AUSTIN | Waterline | 1,034 Feet | 73 Floors | T/O

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by AustinGoesVertical

It was stated in this article http://americanbuildersquarterly.com...utton-company/ posted by Hill Country on April 7th. The subheading talking about WPP capitalizing on municipal funds makes me think they're getting some partial funding (albeit a small amount) from the city for this project. Could have misconstrued the context though.

They're not getting any funds from the city. What the article said was that the development was made possible by the fact that the city expended great money and effort into removing significant amounts of land (including these parcels) from the Waller Creek flood plain.

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

They're not getting any funds from the city. What the article said was that the development was made possible by the fact that the city expended great money and effort into removing significant amounts of land (including these parcels) from the Waller Creek flood plain.

Oh I see. My misunderstanding. I apologize.

[The ATX]

Damn. It looks like we'll have to wait at least until Monday to see the elevations. The last update to the site plan mentions elevations on page 28. So I know they are out there.

[The ATX]

There's been some speculation on here about what hotel brands will occupy Waller Park Place, 5th & Brazos, etc. I don't know if this has been posted anywhere yet, but Dream Hotels has Austin listed as coming soon. We are getting the best damn hotel brands in the world right here in Austin.


http://www.dreamhotels.com/default-en.html

[wwmiv]

That could also be one of the rumored unannounced White Lodging developments.

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

That could also be one of the rumored unannounced White Lodging developments.

They had said they would be announcing three more Austin projects this spring. Does that include Aloft Element as one of those? Dreams Hotels could also maybe be the brand going in that 28-story hotel on the lot IBC Bank owns.

[wwmiv]

World Class Capital Group (a local firm) had bid for ownership of that hotel brand previously, but lost out to a Miami-based company.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...n-for-two.html

I wonder if they're involved in helping bring the brand to Austin despite losing out. If so, that could indicate that it isn't part of any on the table development but something new entirely.

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

World Class Capital Group (a local firm) had bid for ownership of that hotel brand previously, but lost out to a Miami-based company.

I wonder if they're involved in helping bring the brand to Austin despite losing out. If so, that could indicate that it isn't part of any on the table development but something new entirely.

Nate Paul did say that they would be expanding their presence in Austin, developing currently owned plots and also acquiring new land. If there is in fact a connection between WCCG and Dreams Hotels, then my bet is on that 59 SF 3rd and Colorado lot they own near the Austonian.

[austlar1]

The World Class Capital bid on ownership of the Plaza Hotel (which is also a super high end condo conversion project) in NY and also on the Dream Hotel in midtown Manhattan might have been mostly about garnering publicity for World Class Capital. The attempt to buy these two properties was apparently not an offer to buy the fledgling Dream Hotel brand. I think it was a lowball offer that was probably more about scoring publicity for World Class Capital than it was about actually purchasing the legendary Plaza Hotel and another very valuable Manhattan property. That is my theory at any rate. World Class Capital seems to me to be less than "World Class", and a close investigation of their real estate portfolio does not come up with anything very impressive in terms of downtown, highrise, or residential development. The only significant downtown property they own is a now vacant 35 year old skyscraper in downtown Dallas that was originally built to house an oil company and more recently housed a major accounting firm (KPMG). It is supposedly slated for condo conversion. World Class seems to specialize in storage locker facilities and glorified strip malls. One interesting recent acquisition is a largish film, video, and television production facility in LA. They do have some impressive parcels in downtown Austin, but whether or not they actually develop these parcels remains to be seen. I think Nate Paul is in the tradition of many self aggrandizing real estate developers, and it just might work for him. I guess time will tell. I wonder how he settled the lawsuit from the staff at the bar he runs on 4th St. (see link below) where his firm allegedly withheld several hundred thousand dollars in tip money from bartenders and other staff? World Class puts lots of pictures of skyscrapers on their website, but they are not buildings owned by World Class. Check the Wiki link below to learn more about their portfolio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Class_Capital_Group

