AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II - Page 90

jgouger · #**1781** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 3:03 PM**

Does anyone have a guess as to what the giant hole in the Spring is? They have the site excavated, and then in the middle of the site, there is a rectangular hole that seems to be 20' or so beneath the site floor.

On the underground issue, yes one would not need to dig very deep to hit solid rock, but hitting the water table may be a different story. The Austonian's site may not be affected by this, but I've heard that all of the high-rises on C. Chavez that have deep U/G parking have had ground water issues. City Hall for example has a 40-50' deep underground garage where the deepest floor always floods out when it rains heavily. When they built the garage structure here and the same with Altavida, they hit groundwater and had to find new ways to waterproof it which aren't always fool-proof. I wouldn't be surprised if the lowest garage floor at Altavida has flooding issues also because of the proximity to the lake. My point in this is that building that deep that close to a major river probably isn't that great of an idea, and that may have been the reasoning why Austonian's developers choose not to go with a deep garage.

ATXboom · #**1782** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 4:31 PM**

Bigdog... Austonian is a done deal. They drilled out most of the foundation pylons over the weekend.

They would have to stop mid build and eat a lot of $$$ to stop now. They have finanancing which means they have presold enough.

No news on the Post office towers, CLB's 7th and Rio Grande, Four Seasons residences, or Gables development at Lamar/Chavez... which were supposed to break before the end of the year. Look to those if you are seeking something that "may be delayed" or "may not happen"... not Austonian though.

ATXboom · #**1783** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 4:35 PM**

OK... I found the first condo cancellation/failure for you... hope you enjoy.

http://www.austintowers.net/Austin_Downtown/index.html

Major Downtown Condo Project On Hold?
November 05, 2007 09:48 Filed in: News
Rumors have been circling for months that AquaTerra, a 163 unit 20-story project planned for Barton Springs road between Congress Avenue and south First street, has been having trouble getting off the ground. In fact, the building was supposed to be complete by 2008 -- yet construction hasn't even broken ground.

While we have not received any confirmation from the developers, we have heard from other sources that the project is in fact on hold and is unlikely to ever be completed. If true, this represents the first major cancellation of a downtown condo project. While it is easy to blame the project's demise on the credit liquidity crisis, AquaTerra has been in trouble for many months due to weak demand. Competition is intense to market units to downtown buyers --- projects that are not attractively positioned and aggressively marketed will have trouble getting noticed.

Here is what the project would have looked like:

Tags: news, new projects

priller · #**1784** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 5:02 PM**

Oh yeah, AquaTerra, kind of forgot about that one.

Saddle Man · #**1785** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 5:47 PM**

Maybe Aquaterra is having problems because it's on the wrong side of Town Lake.

bigdogc · #**1786** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 6:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingkirbythegreat

Maybe Aquaterra is having problems because it's on the wrong side of Town Lake.

you are probably right. All the hype is in the downtown location, but i bet that Aquaterra would have done well over the years. The views from that place would be great.

Good to hear the news about austonian...I hope you are all right.

Any prediction from people regarding 7th rio grade, post office towers, 501 congrss, etc, as to whether they are going to break ground or not? I got my money on 7th rio grande to break ground.

Jdawgboy · #**1787** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 7:26 PM**

I was never really big on Aquaterra anyways, If they are going to start putting projects on hold or cancelling, at least its one of the lesser projects in my opinion. wasn't the most attractive design either.

Kevinb · #**1788** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 7:30 PM**

There was a blip early in the sales process about the land between Aquaterra and the lake/downtown being developed. A lot of reservations fell out because of the fear of blocked views. I believe that the offending parcel has been controlled now, however I can't help but wonder if there was some lost momentum...

G Lee · #**1789** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 9:18 PM**

I'm starting to get concerned about the CLB 7th & Rio Grande project.
The groundbreaking was supposed to be in late October and the existing buildings are still standing. I saw workers repairing the roof on one of them and they have just re-striped the parking lot for pay parking.

