AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[JGFrisco]

Sorry guys, the likelihood of the Stacy building going up as drawn is extremely small. Here's why.

I'm a structural engineer, and I can tell you than having a building wider at the top than the bottom like that REALLY increases the amount of steel and/or concrete you have to have. In a 700' building, you are talking many millions of dollars in material costs, labor costs, and interest costs (it'll take longer to build and get occupied). Plus beefier members = loss of leasable space.

Reality here is that the current boom is residential, not office. There is NOT a big boom in office space need downtown. Room for some new buildings, but it's not balls-to-the-wall wide open.

Ergo...cost matters. A lot.

Fancy or unusual buildings rarely get built. Some architect falls in love with the design, til the accountants and engineers get involved and bring some reality. Just hte way it is.

[bigdogc]

t stacy bought the land, pays properties taxes, got the current tenants out, etc.
something is going to go up there. the original proposal has already been changed, he says hes watching the market closely as well. its just a matter of time until we find out if hes building a 10 story parking garage, or a 100 story "iPad" (dubai), but it will most likely be something in between.

as i've stated before, we should put all the news articles for 5th and congress on the front page since so many people constantly ask about this project,

[Mopacs]

Here are a few shots I took on President's day...Monday 2/18:

Monarch... the color scheme is now emerging...







Finishing touches on the Austin Music Hall... with 360 beyond











The base of 360 is looking good...



And man oh man, Legacy is SHOOTING up. Now at 16 floors















And some interesting crane angles at Spring






I'll post some 'distant' shots shortly...

[Mopacs]

...and some miscellaneous distant shots of downtown and nearby areas (also taken 2/18)


From Barton Creek Mall









From Mopac at Barton Creek greenbelt







Looking east up W 5th Street



Residential building going up on East Riverside




Palisades West office complex on Bee Cave Rd and Loop 360:



Palisades from off to the west near Lake Travis (along Highway 620 in Lakeway):





Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by JGFrisco

Fancy or unusual buildings rarely get built. Some architect falls in love with the design, til the accountants and engineers get involved and bring some reality. Just hte way it is.

Hate.... I mean really hate that you are right about that.And I know you are.

However, It is always great when a developer has a bigger ego than pocket book and pushes to have the cool building built though!

[KevinFromTexas]

Great pics Mopacs. Man, I can't believe how fast Legacy is going up. It's amazing. It's already halfway up even though it only broke ground a relatively short time ago. And the Palisades building really sticks up there.

Originally Posted by bigdogc

as i've stated before, we should put all the news articles for 5th and congress on the front page since so many people constantly ask about this project,

That's a good idea. I know it's been coming up a lot lately. The problem is finding the most recent articles. I can't remember the title of the last article that mentioned it. It was actually just a tidbit that was thrown in with news on another project, can't remember which. It basically gave a rough estimate as to when we could expect to see it move forward. Nothing exact though as this project has been fluid for several years. If anyone remembers which article it was, PM me with it and I'll add it to the first page of the thread.

[austin242]

Great pics mopac your pics keep us updated.

the pic of monach looks great.

[zx14]

just something cool to say. Today I went to an office on the 31st floor of the lexington financial center. I comented that the railings outside were just wet while the temps at the street level were 26 with freezing rain. the warm air aloft was that low. It will be interesting to see if durring your next ice storm the same things happen to the balconies of 360 on the top floors. However it is quite rare to have a cold layer of air that shallow.

[priller]

New Austonian construction update. The date says 2/16 but I think it was just recently posted.

http://www.theaustonian.com/pics/2008-02-16_Austonian%20Report_22.pdf

Work activities completed thru the week ending February 16, 2008:

• Elevator shear walls poured at level B-1
• Concrete walls for garage ramp at B-1 poured
• Gravel backfill for slab of garage ramp installed and compacted
• Cast iron under slab rough-in 75% complete
• PVC under slab drainage pipe 75% compete
• Electrical rough-in in progress
• Waterproofing of below grade walls continues
• Pouring of concrete walls at B-1 continues
• Pouring of wall footings at south wall to start February 18, 2008
• Tower crane #1 “initial jump” to take place February 17, 2008. 5 sections to be added to tower (+/- 100’)
• Next critical milestone: pouring B-1 slab on grade scheduled for February 26, 2008

[WestAustinite]

More than three years after Austin developer Tom Stacy and a Chicago partner company purchased the building at 501 Congress Ave. and unveiled plans for a dramatic multiuse tower on the site, the deal has grown much larger, incorporating one-and-a-half city blocks, two soaring towers and an estimated $500 million investment.

Stacy's company, T. Stacy & Associates Inc., and Walton Street Capital now plan a 500,000-square-foot office and retail tower at 501 Congress that would be slightly taller than the 26-story Bank of America Center building the partnership owns at 515 Congress next door. The group is also plotting a hotel and condo tower at the corner of Brazos and Fifth streets that would rise more than 800 feet, making it by far the tallest building in Austin and the sixth-tallest in Texas.

