AUSTIN | Waterloo Park Central (HealthSouth site) | 37 Floors x2 | Cancelled

[The ATX]

Awesome update! This has been one...long...sloooow...demo.

[drummer]

I say we each get to pay $10 for a swing with the giant wrecking ball. That'll speed things up AND save on costs.

[freerover]

Did you get a look at how new red river is coming?

[corvairkeith]

Not sure but it looks like the old Brackenridge parking garage might need to come down first to clear the way for the Red River realignment.

[StoOgE]

I'm assuming the age of this guy and it being a medical facility is partially to blame for the slowness here. Wild speculation on my part, but I assume potential for hazardous materials is high-ish?

Put the demo team from this project and the construction team on River South on a 1 story house and we'll have it in 2025

[KevinFromTexas]

I have weird feelings seeing Brackenridge being torn down. On the one hand it's a piece of Austin history and a part of our skyline going away that was very familiar and pubilc, not just to me but a lot of other Central Texans. So, that makes me sad. On the other hand, I don't have a lot of good memories there, so I won't miss that aspect.

[Riverranchdrone]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I have weird feelings seeing Brackenridge being torn down. On the one hand it's a piece of Austin history and a part of our skyline going away that was very familiar and pubilc, not just to me but a lot of other Central Texans. So, that makes me sad. On the other hand, I don't have a lot of good memories there, so I won't miss that aspect.

I agree. It was where my daughter was born. I have almost the same feeling knowing that the Frank Erwin Center will be going away. Had my graduation there. Seen concerts, basketball games, WWE, arena football. lol ok I only care about the graduation memory from F.E.C. but still.

[drummer]

I thought the Red River alignment was going to go in between the old garage and the tower that is being torn down. The garage is remaining. Is this not the case?

[paul78701]

Originally Posted by drummer

I thought the Red River alignment was going to go in between the old garage and the tower that is being torn down. The garage is remaining. Is this not the case?

Unless something has changed, yep, that garage is going to remain there. At least in the near term.

[corvairkeith]

I wasn't sure if the garage needed to come down. It looks like it's in the path of the new Red River when viewed from the South.






Edit: now that I look at the pics, that's part of Brackenridge not the parking garage.

[KevinFromTexas]

Not much left of it.


https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...77918668914427

[KevinFromTexas]

Why though?

• Video Link

[ahealy]

^^^ LMAO.... Honestly fine seeing Brac like that.... I personally loathed that hospital and any experiences I had there.

[Global]

Originally Posted by ahealy

^^^ LMAO.... Honestly fine seeing Brac like that.... I personally loathed that hospital and any experiences I had there.

Same here. I've spent time working in that hospital, even spent some night in an on-call room in the basement. I've dreamt of seeing that building destroyed many nights.

[rayfes]

Some information about what may come:

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...l-for-pud.html

But this stuck out to me:

The applicant had also requested to have the requirement of pedestrian-oriented uses waived from the PUD but commissioners added that requirement back to their final motion

Nikelle Meade of law firm Husch Blackwell represented Central Health at the May 11 meeting. Meade said the original requests to waive some of those requirements were to mirror Central Business District zoning in the PUD and not to limit uses, such as pedestrian-oriented activity.

“We don’t have any idea yet how the development will lay out on the site because the whole idea behind redeveloping this tract is to be able to maximize density, to be able to maximize revenue that Central Health will generate,” she said.

Is anyone else suspicious of them trying to get out of the pedestrian oriented uses?

[KevinFromTexas]

I think some people have a perception that I-35 will be there forever in its current form and it's hard for them to fathom creating something adjacent to it that doesn't turn its back to it or avoid putting feet on the street. That area needs a change of scenery the most, so any attempt to squelch on it needs to be discouraged. Waterloo Park has the opportunity to be a really great place in downtown, but without the connective development surrounding the park, it's going to be this weird island of activity surrounded by nothing of interest. I feel like the east side of downtown and the area around the Capitol is really a huge opportunity that has been ignored. In a way, we really only have half a downtown.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I think some people have a perception that I-35 will be there forever in its current form and it's hard for them to fathom creating something adjacent to it that doesn't turn its back to it or avoid putting feet on the street. That area needs a change of scenery the most, so any attempt to squelch on it needs to be discouraged. Waterloo Park has the opportunity to be a really great place in downtown, but without the connective development surrounding the park it's going to this weird island of activity surrounded by nothing of interest. I feel like the east side of downtown and the area around the Capitol is really a huge opportunity that has been ignored. In a way, we really only have half a downtown.

Unfortunately, while 35 will be sunken, it will not be possible to put a cap between 15th and 12th next to the park. However, the caps between 12th and 11th and the caps between 8th and Cesar have a chance to really help transport that area on the east and west sides of the highway.

It is possible that TxDot changes their approach and more caps become possible but I seriously doubt that it will.

[DoubleC]

I was born there in 94. Started working across the street at the new hospital in late 2019. While there's general consensus the new facility is /much/ better than Brack (which I often call a "big block of cement" versus here which is much more windowy and free), I always wish I could've at least explored the old hospital, just.. become somewhat familiar with (believe it was the 3rd floor) where I first spawned. It's kind of a mystery about its interior to me. Also I'm a nostalgic dude.

No other memories of it really, and that's a good thing !

[DaveinWimberley]

I am so disappointed that there were so many fabulous visions about what COULD have been built here seven or eight years ago, and now, judging from that one very boring, generic rectangular box rising next to where the old hospital used to be, all those visions are now nothing but delusions.
But, really. There is going to be a big slum somewhere in Austin around 2100, and my bets are that THIS is the place it is going to be, so why waste any money here?
One would have thought that Waterloo Park deserved a much better backdrop than this, but I guess not!

[H2O]

Originally Posted by rayfes

Some information about what may come:

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...l-for-pud.html

But this stuck out to me:






Is anyone else suspicious of them trying to get out of the pedestrian oriented uses?

I'm suspicious of anything Nikelle Meade touches.