AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[wwmiv]

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/10/04/daily48.html

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by migol24

I personally don't care about height in this part of Austin, but boy I sure wish that there was more activity around there. Especially on Lavaca and Guadalupe.... when it's not rush hour this part of downtown is dead! Hopefully a planetarium like this can bring some more business.... hopefully in the near future there'll be some more redevelopment that will bring more life to this area. Whatever works, boxed buildings, or whatnot just so long as they bring people in this area.

I doubt it will happen anytime soon though. Not in the next 10 years at least.

Unless the state or University gives up land to private business, that part of town will stay dead outside of business hours and football games. And I don't see a museum changing that substantially other than weekends.

Lavaca and Guadalupe I disagree with. There is a nice little bar and resteraunt area just South of MLK that runs until around 12th street and picks back up around 8th or 9th.

Not every corner of every city is going to be happening. That part of the city is the confluence of state and University owned property, it won't ever have any sort of nightlife.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/10/04/daily48.html

all sounds good. Hopefully the developer won't sit on the land for too long. Though I except 4-5 years before anything starts up.

[KevinFromTexas]

Actually, there was an article posted a while back that talked about the possibility of "building out" the state lots around the Capitol with residential, office, hotel and retail with it totaling at least 6 million square feet.

Here's the thread with that article.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=181566&highlight=capitol

Here's the drawing with the article. That one tall building is at least 500 feet tall. The William P. Clements Building to the south is 237 feet tall, and that new building is at least twice as tall.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

Unless the state or University gives up land to private business, that part of town will stay dead outside of business hours and football games. And I don't see a museum changing that substantially other than weekends.

Lavaca and Guadalupe I disagree with. There is a nice little bar and resteraunt area just South of MLK that runs until around 12th street and picks back up around 8th or 9th.

Not every corner of every city is going to be happening. That part of the city is the confluence of state and University owned property, it won't ever have any sort of nightlife.

There is redevelopment planned for Lavaca and Guadalupe already. I don't know how they are going to work it out, but from the City of Austin website they want to bring in more people in this part of Austin and make it more "lively".

But I agree that if it will happen it won't happen until at least another decade. If you're talking about Texas Chili Parlour and Charlie's.... I don't think it's enough to make it as "lively" as South Congress per se. This area is still pretty dead even for a weekend. The only time I've seen it truly bustling is only after a Longhorns game...... which in my opinion is a bummer.

I used to walk this area every night after work and even on the weekends, say around 11pm the area was still dead even with the bars that you mention.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Actually, there was an article posted a while back that talked about the possibility of "building out" the state lots around the Capitol with residential, office, hotel and retail with it totaling at least 6 million square feet.

Here's the thread with that article.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=181566&highlight=capitol

Here's the drawing with the article. That one tall building is at least 500 feet tall. The William P. Clements Building to the south is 237 feet tall, and that new building is at least twice as tall.

Oh look! You already mentioned it.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by migol24

There is redevelopment planned for Lavaca and Guadalupe already. I don't know how they are going to work it out, but from the City of Austin website they want to bring in more people in this part of Austin and make it more "lively".

But I agree that if it will happen it won't happen until at least another decade. If you're talking about Texas Chili Parlour and Charlie's.... I don't think it's enough to make it as "lively" as South Congress per se. This area is still pretty dead even for a weekend. The only time I've seen it truly bustling is only after a Longhorns game...... which in my opinion is a bummer.

I used to walk this area every night after work and even on the weekends, say around 11pm the area was still dead even with the bars that you mention.

I'm not saying that it is the epicenter of nightlife in Austin, but you also have Dog and duck a few blocks over, El Mercado and a few more places. That whole area is in a strange place. It is still mostly state office buildings, a few residential towers and it is wedged right between two of the most lively areas of town.

Yet the Universities spillover of activity is to the North and Downtowns spillover is to the East and South, and the area in between is largely ignored.

I don't even know if the states plan to allow a few private buildings on the edges of their owned lots is going to do much at all for the area either. 90% of the buildings are still going to be empty after hours.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

I'm not saying that it is the epicenter of nightlife in Austin, but you also have Dog and duck a few blocks over, El Mercado and a few more places. That whole area is in a strange place. It is still mostly state office buildings, a few residential towers and it is wedged right between two of the most lively areas of town.

Yet the Universities spillover of activity is to the North and Downtowns spillover is to the East and South, and the area in between is largely ignored.

I don't even know if the states plan to allow a few private buildings on the edges of their owned lots is going to do much at all for the area either. 90% of the buildings are still going to be empty after hours.

Well, you never know. Times change. Whodathunk that South Congress would ever be what it is today? Even the area we're talking about used to be the red light district of back in the day.... well, i mean it was like a hundred years ago, but it's not to say that this area will be dead for the next 100 years. The fact that there is plan for improvement should bring in some positives. We'll see.

[KevinFromTexas]

^A friend of my dad lived in the house where the Great Outdoors plant nursery is on South Congress (across from St. Ed's). We used to go over to see her, and I remember several times seeing prostitutes standing on South Congress right in front of her house. That area can still be iffy at times, but no where near as bad. I ride my bicycle through there every time I go to and from downtown, sometimes well after midnight, and it's much better than it used to be.

[arbeiter]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

^A friend of my dad lived in the house where the Great Outdoors plant nursery is on South Congress (across from St. Ed's). We used to go over to see her, and I remember several times seeing prostitutes standing on South Congress right in front of her house. That area can still be iffy at times, but no where near as bad. I ride my bicycle through there every time I go to and from downtown, sometimes well after midnight, and it's much better than it used to be.

I remember the prostitutes, and I remember when there was the adult theatre too! "Cinema West" I think it was called.

