UP|Texas

UP|Texas http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/forums.html Sun, 11 May 2008 17:35:34 -0500 30 UP|Texas http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/forums.html The Spring

QUOTE (The Voice of Reason @ May 10 2008, 12:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is Monarch built? or is it one of the many proposals. I guess my contention is that the city is embracing linear development rather than a cluster. I suppose it all works out when all of these projects get built, but I am not a fan of a residential tower outside of downtown. its not even for asthetic reasons it just is out of place for a neighbourhood. but obviously Austin is booming so much that the whole area will be different in 10 years, so, downtown is a relative term at this point.

Good for Austin. that list of projects in another thread is pretty damn impressive. its almost like Miami in terms of the scale.

Yes, the Monarch is complete. 360 isn't too far from the Spring either and it's nearing completion.]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 06:16:14 -0500 erdogs The Spring

QUOTE (Texas Hill Country @ May 10 2008, 03:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's not quite that isolated. The Monarch apartment building is about a block away and it's 29 stories/323 feet. Also, site prep is underway at the nearby Seaholm site where a 22 story hotel/condo tower will be built.

QUOTE (The Voice of Reason @ May 9 2008, 02:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very nice project. Not the sexiest lady in the bar, but still has a lot going for it. Austin is just completely being rebuilt it seems.

at least this time around things are getting built. the dot com bubble actually stopped construction on everything. Austin has come a long way. as a city it is likely better off, but I am sure many residents prefer the good old days when it was an exceptinally nice small city.

Yeah, not everyone likes the changes. The north side of the river is eventually going to be a wall of 300-700 foot towers all the way from the Legacy near IH35 to the Spring by Lamar. Within two blocks of the river there are 10 major high rises under construction.

Legacy apartments 31 floors/331'
Four Seasons condos 32 floors/394'
Altavida apartments 37 floors/412'
W hotel/condos 37 floors/478'
Austonian condos 56 floors/683'
360 condos 44 floors/563'
Monarch apartments 29 floors/323'
Spring condos 43 floors/434'
Shore condos 22 floors/257'
AMLI 2 apartments 18 floors/225'

And these are only the ones already being built - there are many more planned.]]> Sat, 10 May 2008 03:50:24 -0500 Texas Hill Country The Spring Sat, 10 May 2008 03:26:44 -0500 Texas Hill Country The Spring
that being said, the new sewage treatment plant site will completely change the area and turn this into a new residential high rise community. but at the time this project I think wa a little reckless.

there is a 11 and a 9 story building next door, but other than that there is nothing over 4 stories tall for 9 or so blocks!]]> Fri, 09 May 2008 18:04:00 -0500 The Voice of Reason Austin - Block 21

QUOTE (Texas Hill Country @ May 3 2008, 03:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Let me dust off this forum...there. The W hotel and condo tower and future home of Austin City Limits begins construction on Monday! The site plan filed with the city indicates it will be 478' tall.

Here's what the site looks like now:

Here's the Article from the Austin American-Statesman:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news.../0507green.html

Big plans for Green Water Treatment Plant
Five big names with five big plans for Green Water Treatment Plant

By Kate Miller Morton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Proposals for the redevelopment of the Green Water Treatment Plant and Austin Energy Control Center are in, and no matter who wins, big changes are coming to the landscape and skyline of downtown Austin.

Five isolated blocks of city-owned land bounded loosely by the Seaholm Power Plant and San Antonio, Fourth and Cesar Chavez streets will become a residential, commercial and cultural hub in the biggest single development ever downtown.

About 1,000 apartments and condominiums will be built, including a significant number of low to moderately priced units.

Hundreds of thousands of square feet of new office space and several blocks of ground-floor retail will transform the dormant western edge of downtown after construction begins in about three years.

The total appraised value of the land is $55.5 million, but the city did not release the amount each team offered to pay for it. City Council members are scheduled to select a developer by the end of June.

The proposals made by Catellus Development, Forest City, Simmons Vedder Partners, Stratus Properties, Trammell Crow and their respective partners have some things in common. But each also has elements unique to its plan. "Each one of the five has something that is different from the others, that's distinct to that proposal," Council Member Brewster McCracken said. "It's really amazing."

Trammell Crow and partners Constructive Ventures and USAA Real Estate Co. propose the biggest and tallest buildings with the most parking. Their plan also includes the most diverse uses, with space for a 350,000-square-foot hotel and a 250-unit senior assisted living facility in addition to condos, apartments, offices and retail businesses. Five public gathering spaces could accommodate as many as 2,700 people.

Stratus Properties' proposal includes a two-story H-E-B grocery store, with H.E. Butt Grocery Co. serving as a limited partner in the project.

"We think H-E-B being a full-service grocery store is something everybody can afford, it helps every one of those retailers in the area and it makes residential more viable," said the team's attorney, Steve Drenner.

A movie theater and bookstore would also help drive more traffic to the Second Street retail district.

Stratus and partner AMLI Residential are proposing the largest number of rental units, which they say would let them offer housing in a greater range of prices, and they plan to offer medical office space not found downtown. Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, a partnership of Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Magic Johnson Enterprises, is also a part of this team.

Simmons Vedder proposes a waterfront art park and four bridges over Shoal Creek, including two for pedestrians only.

This team, which includes Cotera + Reed Architects and Bury + Partners Engineering Solutions, also proposes to essentially turn the buildings into power plants by installing solar panels in the skins of its towers. It plans to use water collected from the condensation of air conditioners to flush the toilets.