ATXboom · #**1790** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 9:32 PM**

Those aren't good signs... Was the sign/bilboard still up for the project?

G Lee · #**1791** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 11:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Those aren't good signs... Was the sign/bilboard still up for the project?

The sign is still up.
There's a notice posted on the building from the parking lot operator offering monthly leases for the parking spaces.

KevinFromTexas · #**1792** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 11:32 PM**

Meh, never was a fan of AquaTerra. The location isn't so bad. The problem with its lack of success is that it's not really marketing towards the right crowd. What I mean is, the project isn't really aspiring to be urban. As I recall, it has no street level retail. It might as well be a gated community somewhere 15 to 20 miles out. If it at least had street level retail, and more of an urban flair, it would be doing well. Instead I think people are kind of confused about what they're trying to achieve there. I'd rather see a project there that really is urban. That area has a lot going for it, they just need to realize it.

AustinGuy · #**1793** Posted **Nov 5, 2007, 11:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Meh, never was a fan of AquaTerra.

AquaTerra was also the worst named project by a longshot IMHO. Glad we don't have to hear that name bandied about in Austin for the next few decades. Sounds like it should be a condo project in Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

ivanwolf · #**1794** Posted **Nov 6, 2007, 4:05 AM**

My two cents about the digging and not digging for garages:

Buildings with parking garages underground near Town Lake are:
City Hall
100 Congress
Maybe a couple others i dont know the names of.

Buildings with above ground parking are:
Legacy (huge 50'+ pilings) 6 stories of parking
Austonian (Pilings) 8 stories of parking
Milago
Shore + Hotel
CSC buildings
and more

So I would think that being so close to the shore its maybe more costly to waterproof a structure and pay for insurance for possible Auto damage due to flooding. So though drilling pilings may be expensive maybe the waterproofing and insurance could make a diff in the way its built. Just my thoughts.

I did not like the way Aquaterra was going to be built at an angle and that ugly garage it was going to have. The top portion of the structure was ok and the pool was innovative at least. I agree it was not sold as much as many of the others, maybe if they had pushed harder they could have survived.

Kevinb · #**1795** Posted **Nov 6, 2007, 3:03 PM**

First I've heard:

Zilker Park Residences
http://lifeonthepark.com/index.php

Saddle Man · #**1796** Posted **Nov 6, 2007, 4:03 PM**

I guess Sno-Beach is going to have to move again.

AustinGuy · #**1797** Posted **Nov 6, 2007, 5:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevinb

First I've heard:

Zilker Park Residences
http://lifeonthepark.com/index.php

I had never heard of that one either, and yet I received a card in my mailbox about it a few days ago. I've never signed up for any info from them, so I guess older condo projects are selling off their mailing lists to newer condo projects? Hmmm. I'll probably be getting junk mail about condos for life now.

KevinFromTexas · #**1798** Posted **Nov 6, 2007, 8:38 PM**

I remember walking past that spot last year for the Trail of Lights Festival, (we did the requisite dinner at Baby Acapulcos, parked there and walked to the trail. I remember that spot stinking like old grease or something. Everyone walking past noticed it. I think maybe that Wong Fu place had spilled some behind their restaurant or something.

mars-man · #**1799** Posted **Nov 6, 2007, 9:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

AquaTerra was also the worst named project by a longshot IMHO. Glad we don't have to hear that name bandied about in Austin for the next few decades. Sounds like it should be a condo project in Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

Ha! Perhaps you've hit upon their rightful target buyers -- Jersey snowbirds.

They could re-christen it Boca Del Vista - Austin.

DTAustin · #**1800** Posted **Nov 6, 2007, 10:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

I had never heard of that one either, and yet I received a card in my mailbox about it a few days ago. I've never signed up for any info from them, so I guess older condo projects are selling off their mailing lists to newer condo projects? Hmmm. I'll probably be getting junk mail about condos for life now.

I think they are selling the lists. I recently received an email from a condo project in Dallas, and I live in Austin!