Austin | The Arconia (501 W 24th St.) | 305 Feet | 30 Floors | Proposed

[migol24]

I just wish we could lobby to have local businesses as much as we lobby to preserve old buildings like this. For such a building with history, it's too bad that we just let places like Smoothie King and Starbucks take over.

I wish we were a little more like San Francisco that limits the amount of business chains within the neighborhoods.

I think it's more important preserving the culture moreso than the buildings themselves. But I think that ship has sailed to the extent that I just don't care about the historical buildings alone all that much, unless it means actually preserving the culture much like 4th street/warehouse district.

[kingkirbythe....]

It is 62 years old, not 80, since it was built in 1960.

[H2O]

Les Amis and Inner Sanctum no longer exist. The only effective way to preserve local businesses is to invest in them and their real estate and keep them running even if it means taking a loss (eg. Chili Parlor, Saxon Pub, Hole in the Wall). The last time there was a big dust up about preserving a local business (Las Manitas / Avenue Cafe), the City stepped in to create a local business and enhancement fund using development fees within a prescribed zone (Congress and E 6th). There was a public outcry when the loan docs indicated the sisters who ran Las Manitas were doing pretty well financially, and they withdrew their loan application. The money eventually got used to move El Sol y La Luna from South Congress to E 6th, but they ended up going out of business anyway. The City Council actually passed an ordinance prohibiting any retail subsidies in the aftermath of the Domain controversy. If you care about retaining local business, you have to put your money where your mouth is, whether that is as an investor or by simply being a patron.

[migol24]

Agreed, H2O.

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by migol24

I just wish we could lobby to have local businesses as much as we lobby to preserve old buildings like this. For such a building with history, it's too bad that we just let places like Smoothie King and Starbucks take over.

I wish we were a little more like San Francisco that limits the amount of business chains within the neighborhoods.

I think it's more important preserving the culture moreso than the buildings themselves. But I think that ship has sailed to the extent that I just don't care about the historical buildings alone all that much, unless it means actually preserving the culture much like 4th street/warehouse district.

san francisco has a luxury of a longer history and much more obvious candidates for preservations.

i don't think this is worthy of preservation status yet. but it is a beautiful building with some history, i would like to attempt to bridge it until it is worthy of such status.

we have empty lots and uglier buildings, we can work on those a bit more before we tear this down

[kingkirbythe....]

Just incorporate the building into the new tower.

[chinchaaa]

It’s not historic. Sorry.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

It’s not historic. Sorry.

It really isn't.

I loved Les Amis, best tuna fish sandwich I ever ate. Sitting by the real wood burning fireplace on a cold day, before class, I can smell it now. LA and Quacks were the only places you could get a proper latte in the early 90's. People forget the Starbucks coffee revolution didn't hit Austin till probably 98-99. Prior to that, people had no idea what the hell a cappuccino was.

I remember when they completely remodeled this building to turn it into a Starbucks, a burger joint, and a Jamba Juice. If there ever was a time to preserve this building/development, it was prior to the reno that became what it is now...which I would guess to be 2001 or so.

It is COMPLETELY different now than it was as LA and Inner Sanctum, I wouldn't be surprised if anything original from LA and IS remained.

While I too lament the passing of my favorite haunts:
Little Sister on a hot sweaty night at the Black Cat
Rubbing elbows with politicos waiting on Wednesdays "spaghetti casserole" special at Gene's
They Might be Giants or Steel Pulse at Liberty Lunch
Ugly Americans at Steamboat
Fresh real (boiled) bagel smell at Bagel Manufactory
Los Lobos at La Zona Rosa.......

Honestly, I could go on for an hour. Life changes for us all, luckily we live in a town that grows and morphs into new great venues.

I grew up in a small town in Mississippi, a town that hasn't changed ONE BIT since I moved to Austin in 1983. I'll take a growing/evolving town over a dead one, any day of the week.