Catellus Development has proposed a primarily residential project with 500,000 square feet of office space and nearly 200,000 square feet of retail. But the company is also offering to collaborate with city leaders and the community to develop a final master plan for the property that could differ significantly from its initial proposal.

"We're going to present something we think is really neat, dynamic, progressive and all of that, but with that said, if we are selected we're going to say, 'Let's go out and spend time and hear from the city what they really want and hear from stakeholders what they really want,' " Catellus President Greg Weaver said.

Forest City, which is partnering with Novare Group and Andrews Urban, emphasizes public spaces with a grand plaza at Second and Nueces streets complete with a fountain and transplanted moon tower. A grand staircase inspired by the Spanish Steps in Rome would connect the plaza to the trail along Shoal Creek, which would run from the Austin Energy site north of Third Street to Lady Bird Lake.

The master developer of the Stapleton Airport site in Denver and the 9,000-acre Mesa del Sol mixed-use project in Albuquerque, N.M., also promotes a more collaborative approach.

"We're partners with dozens of cities all across America," Forest City Vice President Jim Truitt said. "We fund our own projects, we build them and we own them ourselves. ... It makes us more compatible with cities' goals and objectives."

All five teams will present their plans to the City Council at a special meeting this month. The City Council plans to pick a winner using an evaluation matrix that awards points for different elements including development experience, access to capital and quality of design.

Bonus points will be awarded for public parking and affordable housing.

The city required developers to offer at least 10 percent of all rental units at a level affordable to households making no more than 80 percent of the area's median family income, or $56,900 for a family of four.

All five teams have pledged to exceed the city's requirement, though some provide much more detail about how that would be done.

The Trammell Crow team, for example, plans to make 25 percent of its rental units affordable under the 80 percent guideline and also plans to make a donation to the city's affordable housing fund for every condo it sells, estimating total donations could reach about $2.5 million.

The Stratus group would make 15 percent of its rental units available to households under the 80 percent requirement, reserve 5 percent for families making as much as $82,900 and allow the city to buy up to 5 percent of its condos at cost.

"This will significantly change the accessibility of downtown away from being just a place for rich people," McCracken said.

Although the city has imposed an unusually short time frame for the selection of a development team, the redevelopment of the sites won't begin for several years. The city won't be able to turn over the water treatment site until 2010, and the Austin Energy site won't be available until 2011.]]> Thu, 08 May 2008 11:58:14 -0500 Texas Hill Country The Legacy Apartments

QUOTE (erdogs @ May 3 2008, 07:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is there a website to this project? Where is it located?

Here's the website:

http://www.legacyonthelake.com/

It's being built in the SE corner of downtown. If you're driving through downtown on IH35 you can see it going up behind the Holiday Inn hotels.]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 22:43:32 -0500 Texas Hill Country The Spring Sat, 03 May 2008 19:20:36 -0500 erdogs IKEA to open in spring 2007 Sat, 03 May 2008 19:17:17 -0500 erdogs The Legacy Apartments Is there a website to this project? Where is it located? Sat, 03 May 2008 19:15:03 -0500 erdogs Cedar Park Entertainment Center Sat, 03 May 2008 08:55:08 -0500 Texas Hill Country IKEA to open in spring 2007 Sat, 03 May 2008 08:48:18 -0500 Texas Hill Country The Shore | Kimpton Hotel Sat, 03 May 2008 08:04:43 -0500 Texas Hill Country Central Texas Commuter Rail
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news...tml?UrAuth=%60N]NUOaNVUbTTUWUXUaUZTYU_UWUbUcUZUaU_UcTYWYWZV&urcm=y

Light rail plan
New light-rail plan rolls into Austin
Among many obstacles: What's the cost, and who pays?

By Ben Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

A consultant hired by the city is recommending a 14-mile light-rail system for Central Austin, not streetcars as proposed by Capital Metro. The system would run from the airport to downtown, through the University of Texas and east to the emerging Mueller development.

The route is essentially the same one City Council Member BrewsterMcCracken and Austin Mayor Will Wynn have been talking about for the past six months or so. The proposal, finished just seven weeks after the council voted to pay ROMA Design Group up to $250,000 to produce it, comes as a "transit task force" formed by Wynn and state Sen. Kirk Watson moves into the final stages ofcreating a process to analyzerail proposals.

No one yet knows how the proposal, which likely will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, would be paid for.

That task force would almost surely analyze this proposal, and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization board (chaired by Watson) would have the final say. But it is not clear whether such an examination could occur quickly enough for the light-rail proposal to be put before voters in November. Wynn has said he would like to have a rail vote this year, but there will be a number ofcomplicated questions about costs and benefits.

Watson, who was in South Texas on Tuesday, had not seen the proposal and had no comment. But Watson said that the process created by the task force "will allow any project to be fully vetted in a transparent, open, complete way."

McCracken, at least, said he think that the proposal can make it through that gantlet to a public vote in November, which he said would probably involve voters being asked to approve some sort of long-term debt.

"Yes, I think that's likely," McCracken said of getting the proposal onto the ballot in time.

Council Member Lee Leffingwell has his doubts. He said that only Wynn and McCracken, to his knowledge, had been briefed on the rail proposal.

"The key to this whole thing has been, how's this going to be paid for?" Leffingwell said. "If you just want to put the concept on the ballot in November, that would be one thing. But if you're talking about some sort of financial commitment by the city, I think it would be very hard to get there by that time."