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne....html?page=all

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by austlar1

The World Class Capital bid on ownership of the Plaza Hotel (which is also a super high end condo conversion project) in NY and also on the Dream Hotel in midtown Manhattan might have been mostly about garnering publicity for World Class Capital. The attempt to buy these two properties was apparently not an offer to buy the fledgling Dream Hotel brand. I think it was a lowball offer that was probably more about scoring publicity for World Class Capital than it was about actually purchasing the legendary Plaza Hotel and another very valuable Manhattan property. That is my theory at any rate. World Class Capital seems to me to be less than "World Class", and a close investigation of their real estate portfolio does not come up with anything very impressive in terms of downtown, highrise, or residential development. The only significant downtown property they own is a now vacant 35 year old skyscraper in downtown Dallas that was originally built to house an oil company and more recently housed a major accounting firm (KPMG). It is supposedly slated for condo conversion. World Class seems to specialize in storage locker facilities and glorified strip malls. One interesting recent acquisition is a largish film, video, and television production facility in LA. They do have some impressive parcels in downtown Austin, but whether or not they actually develop these parcels remains to be seen. I think Nate Paul is in the tradition of many self aggrandizing real estate developers, and it just might work for him. I guess time will tell. I wonder how he settled the lawsuit from the staff at the bar he runs on 4th St. (see link below) where his firm allegedly withheld several hundred thousand dollars in tip money from bartenders and other staff? World Class puts lots of pictures of skyscrapers on their website, but they are not buildings owned by World Class. Check the Wiki link below to learn more about their portfolio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Class_Capital_Group

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne....html?page=all

Hmm. I think you're interpretation is the correct one.

[The ATX]

The site plan permit is now viewable. The height of buildings were downsized somewhat from Mac Pike's comments in that April article. The three towers are 54, 45 and 26-stories. This is still pretty awesome.


https://www.austintexas.gov/devrevie...erRSN=11055030

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

The site plan permit is now viewable. The height of buildings were downsized somewhat from Mac Pike's comments in that April article. The three towers are 54, 45 and 26-stories. This is still pretty awesome.

https://www.austintexas.gov/devrevie...erRSN=11055030

Really when you think about it, any of these towers alone would be something to get excited about and would deserve its own thread on here. Even with the 26-story office component, we're still talking about a building that should exceed the heights of 5th and Colorado and the UT Systems headquarters. The smaller residential building will be 6-floors taller than 5th and West (another major project), and the 54-story building could potentially be Austin's new tallest. And all of this is on one site! I'm hoping for heights to be released soon and renderings! I feel confident that the tallest tower will be in the 675-700 ft range.

[pscajunguy]

Originally Posted by AustinGoesVertical

Really when you think about it, any of these towers alone would be something to get excited about and would deserve its own thread on here. Even with the 26-story office component, we're still talking about a building that should exceed the heights of 5th and Colorado and the UT Systems headquarters. The smaller residential building will be 6-floors taller than 5th and West (another major project), and the 54-story building could potentially be Austin's new tallest. And all of this is on one site! I'm hoping for heights to be released soon and renderings! I feel confident that the tallest tower will be in the 675-700 ft range.

I'm very excited about this. I don't think we are going to disappointed with the final renderings. I was just wondering about the restaurant across the creek. Any ideas? I can't wait to see Waller Creek come alive.

[wwmiv]

Plus another 400' one across the street, of course.

[drummer]

Traffic will continue to be a nightmare until some other mass transit options exist, unfortunately. Who knows when that will be.


...but this project is going to be awesome, of course.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Austin Business Journal
Major downtown Austin office project lands site plan approval; will financing follow?
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl....html?page=all

[austlar1]

Below is a quote from the Biz Journal's article that I found interesting. The article recognizes Mack Pike and Sutton's limitations in terms of providing financing and suggests that it is all up to McCourt and crew to find the dough to build. It also discusses the lack of known financing for the Independent project. This is one of the few times I have ever seen any skepticism in local reporting of proposed developments. I wonder whether the local press is finally starting to take a harder look at developer press releases and statements. I think the McCourt group might soon start demolishing the rest of the buildings on their parcels, if for no other reason than to quell doubts and keep interest in this project alive. I don't look for a real construction start for another year or longer.

" During robust economic times, developments are paraded before the public with great fanfare — and then some of them quietly disappear when the economic cycle heads downward and the channels for capital retract. Whether the Waller Creek project and The Independent ever get built is anyone’s guess"

[The ATX]

So McCourt wasn't providing all of the financing. Well, that's not good.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

So McCourt wasn't providing all of the financing. Well, that's not good.

I always figured that McCourt and his Guggenheim Partners would be seeking other sources of funding for at least part of this project. That is usually how these things work out. McCourt brought in Hines Interests to partner with his firm on the Hudson Yards project. That spreads the risk around and allows for both firms to use their expertise to attract money for the project. I would not be surprised to see Hines or some other firm come into this project before all is said and done. It sounds like McCourt still wants to move forward with this project based on the statements provided for this article. I just have doubts it will start building this year.

[ILUVSAT]

Also, $500 million for three towers? That seems pretty low. I guess these are going to be point towers, considering the project is roughly 1.4 million SF in total (about the size of the JW and Fairmont; which, coincidentally, cost roughly $350M and $375M, respectively).

As Luck Day proclaimed to Harry Flugleman: "No dough, no show." I would assume the development team is well under way in their attempt to secure financing for the project. Hope they are making headway toward a positive announcement...