AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II - Page 237

priller · #**4721** Posted **Feb 19, 2009, 10:22 PM**

Very nice! What a view! Spring actually looks short from there.

hookem · #**4722** Posted **Feb 19, 2009, 11:54 PM**

jeremyz, those are some incredible views! I wonder what your beagle thought about that balcony... do dogs have vertigo/fear of heights?

Ever think about putting up a webcam

you have an awesome view of the Austonian construction...

jeremyz · #**4723** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 12:09 AM**

Both of my dogs like to go out on the balcony. They don't seem to be afraid, but they seem to respect that they shouldn't be jumping around.

I've been thinking about putting up a webcam, but I haven't got around to it yet. One of the nice things about the 360 is that we have a pretty decent internet connection, so I could host a webcam site easily (I've seen about 35Mbps down and 28Mbps up; it's a good deal for the $12 of HOA fees a month).

Wheelingman04 · #**4724** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 12:31 AM**

Friggin awesome city.

SecretAgentMan · #**4725** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 3:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wheelingman04

Friggin awesome city.

Thanks for all the compliments. Maybe it is time to add Austin to the list in your footer.

Strayone · #**4726** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 3:54 AM**

Jeremy is a tough act to follow but here goes. These are from the 41st floor West side of 360.
Spring

My friend Suzanne in the living room

The Monarch

Sunset and the lake

North view

Living room view

UT tower

Dusk

Windows aren't dirty just the camera!

Party room

Lap pool

MY friends ok'd these photo's being posted here. I had a great time, geez it seemed high...I am officially afraid of heights it seems.

TXLove · #**4727** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 4:05 AM**

Great shots also Strayone!!!!! Thanks

Northcrossed · #**4728** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 4:45 PM**

Spring tops out; on track for July delivery
Austin Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/02/16/daily45.html

The Spring Condominium will celebrate its topping out Feb. 24.

The 42-story project at 300 Bowie St. began construction in 2007 and will be the first downtown Austin condo tower completed this year when its delivered in July. The project has pre-sold 55 percent of its 246 units, according to one of the development partners.

Spring Austin Partners and Hensel Phelps Construction Co. are working with Vancouver-based architect Foad Rafil. The condo’s interiors are designed by Austin’s Dick Clark Architecture, and local artists Jason Lawson, Leigh Wyatt and Ryah Christensen have been commissioned to design parts of Spring’s lobby.

priller · #**4729** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 5:01 PM**

Here's another Flickr member who just started taking some construction pics. And he seems to have gotten pics of some of the people in charge. I guess he doesn't meekly wander around the periphery of the projects like I do.

I can't link directly to his photos, but here's the main page for his set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevehopson/sets/72157613711090407/

shanny · #**4730** Posted **Feb 22, 2009, 3:17 AM**

So I'm watching Texas / Oklahoma on espn...as they cut to commercial they show 6th street with a great view of the frost tower and the Austonian!!!!

migol24 · #**4731** Posted **Feb 22, 2009, 5:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by priller

Here's another Flickr member who just started taking some construction pics. And he seems to have gotten pics of some of the people in charge. I guess he doesn't meekly wander around the periphery of the projects like I do.

I can't link directly to his photos, but here's the main page for his set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevehopson/sets/72157613711090407/

dude, i like your pics way better.

StoOgE · #**4732** Posted **Feb 22, 2009, 3:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanny

So I'm watching Texas / Oklahoma on espn...as they cut to commercial they show 6th street with a great view of the frost tower and the Austonian!!!!

I saw that too, it was a really cool shot of downtown.

Also, OU sucks.

Wheelingman04 · #**4733** Posted **Feb 23, 2009, 1:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecretAgentMan

Thanks for all the compliments. Maybe it is time to add Austin to the list in your footer.

Maybe

priller · #**4734** Posted **Feb 23, 2009, 5:01 AM**

A few from early this evening:

colemonkee · #**4735** Posted **Feb 23, 2009, 6:44 AM**

priller, that first shot could be the cover to your coffee table book of Austin photography!!

Smuttynose1 · #**4736** Posted **Feb 24, 2009, 4:27 AM**

Hey everybody, by way of introduction, I'm Mark and I'm from New Hampshire but currently live in Boston. I've been checking out this forum for a while. I'm considering moving to Austin to attend UT for grad school in the fall. I had a chance to check out your city this past weekend. For what it's worth, I wanted to share a few observations and hope maybe you guys could help me with a few questions I had.

