Major League Soccer is the best fit for Austin and it could certainly be placed somewhere between here and S.A. I think that could be totally feasable within the next 10 years. As far as the other pro sports go I think the only one with a remote chance would be MLB (yawn), again probably between the 2 cities. But to be honest I am more than happy F1 is here, it is unique, just like ATX and MLS would also be something a little different, as far as the other ones go I could care less. Regardless of if F1 does well in the future, I am sure it will bring tons of money to the area this year and even more tourist money in the future as it is held in the world stage.

I think San Antonio would be next in line after L.A. for an NFL team. One reason is because that city wants it. Austin doesn't seem to care. But the main problem is that the Cowboys and Texans have the political clout in the NFL to prevent a third team in Texas. There are millions of Cowboy fans outside of DFW, and they don't want to lose them.

That's the general consensus and perhaps the major reason why Austin will never get a sports team. Probably not in my lifetime and I'm only 28.

Some crazy person yelling at birds???

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...25394286_n.jpg

3rd & Brazos tower gaining height
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...02222549_n.jpg

Back side of the tower
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...50284822_n.jpg

"Tree" 336 VMU project update

http://www.bigreddog.com/wordpress/w...b-1024x392.jpg

http://www.bigreddog.com/wordpress/w...3-1024x768.jpg

http://www.bigreddog.com/wordpress/w...0-1024x767.jpg

http://www.bigreddog.com/constructio...-austin-texas/

Actually the most likely area any new stadiums would be build near the Circuit of the Americas.

ha! that's mild in comparison to things I see here in the tenderloin neighborhood.

People like that is one good reason to keep Austin weird. :tup: I've heard people in SF can get down right weird at times as wel. Several months ago I saw this guy half naked, singing more like screaming something about crack.

I personally feel that Austin is tame in its eccentricity in comparison to San Francisco. It's too in your face here, while Austin's is friendly. Every now and then you'll find something similar in Austin to what you see here.

I was walking in the tenderloin once at around 2pm.. and a guy totally out of it was peeing in the middle of the street. I mean, this dude totally had no shame. He was aiming at the street, mind you, not the wall or a corner! haha crazy

I like Austin's weird better, if you ask me. :)

F1 has a long history of failure in the United States. LA couldn't make it work...Phoenix couldn't...Indy couldn't. If Austin can, great, but call me skeptical.

WRT pro sports teams, I'm talking about the big 3 in general, MLB, NBA, and the NFL. The NFL simply won't happen, because of the Cowboys and Texans not allowing it and because of competition with the Horns.

WRT the NBA, there's already a team within 75 miles. The Spurs will never allow Austin to get a team. They are inside the blackout zone. The only way Austin gets a team is if they build a free stadium for the Spurs and give them a billion dollars, and get the Spurs to move up I-35. If you are using the Kings as an example, you might want to realize that they are losing money in Sacramento, and are threatening to bail out.

And baseball isn't going to happen either. Austin is far too small for today's MLB.

This is just reality. There are three larger markets within 3 hours of Austin. Austin's a great place, a special place, but there are enormous hurdles for major sports teams. I wouldn't be surprised if Austin tried to get an MLS team, or even maybe tried to lure an NHL team, but it's going to take big public bucks, something Austin generally hasn't been interested in doing.

Skyhouse and Green
 

Does anyone have any info on Austin Skyhouse? I believe I read a post that they hadn't gotten their site plan approved yet. They are supposed to start work this month, right?

And I've been wondering what the group's thoughts are on the Green site. Which building do you think Trammel will start first? My bet is Block One next to San Antonio/Cesar. Thoughts?

Funny you should ask.

Developers to plead guility to fraud charges related to stalled Concordia project
By Shonda Novak
American-Statesman Staff
July 6, 2012

Progress of the new student housing on Rio Grande and 22 1/2.

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...75773755_n.jpg

:previous:Which project is that? Is it even listed in the Under Contruction section of this thread?

This one

JoninATX says it's at Rio Grande and 22 1/2 St. The construction link says it's on San Antonio St. That's a two block difference.

It's not listed, I'll talk to a construction worker or the project manager on what's being built.

Amstar and Transwestern to Build Mixed-Use Apartment Property on South Lamar in Austin

http://www.amstar.com/images/uploads...oke-Austin.jpg

http://www.amstarglobal.com/index.ph...on-south-lama/

Camden Lamar Heights

http://camdenlamarheights.squarespac...=1339789441966

http://camdenlamarheights.squarespac...=1339789511199

http://www.camdenlamarheights.com/

Okay you seem to not realize one huge difference. No other city has EVER had a purpose built specifically for F1 race track in the United Sates EVER. So naming every other city that has tried F1 is a waste of time because NONE of them had an international grade racetrack that was specifically designed for the top racing circuit on Earth so before you judge lets see how actually having a real international grade racetrack in this country works before automatically saying it wont work because we are not those other cities.

