AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[Raining Inside]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Well, even at 26 floors, it should be about 300 feet or so, maybe a little taller. I'd guess at least as tall as 301 Congress to the north. With the elimination of the two shorter towers, I'm surprised to hear that it's still only 26 floors. And infact, at one point it was said to be 34 floors. I'm still thinking we may hear about a taller redesign.

A 1000 room hotel needs a lot of parking. Maybe the 26 hotel floors will be built on top of a lovely 10 story parking structure.

Also, it is one big "IF" that the Statesman reported it accurately.

[AusTex]

What ever the heigth, Marriott is not known for attractive buildings. Just look at the two hotels across from the Railyard condos; both Marriott hotels. These two are all stucco and faux stone.

Perhaps a lower profile for Marriott on Congress will be a better look in the skyline if they build cheaply. The stucco Hilton is an eyesore. As is the stucco Legacy on Rainy Street. And I will add the stucco Shore to that as well.

Stucco looks ugly if used for more then 3 or 4 floors of a building. Period. Stucco should be outlawed as an exterior surface for more than 15% of the exterior. The 360 has stucco, but was use well. Most of the exterior is glass.

[hismasterplan]

I'm worried about the future Austin skyline with buildings like that. For instance, the big Hilton, holy... There are some nice looking projects going up or at least trying to, but the ones I'm not too keen about is the boxes - W, Museum Tower, The Four Seasons to name a few.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by hismasterplan

I'm worried about the future Austin skyline with buildings like that. For instance, the big Hilton, holy... There are some nice looking projects going up or at least trying to, but the ones I'm not too keen about is the boxes - W, Museum Tower, The Four Seasons to name a few.

if you're talking about the amoa museum than to me it is going to be the prettiest building in austin... in my opinion. the building itelf is going to look like a work found in a museum. if it is indeed going to look like the pictures i've seen of it. and is going to add more character to austin downtown. but if you're talking about 21c i agree... it's a little bland. also about the box shaped buildings here in austin... the ashton in particular i don't really care for. i do like the W though a little.

[migol24]

forest city... one of the proposers for the greenwater treatment plan has also a building included in their powerpoint. the building is called Ovation and was proposed for 6th and nueces. they also happen to be the firm that designed 360... and it's telling by the architectural structure that it's by the same designers. here's a link to the renderings. http://www.urbanaustin.org/index.php/Image:OvationAustin.JPG

does anyone have any idea about this building? i have not heard of it anywhere else except on the powerpoint presentation for the greenwater proposal. and it is not one of the buildings included for the proposal. ps
(i don't know how to post the picture... can anyone please help me so i can post the image directly on the screen?)

[priller]

Yeah, we've talked about Ovation plenty of times here. Last we heard it's supposed to get started "in the fall".

Latest rendering:

[KevinFromTexas]

To post pictures on the forum, it's pretty easy. First, the image has to be on the internet somewhere. It can't just be on your computer.

Here's how. You have to use a set of image tags wrapped around the URL (image link) of the photo. These tags are: [img] That first one should be on the front of the image link. At the end of the link you'll put this one [/img ] Now I spaced that last bracket away from the code otherwise it would have disappeared.

So...

Here is the image link for Ovation that migol24 posted a link to:

http://www.urbanaustin.org/images/b/b4/OvationAustin.JPG

Placing the tags at the front and end of the link:

[img]http://www.urbanaustin.org/images/b/b4/OvationAustin.JPG[/img ]

Again, I kept that last bracket away from the link and image tag to show you. Bring in that last bracket, and it'll make it into a live image on the forum, like this:



For more info on image tags and other tags that are allowed on the forum, visit the 'FAQ' link at the top of the forum in the horizontal blue bar. Read and follow the links from there. The actual page you want is the 2nd link I've shown here.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/faq.php?faq=vb_faq

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/misc.php?do=bbcode

[Goothrey]

Here are some pics I took yesterday going southbound on Lamar. For what ever reason, imageshack decided it didn't want to enlarge these pictures. You have to have rush hour traffic to pull off these shots.( bare in mind they are just cell phone pics)

Whole Foods somewhat in the foreground.




This was taken right next to the Seaholm development.


On Lamar bridge.


On Lamar bridge.

[hismasterplan]

Originally Posted by migol24

if you're talking about the amoa museum than to me it is going to be the prettiest building in austin... in my opinion. the building itelf is going to look like a work found in a museum. if it is indeed going to look like the pictures i've seen of it. and is going to add more character to austin downtown. but if you're talking about 21c i agree... it's a little bland. also about the box shaped buildings here in austin... the ashton in particular i don't really care for. i do like the W though a little.

Yeah the AMOA. They spoof it up in the rendering but I just get a bad feeling about the final outcome. I like what the building is offering of course, the museum. Same with W, I like it because of the new ACL studio. Ashton is the one I forgot to mention. I'm a little indifferent about that one but it looks nicer as they go along. Another thing is the placement of the buildings. The Spring and 360 would have fit well closer in the center of downtown (I know there isn't a lot of freedom of choice where they can go though). Downtown will fill out eventually of course.

[OU812]

Originally Posted by austex

Stucco looks ugly if used for more then 3 or 4 floors of a building. Period. Stucco should be outlawed as an exterior surface for more than 15% of the exterior. The 360 has stucco, but was use well. Most of the exterior is glass.

LOL, u would prolly hate living in Caddyfoeneeya (as pronounced by their gov). about 90% of their bldgs are 95% stucco. umm not sure about their high rises tho

[OU812]

Originally Posted by priller

Yeah, we've talked about Ovation plenty of times here. Last we heard it's supposed to get started "in the fall".

that Ovation tower looks SWEET. i hope it gets builteded!!

[AusTex]

Originally Posted by OU812

LOL, u would prolly hate living in Caddyfoeneeya (as pronounced by their gov). about 90% of their bldgs are 95% stucco. umm not sure about their high rises tho

I went to high school and college in Southern California. They have some great architecture. However they use stucco for toilet paper it seems. Aluminum window frames and stucco are the exteriors of many very drab buildings there. I cringe at the newer stucco ONLY buildings in Austin because they are soooo L.A.

Stucco should be banned as an exterior finish for more than 4 floors or 15% the exterior. It weathers after just 10 years and on a highrise it degrades the city skyline. Tall buildings need to look like they are built with intention to last the ages. The Hilton built in 2004 already looks worn and adds nothing of note to our skyline. This building coupled with the other highrise on the Interstate, the Legacy, greet motorists to Austin. Too bad they are greeted with two very L.A. buildings. Austin needs to change the codes to stop any more of these monstrosities from being built in our city. Austin is better than Stucco.

[AusTex]

[quote=KevinFromTexas;3778725]To post pictures on the forum, it's pretty easy. First, the image has to be on the internet somewhere. It can't just be on your computer.

I have always just used the "Switch Editor Mode" (double A/A, upper right of reply screen) button to allow me to copy and paste from the www. I just click the button and copy and paste. Pics from your computer need to be captured as KevinFromTexas explains. Also the rules of this site state the pic must be credited/linked so be sure to always copy the hyperlink or credit others for their pics.

Is this all correct info KevinFromTexas, our local guru?

[Raining Inside]

This is good news. That eyesore needs to come down.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/09/08/story1.html?b=1220846400^1694710

Old comptroller building may be sold soon
Site will likely be cleared to make room for huge tower
Austin Business Journal - by A.J. Mistretta ABJ Staff

Nick Simonite
The abandoned Starr Building sits in a bustling area between the Market District and the intersection of Sixth Street and Congress Avenue.
View Larger

A major downtown tower could soon replace the vacant 1950s building at the corner of Sixth and Colorado streets.

The Texas General Land Office confirms it’s working with CB Richard Ellis Inc. to put the 76,000-square-foot Starr Building and adjacent garage up for sale. A deal has not been signed, but the GLO hopes to contract with CBRE to put the property on the market in the next month.

The GLO acquired the four-story building in 2005 on behalf of the state’s Permanent School Fund for just over $4 million. That same year the building’s last tenant, the Texas Comptroller’s Office, moved out and the property has been unoccupied since.

The GLO staff has determined the best use for the property would be to demolish the building and build a new structure on the site, Press Secretary Jim Suydam says. The GLO will evaluate the purchase proposals it receives and likely choose the one that nets the most money for the school fund. The Permanent School Fund’s board would have to approve the sales agreement.

With a footprint of just under one acre, existing zoning would allow up to 350,000 square feet of development on the nearly half-block site. But the property is unencumbered by height restrictions and, given its proximity to the bustling intersection of Congress Avenue and Sixth Street, a developer would likely seek to increase the allowable square footage.

It’s unclear just how tall a tower could rise on the site, but real estate professionals say a building of more than 40 floors and over 500,000 square feet is highly possible.

