AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II - Page 41

AustinGuy · #**801** Posted **May 22, 2007, 6:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

Great find, AustinGuy. I don't know? If so, that's a pretty interesting move on Zom's part...

It's always made sense to me that this building would be condo as opposed to apartments. Plus, they can get the jump on selling these before the other condo projects come on line within the next few years.

Maybe the monarch would be more "affordable" than the other new condo projects?

Strayone · #**802** Posted **May 22, 2007, 4:08 PM**

It is possible that Zom recieved some attention from buyers who were unaware that the project was not a condo. And now they see a nice oppurtunity. But at this late of juncture I would think only a limited # of the units would go toward being condos. That actually doesn't seem likely either since no condo owner would want neighbours who don't have the same longterm concerns, I realise there are mixed use buidings but they usually have seperate elevators for the different portions, and keep the guests on lower levels. In the end this doesn't make a lot of sense, unless they have the ok from the investment end to have a condo element. The site does say sales center opening in June.

crewer · #**803** Posted **May 23, 2007, 11:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strayone

It is possible that Zom recieved some attention from buyers who were unaware that the project was not a condo. And now they see a nice oppurtunity. But at this late of juncture I would think only a limited # of the units would go toward being condos. That actually doesn't seem likely either since no condo owner would want neighbours who don't have the same longterm concerns, I realise there are mixed use buidings but they usually have seperate elevators for the different portions, and keep the guests on lower levels. In the end this doesn't make a lot of sense, unless they have the ok from the investment end to have a condo element. The site does say sales center opening in June.

Plus, it's more difficult to secure a mortgage for a condo in a building that is less than 80% owner occupied.

My concern is that the building standards may not be as high as on buildings that were initially designed as condos. I realize they're still building it and can make modifications, but will they?

As an outsider living in a collapsing condo market, may I just say... déja vu.

priller · #**804** Posted **May 23, 2007, 4:04 PM**

Just wanted to post a few screenshots of the buildings I've been modeling for Google Earth, so you guys can see the progress being made. I've also added a few other Austin building I've found on Google's 3D Warehouse (Frost Tower, etc). There are also a few untextured models from 3D Warehouse (360, One American Center, Hilton, etc).

Aerial view from the south.

Aerial view from near I-35:

Panorama from the south:

Panorama from the west:

Aerial view from the SW:

ChiPsy · #**805** Posted **May 23, 2007, 8:56 PM**

Wow -- Great work, Priller!

Strayone · #**806** Posted **May 24, 2007, 1:16 AM**

^"Wawaweewa" - as Borat would say. Priller you have some s'plainin to do. This is a nice piece of work. Is this going to be an ongoing project, are you intending to do the whole DT area? I'm not very aware of the Google Earth format, so this is a surprise. Can you allow a link to what your working on to let us see the progress? Really good stuff, Thanks Stray

KevinFromTexas · #**807** Posted **May 24, 2007, 1:44 AM**

Awesome!

allamericanatx · #**808** Posted **May 24, 2007, 2:26 AM**

That is awesome! I can't wait to see what it looks like when you add the T. Stacy, 4 Seasons Res, and the W. That is gonna look spectacular. Thanks for sharing!

priller · #**809** Posted **May 24, 2007, 12:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strayone

^"Wawaweewa" - as Borat would say. Priller you have some s'plainin to do. This is a nice piece of work. Is this going to be an ongoing project, are you intending to do the whole DT area? I'm not very aware of the Google Earth format, so this is a surprise. Can you allow a link to what your working on to let us see the progress? Really good stuff, Thanks Stray

Probably not the whole downtown area, just the major buildings. And yes, it's an ongoing project. I originally just wanted to see what downtown would look like with the new buildings. But it takes a while to make these models (the texturing is what takes all the time), so it's going to be a slower process than I originally envisioned. I'll add buildings as the mood strikes me, and hopefully others will add more, too.

Google Earth is one of the most awesome applications available. And it's free! In areas where there are high-res images, you can see pretty small details. We used it to look over St. Thomas to determine where on the island we wanted to get married. We chose this spot:

In large cities, GE already has simple "placeholder" 3D models for a lot of downtown buildings. But in Austin there was nothing except for the capitol building and a small building at UT. Obviously, something needed to be done about that!

The good news is that anyone can make building models using Google's SketchUp application. It interacts with GE so you can place buildings where they belong and build them to the right scale. The bad news is that Google has to approve which models get added to their general database (so everyone can see them), which is a slow process. And Austin was just recently added to their "Cities in Development" list, which means it's just now being considered for added models.

