AUSTIN | Project Updates Thread Part II

[Tyrone Shoes]

Downtown Austin Salvation Army site up for sale, just one month after shelter shuttered
Luz Moreno-Lozano and Shonda Novak
Austin American-Statesman


The downtown Austin Salvation Army site is for sale, just one month after the shelter shuttered and relocated all its residents.

In February, the organization announced the closure of the facility, displacing around 100 people who are experiencing homelessness. A push from the city in March to keep the shelter open until all people could be relocated extended the closure to April 15.

On Thursday, commercial real estate services firm CBRE, announced it was hired to market and sell a 1-acre site on Seventh Street and Red River Street, for potential redevelopment. The site includes the former Salvation Army Downtown Center, 501 E. 8th St., a 1,500-square-foot retail building at 718 Red River St., and a nearly half-acre surface parking lot at 700 Red River St., according to a CBRE news release.

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/202...for-sale-month-after-closed/70208405007/

[Sigaven]

Hope they can do some brick in the new building to make up for the loss of this building. It's a fairly unremarkable old building but the brick is nice!

[AusTex]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Hope they can do some brick in the new building to make up for the loss of this building. It's a fairly unremarkable old building but the brick is nice!

Yes. I am a firm believer that what came before needs to be remembered and reinvented for contemporary times. Even if the brick were to be used inside the building; say the bar or something. We trash too much in the United States.

[chinchaaa]

I hope they keep that strip of bars.

[zrx299]

That whole area has so much potential once the ARCH goes away.
There's no reason at all why dirty 6th and Red River can't be more like Lower Broadway in Nashville.
Those surface lots are just begging for apartments to be built, even with the ridiculous CVC overlays (this *really* needs to be fixed/updated).

[valhalla]

I really hope they don't develop these blocks until the i-35 cvcs are removed. It would be really dumb if they build lowrises here or a couple tiny "austin triangles" just to axe the cvs in ten years once the highway gets sunk.

[zrx299]

Are the CVCs in that area really just so people on 35 can see the damn capitol building?
If so, that's just a disgusting 1960s "urban renewal" middle finger to everyone that needs rectified immediately.

[Urbannizer]

Is there a CVC over the site?

[Echostatic]

Almost entirely.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by AusTex

Yes. I am a firm believer that what came before needs to be remembered and reinvented for contemporary times. Even if the brick were to be used inside the building; say the bar or something. We trash too much in the United States.

Yeah the Thompson downtown has an excellent use of brick at street level, I wish this were replicated in more buildings.

[drummer]

^^ There's still a question for me as to whether or not some of the CVCs will be voided (or irrelevant) once 35 is dropped. There are certainly some that cross I-35, but a lot of them are for visibility from 35. We've had this discussion before and I can't remember where we landed. Ultimately, as that project is more defined and once implementation begins, the CVCs should be on the table for discussion in that area.

[GoldenBoot]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Is there a CVC over the site?

CVC's and ARCH still being active will have a large affect on the value of this land and its prospective redevelopment.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

CVC's and ARCH still being active will have a large affect on the value of this land and its prospective redevelopment.

I think this is the crux. IMO buying this site is more speculative than others we've seen -- in order to really capitalize on it, both ARCH and the CVC landscape have to change drastically -- or be eliminated completely.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by We vs us

I think this is the crux. IMO buying this site is more speculative than others we've seen -- in order to really capitalize on it, both ARCH and the CVC landscape have to change drastically -- or be eliminated completely.

Maybe Nate Paul will buy it and sit on it for years (laundering money though the site's corporate holding company)!?!

[ATX2030]

Prefect location for a world class arena. Bulldoze the ARCH, connect the adjoining parcels to the west and north. Eliminate Neches and E. 8th to make it contiguous or keep them as tunnels running under the arena. You could incorporate a hotel component to the arena as well.

Get a NHL franchise, 50+ home games including preseason and playoffs, same number for a NBA franchise. That's 100+ days there if ATX was able to land both, add concerts and other events and your looking at 150+ days the venue would be used.

Location, location, location. Within walking distance of 6th, hotels, bars, restaurants and Waller Creek park to name a few. Talk about revitalizing DT in that area and the foot traffic alone would be incredible. The amount of revenue and jobs it would generate for the city for all those current and future businesses would be huge.