The 33-story Frost Bank Tower, the last major downtown office building to be completed, is 525,000 square feet. Another planned office building, the 33-story Museum Tower at Fourth and Guadalupe streets, will be about 425,000 square feet.

If the GLO proceeds with a sale, there are many possibilities for the property, not the least of which is an office tower, says Troy Holme, senior vice president of office brokerage services for CBRE. Some mixed use is likely, with ground floor retail and an office or perhaps a hotel or multifamily tower on top of that, says Holme, who is not involved in marketing the property.

Despite the sluggishness of late in the office market, he says, there are plenty of tenant companies expressing interest in downtown. While occupancy in the Central Business District has seen better days, he points out that it would likely be two or three years before an office tower of significant magnitude would be completed, opening at a different point in the real estate cycle.

“This is really one of the last pieces of development opportunity” in downtown’s core, Holme says. “I guarantee the interest in this will be high. You’ll have everyone and their brother out to get it.”

City planner Michael Knox agrees there is plenty of opportunity in the Starr Building site. He also points out that the property holds a significant place along the evolving West Sixth corridor between Congress and Lamar avenues.

“There’s a lot of development already at Sixth and Lamar, and you’re seeing a number of projects, condos and apartments planned that are going to be filling in that area to make it one continuous” pedestrian-oriented street, Knox says.

But before the building is bulldozed, some want to see one interior element, a large mural by American midcentury modern artist Seymour Fogel, saved. Local lawyer Robert Summers has organized an effort to preserve the mural and hopes whoever buys the building will help pay to relocate the piece. The U.S. General Services Administration has agreed to accept the mural for the new federal courthouse being built blocks away next to Republic Square Park, but Summers says funds are short.

“I think it’s a real opportunity for a developer to save a gem that’s inside the building,” he says.

[priller]

This is great news, and not too surprising. That's a prime spot for a mixed-use, mostly office tower. Just as long as they save that mural...

Also, it's interesting they mentioned the AMOA tower as planned office space but not the T. Stacey shorter tower.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by austex

I have always just used the "Switch Editor Mode" (double A/A, upper right of reply screen) button to allow me to copy and paste from the www. I just click the button and copy and paste. Pics from your computer need to be captured as KevinFromTexas explains. Also the rules of this site state the pic must be credited/linked so be sure to always copy the hyperlink or credit others for their pics.

Is this all correct info KevinFromTexas, our local guru?

Pretty much. You can right click on a photo with your mouse, and copy the image link (or image URL). Then paste (right click again) into the forum. Or you can highlight the image link (press and hold control c) then to paste it, press and hold control v

And yes, always credit pictures. Even if you don't know who took the photo, the person's name or even an internet name they go by, at least provide a link to where you found it. Post the link to the website you found it though, not just the image link.

[OU812]

Originally Posted by austex

I went to high school and college in Southern California. They have some great architecture. However they use stucco for toilet paper it seems. Aluminum window frames and stucco are the exteriors of many very drab buildings there. I cringe at the newer stucco ONLY buildings in Austin because they are soooo L.A.

Stucco should be banned as an exterior finish for more than 4 floors or 15% the exterior. It weathers after just 10 years and on a highrise it degrades the city skyline. Tall buildings need to look like they are built with intention to last the ages. The Hilton built in 2004 already looks worn and adds nothing of note to our skyline. This building coupled with the other highrise on the Interstate, the Legacy, greet motorists to Austin. Too bad they are greeted with two very L.A. buildings. Austin needs to change the codes to stop any more of these monstrosities from being built in our city. Austin is better than Stucco.

I saw a documentary once that stated CA and the West builds for "the here and now", while NY and the East (along with Europe) builds for the millennia. Very true!!

By the way, I heard that part of the reason there's so much stucco in CA is supposedly because it's easier to patch up and repair after an earthquake?

[alexjon]

^^ If that were the case, there'd be a lot more stucco in Seattle

[ALCOHOLLYWOOD]

Hey guys. Moved to Los Angeles from Austin at the beginning of the year for my career. I visit this wonderful site everyday and keep up with Austin and Los Angeles (downtown and metro). Two of my favorite cities.

I don't understand what you are talking about with respect to stucco. Can you elaborate and perhaps site specific examples of skyscrapers in Los Angeles that are stucco?

Thanks in advance

[priller]

From Sat, 7/6.

W Hotel & Residences. Two crane bases are up today. One:




Two:




But, there's a 3rd base still on the side. Will there be 3 cranes?




Finally saw this device in action, but not quite sure what it was doing:




Cranes:




Spring:






21 Rio:




Ashton: