My only gripe ,and it can't be helped in this circumstance, is the blank south facing wall. I would like to see something possibly artwork or maybe an LED board that can be used during events like SXSW and others.

That's actually something I think that would work well here and would give that extra cosmopolitan bump to DT. Kinda like Times Square with all the LED billboards and tickers, although not on that scale but here and there possibly taking advantage of the blank walls.

This is also something that could be added later. I agree that it would be a good use of the blank space, for sure.

Good for Duel Flush toilets, but when might I get a Urinal in the rest room, I hate lifting the seat. But I hate cleaning it more if I don't lift it.

The tower crane should be going up during the next two weeks according to this filing:

https://www.austintexas.gov/devrevie...erRSN=11397499

White Lodging's Facebook page has some photos of the groundbreaking last week. Groundbreaking photo Ops amuse me with the awkward shoveling and dirt flying in all directions:

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/...eaking%201.png



Time for a break after all that "digging":

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/...eaking%202.png

White Lodging: https://www.facebook.com/whitelodgin...type=1&theater

I'm a long-time lurker and first time poster. I walked by the Aloft construction site yesterday:

http://i.imgur.com/K8vSZ7S.jpg

Thanks, Kevin, for telling me how the image loading works.

Nice first post. I don't see a crane base yet. But this one doesn't have much more excavation left to do, so it should be going up soon.

Seconded, excellent grand entrance into the forum. One post, one awesome photo. I've got a few hundred posts and zero photos, I need to get a camera and contribute something besides my usual peanut-gallery fodder.

Thank you! Aloft is my favorite project under construction at the moment. I like the dimensions of the building (height:base ratio), I like that there is no parking garage underneath, and I like the location: Congress Ave. should have occupied buildings rather than parking lots.

Yep. Great first post. This is going to be one skinny tower.

Not the best angles. They've done a lot of digging.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/655/21...5c3b824b_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/651/21...6fcf55bc_b.jpg

Are they putting in a basement?


https://youtu.be/XuWSK9A_A1M

The original site plan, if I recall correctly, said they only had to dig down 13', and that was only on part of the site. It looks like that was changed. They also shortened the building a little bit from the original plans.

October 12th:

http://i.imgur.com/lnkEy1jh.jpg

It looks like they hit bottom so to speak. This one should start rising real fast.

I've always wondered--how do they get that last bit of dirt out once the equipment is cleared?

An example of that can be seen on the Rowling Hall webcam:

https://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Tech/...North%20Camera

Here's an updated tower crane permit filing from today. It's now scheduled to go up during the third weekend of November.

https://www.austintexas.gov/devrevie...erRSN=11435386

I noticed today that the crane is up. I'll get a picture tomorrow!

Yay!