Quote:
Originally Posted by ILUVSAT
I do not believe anyone said the tower will be a TOTAL of 18 stories. However, 18 stories of office space is possible (based on the overall RSF). There is a difference!
No office tower will have 10,000 SF floor plates. And, the 400,000 SF of rentable space should be a HUGE clue as to how many office levels this tower will have. I believe this tower will have between 16 and 20 levels of office space.
As already mentioned, should they place a parking podium underneath, this tower could reach 27-31 stories (assuming 10 levels of parking + a ground level consisting of a lobby and possible retail). With a tall decorative crown, I would also concur that this building could still be in the 500-550' range.
Weston is not stupid. A huge portion of this tower is speculative office space. He's not going to gamble too much on an unproven office environment in downtown SA. It has been ~30 years since the last office tower was constructed. The office market could explode, however, we do not know as of yet. But, 400,000 SF is not a lot of space. Austin's ~400' "Google" tower is currently under construction and it will have about 500,000 SF of office space. Frost Tower is ~525,000 SF of office space and 515' tall (with a parking podium and decorative crown).
SKW, since you are in the "know," how tall will this tower be? For several months now, you have been bashing the rational folks simply expressing their seemingly educated opinions - definitively declaring that we are all wrong. I think I am one of several who would like to see you step up to the plate with a real specific "guess" of what this tower will be instead of just cutting us off, saying, conclusively: "it will NOT be this" or "it will NOT be that."
How about you provide us with your specific guess as to the total number of floors (divided into ground level, parking, and office space) and a guess as to the total height based on the aforementioned levels plus decorative crown? How big will the office floor plates be? Since you are in the "know," you should have first-hand knowledge of the currently-in-design plans for this tower.
Thanks and I look forward to your guesses with extreme enthusiasm.
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I can see the bait and I won't take it and engage in a petty argument with you.
You joined in 2013, so you may not know I posted numerous times about something big planned for the west side of downtown.
I'm not an "insider" as you seemed to label me. I just know a lot of people within the real estate industry, as well as a few downtown and city power players. Not to mention architects and engineers who work on a lot of stuff that you guys don't know about and may never know about or see because it never materializes beyond the design stage.
Funny enough, this forum is a big reason behind how I made the initial connections that I have been speaking about. I won't get into it, but will simply say it started in late 2007 when a certain Andres visited our board and began posting. Old schoolers will probably remember.
Anyway, long winded explanation aside, I won't make a "guess", because what would that prove or serve to prove? That I can't type numbers?
I don't have any exact figures, Weston Urban has this puppy tightly locked up and getting hard numbers is nearly impossible right now. I just know it will be skyline changing, as has been alluded to publicly, and will be at least twice the height of the current Frost HQ. I know a few other minor details regarding the planned residential components that Weston is trying to get down. But again, they are very tight lipped about that as well.