SAN ANTONIO | Continental Apartments | 169 FEET | 16 FLOORS - Page 2

texboy · #21 Posted **Apr 1, 2022, 3:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkill34

Good point, I'm curious too.

the Floodgate is above 200 ft, and that is about 16 to 17 stories. Including the river walk as well.

Could be based off the original proposal, which I believe was maybe 12 floors?

JACKinBeantown · #22 Posted **Apr 1, 2022, 3:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spoiler

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I grabbed the larger renderings from the saheron article, though, the HDRC doc has even larger ones, and one more that the articles didn't publish.

Those look like standard apartment (thin) floor slabs. It's also noticeably shorter than Vistana in the rendering. 169 seems right.

Urbannizer · #23 Posted **Apr 27, 2022, 6:32 AM**

https://bkvgroup.com/projects/the-continental/

JACKinBeantown · #24 Posted **Apr 27, 2022, 12:29 PM**

^^ I'm JACKinBeantown and I approve of this message.

The building itself is above average, and everything else about the project seems excellent... it's preservation and use of existing structures as ground level retail, placement of parking, seeming planting of trees.

texboy · #25 Posted **Apr 27, 2022, 2:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

https://bkvgroup.com/projects/the-continental/

Holy... Wow.

KevinFromTexas · #26 Posted **Apr 27, 2022, 11:45 PM**

Now I'm wondering if this was always only going to have 15 floors and that the "16-stories" that may have been advertised was merely referencing the 169 foot height. That happens sometimes when building heights get published. Someone hears 150 feet tall and automatically thinks it's 15-stories.

Sigaven · #27 Posted **Apr 28, 2022, 4:39 PM**

As a San Antonian currently living in Austin, I love coming back to the SA part of this forum to see its development projects. They always seem to have a much more elevated attention to materials and details than what we're seeing in Austin. Love all the brick. Keeping downtown SA classy!!

JACKinBeantown · #28 Posted **Apr 28, 2022, 6:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sigaven

As a San Antonian currently living in Austin, I love coming back to the SA part of this forum to see its development projects. They always seem to have a much more elevated attention to materials and details than what we're seeing in Austin. Love all the brick. Keeping downtown SA classy!!

Don't say things like that in the Austin forum. You might get attacked. But yes, I agree.

Hindentanic · #29 Posted **Apr 28, 2022, 10:31 PM**

It's handsome enough and I am again glad they are rehabilitating the Continental Hotel and Arana buildings.

I admit though that I am not a fan of the blank brick wall of the garage podium behind the Arana Building. In the previous renderings it was somewhat masked with some artistic license using trees and the ventilation openings of the garage. Obviously, having actual units in the corner in reality precludes the ventilation opening and so now we have the resultant blank wall. The preserved Arana Building is not likely to rise any higher, so that dead wall behind it will essentially become permanent.

The generic murals also don't grab me, as I am not entirely sold on the San Pedro creek facing base and the big hanging poster art. However, they do give me an idea...put a vast urban mosaic on the blank wall over the Arana Building!

This is facing south, so maybe it should be a mosaic of colored glass to give it a shimmering sparkle. Light fixtures on the roof of the Arana Building can similarly give it moody nightlighting. San Antonio has a local mural and mosaic tradition, and this is along the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. This isn't especially hard to do, and it is what our public art initiatives should be encouraging from developers.

Whatever artistic image used should complement and highlight the character of the Arana Building behind which the wall forms a backdrop. I ruthlessly grabbed a beautiful image found online with appropriate scale and complementary colors. The original painting, "Magic of Emerald Ocean" by Nadins ART, can be found at Artfinder.

KevinFromTexas · #30 Posted **Apr 28, 2022, 10:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

Don't say things like that in the Austin forum. You might get attacked. But yes, I agree.

Austinites will be some of the first people to tell you that some of the projects here need more facade detail. I generally disklike modern architecture and think it's pretty boring. It has its moments, but most of the time it's too repetitive and weird for the sake of weird.

JACKinBeantown · #31 Posted **Apr 29, 2022, 1:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Austinites will be some of the first people to tell you that some of the projects here need more facade detail. I generally disklike modern architecture and think it's pretty boring. It has its moments, but most of the time it's too repetitive and weird for the sake of weird.

I'm merely commenting on one specific person's asinine harassing comment yesterday. My polite reply was removed by a different moderator than you, but the original rude comment was left up along with the moderator's praise of that comment.

theOGalexd · #32 Posted **Apr 29, 2022, 7:19 AM**

Overall I like it. As usual, wish they would have went tall + skinnier instead of it being blocky but at this point I'll take what I can get lol.

texboy · #33 Posted **Apr 29, 2022, 2:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by theOGalexd

Overall I like it. As usual, wish they would have went tall + skinnier instead of it being blocky but at this point I'll take what I can get lol.

If and when momentum starts building for more residential and commercial space downtown... taller will happen. I have a feeling we are going to see momentum build here and soon, definitely feels like we haven't scratched the surface in SA of what downtown can truly be.

