I'd love a new arena, location wise i wish it were going to be where Barton creek square mall is but i think it be to costly and i don't think an arena can meet the Edwards aquifer standard but the idea is nice, an arena surrounded by shops and a little parkland that faces the view of downtown.

That's actually a really interesting idea, but they'd never go for it.

They could finally utilize part of the Brackenridge Tract for it, but the neighborhood groups would throw a huge fit like the brats they are.

A Longhorn basketball arena should be on or very near campus.

I think a new arena would be wise to utilize all that state parking from 11th-17th street on the eastern portion of downtown. It would also be great if the arena was within walking distance to East 6th Street, Red River St, and the Convention Center. For me the optimum location would be somewhere between East 7th and East 11th bounded between San Jacinto and I-35.

Agreed. I can't think of a better location than the northeast corner of 7th and Neches.

:P

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with placing it there would be that it wouldn't fit in a city block. You'd have to shut down multiple roads and bulldoze multiple neighboring buildings to fit the damn thing. Then you've also got parking to deal with, which means multiple neighboring blocks bulldozed for garages. It's a bad idea.

They should just build the medical campus on the Brackenridge Tract.

!!! Perfect

That block + the empty parking lots between Neches and Trinity, 7th to 9th. I forget, what did we use to have there?

There are whole city blocks of nothing but asphalt and concrete right next door. . .It's perfect! Well, better than what's there currently anyway.

Building an arena comparable to the Toyota Center in Houston we would need 4 whole blocks.

Also another problem with building it on those state parking lots/garages blocks is some of those are in capitol view corridors. Arenas can be pretty tall. The Frank Irwin Center is 106 feet tall and the Toyota Center in Houston is 107 feet tall.

Couldn't they put it in the area between San Jacinto, I-35, MLK and 20th 1/2 Street? They would have to demolish the School of Social Work building, which just a small 2-story building surrounded by a parking lot anyway. The arena would be replacing mostly a parking lot. It would also be just south of the stadium and east of the swim center.

They could re-route Dedman/E Campus Dr just slightly to intersect Red River further north through the parking lot and build a new stadium on the parking lot for the School of Social Work building and the extra space provided by the road re-routing without having to demo the SSW building.

Or better yet, they could make Dedman end at 20 1/2 and continue 20 1/2 to Red River instead (basically the same idea as above, except with different traffic flow implications).

Ideally they could fit it on the two huge blocks bounded by Trinity and Red River in between 7th and 8th Street. This would mean tearing down the Salvation Army and Caritas:yes: (and moving those services to another location) as well as buying out the vacant block owned by the Methodist Church. I believe the height limits are mostly 60 feet for these two blocks so you would have to get a variance (easier if the City and University are involved) or maybe go underground 20-40 feet.

It wouldn't fit there. You literally need four city blocks arranged in a square for that. The city will not tolerate the traffic flow disruptions that destroying two thru roads (one NS and the other EW) would create. It would also remove very prime real-estate from the market.

These things belong at the edge of downtown or just further out, not downtown itself.

The east-side block bounded by Pleasant Valley, 5th, Tillery, 7th, and the railroad would be perfect for a basketball stadium. It's close enough to U.T. for commute by students, and they could put a stop on the commuter line when they get around to that line.

The multi-million dollar upgrades to FEC, in addition to the Denton-Cooley Pavillion not too long ago will preclude any arenas on campus despite how much I'd like to see it.

A better and more likely alternative in the name of speculation would be to completely retrofit Gregory Gym with additional expansion, arena-only status as an on-campus option. From there you could basically just relocate the rec center services to the actual Rec Center area or a separate building.

That would be a pretty freakin sweet on-campus experience. :tup:

I agree. A larger Gregory Gym would be amazing.

Prime real estate? Have you seen what's there now? It is currently unusable. Neither 8th St nor Neches carry much traffic.

I'm not saying that this is the solutions to that area of downtown - but currently 4 complete blocks in the heart of the CBD are dead. . .seems like almost anything would be an improvement over the status quo.

Think Big
 

They should incorporate the arena with the new Fairmont hotel. Think LA Live and the Staples Center. That area is going to explode once the Waller Creek tunnel is completed. The reason the Drum sucks and always will is that it is isolated and generic. You need to build it in a location that people will have access to things other than the arena itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staples_Center

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Live

One of the things Dallas does better than Austin - put the American Airlines center near downtown, built it so it's incorporated into the city and attracts pedestrians instead of repelling them. Nice mixed use, hotels, retail, food and drink and housing have bloomed all around it (can't say that for the Erwin Center).

http://awesomeinsf.wordpress.com/201...llas_uptown_2/


http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/f...s%20center.JPG

There are urban ways to do these things.

