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

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Site plans don't mean very much.

Didn't Sutton say they were targeting a Summer groundbreaking?

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by AustinGoesVertical

Didn't Sutton say they were targeting a Summer groundbreaking?

Yes. How many times do we hear those statements and then nothing comes of it, though?

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Yes. How many times do we hear those statements and then nothing comes of it, though?

A lot, but I don't know. I just have more confidence in this one because they own the land, the city's approved it, they can tap into municipal funds, and the project has been in the works for long enough that it feels like we're reaching the final stages of the process. It's not like it was just announced today. They've done a lot to get to this point, such as rezoning the 3 lots into one and the Austin market is really hot right now. I wasn't around for the Tom Stacy Fiasco, but it feels like that has made a lot of people on this forum paranoid. I'm like that too though, but not with this one for some reason.

[the Genral]

You could define hyperbole with many a developer's statements; soon, imminant start, a seasonal groundbreaking date, ie: winter, spring, summer, fall, and by initial renderings. What they are doing is basically getting the word out there and keeping our attention. What it feels like is...HA HA, made you look! Sucker!!

[wwmiv]

LOL ^this^

[austlar1]

I predict that in 2015 they might raze the old Chain Drive, but they'll continue to squeeze out a little bit of revenue from the building on the corner of Waller and Red River. When they really do some site preparation I might be more convinced that this is about ready to happen.

Austin Goes Vertical, what municipal funds are you referring to in your previous post?

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by austlar1

I predict that in 2015 they might raze the old Chain Drive, but they'll continue to squeeze out a little bit of revenue from the building on the corner of Waller and Red River. When they really do some site preparation I might be more convinced that this is about ready to happen.

Austin Goes Vertical, what municipal funds are you referring to in your previous post?

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.

[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.

[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

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.

[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.