AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III

[priller]

Nice pics!

My wife and I were walking by the Hyatt Place the other day and she says, "Wow, that new hotel sure is ugly!"

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by priller

Nice pics!

My wife and I were walking by the Hyatt Place the other day and she says, "Wow, that new hotel sure is ugly!"

And that's why I like your wife!

[sammyk]

If the Whitley was a few floors taller, this scene could have been used in an AT&T commercial.

[nixcity]

I like the glass on its own but it doesn't work well with the building from a distance imo

[JoninATX]

Love the density.

[East7thStreet]

The density of that area will really increase when the 1,000 room Marriott goes up. What a zoo Cesar Chavez to East 6th street already is during SXSW and F1. I can only imagine what the area will be like in the future.

[BevoLJ]

Kevin thank you so much for all of the wonderful picture updates!

I was updated some of the construction pictures in the OP List with some of your new ones, and found this kinda funny. The background. Like something is missing?

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Gables Park Plaza II - 223 feet - 18 floors - 277 units

[greywallsareboring]

I love the density, but I loath looking at the window-less side of the new hotel everyday. I am used to seeing window-less walls in Russia, but why is there one in Austin, facing Congress? I am happy to know that it will be covered up by the J. W. Marriott soon enough.

[BevoLJ]

Lol! Perfect screen name!

That wall is hideous. There is another like it on the west side of Congress too. It is on 5th Street. Like if you are outside Antone's and looking west it is right there on Republic Park.

Apparently if you build right to the property line you can't have windows.

It would be cool if they would paint them or something.

[jnihiser]

Hey Austin Forumers.

I visited Austin for the day on Saturday, and thought you might like an Atlantan's impression of the city.

First of all...the city is much larger than I expected, in terms of general build out. Of course, I keep up with construction via the city, but sometimes you just can't gauge size until you actually see it in person.

We hung out at Handlebar, The Ginger Man, and The Paggi House. All of them were cool.

The number of bars and restaurants (non-chain) was also really impressive. Having been to places like San Antonio, Austin has a distinctly non-Texan, non suburban flair.

Now, apparently we were there during a pride parade, so the number of people hanging around probably numbered in the thousands by 8p. That was really cool to see so many folks out and about.

Walking around town was really easy.

6th St. is rem. of Bourbon St. I'd love to know if Austinites actually hang on 6th or not, as it seems like it might attract lots of folks from out of town.

Generally, the amount of residential either existing or just out of the ground was really impressive. I would argue that you are in the same league as Denver in this category (the amount of res. going up in areas like LODO is very similar).

The only surprising thing in Austin? No streetcars...if there was ever a city that deserved them...it you guys.

I'm looking forward to my next trip to Austin.

Feel free to ask me other questions about my experience in Austin.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by jnihiser

6th St. is rem. of Bourbon St. I'd love to know if Austinites actually hang on 6th or not, as it seems like it might attract lots of folks from out of town.

There's almost like a love-hate relationship that Austin locals have with 6th St. Or at least that's how I felt about it when I lived there.

I didn't really see it as an area specifically aimed for tourists, but rather for College kids. I didn't hang out in the area too much and most of my friends hated hanging out there... but there are places on 6th St that I considered my favorite places in Austin to go to, like the Jackalope, Lovejoys (now closed), Mekong River, Ritz Alamo Drafthouse, and Casino El Camino.

I personally always told people visiting Austin to always try and visit areas outside of 6th St because I always felt that it would leave a bad impression on them. People outside of 6th St are more friendly, less douchy, and generally cooler. I have a friend here in San Francisco that said when she visited 6th St she felt that people from Austin should probably not take visitors there. She didn't like the fact that it was too "college oriented" and that it was dirty. I thought it was funny as she meant it sort of tongue-in-cheek but I think there's some truth to it.

