AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[OfCourse]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

REAL ESTATE

Plans firm up for costlier Concordia site

Developer will show renderings and hold neighborhood party on Saturday.


By Shonda Novak
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Friday, June 08, 2007

The vision is now complete for East Avenue, a major mixed-use project that has become bigger and more costly than initial estimates.

Plans call for 1,450 condominiums and apartments, 600,000 square feet of office space, 325,000 square feet of retail and a soon-to-be-announced 250-room luxury five-star hotel, said Andy Sarwal, head of East Avenue Investment Group LP.

East Avenue is leading the team behind the redevelopment of the Concordia University campus at Interstate 35 and 32nd Street, just north of downtown.

The price tag has grown from a reported $500 million to $750 million.

Envisioned as a dining, shopping and entertainment hub, the project would be one of the tallest and densest outside downtown.

Rents for apartment units will start at $1,350 a month, and the condos will start at $600,000, Sarwal said.

He said 80 of the condos will be atop the hotel.

Although the total square footage remains unchanged at 2.75 million, the current combined office and retail space, 925,000 square feet, has increased from earlier estimates, which varied from 545,000 square feet to 700,000 square feet.

Construction is expected to begin late this year, sooner than earlier estimates of mid-2008.

The project is expected to take three to five years to complete.

Sarwal will show renderings and offer the public a chance to learn more at an event he is billing as a "neighborhood appreciation party" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the site.

The party coincides with the kick-off of marketing efforts for the project, which aims to transform Concordia's 22-acre campus into a chic, pedestrian-oriented urban village.

Lehman Brothers funded the site-acquisition loan; the East Avenue Investment Group owns all of the equity in the project.

Concordia, a private Lutheran university, plans to relocate within two years to the former Schlumberger Ltd. business campus off RM 620 in far Northwest Austin.

Although Sarwal declines to identify the individual developers who make up East Avenue Investment Group, he said the team includes a diverse group of business people with more than 50 years of development experience, including in the hotel and apartment sectors.

The team is led by Sarwal, the former senior vice president of business development and real estate for San Marcos-based Grande Communications, who has a background in venture finance and real estate.

The initial vision for the project included a USA Swimming training center for Olympic hopefuls and other swimmers, but those plans never materialized.

East Avenue will feature "many forward-thinking land planning concepts, in addition to many of the latest 'green' technologies," Sarwal said.

They include green-building planning and architectural concepts to minimize land consumption, traffic, and energy and water use. The residences will be built within walking distance of the shops, stores and public transportation to prevent sprawl and minimize traffic, Sarwal said.

Walkways and public spaces, including a sun calendar plaza, are being designed to create a community-friendly environment. High-tech lighting will face downward to keep the night skies dark.

The Austin City Council approved new zoning for the project in late March, capping nearly a year of often tense talks between the developer and residents of the nearby Hancock and Eastwoods neighborhoods.

Residents were concerned with such issues as traffic and building heights of up to 20 stories. Negotiations ultimately yielded reduced heights, contributions for park improvements and requirements to provide some affordable housing units.

After the zoning passed, Bart Whatley, president of the Hancock Neighborhood Association, said the two sides were "light-years from where we began."

Sarwal said the party is his way of thanking the surrounding neighborhoods for their "constructive approach to tackling tough issues" and their ultimate support of the project.


[email protected]; 445-3856

Nice.

[DTAustin]

I was looking at the hole in the ground for Altavida and wondering how the developer is preventing it from collapsing.

Does anyone know anything about how the holes are dug for the tall buildings in Austin? How are the earth walls supported while digging? How are they supported for the long term? Do they usually require tie backs that go under neighboring property?

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by DTAustin

I was looking at the hole in the ground for Altavida and wondering how the developer is preventing it from collapsing.

Does anyone know anything about how the holes are dug for the tall buildings in Austin? How are the earth walls supported while digging? How are they supported for the long term? Do they usually require tie backs that go under neighboring property?

DTAustin, someone here may know the answer to this, but the man to ask for sure about this type of stuff is Kelvin here on the forum. He really knows his stuff in that area. He's an engineer.

Of course they use some kind of wall to hold it back, with boards and steel probably, but I'm not sure exactly of the technique.

[andrew.A..T..X]

Originally Posted by DTAustin

I was looking at the hole in the ground for Altavida and wondering how the developer is preventing it from collapsing.

Does anyone know anything about how the holes are dug for the tall buildings in Austin? How are the earth walls supported while digging? How are they supported for the long term? Do they usually require tie backs that go under neighboring property?

A civil engineer deals with that kind of stuff

[Strayone]

That sketchup is looking great Priller. The Four Seasons will fit nicely in that spot, your latest rendering looks much more balanced than the earlier one. When you get the windows done it will only look even better.

