Austin | 305 S. Congress | 6 Towers - 215'/295'/365'/375'/445'/525' | Proposed

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by cvalkan

Those steps would make a good impromptu amphitheater if they'd include a stage/bandstand on the river side. Wouldn't be very comfortable in the day from May to September, though. Grand Rapids has a smaller version on their river. Design it right and you could enjoy a concert from the water, too. Probably a stupid idea.

It's a great idea. I really would love to monetize a stretch of the riverfront with patio restaurants and other commercial-esque promenades to take advantage of skyline views in this area. It would be easy to extend the boardwalk to go around so that we could keep the runners and cyclists unobstructed. It's this kind of grand thinking that would take this city to a truly world class level.

[drummer]

It's a stretch, but they could always do a sort of stage on a small barge or something and just bring it out when it's needed so there's not a bandstand/stage there all the time.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by drummer

It's a stretch, but they could always do a sort of stage on a small barge or something and just bring it out when it's needed so there's not a bandstand/stage there all the time.

You could do it like San Antonio's riverwalk stage.

[_Matt]

I'd be a fan of integrating shade into the area without blocking the skyline view. Perhaps they could take cues from the shade building used in the domain.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by LoneStarMike

It's only along a small portion of the trail, though. (Look for the red mark.) The image is a screen shot of a pdf file on the same site where I found the renderings.



They might have considered it as a place where people could put their canoes/kayaks in the lake.

At any rate, it was done by one of several teams of students at UT so it may not happen.

If the density is even close to that, I'll be happy.

[_Matt]

I've never understood the desire for setbacks around Town Lake. What's the rub with height right along the water's edge? Maybe I've just never experienced negative effects. Looks awesome in Chicago.

[Cloud92]

Pretty sure someone spent a lot of time in trying to prevent that from ever happening

[Tech House]

Here is a flyer regarding an upcoming presentation about waterfront development and the South Shore district, by a world-renowned expert on the subject: http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/def...out4_flyer.pdf

Hopefully one or more of us will be able to attend and report back to the group.

[Novacek]

Looks like the Statesman is now moving out of their site, or at least the printing

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...ress-ro/nk6Qk/

[ATXboom]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Looks like the Statesman is now moving out of their site, or at least the printing

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...ress-ro/nk6Qk/

Good news (except for those laid off)... this is the first step to redeveloping that sweet spot. My guess is they will want to sell to get cash on hand considering that business model isn't working (digital newspaper subscrips). Hope they don't sell to an apartment builder. We need a public/private offer... time for that soccer stadium

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Good news (except for those laid off)... this is the first step to redeveloping that sweet spot. My guess is they will want to sell to get cash on hand considering that business model isn't working (digital newspaper subscrips). Hope they don't sell to an apartment builder. We need a public/private offer... time for that soccer stadium

Cox has some pretty deep pockets and a large broadband/cable operation to provide cash flow. I suspect they will not do a quick sale just to raise money, but I am sure that the parcel is now in play and attracting a lot of interest.

[KevinFromTexas]

I can't see over the paywall, but the American-Statesman has a new article on this.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...bird-la/nmKGw/

City has grand development vision for Lady Bird Lake’s south shore
6:00 p.m. Saturday, May 23, 2015 | Filed in: Business

As development jumps across Lady Bird Lake from downtown, Austin city leaders and developers have a chance to work collaboratively to do something special near the south shore waterfront.

Time will tell how the area evolves. But at least the city, seizing on what it calls an “historic opportunity to plan ahead,” is working on a vision for how an area on the cusp of major change could be transformed into a lively new district, with benefits for the community at large.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I can't see over the paywall, but the American-Statesman has a new article on this.

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...bird-la/nmKGw/

Try this link:

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/busi...3948020.735742

[Tech House]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

Try this link:

Thanks. I love this paragraph:

"Currently, the city paints a fairly dismal picture of the area. It is marred by poor public access, limited public green space, vast parking lots and aging, auto-oriented development. The wide, busy streets aren’t conducive to walking, biking or mass transit, and the surface stormwater runoff creates water-quality issues for Lady Bird Lake, the city says."

Every word of it is true, and it makes one realize that it would be nearly impossible to do anything with the South Shore that would fail to improve it, short of maybe a large fracking operation, oil refinery, or open-pit mine. It's exciting to imagine what may transpire in that zone, and how it will interact with the lake and downtown.

[The ATX]

KXAN has a story with video about the South Shore vision. This is a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong term plan.

http://kxan.com/2015/09/03/new-beaut...ront-unveiled/

[Tech House]

Originally Posted by The ATX

KXAN has a story with video about the South Shore vision. This is a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong term plan.

http://kxan.com/2015/09/03/new-beaut...ront-unveiled/

What I got from the video is that we're farther away from anything happening in the South Shore district than any of us ever imagined. One by one, the property owners will redevelop their properties, and the city will provide incentives for beautification, greenery, and walkability. That's about it. Did I miss anything?

[Jdawgboy]

You got it Tech House.

I never thought that this would be a quick transformation to begin with since it does deal with individual property owners however, I do think that most of not all of them will want or are already planning on redeveloping their properties so 10 to 15 years seems reasonable.

My question is what about the mixed use project currently under construction? Has the city been working with them to tie in with the overall master plan or are they going to be the lone wolf that doesn't quite fit in but is too late to do anything about?

[The ATX]

Paul78701 already linked to the Statesman article about this in the Update thread. But since this project already had a thread I thought I'd bump it with the link to the ABJ article. This is now a real project with the owners putting out an RFIQ.

This will expand Downtown across the river just as Greenwater/Seaholm expanded it to the SW and the Brackenridge Tract will expand it to the NE.


http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...town-site.html

[aqibtalib]

Was the RFQ released to the public? I'd like to see what they are looking for.

[Geckos_Rule]

http://www.statesman.com/news/busine...for-sta/nqLtQ/

Looks like the owners of the site are soliciting plans for redevelopment as well. I've been following this for a bit, so I'm excited to finally see some movement here.