Austin Projects & Construction

[LiveattheOasis]

Bridgeview, Illinois- 70 million
Toronto, Canada- 62.5 million
Harrison, New Jersey- 100 million

These are just three of the new stadiums that have been built or are being built as we speak. The costs are dead similar to the costs for soccer stadiums in Europe when compared. I said 150 thinking if we built an absolutely amazing stadium, but I think 80-100 million would be the probable cost of a new stadium here in Austin. We are the largest city in the U.S. without a professional franchise (by the way, that is from the mouth of Council Leffingwell).

[Shasta]

I know, I know, I know...the money for athletics and the money for academics are two separate things, BUT...

While UT football won the national title and has spent a medium sized country's GNP on athletic facilities, the overall academic reputation of the school continues to free fall.

Texas used to be regarded easily as a top 5 public flagship university. Now it is clearly behind Cal Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, and William + Mary. Numerous publications also rank UT below UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, Washington, Wisconsin, Illinois, Miami of Ohio, Florida, James Madison, Penn State, SUNY Binghamton, and Rutgers.

Considering the PUF that UT-Austin gets, this is alarming.

[LiveattheOasis]

William & Mary is private, and most of that second list hold no candle to UT, I don't know what you have read. Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two I have heard in the same breath. But I may not be reading the same reports you are reading.

[crewer]

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

William & Mary is private, and most of that second list hold no candle to UT, I don't know what you have read. Wisconsin and Illinois are the only two I have heard in the same breath. But I may not be reading the same reports you are reading.

Actually William and Mary is public, though commonly mistaken as private.

[LiveattheOasis]

America's second-oldest college is also the best small public university in the nation. [I]from the website[I]

You are right, my mistake. It is pretty expensive though, right?

[StoOgE]

William and Mary is extremely expensive.

Also, UT is still considered a top 5 public university by anyone who looks beyond admissions standards. US news and world reports bases almost everything on admissions standards, not tests on post grad tests, grad rates, etc. So, the top 10% rule forces UT Austin to admit people with no business going to UT who subsequently flunk out of school. US News and world reports doenst care because our average HS GPA and SAT score of admited students has taken a hit.

UT Austin is still one of the top schools make no mistake about that. As a graduate school UT is up there with the big name private schools. Once the top 10 rule is done away with, expect our US news ranking to rocket.

[crewer]

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

America's second-oldest college is also the best small public university in the nation. [I]from the website[I]

You are right, my mistake. It is pretty expensive though, right?

It's pretty on par with other state universities. I just compared it to my alma mater (University of Illinois). Illinois in-state tuition is $8624.00 and W&M in-state tuition is $7,778.00. UT in-state tuition is $5,745.00.

[Mopacs]

I was checking out the 2nd Street District website and discovered some updated site plans for the retail spaces:

http://www.2ndstreetdistrict.com/retail.html

Overall site plan:



Block 21 (W Hotel/Condo/ACL/Children's Museum) and City Hall:




Block 22 (AMLI 18-story tower now u/c) and CSC west:




AMLI east and CSC east:

[JRCool]

When is 3 forks and Segovia supposed to open?

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by crewer

It's pretty on par with other state universities. I just compared it to my alma mater (University of Illinois). Illinois in-state tuition is $8624.00 and W&M in-state tuition is $7,778.00. UT in-state tuition is $5,745.00.

I was accepted to W&M and was comparing their out of state tuition, which was simply nuts compared to UT's in state tuition at the time about 2K a semester when I started). Couldnt justify the price difference.

[crewer]

Originally Posted by StoOgE

I was accepted to W&M and was comparing their out of state tuition, which was simply nuts compared to UT's in state tuition at the time about 2K a semester when I started). Couldnt justify the price difference.

That's usually why many people stay in-state. Out-of-state tuition for UT is around $14,500. Illinois is $23,000 and W&M is $23,048. Texas has traditionally been a very affordable university, even for out-of-staters. That's changed in recent years, though.

And to everyone's relief, that concludes my discussion about college tuitions on this Skyscraper Forum.