Exactly.

Hey Hill Country, I was trying to send you some info in PM but u don't have that option.

I have briefly enabled that option. (I disabled it because I am not liked by Detroit and San Antonio forummers. :))

Very cool! This is at the site of an old strip center, which is currently in demolition. I was wondering what plans were afoot for the property, which is at the NW corner of Lamar and North Loop, a few blocks north of the Triangle.

Lol fell asleep was about send the info now and u already disabled it.

i don't know if you read into what i said when i said that if austin's metro grew within a decade how then are there still no options for austin to ever having a major league team?

the only thing i can see is if austin just doesn't want a team and that seems like the more plausible reason. austin is quickly growing and having the spurs right around the corner doesn't really say much. and sure, sacramento is about to leave, but they still had the kings for a good time now. there may be other factors at play other than the bay area being 90 miles away. there's still other teams that can fit this example... the Thunder, for instance, they're only 3 hours away from DFW and that's probably closer than austin. hell, even new orleans has 2 teams in a population much smaller than austin's, even metro-wise. i mean we could go on. for anyone to rationalize must be the perfect storm for a metro of 2 million to never have a pro-sports team.

you realize how many cities much much smaller in metro size have a baseball team over austin? are we still going to factor in the spurs when they're a basketball team and not a baseball team? how does that work? people in austin are spurs fans, what makes anyone think san antonio citizens will not be fans of any baseball team that austin will ever have?

basically, what i'm saying is that it makes total sense what you're saying, but having that continue in one of the top 3 fastest growing regions, how does anyone rationalize that the possibilities of austin ever having a team will continue? do you think austin will ever get a pro sports team in 50 years?

let's recap: Austin is the city in a perfect storm to not have a pro-sports team, but also in a perfect storm to have everything else working in its favor making top lists after top lists. go figure.

wow! i just had that experience myself!

I would hardly say Indy was a failure. They just wouldn't play ball with the FIA fees and lost the race. They also had some very specific trouble in 2004 you should look into.

The remainder of the attempts at F1 in the us in the 80s and 90s ( you left out Vegas) were poorly planned at best and didn't have any facilities.

f1 also has a long standing successful history in the US in upstate NY.

http://camdenlamarheights.squarespac...=1339789511199

http://austin.apartmentlovers.com/bl...n-TX-78701.jpg

That looks almost exactly like the Pressler apartments.

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...t/298e9817.jpg

Here is a rendering (actually its an "elevation" but that just means a rendering from the side) of the Amstar/Transwestern South Lamar project - it will be called "The 704". I know you can't see the details very well but I couldn't post the rendering as a picture because it is HUGE. Below is a link to the big JPG if you are interested at looking more closely at it.

http://www.transwestern.net/Flyers/A...-Rendering.jpg

Im not liked either by certain other forumers :D. But nobody dares to send me pm's so I leave mine on.

Not to mention...The F1 drivers actually tried to boycott the US Grand Prix in Dallas due to safety issues!!!

The most recent US Grand Prix was run on the true circular course of Indianapolis.

Just a random thought.....How many other cities have so many liquor companies like we do. So many have popped up over the past few years....And even breweries are finally getting to where it should have been a decade ago.
My favorite local beer is the Live Oak Pilz and my favorite liquor is Deep Eddy Vodka...:)

Supposedly more beer is brewed in Denver than anywhere else.

And oh yes, Live Oak is the best. Try one at Opals with one of their burgers. Oh man.

I've heard Portland is also a notoriously big brewing city.

And Draught House is awesome too.

Yea, both Denver and Portland are great beer cities....What about liquor??

Portland is a great beer town. :)

They may make more in Denver, but Portland would get my vote for the best beer town in the US.

Edit: Ah, I see what you are saying Nix. Including liquor, Austin does great.

The apartment occupancy rate in Austin is at 97.8 percent now. There's obviously demand, now let's see if these projects can get financed. Even with 10,000 units under construction right now, the demand is still outpacing the supply.

This article includes a list of projects that are either under construction and planned.

http://www.statesman.com/business/re...inglePage=true

As a renter, this is the one thing I'm starting to not like about Austin. My rent already went up 19% this past January - from $1.16 per square foot to $1.38 per square foot. (On the bright side, they took away the original 1984 Whirlpool appliances and gave me new ones that are more energy efficient.)

Here's 3 links to some earlier articles from April & June. (I think the Austin Business Journal articles are old enough that you can read the whole article without being a subscriber - at least I can.)

Buildings to flank Broken Spoke
Legendary country dance hall to be surrounded but won’t be touched
April 13, 2012
Vicky Garza - Austin Business Journal

And now we're already over 97% and 2013 is months away.