Leffingwell and McCracken are often mentioned as likely candidates for mayor next year.

McCracken says he envisions the city taking the lead in building the line but that Capital Metro probably would run it.

"I don't see that anyone else knows how to do that," McCracken said.

But that would presumably mean that Capital Metro, which has said that running its current operations will require all of its revenue the next few years, would have to absorb what are likely to be substantial operating losses.

"How does that affect bus service now and in the future, which is the only means of transportation for many people in Austin?" Leffingwell asked.

The recommendation from ROMA did not include a specific cost estimate.

McCracken said the cost would be somewhere between $5 million a mile and $30 million a mile, depending mostly on how many underground utility lines would have to be relocated. That would put the total cost at between $70 million and $420 million.

Those figures, he said, would probably not include the cost of the cars.

The diesel-powered cars Capital Metro has purchased for its "red line" commuter service from Leander to downtown, set to open in a few months, cost about $6 million apiece, and the agency bought six of them to start with. Light-rail cars typically cost less than that.

John Lewis, a real estate developer who supported Capital Metro's commuter rail project after vigorously opposing a light-rail referendum in 2000 that failed, scoffed at McCracken's cost figures.

"We all know that there will be serious under-estimating of what this silly thing is going to cost," Lewis said in an e-mail. "What is guessed to be $400 million today will be $800 million when it nears completion. ... These routes being proposed have no user demand and will do virtually nothing to give taxpayers an alternative to their car."

Capital Metro officials have said they have no money left in the kitty to pay for more rail, so where would the money come from to build this?

McCracken envisions a funding scenario that includes using perhaps 15 percent to 20 percent of revenue from Capital Metro's 1 percent sales tax (although the agency has indicated it needs it all for current bus and rail expenses), contributions from the city and other local governments, from property taxes likely to be generated by new development along the line and, potentially, from airport bonds.

"We think it is possible to build this with no new taxes," McCracken said.

According to McCracken, the recommendation from ROMA will propose putting double tracks (allowing travel in both directions simultaneously) from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and west on Riverside Drive. The route would turn north at South Congress Avenue (although there could be a spur to the parking-poor Long Center, McCracken said, or even to Zilker Park), cross the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge and then go through downtown either on Congress or San Jacinto Boulevard.

Then it would pass through UT, turning east at Dean Keeton Street and going along Manor Road to Mueller.

A major criticism of the light rail that voters rejected in 2000 was that it would take street lanes away from car traffic. Not so, in this case, McCracken said, although the tracks would be in "dedicated lanes" segregated from cars. The space for the tracks, McCracken said, would come from available right of way on Riverside east of Interstate 35. Downtown, the tracks would run on pavement currently occupied by parked cars, he said.

The tracks, McCracken said, might take two lanes from the bridge over Lady Bird Lake, he said, although alternatively it could use the space now taken up by sidewalks. In that case, a sidewalk alternative bridge, such as the one on the South First Street bridge, would continue pedestrian and bicycle access across the lake on Congress.

The dedicated-lane concept was news even to Charlie Betts, executive director of the Downtown Austin Alliance. The alliance has been firmly behind the streetcar plan, in which the trolleys would share lanes with cars. To avoid reducing lanes on Congress would require tearing up the curb and sidewalk extensions that currently delineate the parking spaces.

"That's a new wrinkle, and we haven't had time to think about it," Betts said.

Pat Clubb, vice president for employee and campus services at UT, likes the Mueller connection. The university has a new research building there, and she anticipates that some faculty and staff will live in the residential community swiftly rising at Mueller. And she said having a rail line on San Jacinto, in the shadow of Royal-Memorial Stadium and near the LBJ Library and Bass Concert Hall, will help.

As for losing parking spots along San Jacinto, Clubb said that "losing any parking on campus is an issue" but that the university generally has been looking to move most of that to garages anyway.

bwear@statesman.com; 445-3698

More on the proposed light-rail line

Would we lose car lanes on some major streets?

Not necessarily, Austin City Council Member Brewster McCracken says. On Riverside Drive, there is ample city right of way to put in the tracks outside of the existing street. On the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, existing lanes would be needed unless the sidewalk space were used and a new pedestrian bridge were built.

Who would run this railroad?

Capital Metro, McCracken says, although he says the city would take the lead in financing and building it.

Are there other possible extensions?

Yes. McCracken says a spur could extend west from Congress to the Long Center for the Performing Arts or even to Zilker Park. And a crosstown line from the Seaholm Power Plant development area west of City Hall to the end of the commuter line at Fourth and Trinity streets is a possibility, as is building commuter rail from a railroad junction in East Austin out to Manor and Elgin.

What's next?

The creator of the light-rail plan, ROMA Design Group, will take public comment and perhaps tweak the plan before taking it to the City Council on May 8. The plan is likely to go before Mayor Will Wynn's transit working group. The final decision would be made by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization board, which includes Wynn and McCracken.