[ivanwolf]

Originally Posted by DTAustin

Can you post the link to the city's website that shows the plans?

I didn't even think about the storage rooms when I looked at those spaces until you guys pointed that out. They have glass on the outside, which makes me think they may not be for storage. Of course, the glass could be to keep the facade uniform.

Thanks!

I used the Downtown Viewer to get the Site Plan case number such as SP-05-1468C for the 360 condos.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/default.htm#gis

To see the case numbers zoom in to the area you want to look at, then turn on the Site Plan Review Cases layer by clicking the box next to it. If zoomed in enough you see the cases number, but if you wish to copy and past it back into the development page click the round dot next to it and use the Identify from the left side of the page, click the blue area representing the Site to Identify it, at the bottom of the page you will see the text you can copy.

Use that number for the following:
The city Development Review link is:
https://www.ci.austin.tx.us/devreview/index.jsp

which takes you too...

https://www.ci.austin.tx.us/devreview/a_queryfolder_permits.jsp

Once you get to the links choose a link and look for the View Attachments link for the .tiff images. Its hit and miss with each case weather they have the plans there or not.

Hope this helps.

[DanE008]

So this is probably one of the first high profile projects that I actually did not know about until it hit the local media. Did anyone else even know about this project until now? Anyways.....

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/06/11/11hotel.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild37b=mqxqGt1YMC8ndvQ51rTTGVvVJg61JJ7n8wMTgyjXNZPJ6q9nbJJR!-2085909686&UrAuth=`N_NUObNUUbTTUWUXUVUZT[UTUWU\U`UZUaU^UcTYWYWZV&urcm=y


New highrise to combine hotel/condos with art museum
Developers plan 44-story tower based on Kentucky project, but tailored to Austin

By Shonda Novak

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Monday, June 11, 2007

Another dramatic change could be on the horizon for Austin's skyline, as plans take shape for a 44-story tower that would combine luxury condos and a hotel that doubles as a modern art museum.

Developers today will announce a $200 million project at Third and Brazos streets that is to include a 21c Museum Hotel, the second such project following the successful opening of one last year in Louisville, Ky.

The project would have 209 guest rooms and 200 condos as well as a world-class contemporary art museum that would offer free admission year-round to allow the public to experience original art in a nontraditional setting.

Plans also call for a "fun, casual" restaurant with a menu to be created by acclaimed restaurateur and author Michael Bonadies. He is a founding partner of the New York-based group that owns and operates such famous restaurants as Tribeca Grill, Nobu and Rubicon. Bonadies helped develop the 21c concept in Louisville, which includes the vaunted Proof on Main restaurant.

The proposed condo tower would rank among the tallest planned for Austin, behind the 55-story Austonian and a 47-story tower planned by local developer Tom Stacy. Unit prices and sizes haven't been finalized, but they are expected to start in the $300,000 range and top $2 million. A five-story underground garage would hold 300 vehicles.

In keeping with the project's arts theme, about a dozen units would be available for rent at below-market rates to artists and musicians.

Condo residents would have access to hotel amenities, including a spa, a fitness center and an outdoor rooftop pool.

The building would have nine floors of hotel rooms on one side and condos on the other. The hotel would include a bar, board rooms, a ballroom, an outdoor sculpture garden and museum galleries. Rotating exhibits would showcase works from emerging and internationally known artists, from whimsical pieces to interactive displays and video installations.

The lobby of the Louisville 21c hotel features paintings, video art, photography and sculptures. One of the hotel's most popular attractions is a one-way mirror looking out from the men's urinals.

Pending city approvals, including a variance to build a structure with 779,000 square feet, the project could break ground in early 2008 and open in 2010. The site is now home to Whitley Printing Co., which will move. The existing facility could be demolished in January.

The project is a joint venture that includes Louisville-based Poe Cos. and its Austin partner, Ironwood Real Estate. Austin-based Urbanspace Realtors would be the exclusive listing agent for the condominiums.

Poe Cos. has developed and sold two hotel properties in Austin and is developing a 318-unit apartment and commercial project in the Teravista community in Round Rock. Members of the 21c Austin team have collaborated on other projects, including the high-profile Museum Plaza, a $480 million, 62-story mixed-use project that is scheduled to break ground on Louisville's waterfront in September.

The Austin hotel wouldn't replicate the award-winning Louisville one but would have its own local flavor and distinctive artwork. The art would include works by area artists and borrowed works from local collectors, as well as pieces from the private collection of Steve Wilson and his wife, Laura Lee Brown, which Wilson values in the $10 million range.

Wilson and Brown, both native Kentuckians, are arts aficionados and philanthropists who developed the 21c Museum Hotel and are the majority backers of the neighboring Museum Plaza. The couple was at the Venice Biennale, an international art exhibition in Italy, last week in part to look for pieces for the Austin hotel.