As South Lamar grows, locals express concern
by Andrea Leptinsky
Community Impact
April 27, 2012

I'm not sure if this idea would work or not, but I'd like to see a development that only had enough parking for maybe 75% of the residents. The actual living units could be priced the same for everyone, but the ones who had cars and needed parking would have to pay extra for their parking spaces.

Apartment construction resurging in a big way
Pent-up demand for multifamily housing could take three to four years to catch up with
June 1, 2012
Jan Buchholz - Austin Business Journal

[QUOTE from LoneStarMike - "I'm not sure if this idea would work or not, but I'd like to see a development that only had enough parking for maybe 75% of the residents. The actual living units could be priced the same for everyone, but the ones who had cars and needed parking would have to pay extra for their parking spaces." QUOTE]

I agree! Allow me to rant for a minute....But where are the options for commuting? Nearly everyone MUST use a car to get around.

I truly hope Cap Metro and the residents in its service area "grow up" to the fact we need an efficient fixed rail plan to reach all parts of the area...and beyond. Without the option of a fixed rail system plan in place already, we are creating a future nightmare of traffic by not directing density to transportation nodes. All these new apartments are just adding more automobile traffic to existing/new roads.

South Lamar is a classic example of the past short mindedness of elected officials and local residents. Barton Skyway/Lightsey/Woodward were to be connected to allow traffic to move from MoPac to I35 on one roadway. However, the powers that be in the 1970's choose to not follow through and in 2012 ALL traffic to MoPac must travel along Lamar to Loop360 or Barton Springs to use the freeway.

We are committing the same craziness now by not insisting on a fixed rail option to move folks around and locate density by the stations.

The plan to move folk from downtown to the airport on a street car along Riverside Drive helps....however it will be a slow train. At least the new residents of all the apartments going up and planned in the corridor will have an option. We as a voting public need to be insisting on the past proposal to run fast Light Rail through East Austin (on existing right-of-way of the Red Line) then across the river south straight into the airport. Then someone in Leander might be able to get to the airport without a car trip. NO ONE is crazy enough to ride the Red Line to downtown Austin then Transfer to a Street Car to get to the airport.

OK my RANT is over! We are going to continue to see lots of population increase in our metro area...see a lot of new mid/high rise buildings. We can direct them to be built at transportation nodes or allow them to just be built where ever. I hope we the people see the wisdom of investing in a region wide - intermodal approach.

One thing, though, I can see all these new urban apartment buildings on the major arteries like Lamar, Congress and Riverside organizing and encouraging people to vote for urban rail and to call for its implementation. What's the point in renting or buying an urban location if it doesn't come with urban transportation? If I were a property manager or developer I'd also be on board for demanding urban rail.

My friends mom was paying $650 for her one bedroom apartment in north Austin last year, and now shes paying nearly $900 a month thats outrageous. I also agree even if Austin population starts to slow it will take several years for Austin to catch up where it needs to be.

[QUOTE=JoninATX;5765855]My friends mom was paying $650 for her one bedroom apartment in north Austin last year, and now shes paying nearly $900 a month thats outrageous.QUOTE]

YES IT IS....however if her apartment is owned by a corporation instead of an individual or partnership then the profit issue is what is in play. A corporation exists to return a maximum profit to the investors. No personal compassion for the folk who cannot afford the going rate matters! A family member of mine had to move out of a....run down efficiency in the 78704 zip because the partnership-owners decided to hire a corporate type leasing company for the 10 unit building and the going rate went through the roof.

As our population continues to explode the pressure on housing costs will increase. Most new apartments will be corporate built/owned and cost a lot to rent. Existing apartments will change ownership to corporations to be renovated or torn down to build more profitable units for the owner. Riverside Drive!!!! South Lamar!!!! And the other older stock everywhere is then worth more per/sq./ft. because more and more folk are moving here. We are at 97.8% occupied apartment rates right now.

This cycle will eventually push the reasonable affordable units to the fringes where everyone will need a car to commute. The very folk who need to be located near mass transit will eventually be forced out of the mass transit available areas. Community and social issues are very important long term for stability in any city...here in Texas, however the rights of the property owner is what matters most. Affordable housing in Austin...get a car or a third job to afford a more central location.

And I need to move my elderly mom to the area. Well we can not afford anything central now. I hear ya JoninATX...I hear ya!

Preach it, brother! :) I'm on S. Lamar just north of Ben White behind Brodie Oaks Shopping Center and I haven't had a car the entire 14 years I've lived in this complex. While I agree that most people need a car to get around, there are still some (like me) that don't. Many of my neighbors are elderly, retired and on a fixed income and don't have cars. Capital Metro isn't convenient at times, but that's a sacrifice I (and they) make to live here.