— Ben Wear

Laura Skelding/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Putting the light-rail line on East Riverside Drive, seen here looking toward downtown, would not be a problem, Council Member Brewster McCracken says, because there is ample city right of way.]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 07:53:04 -0500 Texas Hill Country New Tallest Under Construction: The Austonian
http://theaustonian.com/pics/2008-04-26_Au...20Report_31.pdf]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 06:12:57 -0500 Texas Hill Country The Legacy Apartments

]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 04:47:54 -0500 Texas Hill Country New Tallest Under Construction: The Austonian

]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 04:43:00 -0500 Texas Hill Country Red River This project is dead. But this where 21c is going to be built which is a much better project. Sat, 03 May 2008 04:34:04 -0500 Texas Hill Country MetLife apartment tower Sat, 03 May 2008 04:31:18 -0500 Texas Hill Country Four Seasons residential tower

QUOTE (erdogs @ Feb 4 2008, 09:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I drove by there today, fencing was up and it looked like they may have started construction from what I could see. Their website says it's 32 floors.

Construction on the ground floor parking garage is well under way. Since there are no underground parking levels to excavate this should go vertical pretty quick.]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 04:24:55 -0500 Texas Hill Country The Spring Construction on this project is up to about the 7th floor now. Since the parking levels have topped out, the point tower portion of this should now quickly rise to its final height of 43 floors. This tower will sure stand out on the far west side of downtown. Sat, 03 May 2008 04:21:52 -0500 Texas Hill Country 21c Museum Hotel

]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 04:12:22 -0500 Texas Hill Country Novare Group: 40-story residential tower

]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 04:04:16 -0500 Texas Hill Country Austin - Block 21 Let me dust off this forum...there. The W hotel and condo tower and future home of Austin City Limits begins construction on Monday! The site plan filed with the city indicates it will be 478' tall.

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/...503block21.html

Block 21 construction to start Monday
$295 million project in downtown Austin to have W hotel, 165 condos, 'Austin City Limits' venue.

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, May 03, 2008

With financing in place, construction is finally ready to begin Monday on a high-profile downtown development with a 36-story W hotel, condominiums and a new "Austin City Limits" venue.

Joint-venture partner Stratus Properties Inc. closed Friday on financing for its Block 21 project, which will cost $295 million, up from an earlier estimate of $260 million.

The higher costs are related to 70,000 square feet being added to the original project and a "modest increase" in building costs, Stratus chairman and CEO Beau Armstrong said.

The financing paves the way for crews to arrive Monday to start excavation work for three levels of underground parking, Armstrong said. The entire project is expected to be completed in three years.

The project officially kicked off seven months ago with much fanfare and an appearance by NBA superstar-turned-businessman Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

Johnson's private equity fund, Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds LLC, is Stratus' joint venture partner in the project, planned for the block just north of City Hall.

Canyon-Johnson will contribute $74 million in equity for the development, with Stratus putting in $49 million. Los Angeles-based Canyon-Johnson, which just raised another $1 billion in capital, focuses on major urban redevelopment and revitalization projects in growing areas, such as Central Texas, as well as in ethnically diverse neighborhoods in densely populated metro areas.

In addition to the Canyon-Johnson financing, Stratus also closed Friday on a $170 million construction loan with the publicly traded Corus Bank in Chicago, Armstrong said.

In May 2007, Stratus expected to start construction on Block 21 the following September.

But Armstrong said the "sheer magnitude of the project" and a highly challenging lending market altered the timetable. The city had the right to repurchase the property if Stratus didn't start construction by April 15 but gave Stratus an extension, he said.

"It's a tough time to borrow money now, no matter who you are," Armstrong said. And though, typically, construction loans aren't the hardest part of a deal to land, "because of the turmoil in the credit markets, it became a more difficult proposition," he said.

Armstrong said that it also took time to get the necessary building and other permits from the city but that those are now in hand.

Bobby Turner, managing partner of the Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, said Armstrong's ability to obtain financing "in probably the worst financing market in the history of this country" is a testament to the quality of the project and "really reflects on the merits of Austin."

Canyon-Johnson also is teaming with Stratus to bid on the proposed redevelopment of the nearby Green Water Treatment Plan.

The Block 21 project will be on land bounded by Second, Third, Lavaca and Guadalupe streets that Stratus bought from the city for $15 million. Plans call for a W hotel with 250 rooms, 165 condominiums and a 2,480-capacity venue for KLRU's "Austin City Limits."

Armstrong said it will take 30 months to build the hotel, for an expected fall 2010 completion, and 36 months for the last condominium to be finished, by about May 2011.

The original plan for 196 condos has changed because some buyers are combining units. Armstrong said 85 of the current 165 units are under contract with nonrefundable deposits of 10 percent of the purchase price.

The average price of the units under contract is $1.1 million, he said. Prices range from the high $400,000s to more than $3 million.

Redevelopment of the block is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs over the length of the project, according to the general contractor, Austin Commercial, plus hundreds of permanent jobs when the project opens.

Stratus estimates that the development will generate, for the city alone, $18.9 million in hotel occupancy taxes, $12.3 million in property taxes and more than $3 million in retail sales taxes.]]> Sat, 03 May 2008 03:28:33 -0500 Texas Hill Country Move Over Tom Stacey, Another new tallest announced for Austin!

QUOTE (erdogs @ Apr 21 2008, 04:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The 55 story Austonian continues to go verticle. I can't wait till we start seeing one floor a week go up.

http://www.theaustonian.com/pics/2008-04-1...20Report_30.pdf

Downtown will look a lot different in 12-18 months with the Austonian, Four Seasons, Spring, Altavida, Legacy, W, etc. all being topped out or pretty far along in their construction.]]> Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:14:06 -0500 Texas Hill Country Move Over Tom Stacey, Another new tallest announced for Austin!
http://www.theaustonian.com/pics/2008-04-1...20Report_30.pdf]]> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:18:10 -0500 erdogs Novare Group: 40-story residential tower

QUOTE (The Voice of Reason @ Apr 19 2008, 12:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

this is a nice looking building. and it looks like its almost done.

how has it sold?

are other projects listed in this thread still happening?

just curious?

