AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III

[The ATX]

Here's an updated top 40 list of Austin's tallest under construction and proposed high rises. Much of Austin's booming construction activity is for residential mid-rises and not on the list.

Virtually all of the information was obtained from press releases, city permit searches, published articles and published renderings. I use Emporis high rise standards for including projects to the list.

There are several State, University of Texas and Travis County buildings where the status and height information is not easy to obtain and may not currently be as I have listed. I probably haven't even included all of them on this list. But all of these buildings are on the low end of the high rise scale. So I don't really care.

The top three on the list all have the potential to be Austin's new tallest. If they all get built as proposed Austin will have four towers in the ~650' to 700' range which will make for a nice skyline.

[HoustonHorns]

Originally Posted by AusTxDevelopment

Rumor is a very prominent tech company is close to signing a lease for about 250,000 square feet - approximately half of the building's office space. The building is supposed to start construction this quarter and deliver by the end of 2016.

Thanks for the insight!

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by AusTxDevelopment

Rumor is a very prominent tech company is close to signing a lease for about 250,000 square feet - approximately half of the building's office space. The building is supposed to start construction this quarter and deliver by the end of 2016.

That could be why the start date was moved up from after the first tower currently U/C was completed in 2016.

[deerhoof]

Originally Posted by AusTxDevelopment

Rumor is a very prominent tech company is close to signing a lease for about 250,000 square feet - approximately half of the building's office space. The building is supposed to start construction this quarter and deliver by the end of 2016.

Last time you said the rumor was Google. Has that changed? Is it typical for a deal like this to take this long to come together? I believe you first mentioned this a while back (March or April, I think).

[shakman]

Originally Posted by deerhoof

Last time you said the rumor was Google. Has that changed? Is it typical for a deal like this to take this long to come together? I believe you first mentioned this a while back (March or April, I think).

It's just a rumor.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Last time you said the rumor was Google. Has that changed? Is it typical for a deal like this to take this long to come together? I believe you first mentioned this a while back (March or April, I think).

Yes deerhoof, it's supposed to be Google. CBRE is representing Google in their search for 200,000 to 250,000 square feet of office space in Austin. They've been looking at options for over a year.

Originally Posted by shakman

It's just a rumor.

And yes, it's just a rumor. Google was once rumored to be looking a building a building or two in the Domain for their Austin HQ, and also was rumored as one of the main tenants for Colorado Tower. All of those options fell through. This may not happen either, however Trammell Crow did move up the construction of a 500,000 square foot building with no preleasing in place (that we know of), so something is in the works. Either that or they are afraid they're going to miss the up-cycle if they wait too long.

[Urbannizer]

Seven from this morning.





Colorado Tower

[NYC_Longhorn]

Does anyone have an idea of where the final footprint of the tallest part of the ECC building will be?

Aren't they combining two towers to do a large one? I'd like to figure out what views will be blocked from certain angles.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by NYC_Longhorn

Does anyone have an idea of where the final footprint of the tallest part of the ECC building will be?

We are a ways off from getting any specific info on this project.

[NYC_Longhorn]

I figured but I'm curious where such a building might be positioned (will it terrace away from the lake, etc). Don't worry, I don't count on it until construction clears the 20h floor.

Btw am I the only person that thinks Colorado tower ended up looking shorter than expected? Probably once the glass fills in up top it won't look that way

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by NYC_Longhorn

Btw am I the only person that thinks Colorado tower ended up looking shorter than expected? Probably once the glass fills in up top it won't look that way

You're not alone. I made that same comment a while back in the thread for that building.

[KevinFromTexas]

The Colorado Tower looks better seen from far away as far as height goes. I took some pics yesterday from the South Austin Hospital garage, and it looked slightly taller than One Congress Plaza even though the two are the same height (397 feet). I assumed it was because the Colorado Tower sits on slightly higher ground than One Congress Plaza does being that it's 2 blocks farther north.

My guess is with the Austin ECC tower is they'll place the tower on the west side of the block. Whatever happens at the "courthouse block" caddy corner to it will likely be along 3rd Street. If the ECC tower were more central on the block or on the east side of it, that would mean three large towers would be across from each other.

[Chiveman]

Here are some updated images from different perspectives of Austin's (Potential) Future Skyline. I included ECC as an 800' building on the western half of the lot.













I really hope y'all enjoy these as much as I do making them!

Please leave comments/suggestions!

[KevinFromTexas]

Looks great! It's funny how the growth of the skyline as seen from the north is almost unnoticeable and insignificant.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Looks great! It's funny how the growth of the skyline as seen from the north is almost unnoticeable and insignificant.

We often don't realze how "downhill" the river is from UT!

[NYC_Longhorn]

We can always count on Chiveman! These are fantastic!

[NYC_Longhorn]

Chiveman, can you post some from Mopac, Mabry West Austin?

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

We often don't realze how "downhill" the river is from UT!

I notice it on my bike. Especially on West Avenue whenever I'm headed north into say West Campus. There are blocks in West Campus that sit 170 feet higher than the level of the river. Even the Capitol sits 110 feet higher than the river. You could have a 170 foot tall building along Cesar Chavez facing the river and still have your eye level be higher in elevation as you were standing in West Campus. The area where the Triangle is is about 220 feet higher than the river level. So those state owned highrises at 51st Street have an eye level elevation of a 350 foot tall building in the lower part of downtown.

Originally Posted by NYC_Longhorn

Chiveman, can you post some from Mopac, Mabry West Austin?

It would be cool to see the view from Saint Edward's University, too.

[MichaelB]

[QUOTE=KevinFromTexas;6693813]I notice it on my bike. Especially on West Avenue whenever I'm headed north into say West Campus. There are blocks in West Campus that sit 170 feet higher than the level of the river. Even the Capitol sits 110 feet higher than the river. You could have a 170 foot tall building along Cesar Chavez facing the river and still have your eye level be higher in elevation as you were standing in West Campus. The area where the Triangle is is about 220 feet higher than the river level. So those state owned highrises at 51st Street have an eye level elevation of a 350 foot tall building in the lower part of downtown.

YES ! eaxctly!
YES ! eaxctly! When we ride to hike and bike trail, coming home is always a bitch in summer.... uphill, end of ride... !
So where did you find those elevations, I would love to see how Cambridge relates to that.!

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

YES ! eaxctly!
YES ! eaxctly! When we ride to hike and bike trail, coming home is always a bitch in summer.... uphill, end of ride... !
So where did you find those elevations, I would love to see how Cambridge relates to that.!

You can measure sea level elevations with Google Earth. Just pass your cursor over each block. At the bottom right of the screen it'll show you the elevation. There's also a "3D Buildings" check box to the left that lets you to measure building heights. You have to subtract the 3D building elevation from the sea level elevation to get the number.

According to Google Earth, the footprint of the Cambridge Tower is between 572 and 576 feet above sea level. The river elevation is 429 feet above sea level. So the footprint of the Cambridge Tower is between 143 and 147 feet higher than the river is. The Cambridge Tower itself is 181 feet to the mechanical penthouse. So the roof of the building is 324 to 328 feet higher than the river level. That's slightly more than the height of The Monarch.