photolith - Great aerials. Thanks for sharing. :cheers:

Nice colors. This is one of the best views of Downtown since the buildings look spread out from most other views.

December 2014 in Austin
 

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7535/...5e0460f8_b.jpgAustin 2014
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7569/...74aeca00_b.jpgAustin 2014 (2)

Those are exceptional. Thanks for posting.

Great photos indeed!

Wow! You know, you have to imagine that without residential towers downtown, photos like that couldn't and wouldn't be taken since I doubt very much there would be people in the office towers that early in the morning around Christmas time. Thanks for sharing those. I love it.

Wow. Those are ridiculous. Well done.

Gorgeous day in Austin
 

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7563/...80f231c3_b.jpgaustin2015 by texdaniel, on Flickr

Nice shot TexDaniel!

Yes, that is a great picture, thanks for posting it TexDaniel!

So when is the next forum meet happening? I would suggest doing it before the heat returns and with so many projects currently under construction, a late winter/early spring time frame would be ideal.

A few photos from this rather chilly afternoon.

http://i.imgur.com/ikrSQ8O.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CzhgW5Q.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OGeP6VJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LY8bgSJ.jpg

I'm really liking the impact Northshore is having. I never really cared for that view of AMLI on 2nd, and I thought the gap between 360 and the W looked awkward. I hated seeing the view of the One American Center going away there, but I think the one of Northshore will be a good compromise since the two are somewhat similar.

Awesome shots!

Google Earth has updated their imagery for Austin. They now have 3D images of just about all the new buildings, including the Bowie and others. I'm not sure if you'll need to download the newest version of it or not. I had done so a few days ago.

:banana:

Austin needs a super tall really bad.

With an observation deck too! Something really futuristic looking would be nice...............

Not even a supertall specifically but something over 700' or 200m in the right location will really help give some dynamic to the skyline with the Austonian

Why does it need it "really bad"? It has 1 building over 200m and the current plateau is mostly around 400'.

Why does Austin NEED it over cities such as: Dallas, Miami, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Denver, Calgary, Seattle.... (and of course, Philadelphia and San Francisco until theirs are built) Always makes me think :koko::koko::koko: when people proclaim that these small cities suddenly NEED a supertall. How about starting with a second building that actually has a top floor over 500'?

Pittsburgh, Denver, and Vancouver aren't really bigger. The rest of your list definitely are larger, but those are in the same tier or set of tiers of metro as Austin:

Denver: 2.7 million
Vancouver: 2.4 million
Pittsburgh: 2.4 million
Austin: 1.9 million

Calgary, in fact, is smaller and in the tier beneath Austin with cities like Tucson, Birmingham, and Raleigh.

Raleigh: 1.2 million
Calgary: 1.2 million
Birmingham: 1.1 million
Tucson: 1.0 million

The other cities you listed fall into three other separate tiers:


DFW: 6.8 million
Toronto: 6.1 million
Philadelphia: 6.0 million
Miami: 5.8 million

Boston: 4.6 million
San Francisco: 4.5 million

Montreal: 3.8 million
Seattle: 3.6 million
Minneapolis: 3.5 million

If any of those cities "needs" a supertall, it's Dallas, and they're almost certain to get one proposed within the next couple of years. Toronto technically already has one, Philadelphia has one under construction, Miami will never have one because of height restrictions. Boston doesn't have the right development atmosphere. San Fran, of course, is getting one. Montreal's skyline couldn't support one currently, but a supertall would not look out of place in either Seattle or Minneapolis.

Denver could easily have a supertall fit in because of it's preexisting buildings, but Pittsburgh and Austin I am not sure about. Vancouver has height restrictions that are hard to work around, so it will likely never.

As for Calgary, they've got an impressive skyline for their size for sure, but I'm not sure that a city of that size has the necessary market forces to support taller structures. That actually probably applies to Pittsburgh as well, though not because the metro is small. Austin and Denver certainly have strong enough economies that it's within the realm of possibility, though certainly not likely by any stretch of the imagination.

I find it strange that posters like DZH22 - and he's not alone - have such concerns bordering on resentment about other city's skylines. I wish every city could get a supertall. My panties certainly don't get in a wad when someone makes a casual comment about any particular city needing a supertall.

