Austin | Wilson Tower (410 E. 5th) | 519 Feet | 44 Floors | Demo

The ATX · #1 Posted **May 10, 2022, 11:45 AM**

A design Intake was filed this morning for a "New high-rise multi-family project at 410 East 5th Street in CBD":

https://abc.austintexas.gov/public-s...ertyrsn=549074

The site has no CVC, but it is across the street from the Brush Square Park fire station. The 5th & Trinity hotel planned for the same intersection and also across the street from the fire station, was limited to 13-stories. I'm hoping this project has more room for a setback that might allow for more height. Here's the site on Streetview:

H2O · #2 Posted **May 10, 2022, 12:10 PM**

Downtown Parks Overlay only applies to the first 60 feet from the ROW surrounding Brush Square. I can't find the exact height limitation, but I believe it is 60 feet.

The ATX · #3 Posted **May 10, 2022, 12:59 PM**

That's why the Republic Tower was allowed to go tall. The tower starts about 1/5th of a block back from 4th St. I suspect the podium for this project will follow the park overlay; then the residential units will be in a tall thin rectangle (blue maybe?

) on the back of the site.

H2O · #4 Posted **May 10, 2022, 3:57 PM**

Yes, similar to Gables Republic Square, although that is a full block deep. I'm curious how Plaza Lofts got permitted, because I think the Downtown Parks Overlay was already in place before it was built.

ILUVSAT · #5 Posted **May 10, 2022, 5:17 PM**

Shouldn't the address be 410 East Fifth Street?

The ATX · #6 Posted **May 10, 2022, 5:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Shouldn't the address be 410 East Fifth Street?

Fixed, thanks

The ATX · #7 Posted **Jul 13, 2022, 9:59 PM**

Site plan was updated. This is a 54-story residential tower with 644 DUs and a 20K Sq Ft restaurant.

agsatx88 · #8 Posted **Jul 13, 2022, 11:30 PM**

At 54 floors, this could be another 600 footer. For reference, the Travis is 594 feet and 52 floors.

kingkirbythe.... · #9 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 4:26 PM**

54-Story Residential Tower Headed for Avenue Lofts Site in Downtown Austin

https://austin.towers.net/54-story-r...wntown-austin/

A 54-story tower project bringing a whopping 644 new multifamily residences and approximately 20,000 square feet of ground-level restaurant space is now planned by local real estate firm Wilson Capital for the 0.8-acre Avenue Lofts condo site located at 410 East Fifth Street in downtown Austin, according to the latest permit activity from the developer — and with the demolition of the existing 38-unit residential building at the property already approved by the city’s Historic Landmark Commission earlier this year, the new tower plan could be moving forward soon.

...

According to the latest permits, the project plans to participate in the Downtown Density Bonus Program to exceed its entitled floor area ratio of 8 to 1, with marketing materials for the site previously indicating a tower with a ratio of 25 to 1 is possible thanks to the site’s lack of other height restrictions. However, the presence of Brush Square next door could impose some design limitations on the building’s frontage due to the impact of the Downtown Parks Overlay — in any case, the building’s density bonus application process will most likely give us our first look at the new tower.

enragedcamel · #10 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 4:29 PM**

Can we get more supertalls please, all these 500-700 footers are boring as hell now

valhalla · #11 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 4:57 PM**

What is the downtown parks overlay? Is that similar to the capital overlay? If so, that seems like complete overkill.

the Genral · #12 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

Can we get more supertalls please, all these 500-700 footers are boring as hell now

Said no one 4 years ago.

enragedcamel · #13 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 6:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

Said no one 4 years ago.

Well yes, turns out people's standards and expectations change!

Tyrone Shoes · #14 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 7:00 PM**

Given it is a rare real art deco building in Austin and its history what are the chances this thing will be declared historic????

Urbannizer · #15 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 7:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrone shoes

given it is a rare real art deco building in austin and its history what are the chances this thing will be declared historic????

0

davidberko · #16 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 9:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

Well yes, turns out people's standards and expectations change!

Right now we just have a glut of proposed or just starting construction 500-700 footers. Once we get a bunch of those built? Then I'll raise my expectations for taller. Majority of Austin's skyline is still really short. All those 50-55 story buildings will make Austin feel like a big city and dense. High hopes for the railyard project and 3rd and Congress.

zrx299 · #17 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 11:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by enragedcamel

Can we get more supertalls please, all these 500-700 footers are boring as hell now

Oh don't worry, the bloated disproportionally-sized parking podiums will continue to push our buildings ever higher.

bobbywest87 · #18 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 11:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidberko

Right now we just have a glut of proposed or just starting construction 500-700 footers. Once we get a bunch of those built? Then I'll raise my expectations for taller. Majority of Austin's skyline is still really short. All those 50-55 story buildings will make Austin feel like a big city and dense. High hopes for the railyard project and 3rd and Congress.

You hit the nail on the head right there. Austin feels like a bigger city on this forum than what it actually is, because we’re judging it based on its anticipated size with all these new buildings being proposed or just starting construction. Until those are actually built, we’re still a mid-sized (yet wonderful) city with a few decently sized construction pits.

the Genral · #19 Posted **Jul 16, 2022, 1:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbywest87

You hit the nail on the head right there. Austin feels like a bigger city on this forum than what it actually is, because we’re judging it based on its anticipated size with all these new buildings being proposed or just starting construction. Until those are actually built, we’re still a mid-sized (yet wonderful) city with a few decently sized construction pits.

Even if your criteria for determining if a city's size, small, medium, large, super large is based on the amount and size of the buildings downtown, I think Austin is considered a large city by me and many based on our downtown alone. Factor in that Austin is large enough to accommodate huge crowds for ACL, SXSW, F1 for example, and millions of tourists per year, and has a 50k plus neighbor attached directly to the north with UT, and population wise is the 11th largest US city,
I don't think there's anything medium about this city.
But I concede some might think our downtown has some catching up to do given it's 11th biggest status.

wwmiv · #20 Posted **Jul 16, 2022, 1:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

Even if your criteria for determining if a city's size, small, medium, large, super large is based on the amount and size of the buildings downtown, I think Austin is considered a large city by me and many based on our downtown alone. Factor in that Austin is large enough to accommodate huge crowds for ACL, SXSW, F1 for example, and millions of tourists per year, and has a 50k plus neighbor attached directly to the north with UT, and population wise is the 11th largest US city,
I don't think there's anything medium about this city.
But I concede some might think our downtown has some catching up to do given it's 11th biggest status.

In America, because of our balkanized urban planning and public transit infrastructure in the context of a regional personal transport infrastructure, city limits are of limited importance to how “big” a “city” feels. Austin may have the 11th largest municipal population, but because it itself is largely suburban in character (because of when it grew) and the collection of suburban municipalities around it sum to a much smaller population than, say, the 12th largest municipality in the country, San Francisco, it “feels” much smaller. In other words, Downtown San Francisco feels bigger because the Metropolitan Statistical Area is larger because our road and transit infrastructure differ: there are many more people who are able to commute into the city both by road and transit from outside the city limits regularly, and the built environment of San Francisco itself has to accommodate that in a much more confined geography. After all, the San Francisco MSA is double Austin’s, 4.6 million to 2.3 million, and the fully integrated Bay Area CSA including San Jose and others is more than four times that of Austin: 9.7 million. Austin feels like a medium “city” because, when you factor in all these other things that lead to urban core development, it is a medium city.

To me, even San Antonio “feels” like a larger city despite not having as large a skyline, because its traditional urban fabric is more expansive and comprised of larger buildings due it having grown earlier.