First, the good things...
-The Capitol building is extraordinary and is so well framed by Congress Street. Represents Texas well.
-Frost Tower is a beautiful skyscraper and I think many cities would kill for it.
-I got a kick out of the sidewalks with steps built into them (common over in the warehouse district). Not a common site in Boston.
-Beer prices and selection. As a beer guy, I was pretty impressed with the beer variety at most pubs - Ginger Man and Flying Saucer were stand-outs, good selection of breweries as well.
-UT has a beautiful campus. Loved all the statues and fountains. The sightline from the center of campus across to the Capitol was pretty impressive.
-Loved the Texas pride. I know it rubs some people wrong, but I really appreciated it. People are too apathetic these days.

And the Not so Good.
-My single biggest complaint about the city is how dominant automobiles are.
I know it's Texas, but dear God people, this is ridiculous. I had a chance to visit both Mozart's Coffee and the Oasis, which were both great places, but both were busy at the time so satellite parking lots were utilized. In both cases, these parking lots were no further than 50 to 100 yards away from the building itself. However, perfectly healthy-appearing people lined up to take golf cart rides to get to the building b/c they couldn't manage the walk. It just struck me as crazy. I don't see how public transport or a walkable downtown can possibly suceed in Austin if residents there are so averse to the act of walking.
-The car also dominates downtown Austin, where pedestrians appear to be loathed. I was shocked at how wide the streets were and how fast traffic streamed through downtown. With a few exceptions, there doesn't seem to be any effort made to make the environment even moderately pedestrian friendly. South Congress is particularly ridiculous. You literally have to stake out one side of the street and stay there. Austin should literally set aside a lane from every road downtown and dedicate that space to wider sidewalks or streetcars. Traffic might back up a bit, but it's downtown, traffic is supposed to back up.
-I found public transportation in Austin to be severely lacking. I understand that Austin has grown exponentially and hasn't yet built a light rail system, but even the existing bus system is painful. We attempted to take the #7 bus from UT to downtown but the wait was so long (we hung out for about 20 minutes) that we gave up and hiked back. Even the well advertized Airport Flyer bus, the city's only public transportation link to its airport so far as I could tell, runs only every 40 minutes! I'd love to see light rail in Austin, but a decent bus system is important as well.
-The river/lake front has a nice trail system but there doesn't seem to be much else to lure people down there - few restaurants, pubs, etc. The shore opposite downtown is particularly treacherous with sprawling offices and parking lots. Are there development plans underway here?

Basically, I spent four days in the city and I know I'm no expert on Austin, but these were just my immediate observations. I hope I didn't dwell too much on the negatives, I just found it very difficult to get around the city without a car. Overall I really liked Austin, the people and the nightlife, and hope to become a resident in the fall.

nixcity · #**4737** Posted **Feb 24, 2009, 4:08 PM**

^Well coming from Boston those issues you are talking about must be blaring. The strides toward better transportation and better access to pedestrians is increasing as we better learn to manage and increase density. It seems that people choose to walk as excercise more than necesity. That being said Austin is a great place to live and would be a solid choice to continue your education. I can't imagine leaving for the reasons you stated above and so many others.

hookem · #**4738** Posted **Feb 24, 2009, 4:49 PM**

^Welcome to Texas... or really, the sunbelt cities in general. The car culture will take some getting used to. There is some slow improvement being made, but it's not going to change significantly for some time. It's just a different part of America.

M1EK · #**4739** Posted **Feb 24, 2009, 6:12 PM**

For the love of god, don't go anywhere else in Texas, or you may collapse into a black hole of despair.

As for the Oasis & Mozart's, both are heavily tilted towards suburbanites (Mozart's a bit less, but still more than something in the downtown core).

priller · #**4740** Posted **Feb 24, 2009, 7:38 PM**

Ha ha, isn't that the truth!

Mark, I think you're take on it is pretty accurate. Keep in mind that Austin is in the midst of a transition -- from a more typical sun-belt sprawling suburbia to actually having a livable urban core. And really we're just at the beginning stages of that transition. Living downtown in Austin was a rare thing just a few years ago.

But transportation is the big sore spot here. It's not really up to where it should be, and it always seems to be a contentious issue (just read the transportation thread).