Hey Mopacs! Thanks for posting those floorplans of the 2nd St. buildings. That really gives me a good picture as to how this is all going to look. I sure hope some larger stores make it in there, though. Seems like it's dominated by restaurants right now. Downtown seriously needs a hardware store, especially with all this new housing coming in.

[LiveattheOasis]

If you have been up to Manhattan in the last few years, they have opened two Home Depots in the city area, built into large buildings the way a normal tenant would. I would love to see this in Austin.

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by crewer

Hey Mopacs! Thanks for posting those floorplans of the 2nd St. buildings. That really gives me a good picture as to how this is all going to look. I sure hope some larger stores make it in there, though. Seems like it's dominated by restaurants right now. Downtown seriously needs a hardware store, especially with all this new housing coming in.

No prob! The 2nd Street District is coming together nicely. Right now the majority of the retail is centered along the eastern 1/3rd of 2nd Street between CSC East and the current AMLI Tower (which is nearly encircled in leased retail space). It can only get better from here, with the construction of AMLI West (18 story) well underway.

As for the restaurants, I must say that they have integrated nicely with the nearby warehouse district establishments. If anything, I would say that the 2nd street district is essentially an extension of the Warehouse district

[StoOgE]

I actually drove by 2nd street on my way to 4th last Friday and 2nd street was packed full of people. Its going to be a huge success.

[jmanh]

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

If you have been up to Manhattan in the last few years, they have opened two Home Depots in the city area, built into large buildings the way a normal tenant would. I would love to see this in Austin.

Given 2nd Street's interest in promoting local businesses over national chains, I think that having a Breed and Co. down there would be great. If you've never been to a Breed and Co., the store is kind of a cross between Home Depot and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. There's hardware on one side and home/kitchen stuff on the other. What I like about the hardware department is that there are always knowledgeable employees readily available to answer any questions one might have about how to repair something, etc..

The other department offers high-end home and kitchen products. The store also has a decent garden dept. In fact, the store is a popular wedding registry venue. In terms of hardware item prices, Lowes and Home Depot are less expensive -- but in terms of my hardware needs the difference isn't sufficient to keep me away because the shopping experience is so much more pleasurable at Breed and Co. It's been designed to be smaller-scale and more intimate than your typical big box store.

[LiveattheOasis]

Originally Posted by jmanh

Given 2nd Street's interest in promoting local businesses over national chains, I think that having a Breed and Co. down there would be great. If you've never been to a Breed and Co., the store is kind of a cross between Home Depot and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. There's hardware on one side and home/kitchen stuff on the other. What I like about the hardware department is that there are always knowledgeable employees readily available to answer any questions one might have about how to repair something, etc..

The other department offers high-end home and kitchen products. The store also has a decent garden dept. In fact, the store is a popular wedding registry venue. In terms of hardware item prices, Lowes and Home Depot are less expensive -- but in terms of my hardware needs the difference isn't sufficient to keep me away because the shopping experience is so much more pleasurable at Breed and Co. It's been designed to be smaller-scale and more intimate than your typical big box store.

Is Breed and Co. local? Where is the nearest one in Austin? I think any urban hardware store would be great, I have just seen the Manhattan Home Depots and came away very impressed. I hope that Breed and Co. would be of the same caliber.

[arbeiter]

Breed and Co. is an independent, it's located on 29th and San Gabriel.

[GoldenBoot]

In case anyone cares...Tower crane parts are arriving for 360!

[Mopacs]

The new Simon shopping center at Capital of Texas Highway and Mopac Freeway now has a list of tenants. For those who are not familiar, this is basically a power center, immediately to the south (across Braker lane from The Domain regional shopping center. Here's an article from today's Austin Business Journal online edition:

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2006/07/17/daily27.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Simon announces tenants for Shops at Arbor Walk

Simon Property Group Inc. has rolled out a list of stores that will anchor The Shops at Arbor Walk slated to open later this year in North Austin.
The Home Depot, Marshalls, JoAnn Fabrics, DSW Shoe Warehouse and Golf Galaxy all have signed leases for the 450,000-square-foot development at the southeast corner of MoPac Expressway and Braker Lane. All of those stores are expected to open in time for the holiday shopping season, with a second wave of openings slated for March 2007.

