AUSTIN | Shoal Creek Walk | 219 FEET | 15 FLOORS | COMPLETE

[KevinFromTexas]

Well at least we have that height. I'm betting, though, that it's the height only to the main roof since they don't prohibit mechanical penthouses from exceeding height variances, and I've noticed they rarely get counted anyway. So it may be another 10 feet taller or so.

[drummer]

Are there any renderings of this one or just the site plan above?

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by drummer

Are there any renderings of this one or just the site plan above?

This is the most current one we know of. It could end up being a decent building, despite being a box.

[ivanwolf]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

This is the most current one we know of. It could end up being a decent building, despite being a box.

Well box on the north west side but the south east side is curved, correct? So it should be kinda nice and different.

[KevinFromTexas]

I'm not sure it will be curved. The plan above seems to show a footprint that steps back at right angles, rather than a curve. The curve that shown there is a fire lane between the two buildings. That side of the building will be largely hidden from view anyway by the adjacent 5-story building and the parking garage.

[drummer]

I agree with Kevin - it seems like there are setbacks rather than a curve on the site plan. Even so, that's better than a straight up rectangle. I do remember the rendering now. At the time, folks were unhappy with the steps up to the sidewalk.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by drummer

I agree with Kevin - it seems like there are setbacks rather than a curve on the site plan. Even so, that's better than a straight up rectangle. I do remember the rendering now. At the time, folks were unhappy with the steps up to the sidewalk.

I believe the raised sidewalk is unavoidable due being in a flood plain. All of the buildings along there have that issue and use raised sidewalks. The Monarch, Cirrus Logic building, Austin City Lofts...

[The ATX]

This is officially underway. The new rendering and link to the article on the other side of the pay wall are below.


http://www.mystatesman.com/news/busi...3948020.735838

[KevinFromTexas]

Not bad. The color and the angled facade remind me a bit of Seven.

[AustinGoesVertical]

When the article says Whole Foods still owns some of this block, is it referring to the section near the creek, because isn't the 5-story mid rise section of this one going right up to 5th street and the parking garage taking up quite a bit of space as well, or is it just this one building now? Also, it says Whole Foods has already unveiled their new corporate expansion plan. Are they planning to build towers (over 100 ft or 10-stories) across North Lamar or is it going to be of the smaller scope.

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by AustinGoesVertical

When the article says Whole Foods still owns some of this block, is it referring to the section near the creek, because isn't the 5-story mid rise section of this one going right up to 5th street and the parking garage taking up quite a bit of space as well, or is it just this one building now? Also, it says Whole Foods has already unveiled their new corporate expansion plan. Are they planning to build towers (over 100 ft or 10-stories) across North Lamar or is it going to be of the smaller scope.

Yes. That is what the article is referring to. You have it exactly right. So it appears that only this building will be built for now and the proposed parking garage and mid-rise building will come later.

Their expansion plans are quite a ways out. They have not given any definitive plans with regard to the site across Lamar. They have only said that it will be a tear down and rebuild.

[MichaelB]

I would have prefered for Whole Foods to use the rest of the land around this project to build instead of displacing so many buisnesses across Lamar.

[drummer]

Maybe this has been covered before, but why doesn't Whole Foods build over their surface lot - or at least part of it?

Excited for the Shoal Creek building. It'll go well in that area.

[Syndic]

It's pretty bad. There's almost no street interaction at all. It makes me sad to see downtown Austin dying a slow death one sterile behemoth of an office building at a time. What reason would anyone have to go to this place during the weekend or off-peak hours? None. Too many of these and you have a ghost town like downtown Dallas or Houston.

[hereinaustin]

Originally Posted by Syndic

It's pretty bad. There's almost no street interaction at all. It makes me sad to see downtown Austin dying a slow death one sterile behemoth of an office building at a time. What reason would anyone have to go to this place during the weekend or off-peak hours? None. Too many of these and you have a ghost town like downtown Dallas or Houston.

I think the ground floor will have retail.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Syndic

It's pretty bad. There's almost no street interaction at all. It makes me sad to see downtown Austin dying a slow death one sterile behemoth of an office building at a time. What reason would anyone have to go to this place during the weekend or off-peak hours? None. Too many of these and you have a ghost town like downtown Dallas or Houston.

Floodplain issues. It's unavoidable. Also, retail ground level this project has.

[Syndic]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Floodplain issues. It's unavoidable. Also, ground level retails!

Is it ground level if you have to walk up stairs to get to it?

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Syndic

Is it ground level if you have to walk up stairs to get to it?

Yes? And darn... you quoted me before I edited (for which I say: damn that was quick, cuz I edited less than a minute after I posted)!

[Tech House]

Originally Posted by Syndic

It makes me sad to see downtown Austin dying a slow death one sterile behemoth of an office building at a time.

Well said. I've been feeling this a lot in the past few months, especially since returning from a second consecutive summer in the northwest. As Austin's skyline becomes more interesting, its "groundline" is becoming more off-putting, There is a warmth and welcoming feel to older cities where streets are lined with non-stop storefronts that are unbroken by driveways and other dead spaces. The retail spaces offered by these monoliths are cold and generic. What is being razed and phased out of Austin is taking all sense of place and culture with it, only to be replaced by mass-produced concrete and steel boxes that have no relationship to the stores that come to inhabit them. It's a big disconnect, and I'm increasingly feeling like it's time to disconnect from Austin and go hug trees in the NW with my fellow aging hippies.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by Tech House

Well said. I've been feeling this a lot in the past few months, especially since returning from a second consecutive summer in the northwest. As Austin's skyline becomes more interesting, its "groundline" is becoming more off-putting, There is a warmth and welcoming feel to older cities where streets are lined with non-stop storefronts that are unbroken by driveways and other dead spaces. The retail spaces offered by these monoliths are cold and generic. What is being razed and phased out of Austin is taking all sense of place and culture with it, only to be replaced by mass-produced concrete and steel boxes that have no relationship to the stores that come to inhabit them. It's a big disconnect, and I'm increasingly feeling like it's time to disconnect from Austin and go hug trees in the NW with my fellow aging hippies.

I don't know that I agree with that assessment. Look at the street interaction with the JW Marriott. A block that was basically dead is buzzing with activity. Even 3rd @ Colorado which is just an office tower has boosted that area with a lot more pedestrians than before and the businesses along 3rd between Cesar Chavez and 4th is benefitting from it.

In fact if you consider that less than 10 years ago there was no 2nd Street Retail District, no street interaction of any kind in that area. When you consider that West End was nothing to what it is today. The Warehouse District was just starting to be up and coming, west 6th was still fairly quiet with few clubs and bars starting to pop up. There were not as many places to shop let alone small corner neighborhood stores every couple of blocks such as Blue Ribbon. Add all of that plus the 11,000 residents that call Downtown Austin home and it is more vibrant than ever before.

The challenge now is making sure our club districts stay in tact and I will be one of those pushing the city to make sure that is one of the top priorities.

But let's get real... Most (not all...), but most of what has been built and what is being built has been either on surface lots or on underutilized empty lots. In fact I'm suprised this particular project is stirring up a conversation like this. I mean there is nothing there at all and there was nothing but a parking lot to begin with before they tore it up. It's dead space sitting in an increasingly busy part of DT. It's not taking anything away.

The thing is Austin never really had non stop storefronts and tree lined streets at least since 1980 when I was born. Downtown wasn't much in the 80s and 90s. Wasn't until the 2000s that it began to transform and what we have now is 1,000 times more than we did then.