This project has sold well. Most of the other projects are either done or will happen in the future. The demand is still there despite the national downturn. It may take a while for some of the others to get off the ground, but I believe most will happen over time.]]> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:15:30 -0500 erdogs Novare Group: 40-story residential tower
how has it sold?

are other projects listed in this thread still happening?

just curious?

]]> Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:51:46 -0500 The Voice of Reason IN PROGRESS: Eldridge Oaks

Transwestern Houston has begun construction on a 700,000-square-foot office project located in Houston.

TRANSWESTERN HOUSTON BEGINS CONSTRUCTION ON 700,000-SQUARE-FOOT OFFICE PROJECT
HOUSTON — Transwestern Houston has begun construction on a 700,000-square-foot office project located 1 mile south of Interstate 10 at the intersection of Eldridge and Enclave parkways in Houston. The property, called Eldridge Oaks, is a Class A, LEED-registered office project that will be built in two phases on 21 acres. The first phase will comprise a 350,000-square-foot office tower and the second phase, which will be built on the remaining land after Phase I construction is complete, will be either a build-to-suit project or a second office tower. The project’s first phase is scheduled for completion in September 2009.]]> Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:41:05 -0500 The Voice of Reason Fort Worth - Trinity Terrace City Tower - Downtown The City Tower is nearing completion, and now Trinity Terrace has announced that they will be building a third tower and townhomes. The third tower will be named River Tower and will feature a top-floor restaurant. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:13:38 -0500 FortWorthology Fort Worth Near Southside - Miller Manufacturing Building Lofts Good to see another restoration/reuse project in the works! Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:51:12 -0500 krazeeboi Fort Worth - Museum Place - Cultural District

Creating a plaza for the Cultural District.

The area shown in the red circle above is the subject in question - as part of the Museum Place development, a public plaza is will be constructed at the reworked intersection of West 7th Street and Arch Adams. How can a plaza occupy the middle of a street? Read on and find out - it's an interesting bit of urban design.

The problem is thus - how to create a large public space in the development, while not taking too much room from the buildings themselves? You could certainly close off a street to do so, but you'd have to close off a smaller street, and it's likely to be too out-of-the-way to get much use. No, the plaza needs to be the heart of the development. That means 7th Street - but you can't permanently close off 7th. It's too crucial to the connectivity of the area. A way had to be found to create a large public space that could be closed for events but left open to car traffic the rest of the time - while still slowing traffic enough that people would not feel intimidated by the sometimes speedy pace of cars on 7th.

Finally, an ingenious solution was devised. The 7th & Arch Adams intersection (which is being radically reconfigured - the curved portion of Arch Adams that runs alongside the existing 7-Eleven is going away, to be replaced by a mixed-use building. Instead, the small offshoot of Arch Adams further west, in front of the new 7-Eleven Corner Store/condo building and Village Homes townhomes - will become the new Arch Adams) will become the plaza. It'll be a wider open space surrounded by mixed-use structures and retail, giving a constant human presence (making people feel safer due to having "eyes on the street"), and still creating a comforting sense of enclosure being surrounded by 4-8 story buildings. The traffic calming design and plaza design are actually the same - the intersection is being raised up, and paved with rougher brick & stone. This creates an unending pedestrian design - the intersection is at curb height, so the transition from sidewalk to plaza to sidewalk is unbroken - and by creating a rougher surface and a noticeable height difference, it helps to slow traffic on 7th as well.

Using techniques such as these, the streets can become truly multipurpose - even on normal days, cars will travel more slowly through the area and make pedestrians feel more comfortable. The buildings that set back a bit add to the plaza's space. For special events, the plaza could easily be blocked off completely to make a total pedestrian space.

It's an interesting bit of urban design, and it's good to see developers thinking outside the box a bit to create unique and inviting spaces for the Cultural District.]]> Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:48:52 -0500 FortWorthology Fort Worth - Museum Place - Cultural District

One Museum Place has topped out!

Facade work is underway as well:

The glassy Flatiron-style building is about to go vertical across the street:

7-Eleven's Corner Store & condo building is pretty well finished out now:

The new Post Office is moving right along as well:

]]> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:08:41 -0500 FortWorthology Fort Worth - West 7th - Cultural District

Ditto on the South Center block:

Tower crane is up at the North East block and things are about to go vertical:

]]> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:01:04 -0500 FortWorthology Fort Worth - So7 - Cultural District

Going vertical off the underground garage on Stayton:

More blocks of the townhomes in the back being built - they're selling briskly, so they've been adding new blocks constantly for a while now.

]]> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:54:41 -0500 FortWorthology Fort Worth Near Southside - Miller Manufacturing Building Lofts

The former Miller Manufacturing Company building on Bryan Avenue, just a block off South Main behind the in-restoration Sawyer Grocery Store buildings, will be the next redevelopment project of local developer Eddie Vanston of the Carillon Group. Vanston, who has previously restored the Markeen Apartments, Leuda-May Apartments, and LaSalle Apartments on the Near Southside, and who is currently restoring & converting the Sawyer Grocery buildings on South Main into apartments over retail, will be redeveloping the factory building into 15 industrial-style lofts - seven on the ground floor, eight on the second floor.