JACKinBeantown · #34 Posted **Apr 29, 2022, 3:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by texboy

If and when momentum starts building for more residential and commercial space downtown... taller will happen. I have a feeling we are going to see momentum build here and soon, definitely feels like we haven't scratched the surface in SA of what downtown can truly be.

I've had that feeling for 25 years.

texboy · #35 Posted **Apr 29, 2022, 4:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hindentanic

It's handsome enough and I am again glad they are rehabilitating the Continental Hotel and Arana buildings.

I admit though that I am not a fan of the blank brick wall of the garage podium behind the Arana Building. In the previous renderings it was somewhat masked with some artistic license using trees and the ventilation openings of the garage. Obviously, having actual units in the corner in reality precludes the ventilation opening and so now we have the resultant blank wall. The preserved Arana Building is not likely to rise any higher, so that dead wall behind it will essentially become permanent.

The generic murals also don't grab me, as I am not entirely sold on the San Pedro creek facing base and the big hanging poster art. However, they do give me an idea...put a vast urban mosaic on the blank wall over the Arana Building!

This is facing south, so maybe it should be a mosaic of colored glass to give it a shimmering sparkle. Light fixtures on the roof of the Arana Building can similarly give it moody nightlighting. San Antonio has a local mural and mosaic tradition, and this is along the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. This isn't especially hard to do, and it is what our public art initiatives should be encouraging from developers.

Whatever artistic image used should complement and highlight the character of the Arana Building behind which the wall forms a backdrop. I ruthlessly grabbed a beautiful image found online with appropriate scale and complementary colors. The original painting, "Magic of Emerald Ocean" by Nadins ART, can be found at Artfinder.

There's a saying in design ... "You don't have to fill every blank wall"... Not sure where it was decided that blank walls on buildings had to be filled with a mosaic or some type artwork... but its just not the case. Blank walls actually aid in giving the casual admirer a break to 'cleanse the pallet' so to speak. And in this case, we really aren't talking about a huge space relatively speaking. I feel like murals on walls are becoming way too common now, somewhat diluting the meaning or artistic expression of the artist. Denver, my home base currently, has an insane amount of murals on EVERY DAMN WALL. Murals no longer feel "special" unless the artist is some world renowned painter. Is this the most beautiful building in the world? No. But is it a good looking, balanced design that blends historic with new well? 100% Adding murals to this building would feel contrived. Just my two cents.

JACKinBeantown · #36 Posted **Apr 29, 2022, 5:27 PM**

^^ Agree. And good architecture is an art. How many other art forms have different art forms shoved into them? And how would those artists feel about it?

theOGalexd · #37 Posted **Apr 29, 2022, 9:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

I've had that feeling for 25 years.

I think with the covid exodus/Austin spillover, and now that things are actually getting built. Might actually happen. Fingers crossed.

JRG1974 · #38 Posted **Jul 19, 2022, 2:46 PM**

Looks like this is coming along now. More cranes adding to the skyline.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/busines...r-17312641.php

Site work will start in September, which I hope means that cranes will go up in Nov-Dec timeframe.

I really do love this project. I am more excited about this one than I am 300 Main. Though I do love that one too. I love the combination of restoration and new construction. I think that this will be a major add to downtown.

Overall, I wish that this one was a little taller. Break the tower in half and make a 30 story building. Not that it would be that simple. I am really excited about the density that this will help add.

Not sure where we would be without Graham Weston. I hope that both of these projects are a smashing success and that it leads him to work on something in the 50-60 story range. Time will tell.

jkill34 · #39 Posted **Jul 19, 2022, 3:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRG1974

Looks like this is coming along now. More cranes adding to the skyline.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/busines...r-17312641.php

Site work will start in September, which I hope means that cranes will go up in Nov-Dec timeframe.

I really do love this project. I am more excited about this one than I am 300 Main. Though I do love that one too. I love the combination of restoration and new construction. I think that this will be a major add to downtown.

Overall, I wish that this one was a little taller. Break the tower in half and make a 30 story building. Not that it would be that simple. I am really excited about the density that this will help add.

Not sure where we would be without Graham Weston. I hope that both of these projects are a smashing success and that it leads him to work on something in the 50-60 story range. Time will tell.

Yeah, they've secured financing I believe as well.

With UTSA's new Data Science Center close by, this should fill up in no time.

theOGalexd · #40 Posted **Jul 20, 2022, 4:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRG1974

Overall, I wish that this one was a little taller. Break the tower in half and make a 30 story building. Not that it would be that simple. I am really excited about the density that this will help add.

Not sure where we would be without Graham Weston. I hope that both of these projects are a smashing success and that it leads him to work on something in the 50-60 story range. Time will tell.

Same, I'll take it though. Given that the Thompson has seemingly been successful, as well as Hotel Emma, I wonder what the market for a tall condo/hotel tower would be like here. Maybe someone (that isn't graystreet ffs) will revive the W but make it a condo hybrid instead of office.