But you don't have to wait for Google. You can go to the 3D Warehouse and download models to your local computer. My page of models is here:

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?uq=16994068606773285451

You can also search for other Austin buildings. More bad news is the Mac OS version of SketchUp (which I'm using) has a bug where the buildings lose their textures when they get uploaded to the 3D Warehouse. I've sent in about 5 bug reports to them but with no response. Hopefully they'll get that problem resolved one of these days.

I started this thread where I post updates as I make new models:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=130723

LiveattheOasis · #**810** Posted **May 24, 2007, 8:28 PM**

That is an unbelievably beautiful location, congratulations.

NYC_Longhorn · #**811** Posted **May 26, 2007, 2:15 AM**

Hello fellow Austinites... I am a displaced Austin guy, living out in New York for a while with my wife... one day we are destined to move back to Austin, but until then all I have are Jet Blue plane tickets and this frickin' web-site... thought I'd join in on the conversation since I've been reading this thread for a while now.

crewer · #**812** Posted **May 26, 2007, 3:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYC_Longhorn

Hello fellow Austinites... I am a displaced Austin guy, living out in New York for a while with my wife... one day we are destined to move back to Austin, but until then all I have are Jet Blue plane tickets and this frickin' web-site... thought I'd join in on the conversation since I've been reading this thread for a while now.

Hey Longhorn. Welcome! As a displaced Austin guy in DC, I can relate. Will get back to Austin eventually, but in the meantime there's this thing called work that keeps me here.

Looking forward to an Austin trip in early July. Will be great to see everything going up, though I'm not expecting any surprises since the crew on here has done such a great job of posting timely visuals of every project. I almost feel like I'm there!

LiveattheOasis · #**813** Posted **May 26, 2007, 8:02 AM**

yeah I am going to be in India all summer so I am hoping everyone (mainly Mopacs) keeps me updated. I mention Mopacs because he is typically posting the pictures on the forum, and I will be excited to see when things start going up.

Speaking of, has Spring begun digging the foundations for the building yet?

Mopacs · #**814** Posted **May 26, 2007, 7:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

yeah I am going to be in India all summer so I am hoping everyone (mainly Mopacs) keeps me updated. I mention Mopacs because he is typically posting the pictures on the forum, and I will be excited to see when things start going up.

Thank you sir! I will do my best to keep you and everyone updated. Its a very exciting time to be living here in Austin, and I plan to chronicle these projects every step of the way.

Strayone · #**815** Posted **May 26, 2007, 10:19 PM**

Welcome Longhorn, I guess if you can't be here in Austin, you could do worse than NYC, glad to have you on the forum.

KevinFromTexas · #**816** Posted **May 27, 2007, 1:32 AM**

Welcome to the forum, NYC_Longhorn.

Strayone · #**817** Posted **May 27, 2007, 3:40 AM**

Did anyone else notice that 360's webcam hasn't updated since 12:39 pm. yesterday. Hope it isn't a longterm thing.

Mopacs · #**818** Posted **May 28, 2007, 2:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strayone

Did anyone else notice that 360's webcam hasn't updated since 12:39 pm. yesterday. Hope it isn't a longterm thing.

I sure have... Perhaps it is undergoing routine/periodic maintenance, and/or a result of the inclement weather over the Memorial Day weekend. The last update was on Friday afternoon (5/25). I'm sure it will reappear within the next few days.

Jdawgboy · #**819** Posted **May 28, 2007, 7:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

yeah I am going to be in India all summer so I am hoping everyone (mainly Mopacs) keeps me updated. I mention Mopacs because he is typically posting the pictures on the forum, and I will be excited to see when things start going up.

Speaking of, has Spring begun digging the foundations for the building yet?

The last I saw they had cleard the whole lot. Not sure when they will start foundation work though it might begin maybe beginning of June? Anybody know for sure???

crewer · #**820** Posted **May 29, 2007, 12:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

The last I saw they had cleard the whole lot. Not sure when they will start foundation work though it might begin maybe beginning of June? Anybody know for sure???

Speaking of Spring, I just noticed on ZipRealty that a three bedroom unit has been listed there (MLS 5441261). It's 1704 sq. ft. for $930,000. So much for the innovative condo tower designed for the poor working stiffs like teachers, nurses and policemen. Austin prices for downtown condos are now running neck and neck with new condos in Downtown DC.

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!