The building was built in 1911 and was the site of a major labor strike in the summer of 1922, complete with kidnappings and assaults. The space inside consists of exposed structure, very high ceilings, very large tilt-out windows, and large north-facing skylights.

Read more about the Miller project, the 1922 labor strike, and the current Sawyer Grocery project at Fort Worthology:

http://fortworthology.com/2008/03/17/exclu...ation-and-more/

]]> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:51:12 -0500 FortWorthology Texarkana photos Grim Hotel is being restored as the Legacy. I suppose there is no news on the Hotel McCartney? Texarkana has some great buildings! It's been years since I was last there. Please post more pictures.]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:16:29 -0500 tombarnes Dallas Photo of the Day
Aerial pic of downtown Dallas; compliments of my brother on his flight from Louisiana.

]]> Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:11:52 -0500 richyb83 Trinity Signature Bridges Do the new bridges carrying Interstate Highways 30 and 35 require demolition of the existing bridges? Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:49:50 -0500 Jim856796 Move Over Tom Stacey, Another new tallest announced for Austin!
http://www.theaustonian.com/pics/2008-03-1...20Report_26.pdf]]> Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:54:55 -0500 erdogs New Mall for Texarkana?

QUOTE (tx1973 @ Feb 23 2008, 10:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Has anyone heard of any further information on the new mall project on university drive in Texarkana? I found a couple of links that have some information but it doesn't have a start date or store listing. The project is called "The Shoppes at West Park" Check out the links and see what you think.

http://www.reynoldsrealtymgmt.com/WC_E-mail.pdf

http://www.mbcholdings.net/nomusic.html

Thanks, Chad

I can't wait until this project breaks ground and is completed.]]> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:31:15 -0500 bigboyz05 Fort Worth - Sawyer Grocery Store redevelopment - Fort Worth South ]]> Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:26:43 -0500 krazeeboi Fort Worth - So7 - Cultural District Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:22:57 -0500 krazeeboi Fort Worth - West 7th - Cultural District
Movie Tavern
Lucky Strike Lanes
Fort Worth City Market
Fireside Pies
Iron Cactus
Patrizio’s
Tillman’s Roadhouse
Brut
Yofe
Paciugo
Saxby’s Coffee
LA Fitness
Sovereign Bank
]]> Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:37:29 -0500 FortWorthology Fort Worth - So7 - Cultural District
Primo's Bar & Grill
Vino Jean Michael
Performance Playground
"Bike Shop"
Hola! Tapas
Saint-Emilion

New renderings of the Shops & Lofts:

]]> Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:36:10 -0500 FortWorthology Fort Worth - Museum Place - Cultural District
Aloft Hotel
7-Eleven
Potbelly
La Duni
Village Tavern
Celebrity Bakery
Legacy Bank
Domain
Eddie V.'s Edgewater Grill
Nicolas
Ra Sushi]]> Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:33:22 -0500 FortWorthology Is Austin all just Computer Jobs? Try posting your request in the Texas/South Central portion of SSP. You will get responses there. Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:53:56 -0600 Texas Hill Country Is Austin all just Computer Jobs? anyone? Id appreciate the help. Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:28:08 -0600 LiveUrbanbutTalkCountry Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress Im quite fond of SSP because they have a great picture forum, but as far as information goes, it can be pretty inaccurate sometimes. Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:27:20 -0600 LiveUrbanbutTalkCountry 21c Museum Hotel
Ive stayed at the 21c in Louisville and it was stellar...I expect this one to be even better. Everythings bigger and better in Texas, right?

]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:25:46 -0600 LiveUrbanbutTalkCountry Austin - Block 21 This is a great thing for Austin. W Hotels are very very nice, and there arent hundreds of these hotels yet so it doesnt seem like an oversaturated market, and Austin was just next in line. W Hotels are usually reserved for major metropolitan areas, LA, Dallas, NYC, Chicago, Atlanta...this is nice. I like the design and incorporating Austin City Limits (a Texas Institution) into the building, are the plans still including the amphitheatre? Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:21:55 -0600 LiveUrbanbutTalkCountry Park Tower: Houston

QUOTE (Trae @ Mar 24 2007, 01:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The height for One Park Place is 501 feet.

Trae, it looks even taller than just 501 feet, it must be the way the architect designed it.]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 09:25:52 -0600 kennethdisraili Is Austin all just Computer Jobs?
Growing up in Dallas, I got to see Austin quite a bit because my father thought Dallas was too big TEN YEARS AGO, so we moved to Memphis so we could be closer to relatives. I am going to graduate from Ole Miss hopefully in 2009 with a bachelors in Finance, minor in real estate. My fiance is a psychology major who is specializing in Autism Behavioral Analysis, masters. Is there a decent sector for good ol Austin hopefuls like us? Im dying to get back to my home state, and so is she (She was actually born in Houston, I told her I felt sorry for her

jk) and we love Austins charm, its indie scene, I am a huge music fan, and its much more affordable than our other options that are comparable in "scene" like Seattle or Portland, or maybe the Decatur area of Atlanta, Little Five Points, etc. Oh, and the low low low crime as it relates to other areas (ive lived in dallas and memphis) is a huge plus for us. Could anyone give me some information about the local economy and job growth? Id really appreciate it.

