AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[AustinGuy]

Does anyone know what the current status of the Seaholm project is? Will that start construction this year or are they still in the planning and approval stages for a bit longer?

[StoOgE]

My issue with Walmart is pretty simple, and it has nothing to do with them being Wallmart.

The project is way too big. Look at the size of the "box" stores along Burnet right now.. the HEB at Burnet and 2222 is pretty small. The Lowes along Shoal Creek is one of their smaller ones in Austin. A similarly sized Wallmart is fine.

Moreover, it isnt on a major thouroughfair, its on a neighboorhood street (this would be akin to putting a gigantic Wallmart at Stassney and Westgate.. sure they are "major" roads in that part of town, but it aint exactly Ben White and Mopac)... and they are going to keep it open 24/7 (well, I guess they are willing to close it at 3 in the morning and reopen at 6).

The reason a big box target wouldnt be nearly as opposed isnt just because its target.. Target Greatlands arent anywhere near as big as this thing, and they *close* at night. We're not just talking increased traffic, we are talking about increased traffic 24/7, and this Wallmart will be surrounded by houses.

The site is allready a mall, so you cant say no to larger developments, and you certainly cant single out a much maligned business and say no just to them.. but you can set standards that meet that neighboorhoods needs and not just what Walmart wants.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

Does anyone know what the current status of the Seaholm project is? Will that start construction this year or are they still in the planning and approval stages for a bit longer?

Seaholm is expected to commence construction late this year or early 2008. As far as I know, the developers are still tweaking a few things, i.e., finalizing the details.

[JACKinBeantown]

Kevin, I love the Lego model. I'm not sure what a few of the newer blue buildings are. Would it be too much to ask you to label them on the photo?

[cpddavis]

OK, seriously - how is Burnet not a major thoroughfare? The only busier north-south street in its vicinity is Lamar.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by JACKinNYC

Kevin, I love the Lego model. I'm not sure what a few of the newer blue buildings are. Would it be too much to ask you to label them on the photo?

Sure, first, the blue tower on the left with the white top is The Austonian. It's modeled at 700 feet there. The blue tower with the angled roof next to Frost Bank, is Tom Stacy's proposed tower at 5th & Congress. It's modeled at 705 feet there. The other tall tower in the background with the angled top with a red tip, is actually my model of Fountain Place up in Dallas. I just threw it into the model for fun, and placed it on the Austin Museum block, (they own that block). The other two blue rectangular towers off to the right are the post office towers. Now, when I did those, I was using heights that a developer of another building gave me, which apparently weren't right. He said the towers would be 480 feet and 600 feet tall. The west tower is actually supposed to be 450 feet tall, and the east tower is planned to be 550 feet tall. Also, that's not how the towers will be shaped. I didn't know what they looked like, I just built them up to the height he said and put them down. Also I doubt that's the right color, I just used blue because that's the color I had the most of. And I'm not sure that's the right placement on the blocks either. I believe because of the Capitol view corridor which slices through that block, that the towers should have been flopped. Imagine them trading the way their currently arranged and about a half inch shorter.

Here's a panoramic shot of the model with the buildings labeled. Now that white tower that says "Whitley Property", that's just a mockup. That's actually my model of a building in Chicago, but anyway, the height was just a guess. MichaelB had mentioned that there are tentative plans for a ~40 story residential building there. So I just guessed about the height and placement. I doubt, (and hope), that it doesn't look anything like that! When a new window opens, click on the image to enlarge it. You can also always click on 'City of Legos' in my signature to be taken to my photo gallery at Brickshelf.com to see more pictures of the model.
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/KevinFromTexas/Scale-model-Downtown/austinlegopanolabeled.jpg

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by cpddavis

OK, seriously - how is Burnet not a major thoroughfare? The only busier north-south street in its vicinity is Lamar.

and mopac, and airport, and 360 and 35.. unless the "vicinity" is right around Burnet Road.. then sure, for the area around Burnett road, Burnett road is the busiest north-south street.

Plus, this thing isnt on Burnett, its off of Anderson, which is a significantly smaller street.. and the thing runs along Northcross Dr which is a two lane road that has a ton of apartments/condos on it.

Like I said, its on some large roads for that area.. akin to Stassney and Westgate. Ive got no problem with Wallmart going in there, but make it the same size as some of the other big boxes along burnett. This thing isnt close to the same size.