The thing about 6th is that it is probably the most dense and urban-like area of Austin and probably the most gritty and grimy too. Those things oddly appeal to me. It also has an increasing violent crime rate and probably the most concentrated crime activity in Austin too and having the Arch (Austin Resource Center for Homeless) being close by doesn't help. I always thought it was Austin's version of the Tenderloin. Those are things that the city is trying to work on. There's a proposal to redevelop 6th St, but a lot of people are against it as they feel it might take away what 6th St is about.

Anyways, those are just a few things that I can say about 6th St.

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte...cupancies.html

Austin-area office occupancies and rents rising
Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 02:03 PM

Continuing on its two-year upswing, the Austin area’s office market posted gains in rents and occupancies in the third quarter, the latest figures show.

The occupancy rate for top-flight office space was 85.8 percent by the end of the quarter, up from 81.7 percent in the year-ago quarter, Oxford Commercial reported Tuesday. Rents for that first-class space averaged $29.90 per square foot, up $1.67 a foot from the $28.23 per-square-foot on average in September 2011.

Oxford said the direct vacancy rate, which doesn’t include sublease space, has been trending down for seven straight quarters, and has dropped 3.87 percentage points since mid 2011.

[priller]

Originally Posted by jnihiser

6th St. is rem. of Bourbon St. I'd love to know if Austinites actually hang on 6th or not, as it seems like it might attract lots of folks from out of town.

We hang at Easy Tiger a lot, mainly because it's next door to the Sabine where we live. But it's a great place. The rest of 6th not quite so much since we don't really hang out in bars, but we do go for food (Driskill, Chupacabra, Casino El Camino). On weekends its flooded with college students, so we usually avoid it then.

The only surprising thing in Austin? No streetcars...if there was ever a city that deserved them...it you guys.

We used to have the Dillo. Really miss 'em sometimes.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by jnihiser

6th St. is rem. of Bourbon St. I'd love to know if Austinites actually hang on 6th or not, as it seems like it might attract lots of folks from out of town.

Eh. . .I think a lot of students hang out there. The problem with 6th St. is it's really single use now - get drunk. Outside of that, I think visitors go, because hey, it's a party. It has almost no destination daytime traffic - only a few office workers seeking a lunch at one of the bars that serves bar food and absolutely zero retail (well, just about zero).

A much more interesting area, and where people I know will go, is just west of Congress and south of 5th in the former warehouse district.

[jnihiser]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Eh. . .I think a lot of students hang out there. The problem with 6th St. is it's really single use now - get drunk. Outside of that, I think visitors go, because hey, it's a party. It has almost no destination daytime traffic - only a few office workers seeking a lunch at one of the bars that serves bar food and absolutely zero retail (well, just about zero).

A much more interesting area, and where people I know will go, is just west of Congress and south of 5th in the former warehouse district.

Yes, we checked that area out (west of Congress and south of 5th) and dug it.

Again, I was really impressed with the city. I look forward to my next visit.

[greywallsareboring]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Lol! Perfect screen name!

That wall is hideous. There is another like it on the west side of Congress too. It is on 5th Street. Like if you are outside Antone's and looking west it is right there on Republic Park.

Apparently if you build right to the property line you can't have windows.

It would be cool if they would paint them or something.

Yeah, I checked out that gem on 5th this morning and it certainly is ugly. Congress is one of my favorite streets in Texas, but those two stick out because so many other boring walls such as the Mexic-Arte Museum have become public art spaces. They could at least add a pattern.

[StoOgE]

6th street is getting something of an upscale resurgence.

Parkside and Midnight Cowboy are really nice for "dirty 6th". I think with Easy Tiger and the Waller Creek revamp a lot of the really awful shot bars may be priced out of the area.

Here's hoping anyway.

[ahealy]

E. Austin beer garden named one of the best in the U.S.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...ne-of-the.html

[nixcity]

There are 2 cranes up now on riverside. I think they are for the same building. It's working on the fifth floor now.

[KevinFromTexas]

Whitley from the Lamar Plaza Shopping Center. It could have used more height here.

From this afternoon: