Austin: RG4N's plan is finally up

[M1EK]

Responsible Growth for Northcross' plan is finally up. (http://www.rg4n.org/about/vision)

Ignoring the ethical problems in deciding how somebody else should develop their property, I'd say this goes about halfway towards what they had claimed all along ("build something like the Triangle").

Good things:

Street grid
Vertical mix of uses

OK things:

Addresses some streets (not enough, but better than what's there now)

Bad things:

Not tall enough (Triangle Phase I is more dense than this; and upcoming buildings on that site are much bigger).

Conclusion:

I don't think this is a profitable project for a developer, especially at these heights. You won't be able to get Triangle-level rents this far from downtown; and you lose the ice-skating rink and (of course) the big anchor tenant.

[KevinFromTexas]

What are the planned heights so far? I really don't see why they don't start proposing and pushing for more 15 and 20-story buildings outside of downtown at developments like this. Even those numbers are low. Austin is the only major city in Texas that doesn't have a building over 175 feet outside of downtown. The nearest thing we have is the Hyatt at 182 feet and 17 floors. It is technically outside of the official downtown boundry lines, but not really outside of the "core" of the city. Other than that we don't have anything above 150 feet outside of downtown. This is an opportunity to build high-density, tall buildings right in the city where they'll be accepted more easily. I've also been disappointed with the heights at Mueller. I was expecting nothing less than 15 floors to 20 floors there, too. Considering developers had proposed building 25 to 30-story residential towers on the south shore of Town Lake at the former site of the City Coliseum, I can't believe these lower heights are being allowed by the city or proposed by the developers.

[M1EK]

What are the planned heights so far? I really don't see why they don't start proposing and pushing for more 15 and 20-story buildings outside of downtown at developments like this. Even those numbers are low. Austin is the only major city in Texas that doesn't have a building over 175 feet outside of downtown. The nearest thing we have is the Hyatt at 182 feet and 17 floors. It is technically outside of the official downtown boundry lines, but not really outside of the "core" of the city. Other than that we don't have anything above 150 feet outside of downtown. This is an opportunity to build high-density, tall buildings right in the city where they'll be accepted more easily. I've also been disappointed with the heights at Mueller. I was expecting nothing less than 15 floors to 20 floors there, too. Considering developers had proposed building 25 to 30-story residential towers on the south shore of Town Lake at the former site of the City Coliseum, I can't believe these lower heights are being allowed by the city or proposed by the developers.

Planning Commission is pushing for nodes of higher density ("activity centers") including obvious candidates like Concordia's I-35 @ 32nd site. The people around Northcross are loath to support something even 2-4 stories high; so don't hold your breath on that one.

[TDoss]

Responsible Growth for Northcross' plan is finally up. (http://www.rg4n.org/about/vision)

Ignoring the ethical problems in deciding how somebody else should develop their property, I'd say this goes about halfway towards what they had claimed all along ("build something like the Triangle").

Good things:

Street grid
Vertical mix of uses

OK things:

Addresses some streets (not enough, but better than what's there now)

Bad things:

Not tall enough (Triangle Phase I is more dense than this; and upcoming buildings on that site are much bigger).

Conclusion:

I don't think this is a profitable project for a developer, especially at these heights. You won't be able to get Triangle-level rents this far from downtown; and you lose the ice-skating rink and (of course) the big anchor tenant.


I just clicked on your link and am not getting anything

[rad707]

agree on the height. even going as high as eight stories across more of the footprint would change the viability of the site.

Don't like the streets as much. the grid is there, but it is offset from the rest of the neighborhood. this is a street-facing mall more than real integration.

[TDoss]

What is Lincoln Property group's position on doing a more innovative project?

[rad707]

What is Lincoln Property group's position on doing a more innovative project?

They claim they will negotiate, but will not negotiate the lease they have promised Wal-Mart. "Claim" is the key word. They still won't respond to sit-down requests from RG4N.

[Diddle E Squat]

Gee, just one more week until Responsible NIMBY's of Austin for Make Benefit Glorious Neighborhood of Northcross holds their 10-minute "Flabby Arms Across Northcross" protest. Followed by Bland-Aid that night.


"But say a prayer (say a prayer)
Pray for the Northcross ones
At Christmastime it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
Is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

And there won't be snow in Northcross this Christmastime
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
(Oooh) Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

(Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone
(Here's to them) underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Stop the Walmart
Let them know it's Christmastime again

Stop the Walmart
Let them know it's Christmastime again..."

[TDoss]

"Flabby Arms Across Northcross" :haha: - TOO FUNNY. That painted a vivid picture in my mind.

P.S. - Damn you - I am humming your catchy tune

[JAM]

HOME: MAY 4, 2007: NEWS
Developing Stories
A Public-Private Northcross?
BY KATHERINE GREGOR


http://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/c822/pols_develop-39126.jpeg
Council Member Jennifer Kim


Why can't Jennifer Kim find a co-sponsor on council for a resolution to explore a public-private partnership for the redevelopment of Northcross Mall? Paige Hill, a board member of Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N), offers an answer: "Everyone knows right now that we have a City Council that's not going to stand up for anything."

