Austin | ATX Tower (321 West 6th) | 675 Feet | 58 Floors | Complete - Page 30

migol24 · #**581** Posted **Jun 11, 2022, 4:53 PM**

If this tower surprises us all and turns out to be a beauty then I vote to call this the Comeback tower, or to commemorate Dirty Martin's, we'll it the Kumbak Tower.

AusTex · #**582** Posted **Jun 12, 2022, 8:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

I've suspected that the block is owned by the federal government and they have simply sat on it since the post office closed.

I forgot; how long ago Did the post office close?

the Genral · #**583** Posted **Jun 12, 2022, 9:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by AusTex

I forgot; how long ago Did the post office close?

It opened in 1996 and closed in 2012. It only operated for 16 years. Its been sitting there empty taking up space for 10 years now. It's no longer owned by the Federal Gov't.

The ATX · #**584** Posted **Jun 12, 2022, 9:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

It opened in 1996 and closed in 2012. It only operated for 16 years. Its been sitting there empty taking up space for 10 years now. It's no longer owned by the Federal Gov't.

It's been owned by Endeavor for most of those 12 years as far as I know. They are a significant local developer, so it's really surprising that they haven't done anything with the lot.

migol24 · #**585** Posted **Jun 12, 2022, 9:53 PM**

Maybe just waiting for the right design/project to come along? Prime spot for a 1,200'+!

the Genral · #**586** Posted **Jun 13, 2022, 3:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by migol24

Maybe just waiting for the right design/project to come along? Prime spot for a 1,200'+!

I kind of agree with you. I feel like when they do start building on this site, it's going to be our nicest tower, or a real pooper, or something in between.

paul78701 · #**587** Posted **Jun 13, 2022, 2:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

I kind of agree with you. I feel like when they do start building on this site, it's going to be our nicest tower, or a real pooper, or something in between.

This block and the Hobby block should be prime candidates for supertalls. They are full blocks that will be right on top of one of the two primary transit stops/exchanges.

We vs us · #**588** Posted **Jun 13, 2022, 4:55 PM**

It's interesting to me that, by NOT building on that lot during that last boom period, they've essentially executed the World Class buy and hold strategy . . . and that's allowed DT real estate demand to push values into an area that would support a true supertall in that spot. If they'd started building there in 2017 (for instance) I bet we'd see something more like the Indeed "tower" at Colorado and 5th -- 20 stories or so, with 5 of it being a parking podium.

OfficialPBreton · #**589** Posted **Jun 14, 2022, 8:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

I feel like when they do start building on this site, it's going to be our nicest tower, or a real pooper, or something in between.

Really putting your eggs all in one basket, huh?

drummer · #**590** Posted **Jun 14, 2022, 2:11 PM**

Genral likes to commit to everything until the appropriate time to land on a particular opinion about towers.

Strayone · #**591** Posted **Jun 15, 2022, 1:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by We vs us

It's interesting to me that, by NOT building on that lot during that last boom period, they've essentially executed the World Class buy and hold strategy . . . and that's allowed DT real estate demand to push values into an area that would support a true supertall in that spot. If they'd started building there in 2017 (for instance) I bet we'd see something more like the Indeed "tower" at Colorado and 5th -- 20 stories or so, with 5 of it being a parking podium.

LOL 25% parking PODIUM...another derailed thread... oops.

lonewolf · #**592** Posted **Jun 15, 2022, 2:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by We vs us

It's interesting to me that, by NOT building on that lot during that last boom period, they've essentially executed the World Class buy and hold strategy . . . and that's allowed DT real estate demand to push values into an area that would support a true supertall in that spot. If they'd started building there in 2017 (for instance) I bet we'd see something more like the Indeed "tower" at Colorado and 5th -- 20 stories or so, with 5 of it being a parking podium.

it's kind of ironic but i think this applies to a lot of the infrastructure around austin. by putting so much of it off it forced our hand and allowed us to build at the scale we need.

eg think of the overhaul being done at the 290/71 Y. We've been clamoring for that to be done for a decade. had that started that 10 years ago there is no way we would have built it for the volume needed.

Echostatic · #**593** Posted **Jun 15, 2022, 2:51 PM**

Yeah the original Oak Hill Parkway plans of the late 80s, hell even the 2007 plan would be completely inadequate today. Although much better than the existing surface road mess. The new plan is massive for the area and it'll save the Oak Hill, Bee Caves, Dripping folks a metric ton of time. I live down there and though I'm close to MoPac it'll at least provide an effective alternate route for bad traffic days.

Now what does any of this have to do with 321 West?

lonewolf · #**594** Posted **Jun 15, 2022, 4:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echostatic

Yeah the original Oak Hill Parkway plans of the late 80s, hell even the 2007 plan would be completely inadequate today. Although much better than the existing surface road mess. The new plan is massive for the area and it'll save the Oak Hill, Bee Caves, Dripping folks a metric ton of time. I live down there and though I'm close to MoPac it'll at least provide an effective alternate route for bad traffic days.

Now what does any of this have to do with 321 West?

by dragging our feet on developing our downtown we created the conditions for a mess of 600' + buildings that would never have happened if we developed these lots earlier

The ATX · #**595** Posted **Jun 15, 2022, 4:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonewolf

by dragging our feet on developing our downtown we created the conditions for a mess of 600' + buildings that would never have happened if we developed these lots earlier

The much maligned CVCs helped too. But they also help to push Demo of things like warehouse district buildings because they take a lot of downtown sites off the table.

davidberko · #**596** Posted **Jun 16, 2022, 1:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonewolf

by dragging our feet on developing our downtown we created the conditions for a mess of 600' + buildings that would never have happened if we developed these lots earlier

Well said lone wolf

Urbannizer · #**597** Posted **Jun 23, 2022, 5:49 AM**

Paradigm Shift in Tall Building Wind Design Cuts Material, Cost and Carbon

https://www.enr.com/articles/54334-p...ost-and-carbon

Quote:

It’s not often easy to be first. But that hasn’t stopped an intrepid adventurer from going against the prevailing winds of structural practice to debut a dynamic shift in skyscraper engineering that at minimum promises improved tall-building resilience and sustainability—at a reduced cost. The first proof-of-concept for the radical technique, called performance-based wind design, is stirring up a storm of optimism for tall-building enthusiasts committed to advancing “real” not “cookbook” engineering. And they predict that in 10 or 15 years, high-rise PBWD will be the norm the world over.

bobbywest87 · #**598** Posted **Jun 23, 2022, 12:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Paradigm Shift in Tall Building Wind Design Cuts Material, Cost and Carbon

https://www.enr.com/articles/54334-p...ost-and-carbon

I like it better from this angle (and the grey-scale probably helps some with its cohesiveness).

myBrain · #**599** Posted **Jun 23, 2022, 4:53 PM**

This is neat:

drummer · #**600** Posted **Jun 23, 2022, 6:01 PM**

That's so cool.