That project planned for the Broken Spoke is just south of the Corners Shopping Center (Half Price books, the new Kerbey Lane Cafe', etc.) 7 blocks south of Walgreen's & Maria's Taca Xpress, and about 8 blocks north of Brodie Oaks & Lake Hills Shopping Centers. It's also within walking distance of the #3 bus to downtown, the 338 up Lamar to Ladybird Lake and beyond (all the way to Hancock Center) and the 331 that goes out Oltorf (past the HEB at Congress & Oltorf all the way to ACC Riverside Campus.)

So let's say you had a typical one-bedroom apartment there for $900.00 and it came with one parking space. A married couple in a one bedroom with two cars could pay a 10% premium, and a person without a car could get a 10% discount.

So you'd end up with:

1. One person with no car pays $810.00 per month
2. One person (or a couple) with only one car would pay $900.00 per month.
3. Couple with 2 cars pays $990.00 per month.

(I'm just using the $900.00 base price as an example - it would probably be more.)

Something else I'd like to see is just a basic (as opposed to a "luxury") apartment. I don't need granite counter tops or stained concrete floors. Formica & cheap carpet is fine with me. (It's what I have now) and I also don't need a pool or a workout room.

Remember when Spring was first proposed? They weren't going to have a pool or a gym - making them affordable for the teacher or firefighter, etc. That didn't happen.

The more rents go up, the less discretionary income people have to spend at all this planned retail, too.

OK, now MY rant is over. :D

There was an article last month in the Statesman about that;


Bridge to somewhere went nowhere: the story of Barton Skyway
Ben Wear, Getting There
Austin American Statesman
June 17, 2012

Right now kind of reminds me of the 1990's when I was 18. In the early 90's the vacancy rate fell to 3.6% and when I was 18 I could not find a two bedroom anywhere between North Loop an Ben White for less than $800. I ended up paying $850 for this horrible -HORRIBLE!- dump of a house in Hyde Park. But at that age all I needed was a bed, with enough of a roof to keep the bed dry, and a shower (that occasionally had hot water, lol). I don't know if that house is still there or not, but I'd be amazed. It was a disaster. But fun. =) In the end I couldn't afford the place and only stayed there a few months before moving back home and then going off to LA for college. The place I moved into in Santa Monica my sophomore year at UCLA was cheaper and nicer (which isn't saying much) than the place I had in Hyde Park and was only like a mile from the beach.

But Austin has always been crazy expensive. Its really nothing new. At least now they are building more apartments. I read somewhere that between 1990 and 1993 they only allowed 70 multifamily units to be built in the greater Austin area (that was 4 counties then). Apparently the NIMBYism was crazy back then and they just wouldn't give out the permits for anything multifamily at all. Or very rarely, and it was always a major battle to get them. Which I imagine is why Austin has always been so expensive. Between 1990 and 2000 the average rent for an apartment in Austin went from $410 to $763. Yikes!

http://www.caction.org/CAN-Research/...es/Housing.pdf
http://www.caction.org/housing/Throu...veSummary.html

I'll have to ask if she may have been going by month to month contract. Austex you make a very good point, BevoJ yikes I can imagine, reminds me of when I was living in Lago Vista back in 2008 my rent sky rocketed after 6 months of living there.

186 feet
 

I got an email back from the developer, Endeavor Real Estate Group. Here are the building heights:

186 feet to the penthouse on the west side of the building.
177 feet to the main roof on the west side of the building.

And now because the lot slopes downward by up to 13 feet as you go west, the heights on the east side of the building are shorter. So viewing the building on the east side makes it appear shorter.

174 feet to the penthouse on the east side of the building.
165 feet to the main roof on the east side of the building.

That's going to put it around the height of the Hyatt on Town Lake. It'll be taller than the Hobby Building and The Plaza, which are both nearby. Once it's completed it'll probably rank somewhere around the 70th tallest building in Austin. If it were complete today, plus factoring in buildings that are under construction now that will be taller than it is, it would be the city's 45th tallest.

:previous:

Though the building does look a bit suburban, as some have mentioned in the past...it appears to use local limestone for part of its facade and will have street level retail...both of which do not happen in most suburban buildings. And the parking is not in a separate building nor is it a surface lot. All in all I think the building will add to the city and help create the walkable and dense city we desire.

Kevin, is the facade with the parking entrance stone or stone colored concrete? Also the non-glass tower part on the left looks like concrete too. I do not mind true colored concrete per say...however stucco would be terrible. Do you know the materials they are using?

I didn't ask about the materials. It looks to me like it's the same material that was used on the podium around the Frost Bank Tower. It doesn't look like stucco to me, and I really hope it's not.

agreed austex but i'd rather see it in the domain