AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[KevinFromTexas]

Those are great pictures priller. I see you did the pano shot from the Convention Center garage.

Before: (Photo by me)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/K...n%20November%2026%202006/AustinPANO3.jpg

After: (priller's photo)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2001/2221640445_73e8d8bbef_o.jpg

[priller]

Yeah, looks like we were in the exact same spot. About the same time of day, too. We'll have to do it again once Austonian gets up there. That will be a *huge* change.

[Strayone]

^ Great shots from the same spot, notice amli was peeking over the apt building than..boom both it and 360 as well as Monarch are present. The cranes are gone in the latter pic which says there was some time between both pics, probably upwards of a years time. The conv. center has a nice rooftop view, I need to get up there sometime. I may even pay the minimum parking fee and just drive up but the walk up probably wouldn't hurt!

[zx14]

looks like there is still some glass and other work to be done on the side of the building where the spire is. Do you think they will finish that before putting the finishing touches on the spire?

[jrebubula]

Originally Posted by zx14

looks like there is still some glass and other work to be done on the side of the building where the spire is. Do you think they will finish that before putting the finishing touches on the spire?

I would think the finishing of the spire is not the critical path, but getting the floors dried in is.

[427MM]

Priller! What an amazing tour of DT. I’ve been walking around town all day today and your photo tour beats my being here in person – good job! Kevin, thanks for putting up your pic from the overgrown garage. Fun comparison. I just went by the Four Seasons site and they have blocked off all cars and have a bunch of guys in there surveying the lot. I smell a groundbreaking: either that I left something in the microwave.

[Blakesalot!]

New Austonian Construction Report: http://www.theaustonian.com/pics/2008-01-28_Austonian_Report_19.pdf
(Includes a good number of photographs)


From the report:

Work activities completed through January 25, 2008:

• Mat slab excavation complete and material removed from site
• Mud slab poured at mat slab to facilitate reinforcing steel installation
• Rebar crew currently installing 2nd layer of steel for mat slab
• Slab pour to be completed on Saturday 2-2-08 or 2-9-08 contingent on weather
• Perimeter concrete wall footings 75% complete
• Wall forming of basement walls to begin next week
• Pier caps 80% complete
• Concrete foundation for tower crane #2 in progress
• Tower crane #2 structural base to be delivered and installed next week
• Sub grade preparations and compaction operations in progress for B-1 slab
• Waterproofing of below grade walls started on 1-20-08
• Utility work along Congress Avenue begins on 1-24-08
• Blockout forms for elevator shafts being constructed on site
• Compaction operations at sump pits in progress
• Coordination and preparations for under slab plumbing rough-in underway
• Painting of barricades along Congress Avenue in progress
• Lighting installed in Congress Avenue pedestrian tunnel

[Trevorwt]

well I have been reading this forum for about... well maybe almost 2 years now... But because skyscraperpage.com did not let me use my gmail I could not become a member. I hope to add more to the forum.....

[KevinFromTexas]

Well, welcome to the forum.

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by Greg

Priller! What an amazing tour of DT. I’ve been walking around town all day today and your photo tour beats my being here in person – good job! Kevin, thanks for putting up your pic from the overgrown garage. Fun comparison. I just went by the Four Seasons site and they have blocked off all cars and have a bunch of guys in there surveying the lot. I smell a groundbreaking: either that I left something in the microwave.

You're right-on! See article in Tomorrow's statesman. Officially breaking ground....

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/01/29/0129fourseasons.html
Four Seasons condos break ground this week

Long-delayed project finally begins construction.

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Four Seasons Residences, one of downtown Austin's highest profile luxury condominium towers, will break ground this week, seven years after initial plans were thwarted by the tech bust of 2001.

The newly designed 32-story tower will rise in the parking lot next to the Four Seasons Hotel overlooking Lady Bird Lake. The building's 166 residences will be priced from $400,000 to $4 million, with units from 880 to 5,500 square feet.

Four Seasons will manage the building, which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2010 and become a landmark on the evolving skyline.
The $125 million project is a venture between local developers Ardent Residential and Atlanta-based Post Properties Inc, the financier. Michael Graves & Associates Inc. designed the tower, which will have a terra cotta-colored brick base that will blend with the hotel, developers say.

The first major sign of construction will come later this week when crews begin demolishing the hotel's 123-space surface parking, which will be redirected to an underground garage. The new tower will include five levels of above-ground parking.

The construction entrance and staging area will be on Trinity Street to minimize disruption for the hotel, said Art Carpenter, a principal with Ardent Residential.

To date, prospective buyers have signed contracts to purchase about 40 percent of the units with nonrefundable, 10 percent deposits, Carpenter said.
About half of the prospective buyers are Austinites, and the other half are out-of-towners who have ties to the University of Texas and the local business, arts and music communities, said Brett Denton, another Ardent principal.