Wilson and Steve Poe, chief executive of the Poe Cos., said they expect the 21c concept to be well received by what they say is Austin's youthful, creative population. Noting the city's "Keep Austin Weird" slogan, Poe said, "Austin's the perfect spot. It's the anti-chain."

The project started coming together last year when Poe approached Ironwood, which has been accumulating downtown real estate for a number of years and had the Whitley site under contract. Poe, a fan of Austin, said he had been looking for another development opportunity here for some time.

Those talks led to a visit by Ironwood principals Matt Hooks and Scot Krieger to Louisville, ultimately leading to the formation of the 21c Austin development team.

Hooks' mother-in-law, Melba Whatley, is active in local arts and civic affairs and is helping Wilson and Brown with introductions to members of Austin's arts community.

The 21c Austin announcement comes amid a downtown building boom that has thousands of new residential units in the pipeline. They include three other planned luxury condo projects aimed at the same upscale market as 21c Austin and scheduled to open in the 2009-10 time frame: the W hotel and condos on the block north of City Hall, plus the Four Seasons residences and the Austonian.

The W would have 200 residential units, the Four Seasons 166 and the Austonian 195.

Some observers question whether downtown might end up with a glut of high-end condos, as has happened in some other major cities. But Poe and some local real estate developers and consultants insist demand remains strong locally as baby boomers, young professionals, empty-nesters and others seek an urban lifestyle.

"I think your market is pretty deep," Poe said. He noted that developers would have three years to sell units before the building opens, adding that selling 65 units a year is "not an unreasonable goal."

Charles Heimsath, president of an Austin-based real estate consulting firm that advised developers on the project, said strong pre-sales and reservations at both the Austonian and the Four Seasons suggest a solid demand.

"While prices at these projects are very high by historical Austin standards, they are comparable to similar product that has been selling well in Dallas and Houston," he said.

[email protected]; 445-3856



Who's behind condo?


Who: ACE (Art Commerce Entertainment) Unlimited, a company formed to expand the 21c Museum Hotel brand launched in Louisville, Ky., to other cities; Poe Cos., a real estate investment, development and management firm based in Louisville; Austin-based Ironwood Real Estate; Austin-based Urbanspace Realtors; and Indiana-based REI Real Estate Investment Partnerships.

Architects: New York-based Deborah Berke & Partners Architects LLP, Boston-based Goody Clancy Architecture, Austin-based Susman Tisdale Gayle.

What: 21c Museum Hotel, a 44-story high-rise condo tower with about 200 condominiums, 209 hotel rooms, an art museum and a restaurant.

Where: Third Street between Brazos Street and San Jacinto Boulevard.

When: Groundbreaking expected early 2008; opening planned for 2010.

Cost: $200 million


GOODY CLANCY ARCHITECTS, DEBORAH BERKE & PARTNERS ARCHITECTS, STUDIO AMD
Plans for the 44-story Austin 21c Museum Hotel include an art gallery, a restaurant and a rooftop pool.

[Saddle Man]

Neato! I seem to remember a few months ago someone around here saying that a highrise at this site might be in the works. Woohoo!

[jgouger]

Originally Posted by DTAustin

I was looking at the hole in the ground for Altavida and wondering how the developer is preventing it from collapsing.

Does anyone know anything about how the holes are dug for the tall buildings in Austin? How are the earth walls supported while digging? How are they supported for the long term? Do they usually require tie backs that go under neighboring property?

Yes it is quite fascinating to watch. I happen to work at City Hall, and walk by the Altavida construction site almost daily for coffee. When they first started digging the hole, they drilled several deep holes every 20' or so and drove I-Beams into the holes, which were then concrete filled. Once the digging commenced, they bolted thick lumber over the exposed soil and tensioned it correctly so that the walls would not collapse. That site, and City Hall are very unique in the fact that the water table is relatively high here. Roughly at level where they hit rock, they hit the water table and had a lot of water leak from the rocks. I believe that they sprayed Gunite (same stuff that they use for pool construction) onto the rocks and pumped out the water as needed. After they poured the Gunite, they are building the thick rebar enforced concrete walls that go flush with the rock.

I'm not sure what they'll do with the tie-downs as the site goes vertical, but it would seem to make sense to keep them in.

Hope that helps
Jordan

[MichaelB]

AH...HA!!!!!! A 21C.... THis is more than great. I had brought up on the forum a few months back that the Whitley property had sold. Had not heard who was going to build there. Ironically I have been working in L'ville and hanging out at the 21C up there. The first time I walked in there I thought it should have been in Austin. THere we rumors of an Austin Location. I even wrote the hotel when I was back to find out..... they confirmed rumors.... but that was it. So.... TA-F*cking-Da! 21C is a wonderful hotel/restaurant/bar/gallery/art museum. The lobby up there is actually a Gallery for the owners art collection. Amazing, even has a couple video installations. The restaurant in that hotel ("Proof") is wonderful. This will be a very good fit for Austin! Hope it all works out!

[ATXboom]

Awesome project!! ...near the convention center as well really helps with the hotel component and to visually balance all the high-rise develpment to the west.

[OfCourse]

Nice.




http://www.21cmuseumhotel.com/austin/

Fact Sheet

* 21c Austin will be located one block from Congress Avenue, one block from the Kocurek Convention Center and one block from the proposed access point of the new commuter rail.

* Upon completion, 21c Austin will total 779,000 square feet.

* The total investment in downtown Austin is $200 million.

* 21c Austin will include 209 hotel rooms and 202 residential units, including 12 artist lofts.

* The underground parking garage will include more than 300 parking spaces.

* The hotel lobby, restaurant, café and a portion of the contemporary art museum will be located on street level.

* The second floor will consist of an outdoor sculpture garden, ballroom, meeting rooms, and more museum galleries.

* The third floor will include a bar, board rooms and artist lofts.

* The next nine floors will be made up of hotel rooms on one side and residential condos on the other.

* Above that will be the pool, amenities deck, spa and fitness center.

* The remaining floors will consist of condos and penthouse suites.

http://www.21cmuseumhotel.com/austin/fact-sheet.aspx

[priller]

I did an ultra-quickie model for it. It's nice they have several rendings on their web site. Should make it easier to do a more detailed model in the future.

I just started texturing the Hilton, so it looks bad here. And I also downloaded someone else's simple Block 21 building. I think it's too big, personally, but I left it in for now.

Aerial:



From Soco:



From Chavez (without the convention center in the way):



From Sixth Street (in reality, the Plaza would probably be in the way):

[JACKinBeantown]

The 3-D model is looking great. And it exemplifies the astounding rate at which Austin is growing. Also very cool to still be able to see the capitol building up Congress.

[Strayone]

It looks like it could be fairly close to the height of the Frost Tower. Nice design and color scheme, one the better looking proposals of late.

[bradford]

Originally Posted by urban_J

let's remember how much money goes through white lodging and marriot's pockets per day. if they want to profit from us (and for the most part, we'd just be losing a block of precious culture in exchange for nothing) then i think they owe the city more than just tax dollars.

urban_j: No one has ever argued that Marriott shouldn't pay the fees it's being charged. The question is, How do we spend the money? We could spend it on anything. Sidewalks. Downtown grafitti removal (proposed budget -- if city finds the money for it -- $550,000). Other displaced businesses. How do you justify giving all of this money to one business? What, should the city give money to every business displaced by development? Apparently not -- there are businesses being displaced every day that no one seems to give a sh*t about. And we all know we couldn't afford to do that anyway. So what are the criteria for deciding who gets the handout and who doesn't? Apparently, it's just whoever can raise the most ruckus. That's a stupid system, and just encourages rent-seeking.

And what is the justification for making the loan forgivable? I have yet to see a coherent justification for that.

[Jdawgboy]

News 36 did a segment about the downtown development wich I thought was going to be about this new 44 story building but it actually mentioned alittle bit about Novares 35 story building wich is supposed to break ground in August. They didn't show any renderings or anything. They also added the heights of 360, the Austonian and, 5th at Congress to compare on heights to Frost and they got the height for 360 right but they had the Austonian still at 700 feet. T Stacy was listed at 705 feet wich was the last height that we heard for that project but may change.

[GoldenBoot]

Cool find, Jdawg.

I don't know what News36 said, but Novare's Block 51 development, called "Ovation," should be about 400'-420' tall. Their 40 to 43-story Block 52 development should be in the 450'-490' range.

21c Austin seems to be in-between 450' and 500' tall (probably closer to 450'). And with regards to T. Stacy's tower at 5th & Congress, who knows?!? If I'm correct, the FAR for that property; coupled with the floor size of the old/original design; would allow for a building with a maximum height of around 776' (when you include the mechanical penthouse allotment) - or even taller if a spire is incorporated. Nonetheless, from the designs I saw over a year ago, his tower was somewhere between 720'-750' tall.

[eweezerinc]

You guys are in for something great! 21c is such an awesome and unique concept. Wilson, Brown, and Poe have proven to be incredibly efficient, as well as tasteful and they really follow through. You can be sure this will be built and will be quite impressive.
Enjoy!

[KevinFromTexas]

Damn, that looks good. It looks like something from Chicago or Miami. A lot of their newer condo towers have been quite sleek.