Restaurants that have committed to opening in the first phase include Mimi's Café, Chipotle, Camille's and Chuck E. Cheese's.
"The visibility of The Shops at Arbor Walk is tremendous," says Tom Garvey, vice president of development in Simon's community/lifestyle center division. "It has great frontage on Mopac and because of its location, you can get to the Shops at Arbor Walk from anywhere in the Austin market within 15 minutes."

The Shops at Arbor Walk is a part of a bigger picture for Simon. Construction continues on The Domain just north of the intersection, which will be anchored by Neiman Marcus and Macy's. Other Simon assets in the area include the Arboretum at Great Hills, Barton Creek Square, Highland Mall, Lakeline Mall, Lakeline Plaza, and Wolf Ranch in Georgetown. The company's Round Rock Premium Outlets development will open in August.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG) is an Indianapolis, Ind.-based real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, development and management of retail real estate. Through its subsidiary partnership, Simon currently owns or has an interest in 285 properties in the U.S. containing an aggregate of 200 million square feet of gross leasable area in 39 states and Puerto Rico.

[Mopacs]

New hotel proposal from today's statesman

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/07/21marriott.html

Hotel complex planned for downtown Austin

Developer promises to seek accord with site's current tenants, including Las Manitas.

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, July 20, 2006




The largest hotel development in Austin's history may be headed to Congress Avenue downtown — a $185 million project with three Marriott hotels that may replace several treasured businesses, including a bilingual day care center and local favorite Las Manitas Avenue Cafe.

The hotels, which would be developed by White Lodging Services Corp., based in Merrillville, Ind., are slated for much of the block on the east side of Congress Avenue between Second and Third streets.

The tallest hotel will be a 26-story Marriott convention center hotel with 650 rooms. There also will be a 200-room upscale Renaissance Hotel and a 150-room Springhill Suites by Marriott on the site. The hotels are scheduled to open in summer 2009.
White Lodging has signed a long-term lease with Finley Co. for the land, said Deno Yiankes, president and chief operating officer of White Lodging's development and asset management group.

Under the developer's current plans, the main hotel will have 50,000 square feet of meeting space in two ballrooms and 18 additional meeting rooms. The development also will include street-level retail on Second Street, including up to five food and beverage outlets, plus three levels of underground parking.

White Lodging will operate the hotels under a franchise agreement with Marriott. White Lodging is building two other hotels in downtown Austin: a 270-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 179-room Residence Inn by Marriott, both scheduled to open this fall on East Fourth Street.

The company's latest proposed development is a sign of White Lodging's "ongoing commitment to the city and our intent to be here well into the future," Yiankes said.
"We believe that adding 1,000 upscale hotel rooms to the downtown market will help attract additional convention business to Austin, enabling the city to compete more effectively with other convention destinations," he said.

White Lodging and Finley plan to work with existing tenants, including Las Manitas, "to reach a mutually satisfying arrangement," he added.
"We will directly benefit by successfully working with these longstanding and important institutions of downtown Austin as they are a significant part of Austin's unique flair that keeps so many visitors and conventioneers coming back year after year," Yiankes said.

At full staff, the three hotels will add 600 full-time jobs, doubling the number of people White Lodging employs in Austin, where it currently operates 13 hotels. The three new ones are expected to generate more than $2 million a year in property tax and more than $4 million a year in bed tax for the city.

Several other hotel deals are in the works downtown. They include a W hotel set to be built on a block just north of City Hall, a luxury hotel planned by San Antonio-based Hixon Properties Inc. for Third and Colorado streets and a proposed hotel tower that Australian-based Constellation Property Group plans to build at Red River and East Cesar Chavez streets, across from the Austin Convention Center. In addition, local developer Tom Stacy said he may include a hotel in a 47-story mixed-use tower he plans to build at Fifth Street and Congress Avenue.