[WAustinResident]

Originally Posted by arbeiter

I remember the prostitutes, and I remember when there was the adult theatre too! "Cinema West" I think it was called.

Good old one leg peg

[StoOgE]

Well before Congress became the really seedy part of town it was 6th street.

Now it appears to be 12th and Chicone. Try driving down Chicone from 12th street to MLK sometime. Just lock the doors and don't stop

Obviously it is always possible that the area could totally transform and the area on Lavaca/Guadalupe is the most likely candidate since that is primarily private land. Even Red River South of MLK has something of a chance because of some already existing dining establishments.

But the stretch right along MLK until you get close to the drag is going to be very hard to makeover. It is just a confluence of a dead part of the University and state office buildings. Though it isn't terribly far from Jester so it's always possible if the state gave up land that area could take off as another "drag".

[KevinFromTexas]

I haven't ventured over there in a while, what's it like? I'll assume people try to sell you stuff? That reminds me of walking through the neighborhood in Florida where my brother and I were staying while working there after Hurricane Ivan. Every time we'd go up to the store, young teenagers would ask us if we were straight. They probably had one pocket full of rocks and bills in the other. We just wanted beer and pretzels, so we always said no.

[StoOgE]

The street corner (or I should say, just North of the corner) pretty much always has 20+ working girls, 4-5 guys standing around who will sell you whatever and then a few more guys in the back of pickup trucks parked on the street that look like muscle.

My I have a few female friends that live worryingly close to that corner.

It is a pretty sketchy corner. It's days are most likely numbered as that neighborhood is getting much much nicer than it was even 12 months ago.

[WAustinResident]

The BizJournal is reporting that city council will review the plans for the redevelopment of the GWTS and the power station which includes 2 towers and 425 condos.

I think this represents probably the best chance of being the next large downtown condo project to rise out of the ground. They say construction is not slated to start until 2013 which would mean 2015 completion date at best.

So after the W opens later this year we are talking about almost 5 years before new condos come on the market in downtown.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by WAustinResident

The BizJournal is reporting that city council will review the plans for the redevelopment of the GWTS and the power station which includes 2 towers and 425 condos.

I think this represents probably the best chance of being the next large downtown condo project to rise out of the ground. They say construction is not slated to start until 2013 which would mean 2015 completion date at best.

So after the W opens later this year we are talking about almost 5 years before new condos come on the market in downtown.

Actually, the bizjournal article is about the related Austin Energy Control Center parcel (same development, different section). Yes, it will house two towers (approximately 500 ft. and 350 ft.). The GWTS parcel has three towers and there hasn't been word on it in awhile. Long-term, though, the entirety of the project (all five towers) seems pretty likely to happen as it is a governmentally orchestrated project.

Also, the lag between significant projects is probably a good thing.

[Downtown_Austin]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

^A friend of my dad lived in the house where the Great Outdoors plant nursery is on South Congress (across from St. Ed's). We used to go over to see her, and I remember several times seeing prostitutes standing on South Congress right in front of her house.

Interesting... Great Outdoors sits on one of my favorite properties in Austin. The oak trees there are some of the best examples in Austin.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Actually, the bizjournal article is about the related Austin Energy Control Center parcel (same development, different section). Yes, it will house two towers (approximately 500 ft. and 350 ft.). The GWTS parcel has three towers and there hasn't been word on it in awhile. Long-term, though, the entirety of the project (all five towers) seems pretty likely to happen as it is a governmentally orchestrated project.

Also, the lag between significant projects is probably a good thing.

Personally I hope the developer sits on it until the market recovers (and there are less condos in the DT market unoccupied). I would hate to see those beautiful plans turned into a bunch of 300 foot tall buildings just to get something built. I would hate to see a bunch of low to mid-rise towers occupy land that was supposed to see some major towers.

That said, I hope the city and the developer fast track the street improvements and library. Getting that part of DT connected to Zilker/Lady Bird Lake and connecting DT proper with the West Side are the most important part of the project to me. The area near Republic Square and down around where the Gables/Spring/Monarch went up will be much better integrated with the rest of downtown once that happens. Just turn the area into pad sites with food trailers and temporary bars like the Rainey St area is for the time being.

[WAustinResident]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Actually, the bizjournal article is about the related Austin Energy Control Center parcel (same development, different section). Yes, it will house two towers (approximately 500 ft. and 350 ft.). The GWTS parcel has three towers and there hasn't been word on it in awhile. Long-term, though, the entirety of the project (all five towers) seems pretty likely to happen as it is a governmentally orchestrated project.

Also, the lag between significant projects is probably a good thing.

Thanks for the correction, I always just lump those two together. I agree the lag is a good thing, but its pretty stunning for how regularly things have come online how much downtime there will be. I mean at least 2 to 3 of those years will at least be in pre-sales so those people looking for the newest properties can still be in the market. But its just stunning to me that we could go 5 years from opening to opening.

[WAustinResident]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Actually, the bizjournal article is about the related Austin Energy Control Center parcel (same development, different section). Yes, it will house two towers (approximately 500 ft. and 350 ft.). The GWTS parcel has three towers and there hasn't been word on it in awhile. Long-term, though, the entirety of the project (all five towers) seems pretty likely to happen as it is a governmentally orchestrated project.

Also, the lag between significant projects is probably a good thing.

Thanks for the correction, I always just lump those two together. I agree the lag is a good thing, but its pretty stunning for how regularly things have come online how much downtime there will be. I mean at least 2 to 3 of those years will at least be in pre-sales so those people looking for the newest properties can still be in the market. But its just stunning to me that we could go 5 years from opening to opening.