that will be tied into the project in ground level retail along second street. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Trammell Crow was actually the best proposal in terms of ground level retail space.

Architecturally, I found both Trammell Crow and Stratus to be cheap and un-inspiring. The Stratus proposal's box-like layering reminds me of the worst of the sixties and seventies, while Trammell Crow looks like it came right out of 40 years from now. Neither are appealing to me. I like big beautiful glass boxes like Frost or W or the now defunct AMOA tower. My favorite of the proposals in terms of architectural appeal was Forest City. Oh, and FWIW, that brown building from the Stratus proposal is probably the ugliest design I've seen besides Louisville's Museum Plaza.

yes trammel does provide density but not to the extent of stratus. buildings are certainly tall but very narrow. i personally like the 60's style yet infused with something very modern and original. and the structure and texture of the buildings were more expressive. (if that means anything) the stratus provided a very significant different look... it's like vancouver but different. architecturally, i thought stratus provided more of a unified concept and it blends very very very well with what's already laid out in the surrounding areas, like wholefoods, the monarch and ideacity. trammel crowe doesn't do that... it's like trying to build a sears tower but the sears tower is fugly fugly fulgyyyy! bottom line i simply thought stratus proposal was more artsy and colorful and denser.

[Myomi]

You can say what you want about the design of the buildings and their artistic merits, but you can't make up stuff about one plan being denser than the other.

Trammell Crow's proposal comes in at more than 600,000 sq. ft. of additional development than Stratus. To put that into perspective, that's more than if you added the Frost Bank Building to the Stratus proposal. There are also over 1200 additional parking spaces. Those extra spaces are necessary to support all the additional people that will living and working downtown in this plan. Trammell Crow provides 400,000 additional square feet of office space, as well as 200,000 square feet of hotel space (something that is always in demand in Austin).

The only category that Stratus's beats Trammell Crow's proposal in is retail space. And the large majority of that was for the HEB. In terms of small shops and other pedestrian oriented retail spaces, they were equal (if not a slight edge for Trammell Crow). And as someone who lives on the east side of downtown, far far away from Whole Foods, I would actually prefer any HEB downtown to be further east, closer to all the residential near I-35. Maybe in a project near Rainey Street (fingers crossed). At the very least, that would spread the grocery stores around downtown, as opposed to having all of them
within blocks of each other.

Looking over all the proposals, the Stratus plan was actually the 4th densest of the plans. I am not entirely sold on the Trammell Crow plan's aesthetics, but I am really looking forward to the amount of actual space that it will be bringing to downtown. And it will be a lot of fun watching all those buildings go up!

[H2O]

^ you also should not take the initial architectural concept renderings at face value. Look at how much Block 21 changed from initial submission to final product.

[LeoZ]

Originally Posted by chancla

HEB was a partner in the Stratus proposal which also did not win. There are no current plans to have a downtown HEB, although the company's CEO recently told the Statesman that he would like a downtown location.

While I do like the Trammel Crow proposal, that's too bad that the H-E-B won't be included. At least there's some interest in the idea though. All the boutique shops and whatnot are great to have, but having basic stores like H-E-B, Target, etc. are a must.

[chancla]

With new safety measures in place, demolition of Green plant could resume next week
Project, stalled 3 months by concerns for workers, should not delay redevelopment, officials say

By Marty Toohey AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Published: 8:56 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010

After being stalled for nearly three months amid worker-safety violations, the dismantling of the downtown Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant could resume as soon as next week.

City officials have accepted a revised proposal from the contractor hired to perform the demolition, said Cynthia Jordan, a city official overseeing the project. The work is now scheduled to be finished by the end of summer, about six months behind schedule.

"We're treating this as a start-over," Jordan said. "The most important thing to us is and has been making sure we have a safe site."

The city hired contractor Austin Filter Systems to clear the treatment-plant site and prepare it for redevelopment. A mix of shops, condominiums, offices and shops is planned.

***

At the city's insistence, Austin Filter Systems fired the two subcontractors it deemed responsible, Hunter Demolition and Benitez Construction . The city also decided late last month to set aside an additional $525,000 to extend the contract of URS Corp., a firm handling engineering and safety inspections at the site.

Jordan said the delays will probably not affect the completion date for the Green redevelopment.

Last month, Fred Evins, the city employee overseeing the redevelopment, said Trammell Crow , the company selected by the city to carry out the redevelopment, had been having difficulty securing financing and probably would not be ready to start until the economy rebounds.

mtoohey@statesman.com; 445-3673

Find this article at:
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...of-273770.html

[KevinFromTexas]

I'm really looking forward to this project. Maybe more so than anything else. I'm also thinking that if anything over about 650 feet gets built there, I'll probably be able to see it from my street, since The Austonian shows up from the upper part of my street through the trees.

[Thymant]

So this proposal is already financed?

[BrandonJXN]

Off topic but this is one of the most beautiful renderings of ANY project I've seen in a while.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Thymant

So this proposal is already financed?

No. Trammell Crow is having difficulty securing financing, but I think once the economy begins a slow recovery that securing financing will be easy for this project.


Edit: I take this back. The language used (that they "had been having difficulty") suggests that they may in fact have already secured the necessary financing (so we don't know either way). I wish we had more concrete details. I can't wait to know definite height figures.

[ardecila]

Wow... I love these towers. Too bad the city chose Trammell Crow. The podiums really look like an extension of the bluffs along the Colorado Shoal Creek. You'd have to forbid those residents from removing their vines.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Wow... I love these towers. Too bad the city chose Trammell Crow. The podiums really look like an extension of the bluffs along the Colorado Shoal Creek. You'd have to forbid those residents from removing their vines.

Isn't that a rendering of the Trammel Crow project? I like the building myself and I am glad they chose Trammel Crow over Stratus.

[KevinFromTexas]

No, the one ThreeHundred reposted was the Stratus proposal. It was my favorite too. The designs of the buildings were great, not to mention a full service HEB (grocery store). I'm hopeful that something similar will be built.

[Jdawgboy]

Okay thanks for clearing that up for me. I like the Trammel Crow project because It has the tallest heights of buildings compared to the other projects. Im sorry but I still would rather have the tallest proposal over any others.

[wwmiv]

Friday, February 26, 2010
Major Austin downtown project hung up
Redevelopment of Green water plant site behind schedule

Negotiations between the City of Austin and the development team selected to redevelop the Green Water Treatment Plant downtown — already nine months behind schedule — do not have an end in sight.

...

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin...l?b=1267419600

[shakman]

I read the article... ...lovely