Austin | The Travis ATX | 594 Feet | 52 Floors | Complete

[IluvATX]

Originally Posted by The ATX

That's some half-ass site prep right there. I guess the rain held up the tree move.

Seriously. Look at even how they parked the forklift.

[The ATX]

Has anyone been by the site recently? I haven't seen much more site prep happening on the Quincy webcam. Has the tree move at least taken place?

[Geckos_Rule]

Nope. It's still there as of yesterday.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

Nope. It's still there as of yesterday.

I just noticed that they filed a tree move permit yesterday, so it makes for it to still be there. They are only moving the tree to another place on site.

[corvairkeith]

Pretty sure you can see the tree on the Quincy webcam. I circled it in red.

[The ATX]

"...soon to break ground..." The architect must know something. From GDA:


https://www.instagram.com/gda_architects/

[the Genral]

They seemed to be excited about the floor count, and so am I, but they couldn't add 6 crummy feet to the total? In other news, in five years, we could have an incredible tall cluster of highrises in a seemingly unexpected area of downtown.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by the Genral

...we could have an incredible tall cluster of highrises in a seemingly unexpected area of downtown.

Yes. Having a ~600', ~800' and a ~1,000' tower all next to each other will create an awesome cluster with a nice step up to the tallest.

[enthurzan]

Can someone help me out here - why is the Rainey Street District of all places seeing the highest towers being built? Is it something to do with the Capitol View Corridors?

[KevinFromTexas]

It's really for three reasons. The bars, being close to the hike & bike trail, and the river and the views of it. I think probably the best views in the city from any of our buildings has to be from 70 Rainey with the view of the river, the hills and waterfront skyline. I don't think there's another building quite like it, I mean, sure there are others around it, but it's the tallest. And even with the new taller buildings, 70 Rainey is still uniquely positioned.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

It's really for three reasons. The bars, being close to the hike & bike trail, and the river and the views of it. I think probably the best views in the city from any of our buildings has to be from 70 Rainey with the view of the river, the hills and waterfront skyline. I don't think there's another building quite like it, I mean, sure there are others around it, but it's the tallest. And even with the new taller buildings, 70 Rainey is still uniquely positioned.

Those are good reasons as to why they area is popular. However, it doesn't explain the height of these projects. That is due to small plot sizes. The smaller the site, the taller one needs to go to hit your margins.

[sammyk]

"Downton Austin", "Hill County", "Sort after"

[KevinFromTexas]

I mean, these lots aren't really any smaller than others in downtown. Some of the blocks there are even larger than some of the ones in other parts of downtown. And the buildings themselves don't have significantly smaller footprints either. I think what's really driving height there are the views. Why waste a view of the river and hills on a 200 foot building when you could go 400 to 600 feet and higher?

I do think The Travis, 80 Red River, and 98 Red River will steal 70 Rainey's thunder on the views. None of those will block views from 70 Rainey, I'm just saying at the moment that 70 Rainey is the only one in the area that offers the kind of views it does upstream on the river.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I do think The Travis, 80 Red River, and 98 Red River will steal 70 Rainey's thunder on the views. None of those will block views from 70 Rainey, I'm just saying at the moment that 70 Rainey is the only one in the area that offers the kind of views it does upstream on the river.

True, although depending on the distance from 70 Rainey (e.g., 98 Red River being at least a few hundred yards away), they could actually benefit the views from 70 Rainey somewhat.

If they aren't blocking anything else important (like the Capital, UT Tower, etc.) then I think it would end up looking even better. For example, why buildings in NYC go for a premium when they have views of the WTC, Empire State Building, etc. If there's a tallest building, then a view of it is typically a plus other buildings downtown.

[Urbannizer]

Tree prepped for relocation yet the site still remains stagnant.

[The ATX]

They might be waiting on the City to finalize the tree move. It's supposed to be replanted on City property next to the site. They were ready to move it obviously; then something happened (or didn't happen) to delay the move.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by The ATX

They might be waiting on the City to finalize the tree move. It's supposed to be replanted on City property next to the site. They were ready to move it obviously; then something happened (or didn't happen) to delay the move.

Trees need to be prepped well in advance of a move. After the root ball is pruned and wrapped, they are fed fertilizers and watered regularly to stimulate root growth at the end of the pruned roots. It takes about 3 months before the tree is ready to move to its new home.

[enragedcamel]

I mean, I love trees, but I hope this single tree doesn't delay the project by 3 months...

[Urbannizer]

A crew moved the tree on September 10th

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUDO3zCFXDG/?utm_medium=copy_link

[The ATX]

Hopefully the excavators return soon.