Stacy and Walton Street had initially proposed a 700-foot-tall tower at 501 Congress -- with a hotel, condos, office and other uses -- that would have been the tallest in Austin. But when the group finalized the purchase late last year of the Littlefield Garage just east of 501 Congress fronting Fifth Street, plans were reworked.

Stacy and his partners now control the entire block bounded by Congress Avenue, Fifth, Sixth and Brazos streets, as well as half of the block immediately east where Bank of America currently has a drive-through operation. That large a block of downtown space called for an even grander vision, says the developer.

"We believe that Sixth and Congress is the best location in the whole marketplace," Stacy says. "We wanted to be very mindful of how we developed that block."

T. Stacy and Walton Street, which purchased 501 Congress and Bank of America Center in December 2004, are working through Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP to locate another group interested in getting in on the deal.

"This is a half-billion-dollar project, so there's plenty of room for another joint venture partner, especially one that has experience with other major projects," says Stacy.

The purchase of the garage allowed the group to separate the office and retail uses from the hotel and condos in two towers. With 501 Congress dedicated to office and retail along with a 1,000-car garage, the site to the east will feature a 300-room hotel and about 200 condo units in a slender tower that could rise as high as 830 feet. The office building would likely be complete by 2011 or 2012, Stacy says, though the condo/hotel tower could be further down the road.

Stacy says the plan for the half-block between Brazos and San Jacinto streets calls for a 1,200-space parking garage atop about 8,500 square feet of retail/restaurant space and a new Bank of America drive-through. He says drawings on that portion of the development are about 75 percent complete and construction should start in June.

Meanwhile, work has been ongoing for months in the lobby of the 515 building that will allow Bank of America's retail operation to move next door by March, essentially vacating 501 Congress and paving the way for demolition.

[WestAustinite]

While there is some concern in the office market right now over lackluster leasing activity market-wide, Stacy says his group is confident downtown Austin will need another major office building by the time his project is complete in three to four years. Even with the recently announced 425,000-square-foot Museum Tower office building Hines Interests is developing at Fourth and Guadalupe streets, Stacy says interest among companies to operate in a dynamic downtown will only grow.

As for financing in a tight lending landscape, Stacy says, "if it's a viable project, we think the financing will be there."

Stacy did not reveal any details on a potential brand for the hotel. As for the project architect, T. Stacy has used Pelli Clark Pelli in the past, but Stacy says he's uncertain who will handle the reworked development.

"Downtown Austin is a great long-term play," says Derek Land, co-managing partner with Stream Realty, which is actively leasing office space in the Central Business District. "There's not a lot of new office product that's in the works, but demand seems to be a little stronger than in other areas of town. With all of the residents moving in, new retail and everything happening there, it's dynamic."

With about 4,000 condo units set to hit downtown in the next two years, there is concern over what some see as an approaching condo glut. But several developers whose projects are being marketed say sales are strong. Experts say demand for downtown is only going to increase in coming years.

[KevinFromTexas]

WestAustinite, can you please post a link to that article?

[ATXboom]

Wow... T Stacey pulling through.

Get these projects up in the Proposed lists !!

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Wow... T Stacey pulling through.

Get these projects up in the Proposed lists !!

Will do! I'm just taking a few minutes to take it all in. Kind of surreal. 830 feet you say? Uh, yes!

[RobDSM]

Originally Posted by WestAustinite

More than three years after Austin developer Tom Stacy and a Chicago partner company purchased the building at 501 Congress Ave. and unveiled plans for a dramatic multiuse tower on the site, the deal has grown much larger, incorporating one-and-a-half city blocks, two soaring towers and an estimated $500 million investment.

Stacy's company, T. Stacy & Associates Inc., and Walton Street Capital now plan a 500,000-square-foot office and retail tower at 501 Congress that would be slightly taller than the 26-story Bank of America Center building the partnership owns at 515 Congress next door. The group is also plotting a hotel and condo tower at the corner of Brazos and Fifth streets that would rise more than 800 feet, making it by far the tallest building in Austin and the sixth-tallest in Texas.

Stacy and Walton Street had initially proposed a 700-foot-tall tower at 501 Congress -- with a hotel, condos, office and other uses -- that would have been the tallest in Austin. But when the group finalized the purchase late last year of the Littlefield Garage just east of 501 Congress fronting Fifth Street, plans were reworked.

Where did you find this article? This better be real!

[Raining Inside]

Here's a link to the story in the Austin Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/02/25/story1.html

[RobDSM]

Thanks for the link! I see it now in the Austin Update thread too.

[Dragonfire]

Ooh, an 800 footer? That would be awesome, although I wish the office tower would be taller than what they're talking about.

[Jdawgboy]

Woohoo, Great news I hope they really work hard on getting the hotel/condo tower portion up ASAP. I know they said alittle later down the road but sooner is better I say..

[KevinFromTexas]

Feel free to post in this thread too in "Highrise & Supertall Proposals"
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=131529