That area y'all are talking about the 9th St one block up already dead ends right there at the treasury building. Stoping another through street wouldn't be a concern since it is already stopped. Just stick it right there between 10th and 8th. Where that Baptist Church is one of the 4 original city parks (along with Replublic, Woolridge and the one by the convention center where the old fire station is) before the city gave that park to the Baptist. I would love to see the city get that park back. Even if it was for something like this.

Additionally what about E 5th, 6th or 7th? There are some good spots there and it is along the Redline. There is also that house that we were talking about on 9th just east of I-35. That spot would easily be large enough, but it doesn't have the easy access to downtown under I-35 that 6th and 7th have.

Several of the aforementioned locations "would be great," as long as one didn't care about parking.

If this exploritory "idea" comes to fruition, parking will weigh heavily on the final site location!

I have my doubts that the City of Austin and The University of Texas will ever co-develop an arena. It will be one or the other...alone. An we all know that will not be the City of Austin.

I agree. A location like 8th-10th and Trinity-Red River would be close enough to the current state parking garages for a casual walk. There might even be enough room along Waterloo Park. That whole section of downtown is so depressed right now that a new arena would be great!

I could really see a LEED certified "Whole Foods Garden Arena" built with a green roof and flagship Pluckers, Maudies, HomeSlice, and Hopdaddy's serving as ground floor retail.:haha:

The most logical location would be right across 35 from the Convention Center. There is enough land to do it. The commuter line is right there for easy transit access, would be close to the Waller Creek area as well as the Fairmont Hotel. Austin does need a larger arena and if the city and UT work jointly, I think it would be a good thing. Plus imagine the density of the Medical Center if it covered the Brak hospital and FEC blocks!

Victory Park? What pedestrians does that area attract? Everyone drives there and drives right back home. Every time I have been there, its almost completely dead. And that includes nights on some of the most exciting (and should be crowded) weekends of the year (including Texas v OU weekend).

I think a lot of it is the culture of Dallas, but there is a lot written examining what happened in this area (one article says its "an upscale ghost town"):

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/19/urba...o_one_has_fun/

http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/2009/0...tory_Park.aspx

http://transportationblog.dallasnews...ound-aac.html/

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/bl...ialize-as.html

And there are many more...

Frank Erwin Center holds nearly 18,000 people, which is just as large as most NBA arenas. The idea that Austin needs a larger arena is absurd, and the Frank Erwin Center's capacity has no effect on whether or not Austin could host a DNC or RNC convention.

http://www.uterwincenter.com/sites/d...ery/round1.jpg

http://www.uterwincenter.com/sites/d...ery/round3.jpg

http://www.uterwincenter.com/sites/d...ery/arena2.jpg

http://www.uterwincenter.com/about/photo-gallery

It's maximum capacity is 17,900.

This is false. RNC regulations for 2008 (which is the only info I can find at the moment) required that the city have an arena capable of holding at least 20,500. The floor itself capable of seating 5,500 of those.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/a...onvention.html

DNC regulations have always required more, usually about 22,500 given that it always (literally, not an almost) attracts a larger audience than does the RNC. The 2016 requirements have, ofcourse, not been released yet, but I can tell you that they'll most likely be larger than the 2012 requirements, which were in turn larger than what was required in 2008... for both parties.

The Frank Erwin Center is far far far beneath what is required to host a national convention, both in total size and in floor seating capacity. By the way, FEC's maximum capacity is 17,900.

Omg....like Austin would ever host the RNC. That will be they day when I move. Thank you, and goodnight.

I'd love to host the RNC. The protests that would be there would cause a huge national image problem for the Republicans that I'd love to help cause by hosting their convention. And it would come with great economic benefits. Two positives: problems for Republicans and sucking their money and tax dollars into progressive governance.

Basically :cheers:

I'm a conservative. I doubt you have much to worry about with the RNC coming here.

As for the arena, I think y'all are dreaming a bit too big. FEC is already too big for UT basketball. That place is filled to capacity maybe 3 times a year. The other crowds are sparse. Basketball will be the main function of this gym if it is built by UT, not conventions.

The City of Austin will never build an arena for just conventions and concerts. They will rely on UT. I just don't see UT building bigger when they can't even fill the one they have.

You guys are hysterical. Minneapolis and Philadelphia hosted the RNC. Yes, I do realize it spawned a mass-exodus of urban geeks from those cities. :rolleyes:

2/6
 

Gables Residential Tower and the crane for 3Eleven Bowie. I only got three photos before my battery died. I loved the way the sky looked yesterday.

http://i.imgur.com/UxTjkR9.jpg

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

http://i.imgur.com/grMK2nT.jpg

So, first of all - no space like this attracts people when there isn't an event. It's single use.

Secondly - there's always at event at AA center. Always. That places holds the Mavericks and the Stars and about 150 other events a year.