]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:51:06 -0600 LiveUrbanbutTalkCountry Eat somthing different Houston! Back many years ago, I love going to The Old San Francisco Steak House. I hear it is no longer there. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:32:48 -0600 RiverwoodCLT Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress

QUOTE (Texas Hill Country @ Feb 26 2008, 08:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Austin compilation thread at SSP is pretty up to date and accurate. Check out the first page of the Austin compilation thread for building proposals and new construction. The person who maintains it is also the Austin editor at Emporis. Also, there are a lot of Austin pictures posted in the Austin compilation thread as well the downtown Austin thread in the Texas/South Central section. I wish a lot the Austin stuff at SSP was at UP too because I like the structure of UP better. I have been thinking about making Austin updates here like those at SSP. But that is a lot of work with about 40 Austin high rises under construction or proposed.

When I was saying that SSP is disorganized, it is because it is. The dont have individual subforums for cities, so many cities end up all chatting in a big mess in a "southern" forum. Also, when i said it was inaccurate, i wasnt citing the posts on it, but the other section of their website where they compare cities. For cities like baton rouge, where i live, it has our population wrong, and give us only credit for 9 highrises, which is inaccurate.]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:25:05 -0600 buckett5425 Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress
http://www.austintowers.net/]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:54:21 -0600 erdogs Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress

QUOTE (Texas Hill Country @ Feb 26 2008, 08:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here's the Emporis link to see the 40 Austin high rises in the works:

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?...;ht=3&sro=1

Wow, and more than a handful of these 30 & 40+ story projects are already underway... Austins skyline is about to TRUMP San Antonio's...]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:00:13 -0600 mrchris386 Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?...;ht=3&sro=1]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:49:24 -0600 Texas Hill Country Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress

QUOTE (buckett5425 @ Feb 25 2008, 05:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have family in Austin, so I occasionally check the Austin forum and I noticed it always was dead, same with other cities like Mobile. But I then realized it wasn't because of a lack of interest, it is just that they use another website to chat, SSP. Speaking of which, SSP's forum isnt organized and their info of all the cities is inaccurate, and UP is much better. Get the Austonians in line and on UP, lol

QUOTE (erdogs @ Feb 25 2008, 05:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What does SSP stand for, never heard of it?

SSP stands for "skyscraper page"]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:04:46 -0600 buckett5425 Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress What does SSP stand for, never heard of it? Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:35:18 -0600 erdogs Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress ]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:25:48 -0600 buckett5425 Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress

QUOTE (erdogs @ Feb 25 2008, 03:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

SSP seems to be where Austin and San Antonio people go. Houston folks have their own forum: HAIF. And yes, Austin's skyline will look a lot different when just the buildings under construction are finished. If just half of all the approved and/or proposed projects guilt built it will look significantly different.]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:19:21 -0600 Texas Hill Country Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress

QUOTE (Texas Hill Country @ Feb 24 2008, 09:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow, it took an 830 footer for this board to show signs of life.

I have noticed that few in Texas are interested in urban design, the lack of interest in any of the Texas forums as evidence. The Austonian is going up as I type and it will top out at about 55 floors. These are interesting times in Austin as the skyline will be unrecognizable in a few years.]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:30:06 -0600 erdogs New Mall for Texarkana? Sounds very exciting, but do they never consider developing things on the Arkansas side (besides liquor stores LOL)?? Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:03:49 -0600 totheskies Texarkana, Tyler or Longview?
Texarkana... it's slowly becoming much more than the "bi-state rest stop" of the past. I went to college about an hour away from there in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and so I have a lot of friends from the area, and spent a fair amount of time there. The near completion of the full loop is pretty awesome, and I'm quite proud of how well the twin cities are cooperating to improve their infrastucture. It shouldn't just stop at I-30 though; hopefully a northern portion will be built with something that connects into US 71 towards Ashdown on the AR side, and OK on the Texas side (I-69 plans perhaps?). Aside from the roads, the biggest news is how awesome the job market is there... people are really starting to MOVE to Texarkana for decent work! My favorite project is the massive expansion of TAMU Texarkana, b/c this region NEEDS a powerhouse university, especially considering that the closest comprehensive schools (public) are 75 miles away!!

Longview... I've got a lot of love for this little Texas city. Beautiful setting in the east Texas woods, and lots of great people. Longview's growth is spurred by it's excellent location between Tyler and Shreveport also, and as the city continues to peel off industries that are unique from Shreveport's, it will keep growing from that metro's support. Again, another decent-sized university would spur Longview's development, but UT Tyler is serving as a great outlet for the Longview area.

I think I'd have to go with Texarkana (b/c it's twice as nice LOL), but I reserve my final opinion until I've gotten a chance to visit Tyler again.]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:52:33 -0600 totheskies Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:20:32 -0600 Texas Hill Country New Mall for Texarkana?
http://www.reynoldsrealtymgmt.com/WC_E-mail.pdf

http://www.mbcholdings.net/nomusic.html

Thanks, Chad

]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:28:48 -0600 tx1973 Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress

QUOTE

More than three years after Austin developer Tom Stacy and a Chicago partner company purchased the building at 501 Congress Ave. and unveiled plans for a dramatic multiuse tower on the site, the deal has grown much larger, incorporating one-and-a-half city blocks, two soaring towers and an estimated $500 million investment.
Stacy’s company, T. Stacy & Associates Inc., and Walton Street Capital now plan a 500,000-square-foot office and retail tower at 501 Congress that would be slightly taller than the 26-story Bank of America Center building the partnership owns at 515 Congress next door. The group is also plotting a hotel and condo tower at the corner of Brazos and Fifth streets that would rise more than 800 feet, making it by far the tallest building in Austin and the sixth-tallest in Texas.

