AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III

[Cloud92]

I'd love a new arena, location wise i wish it were going to be where Barton creek square mall is but i think it be to costly and i don't think an arena can meet the Edwards aquifer standard but the idea is nice, an arena surrounded by shops and a little parkland that faces the view of downtown.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Cloud92

I'd love a new arena, location wise i wish it were going to be where Barton creek square mall is but i think it be to costly and i don't think an arena can meet the Edwards aquifer standard but the idea is nice, an arena surrounded by shops and a little parkland that faces the view of downtown.

That's actually a really interesting idea, but they'd never go for it.

They could finally utilize part of the Brackenridge Tract for it, but the neighborhood groups would throw a huge fit like the brats they are.

[lzppjb]

A Longhorn basketball arena should be on or very near campus.

[East7thStreet]

I think a new arena would be wise to utilize all that state parking from 11th-17th street on the eastern portion of downtown. It would also be great if the arena was within walking distance to East 6th Street, Red River St, and the Convention Center. For me the optimum location would be somewhere between East 7th and East 11th bounded between San Jacinto and I-35.

[daedalusatx]

Originally Posted by East7thStreet

I think a new arena would be wise to utilize all that state parking from 11th-17th street on the eastern portion of downtown. It would also be great if the arena was within walking distance to East 6th Street, Red River St, and the Convention Center. For me the optimum location would be somewhere between East 7th and East 11th bounded between San Jacinto and I-35.

Agreed. I can't think of a better location than the northeast corner of 7th and Neches.

[wwmiv]

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with placing it there would be that it wouldn't fit in a city block. You'd have to shut down multiple roads and bulldoze multiple neighboring buildings to fit the damn thing. Then you've also got parking to deal with, which means multiple neighboring blocks bulldozed for garages. It's a bad idea.

They should just build the medical campus on the Brackenridge Tract.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by daedalusatx

Agreed. I can't think of a better location than the northeast corner of 7th and Neches.

!!! Perfect

That block + the empty parking lots between Neches and Trinity, 7th to 9th. I forget, what did we use to have there?

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with placing it there would be that it wouldn't fit in a city block. You'd have to shut down multiple roads and bulldoze multiple neighboring buildings to fit the damn thing. Then you've also got parking to deal with, which means multiple neighboring blocks bulldozed for garages. It's a bad idea.

They should just build the medical campus on the Brackenridge Tract.

There are whole city blocks of nothing but asphalt and concrete right next door. . .It's perfect! Well, better than what's there currently anyway.

[KevinFromTexas]

Building an arena comparable to the Toyota Center in Houston we would need 4 whole blocks.

Also another problem with building it on those state parking lots/garages blocks is some of those are in capitol view corridors. Arenas can be pretty tall. The Frank Irwin Center is 106 feet tall and the Toyota Center in Houston is 107 feet tall.

Couldn't they put it in the area between San Jacinto, I-35, MLK and 20th 1/2 Street? They would have to demolish the School of Social Work building, which just a small 2-story building surrounded by a parking lot anyway. The arena would be replacing mostly a parking lot. It would also be just south of the stadium and east of the swim center.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Building an arena comparable to the Toyota Center in Houston we would need 4 whole blocks.

Also another problem with building it on those state parking lots/garages blocks is some of those are in capitol view corridors. Arenas can be pretty tall. The Frank Irwin Center is 106 feet tall and the Toyota Center in Houston is 107 feet tall.

Couldn't they put it in the area between San Jacinto, I-35, MLK and 20th 1/2 Street? They would have to demolish the School of Social Work building, which just a small 2-story building surrounded by a parking lot anyway. The arena would be replacing mostly a parking lot. It would also be just south of the stadium and east of the swim center.

They could re-route Dedman/E Campus Dr just slightly to intersect Red River further north through the parking lot and build a new stadium on the parking lot for the School of Social Work building and the extra space provided by the road re-routing without having to demo the SSW building.

Or better yet, they could make Dedman end at 20 1/2 and continue 20 1/2 to Red River instead (basically the same idea as above, except with different traffic flow implications).

[East7thStreet]

Ideally they could fit it on the two huge blocks bounded by Trinity and Red River in between 7th and 8th Street. This would mean tearing down the Salvation Army and Caritas (and moving those services to another location) as well as buying out the vacant block owned by the Methodist Church. I believe the height limits are mostly 60 feet for these two blocks so you would have to get a variance (easier if the City and University are involved) or maybe go underground 20-40 feet.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by East7thStreet

Ideally they could fit it on the two huge blocks bounded by Trinity and Red River in between 7th and 8th Street. This would mean tearing down the Salvation Army and Caritas (and moving those services to another location) as well as buying out the vacant block owned by the Methodist Church. I believe the height limits are mostly 60 feet for these two blocks so you would have to get a variance (easier if the City and University are involved) or maybe go underground 20-40 feet.