[Strayone]

The Monarch is pouring the 20th floor, according to a fella that works on the site. He said there's 9 to go so that adds up. I noticed they are putting in some glass and what could be some kind of cladding on the south end of the 9th floor of 360. The spine of that end looks to be a windowed area at the end of each hallway. If it is glass it doesn't seem to be translucent from outside. It may have some kind of protective tape over it yet. Or more likely it is mirrored. I did see a window of a residence that was translucent on the 9th as well. The 360 site says they are using" high performance glass" for energy efficiency. I would think most new contruction uses similar materials.
Also I counted the floors again and I do believe they are getting ready to pour 18's floor. There doesn't seem to be anymore columns being erected on the north end. That would make sense if it is the terrace area on the 17th floor.
Took a look in the hole that is Altavida. Lots of work going on, pillars are starting to pop up on lowest level. Piles of material are scattered all around the bottom. Should be interesting to see it finally rise.

[bigdogc]

Altavida has to be at least 8 stories in the ground... This time last year were sites like 360, amli, monarch digging 8 stories in the ground as well?

[KevinFromTexas]

The reason it's so deep is that there's a 5-story parking garage below ground. It had to be that deep. And actually I believe the number was 6 stories/60 feet. If you look at that bell tower along Cesar Chavez fronting Town Lake, it's 67 feet tall. So you could probably set it in there easily.

Skyscrapers don't have to dig very deep in Central Texas before they hit bedrock. So the building's huge hole is mostly for the garage. Even the Austin City Hall had a fairly deep hole, again for a 3 story garage below ground.

[cpddavis]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

and mopac, and airport, and 360 and 35.. unless the "vicinity" is right around Burnet Road.. then sure, for the area around Burnett road, Burnett road is the busiest north-south street.

Plus, this thing isnt on Burnett, its off of Anderson, which is a significantly smaller street.. and the thing runs along Northcross Dr which is a two lane road that has a ton of apartments/condos on it.

Like I said, its on some large roads for that area.. akin to Stassney and Westgate. Ive got no problem with Wallmart going in there, but make it the same size as some of the other big boxes along burnett. This thing isnt close to the same size.

I'm not sure airport is significantly busier than Burnet, or even at all. Mopac, 35 and 360 are all highways and in a different class altogether. Northcross is for all intents and purposes at Burnet and Anderson.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by cpddavis

I'm not sure airport is significantly busier than Burnet, or even at all. Mopac, 35 and 360 are all highways and in a different class altogether. Northcross is for all intents and purposes at Burnet and Anderson.

Airport is a significantly busier road, Airport through that part of town may be as busy as Lamar is due to its proximity to 35... and your right, those other roads are in a class all of their own, they arent city streets (I guess I could have thrown 183 in there too since its technically a N-S highway as well).

As far as where this is located, look at Walmarts brochures, this thing is going to be off Anderson and Northcross, basically butted right up on the edge of the property away from Burnet right next to the apartments behind Northcross.

The other issue is Walmart isnt exacly playing 'nice'. In their push polling and brochures they state that they have community support and have worked with the neighboorhood associations in the planning. Which is true, Im sure they do have some community support and they have met with the neighboorhood associations.. and every one of them have voted against the Wallmart.. but their brochure implies that they have support of the neighboorhood associations.

[Mopacs]

Updated screen capture from 360's construction webcam... Floor 17/Terrace Level is well underway, and the elevator core is up to the 18th level. Also webcam has panned out as of this morning:



http://novare.oxblue.com/austin360/index.html

[jgouger]

Hey everyone,

The web-cam images that 360 has showing the construction stages are very impressive! Does anyone know what kind of a camera / lens they are using to take pictures that clear and detailed?

Jordan

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by jgouger

Hey everyone,

The web-cam images that 360 has showing the construction stages are very impressive! Does anyone know what kind of a camera / lens they are using to take pictures that clear and detailed?

Jordan

Totally agree. They're using a very high-resolution camera...not your ordinary webcam. It appears to be positioned from either 300 W 6th or the Chase Bank tower. Kevin?

[Northcrossed]

Originally Posted by Mopacs

Totally agree. They're using a very high-resolution camera...not your ordinary webcam. It appears to be positioned from either 300 W 6th or the Chase Bank tower. Kevin?

