Domain/North Austin Development Updates

[freerover]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Great minds think alike. That was the shot that got me thinking about Broadmoor, too.

Overall -- given the demand we're seeing for everything in this corridor -- I'm not worried that Broadmoor WON'T get developed (at least in the long run), but I'm definitely interested in Brandywine's strategy, which is what I think we're starting to see play out. How piecemeal will the development be? Will it be based on spec, or will they wait till they have specific commitments? I think what we're seeing unfold is the slow-roll, rather than the full-speed-ahead.

I think Brandywine is waiting to see if more funds come in for the train station. The train station has to have funding before Brandywine can start construction on their approved rezone plan and they probably don't want to fund it all themselves. It seems like Cap Metro struck out at the 2018 BUILD grants. Seems like bullshit cap metro couldn't get 7 million for a train station but College Station gets 20 million to replace their busses. They should be able to pay for their own buses.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by freerover

I think Brandywine is waiting to see if more funds come in for the train station. The train station has to have funding before Brandywine can start construction on their approved rezone plan and they probably don't want to fund it all themselves. It seems like Cap Metro struck out at the 2018 BUILD grants. Seems like bullshit cap metro couldn't get 7 million for a train station but College Station gets 20 million to replace their busses. They should be able to pay for their own buses.

Any grants CapMetro got would have paid for their own half. Even with the grant it was expected that Brandywine would pay for half.

https://communityimpact.com/austin/n...orail-station/

https://www.mobilityauthority.com/up...er_Station.pdf

[Dream Sequence]

Originally Posted by freerover

I think Brandywine is waiting to see if more funds come in for the train station. The train station has to have funding before Brandywine can start construction on their approved rezone plan and they probably don't want to fund it all themselves. It seems like Cap Metro struck out at the 2018 BUILD grants. Seems like bullshit cap metro couldn't get 7 million for a train station but College Station gets 20 million to replace their busses. They should be able to pay for their own buses.

They tend to wait for pre-lease so the timing I think will be dependent on that. I understand that some multifamily is being finalized right now.

[murfnut]

I am not sure what I am doing wrong posting pictures so here is a link to a picture. This is the mess that is going on around 045 as the utility work gets done to prepare for the Bowen and Domain Tower III. Red is blocked off until July.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0gfq3q5qbq512q6/x.gif?dl=0

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by murfnut

I am not sure what I am doing wrong posting pictures so here is a link to a picture. This is the mess that is going on around 045 as the utility work gets done to prepare for the Bowen and Domain Tower III. Red is blocked off until July.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0gfq3q5qbq512q6/x.gif?dl=0

Here's what you were posting. When you use the image tags the photo file needs to end at .gif (in this case) or .png or .jpg. Plus this forum software is 20 years old.

[zrx299]

They should build Austin's version of a space needle type lookout tower in the 045 footprint once it comes down. Every other big Texan city has one.

Would have great views of downtown, the lakes, hills.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by zrx299

They should build Austin's version of a space needle type lookout tower in the 045 footprint once it comes down. Every other big Texan city has one.

Would have great views of downtown, the lakes, hills.

Houston and Fort Worth have observation towers?

[zrx299]

Fort Worth I lump in with DFW as a whole, but yeah I guess Houston doesn't. Haven't spent much time there.

So two of the four biggest metros have one. It'd be cool to make it 3 of 4.
Since I'm proposing it for the Domain, it wouldn't mess up our photogenic skyline.

[Syndic]

The Domain is a way wrong place for a space needle, though. This is what downtown looks like from there.

[KevinFromTexas]

I think putting a tower there would be a wee bit too far from downtown. The middle of the Domain is almost 8 miles north of the UT Tower. My neighborhood in South Austin is closer to the UT Tower than the Domain is. I've always thought Butler Park would be a good place for one.

Still, there's no reason why some of the taller hotels that will undoubtedly be built around the Domain couldn't have some good views.

[Jdawgboy]

Most definitely too far. Something like that needs to be in the heart of the city close to DT. I always thought that Microwave tower in west central Austin would make a great observation tower, like how cities in Japan have combining their radio/tv/microwave towers with observation decks.

[clubtokyo]

Mueller might work if not downtown.

[We vs us]

Aren’t we about to demolish the old Dougherty Arts Center?

That’d be a helluva downtown view.

[zrx299]

.

[We vs us]

Amazon leasing about 120k sq ft more in Domain 10, multiple rumors of them taking all of Domain 9 (330k sq ft).

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...urces-say.html

We're going to continue to benefit from the explosion of NYC's HQ2 bid for years to come, IMO. I can't say whether this kind of expansion is a direct result -- and TBH, we may never really know if there's an A --> B relationship between things we get and things NYC didn't -- but there's no question that we're going to keep seeing more and more.

This kind of thing also continues to bode well for Broadmoor IMO -- as the biggies keep swallowing whole buildings in the Domain ancillary demand is going to keep going up and up, too.

[murfnut]

I am thinking a lot of those jobs are for AWS development. I have one friend that was given a package he could not turn down to move back to Austin for Hardware Development in AWS, processor, system. ... His background is in pre and post silicon bringup and validation.

[papertowelroll]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Amazon leasing about 120k sq ft more in Domain 10, multiple rumors of them taking all of Domain 9 (330k sq ft).

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...urces-say.html

We're going to continue to benefit from the explosion of NYC's HQ2 bid for years to come, IMO. I can't say whether this kind of expansion is a direct result -- and TBH, we may never really know if there's an A --> B relationship between things we get and things NYC didn't -- but there's no question that we're going to keep seeing more and more.

This kind of thing also continues to bode well for Broadmoor IMO -- as the biggies keep swallowing whole buildings in the Domain ancillary demand is going to keep going up and up, too.

IMO Amazon was always going to hire as much engineering in Austin as possible. Austin is a relatively easy market to recruit to because it has a diverse tech scene, but a much lower cost of livng than the Bay Area, NYC, and Seattle. "HQ2", if not just a publicity stunt, has more to do with ancillary business functions.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Aren’t we about to demolish the old Dougherty Arts Center?

That’d be a helluva downtown view.

I'm not sure I'm on board. But if they make it look like a Moontower (only a lot larger) it gets bonus points.

[murfnut]

I wonder who is going to move into the new Domain Towers when they are built on the south side. Which big tech companies are left to take up a full tower ?

[zrx299]

Originally Posted by murfnut

I wonder who is going to move into the new Domain Towers when they are built on the south side. Which big tech companies are left to take up a full tower ?

Salesforce still lacks a proper Texas presence