AUSTIN | 21C Austin |3 towers| ??? Feet | 49 FLOORS | 17 FLOORS - Page 7

JAM · #**121** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 4:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingkirbythegreat

What corner is this on? Because KVUE was just saying it's on the NE corner of the CC/Red River intersection. They were also saying that it would be 50' shorter than the originally planned tower.

SW corner I believe.

priller · #**122** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 4:32 PM**

If they're going to be by the creek then it's got to be the SW corner.

KevinFromTexas · #**123** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 4:36 PM**

Here is the KVUE clip for those who missed it.
http://www.kvue.com/video/index.html?nvid=232672

JAM · #**124** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 4:45 PM**

hmmm, wonder why KVUE is pointing to the NE corner? The rendering sure looks SW as does the description of the property in the Statesman article.

Mopacs · #**125** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 5:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenBoot

I rather think it might be between 625' and 650' tall. Their old design was for a 580', 44-story condo tower...

The more the merrier! You might be right... hard to guage sometimes.

MichaelB · #**126** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 5:49 PM**

Woke up this am to an email from my contact in Louisville/21c telling me to take a look at the Statesman this AM. I was so pissed I hadn't just asked them if the rumors were true! So big appolgies to ATXBoom! "They" tell me full renderings will be out in two weeks.

Great move for the condos....

Jdawgboy · #**127** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 6:18 PM**

I don't see how it could be 50 feet shorter on the tower portion than the origional design if they are going up from 44 to 49 floors. I would agree with Goldenboot that this will have to be somewhere around the 600 foot mark.

ATXboom · #**128** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 6:27 PM**

There is a small chance it could be the same height as you dont' have to stack the museum under the condo/hotel portion.... since it will now be in the 16 story hotel.

Goothrey · #**129** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 7:25 PM**

I am a little dissapointed. This design is worse, imo. Doesnt look original compared tothe other. A little too far from congress with respect to its height.

GoldenBoot · #**130** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 7:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATXboom

There is a small chance it could be the same height as you dont' have to stack the museum under the condo/hotel portion.... since it will now be in the 16 story hotel.

Actually, in the original plan, the museum was to be placed under the hotel, not the condo portion.

ATXboom · #**131** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 7:31 PM**

Thursday, April 3, 2008 - 1:30 PM CDT
21c project opts to anchor Waller Creek corridor
Austin Business Journal

The previously announced 21c museum, hotel and condo project is expanding and moving east to help anchor the Waller Creek redevelopment initiative.

The $350 million, 1 million-square-foot project is now being planned on a 3.5-acre tract at the corner of East Cesar Chavez and Red River streets. The 49-story tower expected to break ground early next year will include 295 condo units, a 243-room hotel, spa and retail and museum space.

The project was initially planned to be located at Third and Brazos streets.

Steve Wilson, chairman of project partner company Art Commerce Entertainment Unlimited, says the new site offers a better, more expansive location to blend the various components of 21c.

The 21c partners are buying the new site from a partnership that includes developers Perry Lorenz and Robert Knight, who will remain equity participants in the project.

The tower's focus on the arts will be evident through its artist lofts and new contemporary art museum. Twelve artist lofts will be made available at favorable rental rates for living and studio space. The museum will also provide a new venue for contemporary visual and performing arts.

The tower is being designed by a team of architects that include Deborah Berke & Partners of New York, Goody Clancy Architecture of Boston and Austin-based Susman Tisdale Gayle. Urbanspace Realtors are marketing 21c's condo units.

Construction is expected to begin in 2010 on the $128 million Waller Creek tunnel project. The long-discussed initiative will remove approximately 25 acres on the east side of downtown from the creek's floodplain, allowing for more dense development and the potential for a destination retail and entertainment corridor.

GoldenBoot · #**132** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 7:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

I don't see how it could be 50 feet shorter on the tower portion than the origional design if they are going up from 44 to 49 floors. I would agree with Goldenboot that this will have to be somewhere around the 600 foot mark.

Actually, since KVUE messed up with its true location, I would bet they also meant to say 50' taller - not 50' shorter!?!?!?

If so, then the condo tower would be in the neighborhood of 630’. And that seems to be a spot-on fit with the 12.89’ per floor height of their 3rd & Brazos design.

KevinFromTexas · #**133** Posted **Apr 3, 2008, 11:14 PM**

KVUE just said it would be the tallest building in Austin. Not sure if they're right about that. At that height, it would have to be more than 682 feet 11 inches tall.

Jdawgboy · #**134** Posted **Apr 4, 2008, 1:02 AM**

Yea I saw that too and was like Wait a min there???

Dale · #**135** Posted **Apr 4, 2008, 3:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

KVUE just said it would be the tallest building in Austin. Not sure if they're right about that. At that height, it would have to be more than 682 feet 11 inches tall.

Would it hurt your feelings though ?