Philanthropist Frank Krasovec, former chairman of Norwood Promotional Products Inc., and his wife, Margaret, plan to be residents. They chose the project over many others being built downtown, where 818 new condo units will open this year.

"We extensively researched all the products available and coming on line and determined that the Four Seasons best suited us," the Krasovecs said in a statement. "From our perspective, we know that the Four Seasons brand will retain its value. We love the location on the lake. It is the most 'residential' location of all the residential highrise projects."

Despite skepticism about how many upscale condos Austin can handle, Carpenter said the strength of the downtown market is apparent because of three price increases for the Four Seasons units since August, some as high as 20 percent.

Another downtown condominium project, the 55-story Austonian at Congress Avenue and Second Street, also is targeting the ultra-luxury market. The 195-unit project broke ground in August, with prices from $550,000 to $3.8 million.

Prices have gone up since then. They now range from $559,000 for units with 1,221 square feet to $4.017 million for a unit with 4,129 square feet, said Ashlynn Russey, the Austonian's sales manager.
Russey says sales are going well, though she and the project's developers have declined to release numbers. The first buyers are expected to move in by late 2009, Russey said.

Charles Heimsath, a local real estate consultant hired to do market research for the Four Seasons project, and at one point for the Austonian, said those projects are setting a new bar for luxury downtown.

Four Seasons residents will have access to the hotel's services and amenities, including 24-hour concierge, in-room dining and housekeeping. There will also be a 2,000-square-foot fitness center, facilities for entertaining and a rooftop pool, which will be the highest in Texas, the developers say.

"I think the Four Seasons has demonstrated by virtue of the number of contracts that there is a viable demand for ultra-luxury product in downtown Austin," Heimsath said.

A high percentage of the downtown condo units set to open this year are under contract with nonrefundable deposits, he said.
"I think that shows a tremendous interest in downtown and the strength of the current market," he said.

This week's groundbreaking is gratifying for Carpenter, who was involved in the original project in 2000 when he was with developer Maritz, Wolf & Co.
"I have been working on this project for over eight years, and it is incredibly exciting to see all this effort come to fruition," Carpenter said. "But most of all, it will be satisfying to deliver on the commitments that were made to so many people who elected to make the Four Seasons Residences their home."

[email protected]; 445-3856

Image:

[Strayone]

Is it me or does that building look wider at the top? I noticed this sometime back when I first saw the pics.

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by Strayone

Is it me or does that building look wider at the top? I noticed this sometime back when I first saw the pics.

Perhaps its a result of perspective correction

[priller]

It's more like a perspective distortion, really. I've noticed that a lot of architectural renderings do this, add the very slight widening at the top. I'm sure they have a reason for doing it, I just don't know what it is.

[JACKinBeantown]

It's not a true three-point perspective, so it's an illusion. Plus, the wider windows on the upper floors add to the effect.

[jgouger]

Wow! That's great news about the four season! I second the motion that the Austonian needs a web cam. They've blocked off all of the pedestrian access now because the sidewalk on Congress Ave is being used as a staging area

By the way, has anyone heard anything about The W? It seems like they were starting with such a bang and yet, 4 months later, no ground has actually been broken.

[ATXboom]

I assume W is trying to sign a tenant to replace the Children's museum which backed out becauses of space constraints and children mixing with rock roll...
Once they have a tenant and tweak the design they should roll... nothing else is holding this project up as far as I know.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by jgouger

...By the way, has anyone heard anything about The W? It seems like they were starting with such a bang and yet, 4 months later, no ground has actually been broken.

Don't panic. This project is still very much a go!!!

The delay is due to the developers having to receive council approval for an increase in the project's FAR. Their case is being heard this Thursday, in council meetings - agenda item #122. This approval is needed to approve the site plan and award building permits...

[KevinFromTexas]

Took some pictures from the Long Center/Palmer Events Center Parking garage on Sunday.

See more here.













The crane is almost all the way down now.



Altavida

[KevinFromTexas]

>>>>Scroll>>>>

[ATXboom]

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/01/28/daily17.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 2:35 PM CST
Development begins on Four Seasons tower
Austin Business Journal

Construction began Monday on the long-awaited 32-story Four Seasons condo tower.

The project adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel on Lady Bird Lake will feature 166 condos ranging in price from $400,000 to $4 million.

The 400,000-square-foot building, designed by Texas architect Michael Graves, will include amenities such as a rooftop pool, fitness center overlooking the lake and a resident library as well as 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Austin developer Ardent Residential and Atlanta-based Post Properties Inc. are developing the Four Seasons Residences jointly.

The condo project, originally plotted in 2001, was delayed after the tech bust stymied the local economy. Downtown's most recent development wave revived the Four Seasons project and gave birth to a series of other high-end condo towers, including the 56-story Austonian at Second Street and Congress Avenue and the 35-story W Hotel & Residences on Second Street across from City Hall.