Sure I miss Joel standing at the end of the bar at Texadelphia, or the way Dirty's had a GIANT pile of lard on their griddle to scrape a little bit off of when they cooked your greazy ass burger (since the county made them stop doing that, its never been the same), or Leo making you a crowbar at Quacks (the interesting way Quacks had of stacking straws, spoons, etc into the empty cup as a way to let Leo know what he was supposed to make) Never seen anything like it. Big Ray Lemay sitting at the end of his bar at Ray's Steak house greeting everyone who came in. Old man Milto used to sell me his salad dressing in a jar instead of just making me buy 10 little 2 oz cups. These are all the tiny important memories of people and places that made my 20's in Austin special.

But I've made new friends at all my favorite places....making my 50's in my favorite town just a cool, or dare I say, cooler?

[migol24]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

san francisco has a luxury of a longer history and much more obvious candidates for preservations.

i don't think this is worthy of preservation status yet. but it is a beautiful building with some history, i would like to attempt to bridge it until it is worthy of such status.

we have empty lots and uglier buildings, we can work on those a bit more before we tear this down

I don't think we're talking about the same things though. I was talking specifically about chains. Not preserving historical buildings. There is a reason you don't find Starbucks in every corner in the Mission, or Castro. I'm not entirely sure but I don't even think there are any in the Mission.

I agree with H2O that we have to do our parts in supporting local businesses. But also am fully aware that technology has changed a lot how we consume music, movies, etc. No more Dobie Theater, I Luv Video, Cheapos, etc.

The city is changing and I realize there's not much we could do about that.

[ATXboom]

YES!

Little Sister on a hot sweaty night at the Black Cat
Steel Pulse at Liberty Lunch
Ugly Americans at Steamboat OR Antone's
Los Lobos at La Zona Rosa.......

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

YES!

Little Sister on a hot sweaty night at the Black Cat
Steel Pulse at Liberty Lunch
Ugly Americans at Steamboat OR Antone's
Los Lobos at La Zona Rosa.......

Shit, i'm about to head to TCP for a Mad Dog Margarita and a frito pie......RIP Guy Clark. Y'all got me harking back.

Shout outs to G Keller for saving Saxon Pub and to Steve for holding the Continental Club together, and bringing us C-Boys (another example of something new that makes Austin a-fucking-amazing)

[Urbannizer]

Statesman confirms it’s 30-stories:

https://www.statesman.com/restricted...69526553007%2F

[The ATX]

A site plan was filed and the project has a neame: The Arconia

https://abc.austintexas.gov/public-s...rtyrsn=2017384

[IluvATX]

Not to be negative, but Arconia is about the worst name ever. On a positive note, it will probably change names 5 times before being completed.

[Urbannizer]

[Echostatic]

Lot of glass for West Campus. Looks nice.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by IluvATX

Not to be negative, but Arconia is about the worst name ever. On a positive note, it will probably change names 5 times before being completed.

The Arconia is the same name of the residential building on the TV show Only Murders in the Building. I personally don't have a problem with the name.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/le...-the-building/

As the title suggests, the plot of Only Murders in the Building, a Hulu murder mystery starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, revolves around one building: an Upper West Side apartment complex called the Arconia, where all the characters live. And while the story is fictional, the Arconia is real, well, sort of.

[The ATX]

I'll start a separate thread for this later if nobody else does. But the Arconia tower will have a "twin" across the street. It's a 29-story 300' apartment tower known as the Court of Three Sisters. The site plan was filed in April, and both towers are being developed by LV Collective.

[KevinFromTexas]

Unless there are another set of plans, I don't think that one will be 400 feet. It seems they forgot to subtract the 100 foot baseline/grade number from the top elevation height. So it's 300 feet instead of 400. The Arconia is already confirmed as 305 feet, according to its elevations.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Unless there are another set of plans, I don't think that one will be 400 feet. It seems they forgot to subtract the 100 foot baseline/grade number from the top elevation height. So it's 300 feet instead of 400. The Arconia is already confirmed as 305 feet, according to its elevations.

That's what happened. The 100' starting point doesn't get noticed quite often.

EDIT: This was in reference to the ABJ saying LVC was building two 400 footers in WC.