KevinFromTexas · #**136** Posted **Apr 4, 2008, 3:37 AM**

Of course not.

In case any of you don't have it yet, there's a nice big rendering of the building in Thursday's paper.

I saved and enlarged the rendering that came with the article on Wednesday. I blew it up to 900 pixels wide to show more detail around the base of the building and more facade detail. Check out the base of the tower on this side. There appears to be some columns down there. Kind of a neat feature. This building would actually look great with a spire on the west side. As for the "crown". I would estimate it's no more than 30 feet tall.

Credit: Photo Illustration 21C

austintilIdie · #**137** Posted **Apr 4, 2008, 6:05 AM**

Not bad in my opinion. I imagine there will be modifications. ...And Four Seasons is being built a block west.

Wouldn't be surprised that this news about 21C might boost confidence for Nahua (though I'm not counting on this and I'm mixed on the design), which I believe would be located due south of the 21C site. then Legacy will be topped out before we know it...Four Seasons too.

What about Van Zandt's status?

Gosh, it used to be only that Holiday Inn stumpy tower midrise in SE downtown.

priller · #**138** Posted **Apr 4, 2008, 11:29 AM**

The tower looks kind of Vegas-y to me. Not sure why. Someone else mentioned the top looks like a French manicure. Not sure what that is, exactly, but the top does remind me a little of a fingernail.

I still like the old rendering better, but this is a great project. Can't wait to see it take off.

KevinFromTexas · #**139** Posted **Apr 4, 2008, 2:25 PM**

I like it, but I think the original design had a more interesting facade. And I liked the top more with those horizontal "fins" on the west side.

ATXboom · #**140** Posted **Apr 4, 2008, 4:42 PM**

...more from Austin towers

21c Condo Project Magically Relocated to Waller Creek
April 03, 2008 21:38 Filed in: Condo Projects

In a highly unusual move, developers of the 44-story 21c hotel and condo development have abandoned the planned third and Brazos project in favor of a new multi-building complex to be located a few blocks East on Waller Creek. The new project, also to be named 21c, will first include a 16-story hotel with 243 rooms which will be followed by a 49-story condo tower. The hotel will break ground in 2009 and the condo tower is expected to break ground by 2010. The hotel will also double as a contemporary art museum.

The original 21c project was late to the game, announced just 2 months before the summer meltdown of U.S. credit markets. Although 21c had been actively marketing condo units through a sales office on 6th and Congress, the developers will essentially start from scratch with their condo marketing efforts for the newly planned 295 unit condo tower. At this point, prices have not even been announced.

While the Austin hotel market remains strong, 21c's unlucky timing likely made condo marketing difficult. With the new plans, the developers separate the hotel, residential, and a newly announced commercial tower into three separate projects. This allows them to begin quickly with the economically viable and modestly-scaled hotel project while testing the waters on the other two fronts. When (and if) sales and leasing goals have been met, 21c will be able to embark on the other two towers. One clear sign of the developers preference for hotel rooms over condo and commercial projects is the simultaneous announcement that the existing 21c site on Third and Brazos will also be developed into a new hotel. If all projects are completed on the new site, the project will cost $350 million, a significant jump from the originally planned $200 million hotel-condo tower.

With the move, the new 21c buildings will anchor a high-potential development district on the East end of downtown just north of Lady Bird Lake. The project will be located on a large 3.5 acre site surrounded by park and close to the much-loved downtown hike and bike trails. In the new location, the project will anchor a potential Austin "riverwalk" along Waller creek. 21c is the first major project to take advantage of a city-sponsored $125 million tunnel designed to remove the creek from the floodplain.

Here are some additional details on the new project:

-The new site will be home to the project’s 243-room hotel, 295 residential units, retail, spa, pools, museum, restaurants and other amenities.

- The project, including an underground parking garage, currently totals over 1 million square feet. The development team plans to develop another 425,000 square feet on the site as either a future office/retail or residential/retail tower. The entire project represents a $350 million investment.

- The new location allows the project to be enhanced with park space, a sculpture garden, signature spa, retail, indoor/outdoor meeting space and additional parking.

- The project will include an innovative and accessible restaurant that will emphasize local and sustainable agriculture and feature contemporary American cuisine. Michael Bonadies, CEO of ACE, was previously a founding partner of the New York-based Myriad Restaurant Group, which owns and operates such well-known restaurants as Tribeca Grill, Nobu and Rubicon.

- According to the developers, some of 21c’s most innovative aspects will be its artist lofts and new contemporary art museum, open free to the public 365 days per year. Twelve artist lofts will be made available at favorable rental rates for living and studio space. The museum will provide a new venue for contemporary visual and performing arts.

- The team of architects for the project includes Deborah Berke & Partners, a well-respected New York firm, Goody Clancy Architecture of Boston, and Susman Tisdale Gayle, and Austin firm that is often selected to participate in major downtown projects.

We'll update the 21c profile as soon as full details become available.