Moody is great but it's too isolated. ATX is big enough to have two arenas and would need two with the Moody's obligation to UT athletics. Those touring acts that wanted more seating capacity than what is offered at the Moody could use the new arena as well.

Oh and if you really wanted to launch DT into a different stratosphere, incorporate a kick-ass baseball stadium into the AAS site plan. There's another 90+ home games if the team makes the playoffs.

Mix in the other current ATX attractions, UT Fball games, F1, ACL, SXSW and all the other events and DT would be one hoping place year round.

Alarm clock just went off and it's time to wake up!

[H2O]

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

CVC's and ARCH still being active will have a large affect on the value of this land and its prospective redevelopment.

From the perspective of skyscraper enthusiasts that may be disappointing, but it might be a good thing for broader planning and affordability goals. If the property is affordable enough for an organization like Foundation Communities, they could do another project like Capital Studios. That might actually be the most compatible with the ARCH and it could benefit the ARCH by providing a transition to a more stable environment on the homelessness spectrum.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by ATX2030

Prefect location for a world class arena. Bulldoze the ARCH, connect the adjoining parcels to the west and north. Eliminate Neches and E. 8th to make it contiguous or keep them as tunnels running under the arena. You could incorporate a hotel component to the arena as well.

Get a NHL franchise, 50+ home games including preseason and playoffs, same number for a NBA franchise. That's 100+ days there if ATX was able to land both, add concerts and other events and your looking at 150+ days the venue would be used.

Location, location, location. Within walking distance of 6th, hotels, bars, restaurants and Waller Creek park to name a few. Talk about revitalizing DT in that area and the foot traffic alone would be incredible. The amount of revenue and jobs it would generate for the city for all those current and future businesses would be huge.

Moody is great but it's too isolated. ATX is big enough to have two arenas and would need two with the Moody's obligation to UT athletics. Those touring acts that wanted more seating capacity than what is offered at the Moody could use the new arena as well.

Oh and if you really wanted to launch DT into a different stratosphere, incorporate a kick-ass baseball stadium into the AAS site plan. There's another 90+ home games if the team makes the playoffs.

Mix in the other current ATX attractions, UT Fball games, F1, ACL, SXSW and all the other events and DT would be one hoping place year round.

Alarm clock just went off and it's time to wake up!

Ha. Yes. ...and then we wake up.


I'll give you this...it is a great area for an arena or MLB stadium.

But, seriously. That's not going to happen without an ownership group AND franchise in place. Additionally, it will have to be completely privately funded. The COA and Travis County are not going to pony up a single penny or incentive.

Oh, it's going to be a huge uphill battle getting the city to agree to shut down roads to make way for this arena. Tunneling will be cost prohibitive. And, hasn't Project Connect already backtracked tunneling on some of its future light rail routes due to cost?

Again, I do like the idea. But, in reality, that's not going to happen anytime soon - to which you have already alluded.

[ATX2030]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Ha. Yes. ...and then we wake up.


I'll give you this...it is a great area for an arena or MLB stadium.

But, seriously. That's not going to happen without an ownership group AND franchise in place. Additionally, it will have to be completely privately funded. The COA and Travis County are not going to pony up a single penny or incentive.

Oh, it's going to be a huge uphill battle getting the city to agree to shut down roads to make way for this arena. Tunneling will be cost prohibitive. And, hasn't Project Connect already backtracked tunneling on some of its future light rail routes due to cost?

Again, I do like the idea. But, in reality, that's not going to happen anytime soon - to which you have already alluded.

You're absolutely right that the CoA and Travis Co. lack the will, vision and desire it takes to accomplish such a feat. Guess I'll just have to continue to visit other cities that do!

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by ATX2030

You're absolutely right that the CoA and Travis Co. lack the will, vision and desire it takes to accomplish such a feat. Guess I'll just have to continue to visit other cities that do!

Well...I guess that's what one gets when one's city goes to a 10-1 system and constituents vote in a bunch of NIMBY puppets to serve on council.

Pitiful.

Painful.

I get it.

[We vs us]

Towers' take:

https://austin.towers.net/downtown-austins-salvation-army-redevelopment-comes-into-view

And speculative massing from CBRE: