Possibly Hotel ZaZa? Block 1?

:worship:

That took me a moment to understand what I was seeing. We're looking south down Colorado from about 6th? What are they doing to the road?

You are correct, I took the shot at the intersection of 6th & Colorado. Now the road construction is part of the city master plan to redevelop, and beautify all of downtown streets.

http://www.austintexas.gov/page/great-streets

SO...I've decided not to leave Austin just yet. This forum can come to life again!
:haha: :D :pillowfight::pillowfight: :D :haha:

That's great. But you still thought about it.:rolleyes:

Yeah, I had a small window to cancel plans....all signs were pointing to me stayin put for a lil bit longer.

We'll be getting a new building, but a rare event will have to occur for it to happen. A highrise will be demolished first to make room. The Engineering Science Center, built in 1964, will be demolished. It's 127 feet tall with 8 floors.

Aerial map of the building:
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=30.28...=h&dg=opt&z=20

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/s...ineerin/nZth3/
http://i.imgur.com/tIEKSf9.jpg

[QUOTE=KevinFromTexas;6265084]We'll be getting a new building, but a rare event will have to occur for it to happen. A highrise will be demolished first to make room. The Engineering Science Center, built in 1964, will be demolished. It's 127 feet tall with 8 floors.

Aerial map of the building:
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=30.28...=h&dg=opt&z=20

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/s...ineerin/nZth3/

I fucking love Austin and UT.... I want Holyfield!

When I first moved to Austin (to go to UT), I spent a lot of time in that building. At the time, I noticed a theme with 3 local buildings that had a similar style to me, and I associated that with Austin... a 50s-early 60s style. This building (ENS), Mueller Airport, and the Palmer Auditorium. Now they are all gone!

What do we have to do to get RLM and the PCL replaced?

probably would need the particle accelerator in the basement of RLM to go into meltdown

So I joined the Peace Corps...
 

I went from living and working downtown and being intimately familiar with every projects' daily progress to living in a mud hut with a grass roof in the Zambian bush. But somehow through the miracle of technology, and even though I have neither running water or electricity, I have a phone with the internet. So for the next 2 years, you guys will be my only link to the development at home. I can't imagine what the city will look like when I get back.

The big Mud Hut development out on SH130 should have their model homes and sales office open by the time you get back. Good luck to you.

Good luck, buddy. Maybe we'll have a couple of new tallest by then. :D

I'm just gonna say, I am SO jealous. Hope you're well mister! I'll run into you on my bike in 2 years :tup:

Thanks for Joining the Peace Corps. I hope you do stay for the full two years...meaning no emergency back home. Downtown will have a few more shadows early and late in the day. They will be from buildings so don't get spooked thinking they are super big animals. ;)

Jude just posted the most up-to-date renderings of Waller Center. Lots of them.

http://downtownaustinblog.org/2013/0...waller-center/

The renderings just keep getting better. But I think someone is doing a lot of fantasizing. I want to see the site plan before I get more excited about this project.

Eh. The new version sucks compared to the version from two weeks ago.

I would agree. How sad that Sutton will not make an attempt to develop Austin's tallest.

I would have been fine without the tallest, frankly, but this design itself is hideous.

While I too prefer the previous version, I think this version of the towers is going to look a lot better in real life - some of the renderings just aren't doing it justice. And in any case, I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it because there's a good chance they'll change a few more times again before this project actually kicks off! haha

I don't love it or hate it. It's obviously not as grandiose as the design from a couple of weeks ago, but that design was never realistic. That was just a concept based on a topped-out FAR. With this, I just don't know what to make of that bright blue color. Is that the color it will end up looking like or will it just be a regular bluish glass a la JW Marriott? If it's going to be bright like that, I don't think I've ever seen a building like that before.

Not a fan. Talk about killing the buzz and with bad architecture to add....I will never support something that basically erases the soul/grimy parts of Austin. Chain Drive 4 life.

I have to disagree with the majority of you here, the only portion of the previous most recent design I liked was the office tower, because it was sleek and simple. The towers were uber generic, and seemed like they were plucked straight out of Lakeshore East in Chicago. These are quirky, unique and a little weird, but in a way that says Austin to me. Especially in a city that could still use an iconic building or two. :cheers:

Waller Center
 

I like the new design better. I think the renderings with the bright blue glass are a bit Dubaiesque, but there are some cool design elements as well. The previous design was a little too "Houston office tower" for my liking. This one, with open balconies and more mixture of materials, seems more interesting. I don't like everything about it, but it's sure as hell better than what Trammel Crow has proposed for Green.