Here's their vendor: http://oxblue.com

[dimsume]

Maybe this forum can give me some insight. First of all, I'm a college student and my budget is about 180-220k for a one bedroom apartment. Naturally, the 360 would have been my first choice, and it was my fault for not grabbing it as fast as possible. However, now the smallest condo at the 360, which is even less than 800sq ft is selling for 273k. I'm not sure how that works seeing how the website markets that 1 bedroom condos will range from 180-300k for their smallest to largest ones. Could someone give me some insight on how they can sell their smallest floorplan at their largest 1 bedroom floorplan price?

Also, if not the 360, than where else? Anyone have any insight on Skyline lofts? Any opinion of living just east of the highway?

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by dimsume

Maybe this forum can give me some insight. First of all, I'm a college student and my budget is about 180-220k for a one bedroom apartment. Naturally, the 360 would have been my first choice, and it was my fault for not grabbing it as fast as possible. However, now the smallest condo at the 360, which is even less than 800sq ft is selling for 273k. I'm not sure how that works seeing how the website markets that 1 bedroom condos will range from 180-300k for their smallest to largest ones. Could someone give me some insight on how they can sell their smallest floorplan at their largest 1 bedroom floorplan price?

Also, if not the 360, than where else? Anyone have any insight on Skyline lofts? Any opinion of living just east of the highway?

You'd be hard pressed to find anything within that scope in central Austin. Additionally, I suggest you hire a Realtor to help you out.

Your budget ranges 22% from $180K to $220K – that’s a pretty big swing! Have you ever bought anything before? Are you confident that you knowing exactly what you’re doing? I only ask because you are still in college…and I’ve seen several college students get themselves in a lot of trouble purchasing real property before they are truly ready to do so.

What is driving you to purchase? Home ownership? Investment? If an investment, is your cap rate high enough to make it really sensible?

How’s your personal adjusted net worth, current liabilities (including all notes payable), liquidity, monthly cash flow? Are you planning on putting 20% equity into the purchase? Banks are going to want to know. Its information they will require you to provide in considering whether or not to risk loaning you funds to purchase real property. Also, don’t forget about closing costs, fees, PITI, commissions, etc. in your overall budget calculations.

Here’s a very subjective estimate…a $200,000 loan, at 6% interest, termed out over 30 years will cost you $1,199.10 per month for principal and interest payments only. This is obviously excluding taxes and insurance, which may run you an additional couple of hundred per month.

Home ownership is great! Interest paid on your homestead mortgage is tax deductible. However, I’m not quite sure if you can do this and still be claimed as a dependent by your parent(s).

Anyway, if you already know all of this, then I wish you the best of luck. I’d still hire a Realtor, though.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Mopacs

It appears to be positioned from either 300 W 6th or the Chase Bank tower. Kevin?

I had to think about that for a minute, but I defintely thought the same thing.

Seeing Greg's pics from the top of 300 West Sixth was sort of throwing me off, because I was leaning towards the Chase Bank Tower.

I looked back with the web cam and found a pic from September of last year where they had panned back and showed some buildings in the foreground.

I used GoogleEarth to help with the angle, using the ruler feature. I'd say it's from the Chase Bank Tower. To the lower left here you can see The Plaza. Also at the bottom of the image you can just see the edge of the building the camera is on, then jutting out behind it is the roofline of Lavaca Plaza. I checked the angle and that definitely makes this shot being taken from the Chase Bank Tower. Something else I considered, too, was the fact that Andrews Urban and Novare will also be doing the post office towers. If they had used 300 West Sixth I think the camera would have been too close to those towers. But Chase Bank Tower would be a perfect location to view their construction. And remember, first the west tower will go up, since they have to build the new post office over there first before they can tear down the old one on the east tower site.

[priller]

Originally Posted by jgouger

Hey everyone,

The web-cam images that 360 has showing the construction stages are very impressive! Does anyone know what kind of a camera / lens they are using to take pictures that clear and detailed?

Jordan

Hi guys, this is my first post here. Ran across this web site when my wife and I were looking into downtown condos.

At the oxblue web site, they mention that their cameras are 3 MP, which sounds about right to me. I'm a rather serious amateur photographer and to do a nice, detailed photo of that size, 3 MP is plenty. Their camera probably has a good lens on it, though, which is why the picture looks better than your typical web cam.