Change is already here. :) Great points, AustinGoesVertical and everyone above. Bigger risks generate bigger rewards, but can also generate bigger flame-outs. Regardless (irregardless?) its facinating to watch.

"Regardless" it is. Means "without regard". "Irregardless" is not a word.

til

ugh. "Irregardless". The absolute horror.

No one thought hootis and gription were words either. I was unnecessarily shunned by society for many years for my copious usage of them... OR was it because I was an asshole for most of my life?? I could never quite figure that one out, but I prefer to blame my shame on my pedestrian vocabulary. Umm...er...what were we talking about??

This image was part of an email from HFF celebrating their land sales during 2018. That upper left image for Waller Creek is one I haven't seen before. It was probably just a massing to show what could be built on the site for their marketing.

https://my.hfflp.com/upload/Blasts/B...d-Blast_02.jpg
https://my.hfflp.com/upload/Blasts/B...d-Blast_02.jpg

The height is great, but man, that's a lot of slabby buildings for one neighborhood. The tallest one there is easily 700 feet.

Is there a link or at least a blown up copy of that image?

Not any higher resolution, but a little easier to see. Actually looks pretty detailed - I could see this being more than a simple massing. The tower on the parking lot by iHop would be very nice, but the largest tower looks a little too bulky. Good height though.

https://i.imgur.com/QtD3Dv3.png

The views from the Fairmont would be *fantastic* lol

Actually, I would love a complex of high rises that aren't twins, but that play off each other. One tower that I have always loved is Minneapolis' Wells Fargo Center. I wouldn't mind a big tower like that with vertical emphasis and some nice setbacks near the top. The smaller towers could be a play off of the main one.

It's sort of hard to tell, but that one does appear to have at least one setback around 550 feet up.

I will say, I'd miss the view of the Fairmont that we have from the south. I know some people don't like it, but I can't complain. I think it looks great, especially at certain times of the day with different reflections. If those renderings are accurate to their height, at least 2 of those towers would be visible around our neighborhood that would block the view of Fairmont.

Forget about the views from the Fairmont, these buildings would pretty much kill all North and West views from 93 Red River of downtown, the Capitol and the river.

Good, let's do everything we can to hide the Fairmont lol.

Fairmont is one of the cleanest looking buildings in the city, especially from afar. Would be a shame to lose the views of it.

Yup. Being a rainey st. resident, these buildings would essentially be the worst case scenario, view-wise for people living here.

I know things are going to get built, but I'd much prefer something that at least looks good, instead of 3 blue juiceboxes that look just like the Fairmont.

Imagine that pic with the Travis (or Two Travises, even) and 93 Red River (about the same height as the Fairmont) filled in. That's some crazy density. It'll be the Rainey Street Canyon before you know it.

I think we determined that there were some differences here that suggested this might not be Rainey street, but there is very clear similarity between how the three towers are laid out in this model and the rendering:

https://i.imgur.com/Ny327qy.png

I would imagine that now that this property has changed hands, if Gensler were working on the project then it could have been dropped. But man, it would be great if we could see that design here instead.

I like the Fairmont as is, but "hiding it" with 3 more towers that appear very nearly the same would be unfortunate. I'd rather see some more variety. I think one reason people don't like the Fairmont is how slabby it is. To conceal it with...more slabs seems like a lateral move architecturally. I also would hope the color would be different. For anyone who didn't know the Fairmont was existing, they might mistakenly think the Fairmont shown in that rendering is part of that new development. All 4 slabby, close in color and near each other.

I don’t see where else this could be. The far right looks like the Fairmont and then the layout of the four buildings appear to be oriented exactly where that parking lot and the block along the creek is. While the small bungalow homes aren’t 100% accurate in positioning, it does represent the Rainey District - at least that edge of it, just sans Hotel Van Zandt and Millenium Rainey.

Comment on the Fairmont: I think original renderings have skewed the reception of the finished product. While it is blocky, the quality of design is top-notch imo. In the day, the glass blends into the sky like no other building in Austin. The curved glass at the base and the glass along a section of the pool podium is unique and sleek. At night, this one is tremendously lit. I personally love when they use burnt orange. And the way the interior lighting works with the floor plan layout, at night it looks like a collection of floating squares. I think it’s one of our better buildings - certainly at night.