I have been wondering if the City of Austin requires a certain percentage of every new apartment development to be efficiencies or one bedroom units. Some cities do this to keep low income (affordable for the neighborhood) apartments available. It seems to me that Austin is becoming unaffordable for most renters. What is Austin doing besides charging a fee for affordable units then building them all in one development? I should know this after 20 years here but I do not. Thanks.
^I haven't been able to find the building elevations yet for SkyHouse. Have you found them yet? I asked for the heights and got them by email, but I would still like to see the building elevations themselves.
And ditto on the construction noise. Over the last month they've been tearing down and starting construction on a new psychiatric hospital on property that is immediately behind our neighborhood. Our backyard faces it. They've been banging around back there tearing down the buildings and pushing dirt around. A few nights ago they were at it all night long with some bright lights lighting up the site. It's planned as a 200 bed hospital in a 2-story building. I've even seen the site plans for it.
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Read the article, this sounds like corruption to me. The building's occupants include not just individuals or couples, but also special interest groups and lobbying firms. And now they could stand to get a tax break.
While the building is historic in the sense that it was Austin's first building over 200 feet tall (not counting the Capitol and UT Tower), it's architectural merits and historical ones mostly end there.
Besides, the threat of the building ever being torn down will never be there. With the building gone, it would create the possibility of a new capitol view corridor (CVC) to protect the views of the Capitol dome, a state and local law that was put in place after the building was built in 1966. Nothing could be built in its place that would reach the same height or square feet as the Westgate Tower without likely causing opposition or the specter of a rush to create a new CVC over that lot. Also the only thing that would require/cause the building's removal would be declining living conditions or structural failure leading to it being condemned.
Updated: 6:04 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 | Posted: 9:44 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 Westgate Tower may become Austin’s youngest landmark building, with the most tax breaks
By Brenda Bell
American-Statesman Staff
When he was in the Legislature, Babe Schwartz of Galveston fought long and hard against plans to build the Westgate Tower at West 12th and Colorado streets because the 26-story building — Austin’s first high-rise — would block views of the state Capitol from the west.
But in 1966 the Westgate got built anyway. Fifteen years later, after losing his race for re-election to the Texas Senate, Schwartz and his wife moved there themselves.
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My girlfriend has a poodle named Kevin.
I don't think this will block the view of the Monarch at least from most of the pedestrian bridge since the tower is only on the Western edge. The Eastern part is about as tall as it's gonna get.
RiverView Apartments
The scaffolding is down on the Northern buildings.
SkyHouse
Site prep continues.
Whitley
Topped out and work on the facade continues. I'm interested in how they cover the lower parking garage levels. In the renders it looked like limestone, it could be a nice contrast to the dark brick. I still have hope this could be a nice looking building.
Hyatt Place
Finishing touches put on the facade, still ugly.
Parking garage screens are up and the outside elevator is coming down.
I still hate the West side.
Although from the East it blends in nicely with it's neighbors.
JW Marriott
The hole is getting deeper.
East 2nd Street is open again.
Eleven Apartments
These will have some great views as long as you don't mind living on the access road of I35.
Wow, that blank face on the Hyatt tower is god awful terrible. What were they thinking? Isnt that old warehouse a protected building and therefor that blank side will always be showing? Why didnt they put windows on it? Im all for density but it looks like a terd.
Wow, that blank face on the Hyatt tower is god awful terrible. What were they thinking? Isnt that old warehouse a protected building and therefor that blank side will always be showing? Why didnt they put windows on it? Im all for density but it looks like a terd.
I know, it's not turning out the way I hoped it would.
Great update. Thanks! It's good the view of The Monarch will still be there. That'll mean the views from it will be safe, too. And RiverView is looking nice.
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My girlfriend has a poodle named Kevin.
I never doubted for one moment that the telephone poles on the north and east sides of the federal court house were going to be eventually removed and the power lines buried...until today. They aren't coming down. The brick in the side walk is being cut to accommodate those poles and I'm, well I don't know what the right word is. Confusion might approximate it.
I never doubted for one moment that the telephone poles on the north and east sides of the federal court house were going to be eventually removed and the power lines buried...until today. They aren't coming down. The brick in the side walk is being cut to accommodate those poles and I'm, well I don't know what the right word is. Confusion might approximate it.
They are not doing it now because of the cost. It costs between $250,000 and $500,000 in the suburbs for just a couple of blocks, probably much more downtown, to bury existing above ground power lines. My company had done it for new construction before. Obviously the power has to be cut and rerounted for a short period during the transition. It's like closing part of the highway - you have to have a detour. The cost goes up if the lines are the main power lines to what are called 'protected' or 'exempt' buildings - in other words buildings that cannot have their power cut off. All those office buildings that were exempted from the rolling blackouts that hit the rest of us a couple of years ago? It's because they had tech companies in them who made deals with the city to exempt their buildings and not cut their power. To take existing lines off-line from exempt buildings, even for a short period, requires you to create secondary line when there is no redudant power - the cost can be massive.
Yes, these companies have backup generators, but that's only for emergencies and backup generators do not give off the clean consistently smooth power stream required by tech companies to run their computers and data centers. Some companies have huge (expensive) power cleaners that scrub the power coming in from the generators when necessary, but that's a luxury that only the Intels, AMDs and Apples can afford. As we learned from the rolling blackouts, the downtown grid cannot be partially shut off, so it never gets shut off. And there's not much redundant power downtown. Also, not many large backup generators for the downtown buildings either. Not the type that can run your whole office - just the emergency lights & elevators kind.
Yeah, I'm all for a 10-story version of the "Hi How Are You?" frog/monster thing. Or a reproduction of the now defunct "We are all robots" mural on the train bridge. Just something so I don't have to cringe as I drive by twice a day. As for the power poles, I also hoped they would go underground.
New hotel plans revealed: 20 stories, roof terrace slated for Austin
Quote:
Developers REI Real Estate Services LLC and White Lodging Services Corp. will present these renderings and plans for a modern hotel with a projected 310 rooms to the Downtown Commission today at 5:30 p.m. The proposed unnamed project, at the corner of East Fifth Street and San Jacinto Boulevard, will be built by a team with experience in the Austin market, including members of the Harry Whittington family, REI and White Lodging.
Looks like a mix in design of the JW and Hyatt building built. I like it, especially the terrace portion. Want to see the facade though because not a fan of the Hyatt in the regard.
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Thanks.
Hybrid Mode