AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III

[BevoLJ]

Ah, cool. Thanks Kevin.

Also I updated the Seaholm and Hyatt sites heights with the 314' & 207' heights you posted other threads. You keep going at this rate and they should all have heights know before the summer is out! =) Now if some can just get dirt moving I could move them up to the "Under Construction" list.

Also I have seen a few postings here and there of other projects, but have been a bit busy and not paying a whole lot of attention. Like should is there anything at the Domain that I should be adding? Anything over 100'?

[BevoLJ]

Sorry for the double post. I also just checked the Callaway House thread so updated that one too and moved it down a few spots.

[KevinFromTexas]

I think so far the only one at the Domain that will be over 100 feet is the Block T1 at the Domain. Here's the link for that - http://www.wdgarch.com/portfolio/pro...-at-the-domain - The city's emerging projects list info about it called it a "12-story" project even though it only has 8 floors. So I would guess that means it'll be at least 120 feet. I'll work on getting the actual height.

The Kinzie - http://www.wdgarch.com/portfolio/projects/the-kinzie - This is a 6-story project. I think it might be under construction. See Mopacs' post here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=642

There is a project planned for 3201 Esperanza Crossing that I found a height for. The name the site plan elevation gave is "The Streetlights at the Domain". It is 82 feet tall with 6 floors. I think that is The Kinzie, and I think it's the one in Mopacs' photos. A google search for Streetlights at the Domain turned up the link above with the name of "The Kinzie" for the project.

In this aerial image, the 3201 Esperanza Crossing address placed it on that vacant parking lot north of the Westin. In Mopacs' photos, you can see the Westin in the background.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=3201+...gl=us&t=h&z=18

[BevoLJ]

Posted updated construction progress photos of the Whitley Apartments and the Hyatt and JW Marriott Hotels thanks corvairkeith from their respective threads.

Cheers!

@Kevin, thanks! I'll try to keep an eye out for more from that to add it.

[corvairkeith]

I also noticed some work being done on Brazos Hall today.

[N90]

3rd & Colorado is beautiful. Austin's skyline is turning very "blue" with all these tall blue buildings being proposed and all. I don't know how I feel about that yet because I like the variation in color right now as it is, I think it works for Austin.

Too much blue can look a little overdone to be honest.

[BevoLJ]

Once this 3rd & Co. office tower and JW, Hyatt and Whitley are done 3rd from the convention center to the 360 is going to be great. Our second 2nd street! lol

I have to wonder at just how much of this past decades revival of the Railyard, Rainey and Warehouse districts is due to the growth of the SXSW convention? It seems that southern part of Downtown really has made a strong comeback when much of the convention events sprung up all over that area. Even though much of the growth really has nothing to do with the convention, the convention did seem to make the area desirable again which brought on a lot of the growth.

Just 10 years ago it was dead. Now the only dead part of 3rd will be by the Republic Park where Travis Co wants to build whatever it is they end up with. And for 3rd St past the 360, once Trader Joe's and the Seaholm and ECC sites are done, it will be a fantastic street all the way from the convention center to Lamar.

I forget, are they planning on building a bridge over Shoal Creek for 3rd street? Right now there is just the pedestrian one and the ancient railway bridge that probably hasn't seen a rail car in at least 60 or so years. lol. It would be cool to keep that old rail bridge and put a modern rail ontop of it and keep the pedestrian one. Don't really need to have a bridge there for cars.

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...r-2424417.html

More parking, restrooms, food trailers planned for popular trailhead at Auditorium Shores

By Sarah Coppola
Updated: 8:30 p.m. Sunday, July 29, 2012
Published: 8:09 p.m. Sunday, July 29, 2012

The trailhead at Auditorium Shores is a popular spot on the Lady Bird Lake hike-and-bike trail, but it can also be a congested area when runners, cyclists and walkers converge there.

Austin's Parks and Recreation Department plans to make several changes to ease the congestion and improve the look of the area, which hasn't had an overhaul in decades.

The changes will include widening the trail, building new restrooms, expanding the parking lot, adding an area for mobile food vendors and creating better spaces to sit, take a water break or stretch before a run.

"Right now, (the trailhead) is just a place people get on the hike-and-bike path and move on," said Earl Broussard, president of the Austin landscape architecture firm TBG Partners, which is designing the changes. "We want it to be a destination — more accessible and user-friendly."

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...g-2424472.html

Nonprofit gets tax credits to build affordable housing project in downtown Austin

By Sarah Coppola

An Austin nonprofit has secured the $11 million in federal tax credits that it needs to build the first downtown development in decades to house only low-income residents.

Foundation Communities plans to break ground early next year on 0.6 acres at 11th and Trinity streets. It expects to open the project, called Capital Studios, in early 2014.

The development will include 135 efficiency apartments rented for $400 to $650 a month, utilities included, to single adults who earn less than $27,000 — roughly half of Austin's median income.

The project will cost about $13 million to build, so winning the tax credits was crucial, said Walter Moreau, the nonprofit's executive director.

[AusTex]

I went to the mountians of Colorado for a week and the talk was all Domain stuff.

Not to bring back the discussion....but SOMEONE HELP ME OUT....What are the "Public" vs "Private" streets in the Domain????? I have looked and can not find this info. In order to understand the development at the Domain one really needs to know "What is Public Space" and "What is Private Property". Someone...PLEASE...inform us as to the public streets. THANKS

[AusTxDevelopment]

Below is an image of an email that was sent to tenants at the Domain last week. I blacked out the employee who sent it because I didn't want to put her contact info on a public forum especially since she's not involved in the discussion, and comments can be a little....strongly worded. It appears that they are trying to get public transportation to/into the Domain. It's probably been stepped up due to the new office development - Domain 7. They'll need public transportation access to attract high-density & high-tech tenants for that property.

