As far as the next wave of high-rises to start which means 2020 at this point...

It takes a year to a year and a half to get a site plan approved for large projects, and projects don't start immediately after they get an approved site plan. So the projects starting in 2020 need to be fairly far along in the approval process already. There are too many projects to keep track of, so I only count the big ones that I arbitrarily define as at least 300':

1. Hanover Republic Square - I already consider this one underway even if the official groundbreaking happens next week.

2. The Hyatt Centric Avenue - This is approved and financed and will start as soon as they resolve their apparent utility issues that have delayed the start.

3. Domain 4

4. Ikon

5. Republic Tower

6. 17th & Guadalupe

7. 12th & Red River Hotel

A couple of maybes:

8. Symphony Square

9. 14th & Guadalupe

I was bored at a Christmas party so here's another perspective
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8959607b_b.jpgScreenshot_20191224-211554_PhotoGrid by josephg_16, on Flickr[/IMG]

Thanks JDskyhigh! Pretty cool.

Awesome! Could you add Hanover Republic Square and Parsley Tower to this?

Republic looks like a giant bat.

Republic looks so goooooeeed. Man, It MUST happen. I just want that baby to showcase the whole skyline.

What's the latest on this one? Is there any possibility it breaks ground in 2020?

I've heard rumors it will...I just really want a balcony free 700 footer with a sharp crown!

Me too.

Yeah, me too. I've been waiting a long time for something like this to happen. The north side facing the park is the money shot.

The Republic Is so sleek and clean. It will draw ones attention from the west and south because of its simple lines and placement near the river. I hope the crown is lit at night; that would be awesome. This tower must rise as planed.

Quoting my previous post for context only.

In terms of big groundbreakings, I think 2021 looks much better than 2020 just becasue of the City's permitting process. But most of the dozen+ big projects underway will still be U/C during 2020 along with the ones in my quoted post. So there will still be a lot happening in 2020. Let's just hope the next recession holds off until at least 2022.

Any word of a public observation deck in any of the buildings OR better yet, a stand-alone one like in San Antonio, Toronto, or Seattle?
It's time has come! And hopefully when it does it looks crazy futuristic :D

Observation Deck...not likely in the near future.

An observation tower - never. Those were built for World's Fairs and are not being constructed (at least in the Western Hemisphere) anymore. Land is far too expensive and construction costs far too high for such a low income-producing structure.

I agree, but observation Ferris Wheels are popping up. Dubai just added a gigantic one.

I hope we don't get a Ferris wheel downtown.

An observation deck would require a large office building where the employer doesn't mind a bunch of tourists all over the lobby, which is unlikely. It also requires a developer to give up the most valuable real estate in a building (the top floor(s).

I just don't see them in a city our size being really profitable.

The closest we will get is a hotel that may throw in a rooftop bar/restaurant.. which there are some of, but many of them are for guests only.

I kind of think of ferris wheels as the food trucks of observation venues. I'd love a tower, but a ferris wheel would likely have people standing in line sweating in the sun and then cramming into a non-air conditioned pod.

An observation deck is most likely in an office building because companies actually care very little about having the top floor. They really just need space, and one floor more isn't going to make a difference. A hotel likely would be another place for one, but only if it was a ballroom/dining room type situation similar to the Hyatt on Town Lake or something like Corpus Christi's Omni Bayfront Hotel, which has an awesome view, by the way.

I hear the wait to get on the one in London isn't too long and many people can fit in the capsules or whatever they are. I personally think it would be cool for a ferris wheel. My picture that I switched to was taken from the ferris wheel at the Trail of Lights and we loved it a lot. It would be cool from the south side of the river, but I could also see that park area on the north side by Cesar Chavez between the pedestrian bridge and the power plant being an ideal spot for a ferris wheel as well, though a CVC runs through there so that won't happen at that location even if something like a ferris wheel is ever proposed.

Observation tower completely funded by donation from Michael Dell. We can dream.

I'd rather have him donate money towards a world-class planetarium or zoo, or some other family-friendly mega-attraction with multiple uses (touristic, educational, etc.).