Sympathetic to RG4N's crusade for a superior redevelopment of Northcross Mall, without a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Kim had a resolution drafted several weeks ago and went shopping for a co-sponsor on council. The bright idea: The city of Austin could approach owner-developer Lincoln Property Co. with cash on the table as a potential project partner, as a way to gain needed leverage to affect the project (which the city now says it lacks, due to the developer having all needed entitlements). But to date, says Kim, no colleague has stepped up to co-sponsor the resolution so that it can be put on council's agenda for action.

A public component – such as a city community center or affordable housing – could in effect "buy down" the size of the planned 220,000-square-foot Wal-Mart, which RG4N and surrounding neighborhood associations oppose as being seriously out of scale with the neighborhood and its traffic capacity. Kim said she would favor the idea of a smaller Wal-Mart, such as a 100,000-square-foot grocery-only store, over the existing project – an idea that's fallen on deaf ears in Bentonville. "So far, they've been thumbing their noses at us," Kim said.

"The idea was to put the public-private option out there – for open discussion on the dais – and then try to get everyone to the table," Hill said. "The resolution would at least let the public know that 'we've legitimately tried everything' – not just pretended – but really tried – before we go to a lawsuit." RG4N and the Allendale Neighborhood Association are preparing to sue the city over Northcross. Council Member Brewster McCracken consistently has told RG4N he believes a lawsuit is the only tactic that realistically could change the outcome at Northcross, Hill said.

An open resolution at council also would defuse the underlying bugaboo: council members' paralyzing fears of being sued personally by Wal-Mart for contract interference. Kim said she was told by city legal that Mayor Will Wynn and Daryl Slusher were personally sued (alongside the city) by landowner S.R. Ridge in November 2003 for working to stop Wal-Mart from building over the Barton Springs Aquifer recharge zone; she also was warned by city attorneys that the city would not indemnify council members against being named individually in lawsuits, or cover their legal expenses, if they were sued for contract interference or taking sides. "That's why this resolution is important, so that both sides are openly engaged in the discussion," Kim said.

Understandably, no council member wants to risk hand-to-hand combat with the planet's biggest, baddest retailer. But Hill said her group questions the stern warnings from city legal, which they believe reflect Wal-Mart's fear tactics. Wal-Mart is represented on Northcross by real-estate attorney Richard Suttle, who has regular communication with city attorneys and upper management.

Hill also noted that even if Lincoln were to sell off the property right now, "Wal-Mart has the right of first refusal to buy, if Lincoln decides to sell. When we learned that, it opened our eyes to why Lincoln is making the decisions it is."

Kim said that in discussing the draft resolution to explore a public-private partnership, some colleagues questioned the potential legal costs; others said that without solid numbers and interest up front from Lincoln, the whole idea was akin to a fishing expedition. "Well, at some point you have to be willing to fish if you're going to get someone to bite," Hill said. "You're not going to catch any fish if you don't at least show up with a pole."

RG4N also is calling upon council to direct city staff to deny approval of a second site plan filed by Lincoln. RG4N said in a recent release, "Assistant City Manager Laura Huffman confirmed at the April 5, 2007, City Council meeting that a big-box site plan can be rejected on the basis of traffic impact." Kim said she also would support limiting the hours of operation citywide, for all big-box supercenters, new and existing, in the interest of public safety.

Next Thursday, May 10, RG4N will host a third Town Hall Meeting at 7pm at Grace Church of the Nazarene, 1006 W. Koenig. The group is seeking more hands-on volunteers. Topics for discussion include the forthcoming lawsuit, related fundraising needs, and an upcoming "Drive Away Wal-Mart" event to raise awareness of Wal-Mart's anticipated traffic impact, said RG4N's Jason Meeker. Activists plan to intentionally create a traffic jam at rush hour, on the streets surrounding Northcross, to vividly portray exactly what daily traffic could be like – based on realistic traffic counts for similar stores – if a Wal-Mart Supercenter is built at Northcross.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A471796

[KevinFromTexas]

Gee, just one more week until Responsible NIMBY's of Austin for Make Benefit Glorious Neighborhood of Northcross holds their 10-minute "Flabby Arms Across Northcross" protest. Followed by Bland-Aid that night.


"But say a prayer (say a prayer)
Pray for the Northcross ones
At Christmastime it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
Is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

And there won't be snow in Northcross this Christmastime
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
(Oooh) Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

(Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone
(Here's to them) underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Stop the Walmart
Let them know it's Christmastime again

Stop the Walmart
Let them know it's Christmastime again..."

Don't like flabby arms? Have no fear, come summertime there won't be any of those flabby-armed NIMBY's out there, thanks to the 95+ degree heat. Mark my words.