AUSTIN | Projects & Construction III - Page 89

JoninATX · #**1761** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 1:23 AM**

The finally crane has arrived at 311 Bowie. They have 3 sections parked out in front of the Spring and finally got to touch one of the sections as well.

The ATX · #**1762** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 2:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoninATX

The finally crane has arrived at 311 Bowie. They have 3 sections parked out in front of the Spring and finally got to touch one of the sections as well.

You got to touch one? Awesome. What was it like.

KevinFromTexas · #**1763** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 3:08 AM**

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...nt-supp/nWWgN/

Quote:

Posted: 4:29 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013
Despite building boom, Central Texas apartment supply still lagging behind demand

Slower rent growth forecast this year amid a wave of new supply

By Shonda Novak
American-Statesman Staff

Here’s some news that won’t come as a surprise to Central Texas apartment dwellers: Rents in the area keep going up, continuing a three-year climb.

The recession dried up funding for new apartment construction during the past few years, so very few new units were added to the market. And even though thousands of apartments are under construction or in the planning stages now, it will take time to catch up to the pace set by the Austin region’s job and population growth, experts say.

Charles Heimsath, a local real estate market expert, tracks rents and occupancies in Austin’s apartment market. Last year, Austin’s occupancy rate citywide hit an all-time high of nearly 98 percent in June, settling slightly lower by year-end at 97.4 percent, Heimsath said. Rents peaked in December, averaging $842 for one-bedroom units and $1,115 for two-bedroom units, Heimsath’s research shows.

Last year, 3,528 new apartment units were built in the Austin region, said Heimsath, president of Capitol Market Research. Currently, 12,592 units are under construction in Central Texas. Nearly 8,000 of those will open in 2013, and the rest in 2014, he said.

JoninATX · #**1764** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 6:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hill Country

You got to touch one? Awesome. What was it like.

It was awesome...

lzppjb · #**1765** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 8:16 AM**

Downtown looked amazing tonight. Hope someone was able to get some photos.

Syndic · #**1766** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 10:51 AM**

It did look amazing. I was down there. No pictures, though. It was so alive. Driving by the Rainey Street District on 35, SkyHouse looks huge. It's 11 stories already. Whitley looked amazing, too. I dare say it's a week or two from being finished.

KevinFromTexas · #**1767** Posted **Feb 24, 2013, 8:49 PM**

These are from 2/15. It was at 9 floors then, but just 6 days later they had 2 more floors up with the columns for the 12th started. It's crazy that this thing is halfway topped out. They were still playing in the dirt at the beginning of October. At this rate it'll be topped out by mid/late June.

From I-35:

The ATX · #**1768** Posted **Feb 25, 2013, 3:23 AM**

The second crane at 3Eleven is up.

Austin1971 · #**1769** Posted **Feb 26, 2013, 6:30 PM**

Viewing from the JWMarriott cam looks like they have cleared the parking lot for the new Westin Hotel......

KevinFromTexas · #**1770** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 1:19 AM**

Oh wow. They sure have. They have those orange and white barricades up around the site. I still haven't seen the building elevations for it, though. At 17 floors it'll probably be the same height as Hyatt Place.

Look just above the roofline of Whitley.
http://oxblue.com/open/tournee/jwmarriottaustin

That's 7 construction sites that have been visible in that view.

Hampton Inn University Area
JW Marriott
Hyatt Place
Whitley
Callaway House
3rd & Colorado
Westin Hotel

It would have been 9 if the 416 Congress Hotel and Austin Hotel hotels had happened.

Syndic · #**1771** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 9:42 AM**

Hmm, I have a kind of icky feeling about this development now.

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/m...e-audit/nWbKm/

Quote:

Marriott developer asks city to drop wage audit

By Marty Toohey

American-Statesman Staff

The developer of a downtown JW Marriott is trying to stop Austin’s investigation of allegations that the company is violating a $3.8 million economic development agreement.