It wouldn't fit there. You literally need four city blocks arranged in a square for that. The city will not tolerate the traffic flow disruptions that destroying two thru roads (one NS and the other EW) would create. It would also remove very prime real-estate from the market.

These things belong at the edge of downtown or just further out, not downtown itself.

The east-side block bounded by Pleasant Valley, 5th, Tillery, 7th, and the railroad would be perfect for a basketball stadium. It's close enough to U.T. for commute by students, and they could put a stop on the commuter line when they get around to that line.

[cvillehorn]

The multi-million dollar upgrades to FEC, in addition to the Denton-Cooley Pavillion not too long ago will preclude any arenas on campus despite how much I'd like to see it.

A better and more likely alternative in the name of speculation would be to completely retrofit Gregory Gym with additional expansion, arena-only status as an on-campus option. From there you could basically just relocate the rec center services to the actual Rec Center area or a separate building.

That would be a pretty freakin sweet on-campus experience.

[lzppjb]

I agree. A larger Gregory Gym would be amazing.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

It wouldn't fit there. You literally need four city blocks arranged in a square for that. The city will not tolerate the traffic flow disruptions that destroying two thru roads (one NS and the other EW) would create. It would also remove very prime real-estate from the market.

These things belong at the edge of downtown or just further out, not downtown itself.

The east-side block bounded by Pleasant Valley, 5th, Tillery, 7th, and the railroad would be perfect for a basketball stadium. It's close enough to U.T. for commute by students, and they could put a stop on the commuter line when they get around to that line.

Prime real estate? Have you seen what's there now? It is currently unusable. Neither 8th St nor Neches carry much traffic.

I'm not saying that this is the solutions to that area of downtown - but currently 4 complete blocks in the heart of the CBD are dead. . .seems like almost anything would be an improvement over the status quo.

[Austin1971]

They should incorporate the arena with the new Fairmont hotel. Think LA Live and the Staples Center. That area is going to explode once the Waller Creek tunnel is completed. The reason the Drum sucks and always will is that it is isolated and generic. You need to build it in a location that people will have access to things other than the arena itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staples_Center

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Live

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by Austin1971

They should incorporate the arena with the new Fairmont hotel. Think LA Live and the Staples Center. That area is going to explode once the Waller Creek tunnel is completed. The reason the Drum sucks and always will is that it is isolated and generic. You need to build it in a location that people will have access to things other than the arena itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staples_Center

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Live

One of the things Dallas does better than Austin - put the American Airlines center near downtown, built it so it's incorporated into the city and attracts pedestrians instead of repelling them. Nice mixed use, hotels, retail, food and drink and housing have bloomed all around it (can't say that for the Erwin Center).

http://awesomeinsf.wordpress.com/201...llas_uptown_2/


http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/f...s%20center.JPG

There are urban ways to do these things.

[BevoLJ]

That area y'all are talking about the 9th St one block up already dead ends right there at the treasury building. Stoping another through street wouldn't be a concern since it is already stopped. Just stick it right there between 10th and 8th. Where that Baptist Church is one of the 4 original city parks (along with Replublic, Woolridge and the one by the convention center where the old fire station is) before the city gave that park to the Baptist. I would love to see the city get that park back. Even if it was for something like this.

Additionally what about E 5th, 6th or 7th? There are some good spots there and it is along the Redline. There is also that house that we were talking about on 9th just east of I-35. That spot would easily be large enough, but it doesn't have the easy access to downtown under I-35 that 6th and 7th have.

[GoldenBoot]

Several of the aforementioned locations "would be great," as long as one didn't care about parking.

If this exploritory "idea" comes to fruition, parking will weigh heavily on the final site location!

I have my doubts that the City of Austin and The University of Texas will ever co-develop an arena. It will be one or the other...alone. An we all know that will not be the City of Austin.

[East7thStreet]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Several of the aforementioned locations "would be great," as long as one didn't care about parking.

If this exploritory "idea" comes to fruition, parking will weigh heavily on the final site location.

I agree. A location like 8th-10th and Trinity-Red River would be close enough to the current state parking garages for a casual walk. There might even be enough room along Waterloo Park. That whole section of downtown is so depressed right now that a new arena would be great!

I could really see a LEED certified "Whole Foods Garden Arena" built with a green roof and flagship Pluckers, Maudies, HomeSlice, and Hopdaddy's serving as ground floor retail.