[nixcity]

I am not a big fan of all low income housing put into one or multiple buildings. If you look at the hot spots for crime in Austin and around the country it is for the most part centered around that kind of housing. I feel it works best to put 10-20% of a development at that level. They also need to remember those of us in the say 30,000 to 60,000 dollar range who also would like to live in a more urban setting. I couldn't get grants in college bc my parents made just over the limit and now I get no support either for making over the limit but being nowhere close to afford anything more than a $135,000 house or condo which gets you jack s%(t in this city.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by nixcity

I am not a big fan of all low income housing put into one or multiple buildings. If you look at the hot spots for crime in Austin and around the country it is for the most part centered around that kind of housing. I feel it works best to put 10-20% of a development at that level. They also need to remember those of us in the say 30,000 to 60,000 dollar range who also would like to live in a more urban setting. I couldn't get grants in college bc my parents made just over the limit and now I get no support either for making over the limit but being nowhere close to afford anything more than a $135,000 house or condo which gets you jack s%(t in this city.

Foundation Communities creates housing for an "in need" population. They monitor their properties very well and are very selective about the type of tenant they allow. I don't think there is a serious drug or crime problem at any of the properties they operate in the Austin area. They have been able to provide safe and comfortable housing for disabled people and single parents or low income families at various properties with minimum disruption to neighbors. There is a real need for some affordable housing for targeted populations in the central Austin area. There is room downtown for a socially and economically diverse population. It makes for a more interesting city in the long run. Check out their web site for a listing of their various properties. They are a great community asset.

http://www.foundcom.org/get-housing/austin-communities/

[nixcity]

^I'm glad you pointed that out. Actually they do an amazing job at a complex that serves a lot of the students of the school that I formerly taught at. I hadn't realized that his was going to be done by them. I wish there was more money for projects like what they do that also support the parents and get them involved in the community and their child's lives. However, what about the "others" that don't work for that kind of development, those that get removed by them (and rightfully so) because they don't respect the rules??? The place that first comes to mind is the section 8 housing on east 2nd street. I also think of the huge disasters in Chicago. Fortunately we have nothing like that where 10,000 people living in extreme poverty are right on top of each other yet still I feel like they can be integrated into new developments. The city has pushed for this some but not enough.

[gardensoul]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Foundation Communities creates housing for an "in need" population. They monitor their properties very well and are very selective about the type of tenant they allow. I don't think there is a serious drug or crime problem at any of the properties they operate in the Austin area. They have been able to provide safe and comfortable housing for disabled people and single parents or low income families at various properties with minimum disruption to neighbors. There is a real need for some affordable housing for targeted populations in the central Austin area. There is room downtown for a socially and economically diverse population. It makes for a more interesting city in the long run. Check out their web site for a listing of their various properties. They are a great community asset.

http://www.foundcom.org/get-housing/austin-communities/

Foundation Communities is an amazing non-profit! One of the coolest things they do is provide after-school mentoring and classes for the children living at their sites. At the M Station (by the MLK rail stop) they have boosted the average GPA of their kids to over 3.5!

[BevoLJ]

^^ That's pretty awesome!

[nixcity]

From what I have been able to gather it looks like the funding is all local. Can anyone verify this?? If so that is incredible. All they have shown is success. Maybe we should find funding on a federal level for WAY MORE of these programs, oh wait, i forgot we can't spend money helping those in our own country because we need more money for tax incentives for junk food and mandated state testing.....not to mention the crap money we spend in other countries dropping bombs then awarding huge contracts to companies to go clean up the mess we just made.

money for junk food
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...163814616.html

money wasted on "education"
http://jasonstanford.org/2012/07/time-to-fire-pearson/

http://www.ourvaluesourtexas.com/the...ed_for_failure


Sorry but this issue is dear to me and should be to all Americans, we are slipping further and further in education which has direct negative effects on society yet there are proven positive programs like the ones being built by Foundation Communities which require people to fight for any kind of funding.

[austintilIdie]

We'll never see the desired density of the Domain/North Burnet areal. With a re-laying of the grid, there's a potential, but not in my lifetime (I'm 29).

[BevoLJ]

Updated the Riverview Apartment heights to 138 feet for Building C. Thanks to Kevin in the RevierVeiw thread for that info. =)

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I got the building heights for it.

RiverView Austin Apartments Building C - 138 feet - 11 floors (he told me 11 floors, I thought it was 12).

RiverView Austin Apartments Building D - 102 feet - 9 floors

RiverView Austin Apartments Building A - 73 feet - 5 floors

RiverView Austin Apartments Building B - 73 feet - 5 floors

The tallest building in the development will be the 89th tallest building in Austin ranked between the IBM office buildings on Burnet Road in North Austin and the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown on Cesar Chavez Street.

I never realized all those buildings on the IBM Campus where 130 feet tall! They don't look very tall. lol. I guess because they are so big.

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...o-2425628.html

19th-century building on Congress Avenue likely to be razed

By Tara Merrigan
Published: 8:13 p.m. Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A 19th-century Congress Avenue building could soon face the wrecking ball after a city commission all but cleared the way for its demolition.

The Austin Historic Landmark Commission agreed Monday night that few original features remain at the two-story building at 901 Congress Ave.

Texas Public Policy Foundation, the conservative think tank that owns the property, can raze the building once the historic commission reviews designs for the new structure.

The foundation intends to build a five-story building to accommodate its burgeoning operation. Proposed designs feature a wraparound porch and an indoor "amphitheater" for forum talks, according to Joshua Treviño, foundation spokesman.

[cvillehorn]

Boo.

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...o-2425628.html