Wow, Happy Birthday Austin, you don't look a day over 174

I don't know if Austin needs a supertall more than any other city but I do know that the Austin skyline has changed more in the past 10 years than just about any city in North America. In the past decade it has gone from being one of the weakest skylines to very competitive with other similarly-sized cities and for that,
http://rockbodychallenge.files.wordp...ipping_hat.jpg

I'm really just talking about skylines here. Every city I mentioned already has a larger skyline than Austin (even with its current construction), and a supertall would "fit in" better.

Actually, it might. New mayor, who is a big union guy. A 685' currently U/C with a 700'+ (full height still unknown) in prep phase. The city is expected to more than double its total amount of 600'+ towers (currently 5 completed) within the next 5-6 years, and there are a couple specific sites that could support a supertall. Plus, the Olympics might be coming! (God help us)

If Montreal's skyline couldn't support it, why could Austin's? Montreal's skyline is significantly larger.

I like to see skylines grow "organically". What I mean by this is I don't want to see new tallest buildings utterly dominate their respective skylines, so much as complement them. I feel like Austin would do better to build, say, 4-5 more buildings over 500', with at least one of them having a roof or crown (not just spire) topping 700', preferably 2. At that point a new ~1000' pinnacle would fit in better. It would rule the skyline without BEING the skyline. I want cities all over to build new tallest buildings, but I feel like "supertalls" are wholly unnecessary until those skylines reach a certain level.

If a single tower is too much taller than the rest of the skyline, then the tower will look like it stands by itself. I'm not a fan. I realize in ways I am being hypocritical because of the way Boston developed with the Pru, but that finished in 1964 and I wasn't born until the 80's. If I was around then I probably would have thought that looked stupid too.

By the way, clearly you do get your panties in a wad over some things. In this case, it's somebody stating their opinion that a skyline should develop a little more before building something outlandishly taller than its surroundings. There are plenty of skylines that have stagnated, and would "need" that supertall more than booming Austin. (which, as somebody pointed out, went from atrocious to really solid in only a decade) I think an Austin supertall would make a lot more sense about a decade from now than it does today. Maybe a little sooner if it keeps growing the way it has been.

Oh also, I visited Austin in 2009 when I was debating moving there. A big reason was my excitement over the building boom. I'm not resentful at all. Don't pretend like you know me.

Austin is gonna have an awesome cityscape in 10-15 years!

I grew up in the Austin area. I graduated high school around the time Frost was built - and it had a crazy impact on the skyline at the time. Crazy to see how things are coming along. I get back every year or so, and every time I come into town it's exploded yet again.

^I know right! It seems like since Frost was built which is around 2004(correct me if I'm wrong) the skyline just metamorphosed/exploded! A beautiful sight to see indeed.

x-posting from the Austin sub-forum:

Not only is it a fat ugly box, but its walkways are elevated which is cancerous to street life and activity. It destroys the relationship between the building and the surrounding city. It might as well be in the suburbs.

It's infill. It's better than a big empty lot. But it sucks. I wouldn't hate it so much if it, at least, didn't have elevated walkways and they spruced up the look of it a bit more. This is 2015 Austin not 1978 Austin. Come on, people!

Austin, TX Downtown from Castle Hill
 

Where does it show the elevated walkways? I've only seen the one angle.

In the one angle. You don't see the steps?

I would just like to see a supertall in the form of a cool iconic public observation deck like the CN Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree, and of course most famously- the Eiffel Tower. I know it's kind of a waste of money, but perhaps a billionaire who made his fortune here might want to immortalize himself....cough cough Michael Dell cough cough....and PAY for it himself too....

Oh that. I thought you meant skywalks for some reason. I couldn't figure out where they would even go.

He's already done that. (UT Dell Medical School, Dell Children's Hospital, Dell Jewish Center, Dell Diamond, Dell Hall at the Long Center) There's probably others I can't think of at the moment.

Here are a few photos I took today of a few of the under construction/recently completed projects.

The Bowie

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7462/...02e08e16_z.jpg

Colorado Tower

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7466/...be2732fe_z.jpg

Google Fiber office? It looks like it's almost finished.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7554/...be3a1ff5_z.jpg

Seaholm

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8570/...da6467cf_z.jpg

Northshore

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7463/...ccaf7a58_z.jpg

JW Marriott. It looks like they are still working on the lobby.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8582/...fc8dbb29_z.jpg

It was a good day for being out and about, after so much gloomy weather.

Seaholm panorama:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8682/...8b0362e1_h.jpg


These three really look good from this angle:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7550/...b748a9c9_b.jpg


Green Water site:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7472/...c4dfdbe9_b.jpg

Bricks going up on the front:
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8584/...dbce6567_b.jpg

Interesting wavy stuff going on on West facing side:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7510/...da04d23d_b.jpg

Rear view:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7513/...89bbb01d_b.jpg


Waterfront construction:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7504/...6430ab94_h.jpg


3rd and Colorado turned out nice. And Google Fiber, the office is downtown but not the service! Want it now!

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8635/...ce030cb4_b.jpg


Retaining wall going up at Fairmont site. Also quite a bit of digging going on that you can't see in this photo:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7544/...6d1114cb_b.jpg


Waller Creek tunnel outlet:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8623/...20a4eb6e_b.jpg

The mid-point inlet at 5th and Sabine. The inlet tunnel itself is hard to see, it's the red circle at the middle top of the pic.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7514/...92874731_b.jpg

Great pics/updates!

That's true...might be overkill if there's a 1,000ft Dell Sky Tower or something such as.. Would look like Austin is ruled by a dictator or something ;)

Perhaps John Mackey could step it up :cheers:
Btw, where's Mackey's philanthropic efforts shown around here? Anyone? Anyone? I'm imagining Whole Foods' GDP is close/equal to (or more than) that of Dell Inc.

Goldenboot from the forum found these new renderings of one of the towers at Green Water. This block (block 188) was previously planned as a 234 foot 19-story hotel. Plans now are calling for a 35-story hotel/residential tower with 250 hotel rooms and 120 residential units.

They're calling it "Austin Proper"

http://www.thekorgroup.com/propertie...n-proper.shtml

http://i.imgur.com/igiMI0v.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/X9abtLV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6lsHmWE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/27t7qFQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/oJxadC9.jpg

God damn, Austin is on fire.

1/20
 

Seaholm Residences (left) and Northshore (right, with the blue cranes). The new 35-story tower in the renderings above will rise behind Northshore.

https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/...11952200_o.jpg

I think I recognize the guy on the left in this photo. If it's him, I talked to him at my gym one time but had no idea he was associated with this.

Seeing it in the pics reminded me, what is the long term fate of the old train trestle over shoal creek?

I think it's a cool reminder that there used to be a railroad running through downtown, not just one flanking it on one side, and another one terminating in it.

I really like this building's design. Too bad it'll just be used as a density filler. This area will be really filled up once all of these projects are finished.

Alas....perhaps we are starting to get a little architectrual competition !
Hopefully whatever this ends up looking like will have some of this enthusiasim !

Dirt has turned on that 22 story residential project near 8th st. Think it was called Aspen Heights?

Oh... This is really a lovely design. I would love to see a building like this in Austin—Hope springs eternal. Of course we've seen other interesting and charming designs that were later sort of "un-designed".
Where it is would be a little hidden, but even as infill, it would look really great from the new library grounds.

Actully I think part of the beauty of the designed is how it steps back and peaks around the neighboring building.! Smart use of location!
Yep! fingers crossed concept meets financing!
:tup:

I don't get why anybody is attaching negative connotations to the word 'infill'.

As a native Austinite, it gives me chills to think that this could occupy that lot one day. It's perfect for that spot. That cafe caddy-cornered by the bridge and Shoal Creek, across from the library? Fuggedaboutit. That place will be such an awesome chill spot. There's going to be so much awesome architecture in that little area, with North Shore, the Independent, the Library, and Austin Proper. Now we just have one lot left in GreenWater. What will it be??? Hopefully something good.

I've said this many times here but, in my opinion, Austin will take on a new personality once GreenWater and Seaholm are finished; an evolution and maturation of our identity. They will make downtown feel bigger and complete (finally). Perspectives of the city will change (for the better, I think). We will finally feel like a true big city. We will, I think, garner more respect by the mainstream. I wish I could just experience it now but we have to wait. :(

BTW, I really don't think that power station will last very long with all of this going on around it. I bet you guys it will be developed into a skyscraper eventually, too. And the fact that it will come after all of this other development is completed makes me think we could end up seeing something really good being built there.

I hope not. I like having interesting pieces alongside skyscrapers. I don't want everything to be highrises.

What would you like to see there instead?

I agree with you that not everything should be highrises but that lot is so front and center that it definitely should be, IMO.

Ha! I read power plant instead of station. I agree with you about the station. The art wall will be temporary. That is too prime a lot to have that.