White Lodging development’s politically influential lawyer, Richard Suttle Jr., wrote a letter Monday to City Council members asking them to end the city staff’s inquiry, which hinges on whether the developer is properly paying its construction workers. The city agreed to waive $3.8 million in fees in exchange for White Lodging paying its construction workers a “prevailing wage,” but the company and the city staff are now interpreting that requirement differently. If the city staff ultimately decides White Lodging violated the agreement, the city could require the company to pay the additional $3.8 million.

lzppjb · #**1772** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 11:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

That's 7 construction sites that have been visible in that view.

Hampton Inn University Area
JW Marriott
Hyatt Place
Whitley
Callaway House
3rd & Colorado
Westin Hotel

It would have been 9 if the 416 Congress Hotel and Austin Hotel hotels had happened.

I mentioned this on some other thread, but you can also see the rooftop lounge being built atop the old Spaghetti Warehouse too.

Lower Burnet · #**1773** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 6:07 PM**

Not sure if anyone was aware, but there is an OxBlue Construction camera for Skyhouse Austin at: oxblue.com/open/SkyHouseApartments. Looks like the wind blew it off target a bit this past Monday!

ivanwolf · #**1774** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 9:15 PM**

Some pics from today of the JW Marriott site.

What would the quarter sized tower crane base like thing be in this pic. Maybe a small crane to come?

corvairkeith · #**1775** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 10:12 PM**

Looks like we were both there around the same time today. I posted my pics here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=184 I was wondering about that small crane base as well.

KevinFromTexas · #**1776** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 10:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin1971

Viewing from the JWMarriott cam looks like they have cleared the parking lot for the new Westin Hotel......

I emailed the developer yesterday. Here was his response. This is the same guy who got me the heights for the JW Marriott and Hyatt Place Hotels.

Quote:

Still in early phases of design. Email me back in a few months. The lot is barricaded because we don't have a permit to allow parking.

Also an update on the Rainey Gateway Center. This is the twin tower project that was announced with 50 floors each.

Quote:

Currently the plan is for one building 8 floors tall covering most of the property.

East7thStreet · #**1777** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 10:49 PM**

It's crazy to go from twin 50-story towers to one 8 story building.... but as long as it's designed with great ground floor retail then I am still excited.

MightyYoda · #**1778** Posted **Feb 27, 2013, 11:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by East7thStreet

It's crazy to go from twin 50-story towers to one 8 story building.... but as long as it's designed with great ground floor retail then I am still excited.

I usually am for one to go for density over worrying so much about height, especially when it comes to getting rid of surface parking lots. However, a lot with no CVC building at 8 floors is silly. I hope another developer gets the property.

JoninATX · #**1779** Posted **Feb 28, 2013, 1:37 AM**

Apartment project with affordable rents planned for South Austin Goodwill site

Quote:

By Shonda Novak American-Statesman Staff Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013

Amid a sea of luxury apartments under construction on South Lamar Boulevard, Foundation Communities is planning an oasis of affordability — 109 inexpensive rentals in a pioneering project with Goodwill Industries of Central Texas.

Foundation Communities, a local nonprofit provider of affordable housing and support services, hopes to receive $10 million in federal tax credits to build the $15 million Skyview Studios at 2800 S. Lamar Blvd.

The project would be built on a site that houses a Goodwill retail store that is among Austin’s oldest and most popular. On the ground floor of its four-story building, Foundation Communities would build a new 14,000-square-foot Goodwill store that would include more parking — a total of 60 spaces — than the current location has. There would also be 30 spaces for apartment residents, most of whom are expected to not own cars.

The units, each about 400 square feet, would have projected rents of $400 to $650 a month, with all utilities included, said Walter Moreau, executive director of Foundation Communities. That would put them within reach of individuals making less than $26,000 a year, he said. Renters could include everyone from Goodwill employees to service industry workers to people on fixed incomes or disability income, he said.

If all goes as planned, construction could start by the second quarter of 2014, with the project completed in a year.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...nned-fo/nWcCM/

The ATX · #**1780** Posted **Feb 28, 2013, 4:22 PM**

16-story Hotel Van Zandt (Kimpton) to start construction in June.

50-story Fairmont Hotel to start construction in October.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...-to-break.html