AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[StoOgE]

Well, my choices werent just based on tallest buildings, although density is very important to me. Austin is very quickly running out of undeveloped blocks of land, and I personally dont want to see every single lowrise building (bar/shop/resteraunt) torn down for a highrise, so its pretty critical to me that we make the most out of these remaining blank spots in downtown. I cant really speak to which developer has best access to capital to actually get the thing built, because I honestly dont have a clue... by rankings were based soley on the proposals... which are 100% going to change, but I think we have a good feel for what the different groups are going for.

Simmons Vedders development to me, is uninspired. All of the buildings look exactly the same, and they are pretty bland. Right now second street has a pretty good combo of eclectic buildings with great street levels, and I just dont feel what they have shown continues that at all. To me this development screams suburban office park on steroids. This one I would be unhappy with if it were selected.

Trammel Crow - very nice looking buildings with great density. Their track record in Austin is very good, I love the greenspace they are building out and I love the LEED standards they seem to be shooting for. I love their street level down second street that they show off and the pedestrian walkways not along the street. On a completely subjective point, they have some very nice looking diverse buildings.. they all look like part of the same development, but are unique as well.

Catellus - I actually like this proposal, but its density leaves alot to be desired.. I want at least one tower with some real height to it, I think the Silver LEED standard is probably below some of the other projects (I really think Trammel is shooting for Platinum).. part of the problem here is they dont really show a very detailed look at their street level plans. I think they are probably pretty decent, but I cant really tell. This is a design that I could live with were it selected.

Forest City- has good building height but the buildings seem to be set too far back from the street. I like big sidewalks similar to whats on second street now, but these seem to be set back pretty far. Also, a roundabout? We have the oppurtunity to really connect divergent parts of downtown by extending 2nd/west over to the area where Spring is located and I dont think shoving a roundabout in the middle of downtown Austin is very smart. I wouldnt be thrilled if this were selected, its my second least favorite.

Stratus - being in charge of developing second street is obviously a huge plus to this development. LEED Gold is a huge plus, though I still think Trammel Crow is going for Platinum, but I'd like to see confirmation of that. Really to me, This is a very very close second and I like everything they are doing. This and Trammel Crow are the two densest developments by far.. I even like that these buildings are all very different looking. To me, awarding a LEED platinum design would be a huge statement to future builders to step up their game.. and I just like the building designs better for Stratus. But either one of these would be a huge win.