Yuck. Those look like some mid-90s Sim City inspired college project.

And actually some of those horizontal windows and the shifting facades with a mix of glass and stone remind me of mid-century design.

Also the color and angles remind me a bit of the Omni convention center hotel in Fort Worth.

Now, I don't want them built. Fugly.

I would be very interested to see a model of this design.

I kind-of like the over-all effect, but the black construction lines of the redering I think make it look more busy/fussy, than the buildings would appear in life. And while I am so glad it's not brown, the blue is a little too vivid for my taste. On the plus side, I see echoes of the Spring Condo's, in the residential tower. If done right, aluminum, blue glass and lime stone could look spectacular. I really like the addition of greenery on some of the terraces.

That said, as "eburress" said above, the chances that this is the finished design are pretty remote.

The two taller buildings seem o.k.. It's the short office building that may be the worst rendering I have seen for a downtown Austin proposal. Absolutely hideous..... and with the limestone base for all the buildings....ugh.

The Waller project looks great! I wish it was taller for sure... but I think this will look really good... Reminds me of One Madison Park which ended up being pretty cool....

http://archpaper.com/uploads/image/o...on_park_04.jpg

I actually prefer Green's current design over Waller. Everything happening on Rainey lately just turns me off.

Crazy how quickly everybody turned on the project. Mostly everybody was real stoked about that last design and now mostly everybody hates the crap out of it.

haha. It just seems so blahh. I want to see more of a unique cluster of towers over there.

God, that new design is hideous. I'd rather see them not get built if that's what we get. Yuck.

yes! Thank you ! I was thinking of that building!

Ditto. What a scar on the skyline these towers would be. They are disgusting and I will go full on NIMBY if this iteration goes before city council. I swear I will actually march my ass downtown to the meeting and make myself heard.

Broadstone at the Lake is a bit more massive and hulking than I expected it to be. I like the large balconies; especially the ones going across the top. That said, I'm not a fan of the raised sidewalk. It disrupts the building's connection with the street and hurts walkability. This is why we need a form-based zoning code. Still, I think this one will affect perceptions of the area even more than The Catherine.

http://i.imgur.com/uALGoh7.jpg

Image courtesy of BuildingATX

I'm fine with the raised sidewalk. Multiple other projects have had them without affecting walkability. It's still a net plus, so keep that in mind.

The Waller's latest really seems like an office park to me. At least on the street. I do like the idea of the park like environment on the creek side, but on the street sides there should be some retail or something to interact with the streets. Right there between the ACC and Rainey is a very important area IMO that I would like to seem more going on than what looks planned there. And after the hotel is up across the street it will be even busier.

It just feels to me like it is trying to separate itself from the neighborhood to be its own little thing.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...billion/nZzRn/
-

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...-impact/nZ2Cy/

SXSW would be a film festival right?

It's a music and film festival. There's also a technology convention attached to it where new devices and technology are showcased. It's basically the comic-con of the entertainment/technology industry.

I keep looking at the renderings of the Waller proposal and I will find the positive to state here...After stating the shortest tower at the corner is truly perplexing. Vertical ribs of an odd color? Odd street interaction for the pedestrian...Huh! Miss match with the other two towers.

Positives: The two taller buildings relate nicely to each other; They appear to have outside balconies, giving them a human scale; The colors will relate to existing buildings in the skyline; The limestone base is very Austin, and will blend with the convention center; The creek side water features seam nice and might add some life to the area.

That's a rap!

It looks like an accordion! No me gusta.

But yeah, agreed about the other two towers, they're not bad. I like the bright blue accents. And a new 400 footer and 500 footer for downtown would be great!

I think there is a better chance that Nick Saban comes to Austin to coach the Longhorns than for the Waller Towers to be built.

Which means not a whole lot...considering I think Saban-to-Austin is at a 10% chance.

Fairmont Groundbreaking
 

Anyone have any news about whether or not the Fairmont is still scheduled for a November groundbreaking?

From what I've heard several months ago, it's still a go.

I certainly hope so. Do we know if this flood plain thing has affected it at all?