Third - the point was that the form of the building is 1MX more pedestrian friendly than ANY event center we have in Austin.

Fourth - Victory Park is developing into a nice dense little mixed use subnode of the Downtown, it's also mere blocks away from some of Dallas' tallest skyscrapers that are an easy walk to AA center. It isn't there yet - they started with nothing. It takes time to develop "authenticity".

Oh, and contrast VP with Erwin Center - which I was.

We've even hosted right wing religious groups here in Austin. The restaurant staff and hotel staff took it in stride, and gladly took their money. Also, the entertainment value was high.

If you host the RNC or even DNC nowadays, you better be prepared for the mass protests that go along with them. They're almost bigger than the events themselves.

Sounds like Austin may have been weird, for a weekend, then returned to its usual conformity.

Some 3 Eleven Bowie construction photos taken from The Monarch showing the excavation and crane construction.

http://www.urbanspacerealtors.com/news/ccc.html

If you are walking downtown and want a fun view... hike the creek below the Monarch. ! Just did it yesterday!

Cool, I'll have to go check it out. I know there's that bridge across the creek right next to The Monarch. I haven't been over there in a while though. There's a few places I'm wanting to check out actually.

This seems kind of unusual, but KXAN just reported that Congress Avenue would be closed in about an hour for an extended period of time this weekend so a crane can be delivered to the JW Marriott site. The two other cranes were installed with no traffic interruptions. I wonder what's different this time? I'll be checking the construction webcam:

http://oxblue.com/open/tournee/jwmarriottaustin

I find in interesting how close the tower crane at 3 Eleven Bowie is to the Monarch.

ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/ATD_AULCC/...er%20Crane.pdf

Wow. That is close. I remember the podium crane for Ashton was very close to 100 Congress. You could probably sit on the end of the boom and reach out and touch 100 Congress. Here are a few pics I took of it back then.

http://i.imgur.com/JWCW08b.jpg

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

That was too close. I wonder if OSHA made a visit.

I wish my downtown office was the one with the crane knocking on the window.

They could go higher. That block is not affected by a CVC.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...lanned-/nWM24/

Looking at google maps the extra 25ft set back will put the edge of the new tower near the center of the site. So if that happens we can except a slim tower.

Poor Taylor
 

You have got to read the comments section for this article because they are absolutely delicious. When read all together I think the comments rather succinctly enumerate why city council ought have no sympathy for Plaza Lofts residents.

Plaza lofts
 

I think this whole Plaza Lofts debacle is an excellent example of a developer screwup on the part of the original Plaza Lofts developer. Certainly, anyone who develops an office building or apartment tower would not expect to protect the views. That's crazy. This is especially nuts for a condo tower were the tenants OWN the property and have far more interest in protecting their views.

The people who bought condos on the south side were rather naive. Did they really expect that another building would never be built on that site when they first stepped onto their balcony when purchasing their condo? I think they always knew it was coming but chose to wear rose colored glasses. I could understand their anger if they purchased their condos based on a promise that the views would be protected. I doubt that's the case.

The city should be more careful when reviewing site plans for sides of resdential buildings that face alleys.

There was a story on KVUE tonight (with video) about the people in the Plaza Lofts complaining about their new next door neighbors.

New downtown Austin tower sparks concerns
by SHANNON MURRAY / KVUE NEWS and photojournalist DAVID GARDENER
February 13, 2013

The video shows Cindy Taylor's view now and what her view will look like if the proposed tower is built.

I don't blame them for looking out for their own interests, but I hope they don't get their way. I really don't want to see Zaza have to add a parking garage. If I lived there for 11 years, I'd be pissed, too. Not only is their view taken away and sunlight decreased, but their property value also takes a big hit, so selling isn't a great solution, either. But, yeah, they had to have known going into it that something was going to be built there and that what gets built would be beyond their control.

This is exactly right. The residents of the Plaza lofts are asking for a "mere" 25 feet (c'mon be a good neighbor) off of the alley. . .the ALLEY, in the CBD. . .a mere 25'!!! Please. NIMBY is as NIMBY does.

Did the residence think they had a right to their views when they purchased their places? If so - they were very much mistaken. It would be a mistake for the city to grant such a right ex-post facto. I hope if they do so they assign a value to that property and send the condo owners a big fat bill.

Also, as a taxpayer, I resent the loss in ad valorem taxes this could cost the city. How are we going to pay for all the pet projects of the city council without a sufficiently large tax base to pay for it all?

Finally - what message are we saying to future downtown dwellers? Make a big enough stink and the city will bestow millions of dollars worth of concessions to you?

The property value should always have accounted for the possibility of a building there. To grant them their request would be to bestow upon them a windfall. I'm not really sympathetic to this view.