This is a pretty ambitious plan, with it being spread out over 4-10 years it could become a reality.

http://www.590klbj.com/News/Story.aspx?id=85565

http://grand-heights.myminicity.com/]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:14:30 -0600 erdogs Move Over Tom Stacey, Another new tallest announced for Austin!
PDF
http://www.theaustonian.com/pics/2008-02-1...20Report_22.pdf]]> Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:13:18 -0600 erdogs Fort Worth - Sawyer Grocery Store redevelopment - Fort Worth South

The work's not even finished yet, and they already look like brand-new buildings. Amazing restoration work thus far. Eddie Vanston does it again.

Did a write-up about the Sawyer project on West and Clear:

http://westandclear.com/2008/02/19/south-m...-grocery-store/]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:18:58 -0600 FortWorthology Dallas vs Houston

QUOTE (cajun @ Feb 15 2008, 08:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My problem with Houston is not that there isn't anything to do.

My problem is that it doesn't matter where you are, you are far away from your destination. I seem to spend my life in the car. Every bar, grocery store, or anything is filled with people....like you can't escape them. Sometimes I just want some elbow room, you know? A little open highway and some nice scenery. Houston can't supply that for me (most of it is ugly, IMO). Dallas is heading that way too.

I guess that's one of the reasons Dallas and Houston are so big. They are set on massive pieces of land perfect for development, so housing is spread out, cheaply built, and sprawl happens.

Those are really the only big disadvantage that I see to either city.

I personally prefer Dallas over Houston (but I don't dis-like Houston at all) now that I've spent more time there. The more desirable, yet affordable neighborhoods in houston are all in or near the suburbs, which are really far away from the city center now. I'm glad to see more re-development and in fill though...but they are still unaffordable to most folks. It's a nice city, but it's not a perfect fit for me.

I like smaller towns like Baton Rouge, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Tampa, Cincinnati, and Santa Fe. They aren't perfect either, but their problems are easier to deal with.
T
I guess I am a big fish in a smaller pond kind of guy. Houston isn't for me.

The major positives to both cities are this: I have family in both cities. I have a job in Dallas, and could easily find another job if I needed to. There is great upward mobility in Dallas and Houston. I've lived in both cities, and to me, Dallas is slightly better. To you, Houston might be better. It depends on the person. Quality of life is subjective.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all. It's well understood you can't get around without a car in Dallas & Houston. In New York, everything's built up but in Houston & Dallas it's all spread out. I like H-town & Dallas, to me they're both the same. Houston's interesting because you can drive 30-40 miles and still be in the city limits.]]> Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:32:45 -0600 UptownNewOrleans DTFW: New Convention Center Hotel Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:31:32 -0600 krazeeboi Dallas vs Houston

QUOTE (UptownNewOrleans @ Feb 12 2008, 09:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm in Houston every weekend/every other weekend and when I'm there, there's always something to do. I rock with Dallas just the same and they get down in their own way. I have love for Dallas & Houston due to family & friends that reside there. I remember Houston's infamous Northside/Southside rivalry like it was yesterday. Southsiders were being robbed & killed/shot by Northsiders so Southside retaliated. Houston has the whole syrup culture going on which started in the 90s.

]]> Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:27:07 -0600 Greens! Dallas vs Houston

]]> Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:07:14 -0600 FortWorthology Dallas vs Houston Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:29:48 -0600 UptownNewOrleans DTFW: New Convention Center Hotel

In another note, they are now installing glass on the condo tower portion of the building.

]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:10:59 -0600 FortWorthology Settles Hotel, Big Spring Architect Hired for Settles Restoration

The developers of the Settles Hotel have hired architect Norman Alston for the restoration of the hotel into a mixed-use development which may include apartments and shops. it is good to see this project moving along nicely.

My West Texas

]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:16:22 -0600 tombarnes Dallas vs Houston
I am originally from Little Rock Arkansas, which for all intensive purposes is like the "kid brother" of Dallas. The sharing of I-30 forms a pipeline of culture, ideas, and wants between Arkansans and North Texans. Because of this, I grew up inundated by Dallas culture... Six Flags, Cowboys, the awesome Texas economy... oh yeah, and there was that one little television show. I can confidently say that I wasn't even aware of Houston's existence until I was in high school.... I saw this big blob on a road map, and it wasn't San Antonio, Austin, or the Metroplex.

The D/FW embodies so much of what is Texan, and what is truly American... the heartland, the smell of success, glitz and glamour, and a wonderful, independent spirit. These are the aspects I love about Dallas and all of Texas. I spent one great summer living in Arlington, and I got to experience the Big D in every way possible.

But as a matter of preference, I'm a Houstonian. This city shares that successful attitude with Dallas, and a similar successful economy, but it's the edgier, grittier side that appeals to me here. It's mind boggling that a town can be so close knit while having such ridiculous amounts of diversity. The social schedule within a year will leave you going crazy... THE Rodeo, Art Car Parade, Houston Pride, The Houston International Festival, Galveston Mardi Gras, Dickens on the Strand, and yeah so so so much more. I mean what do you say to a city that is red-blooded country western town, home for world-class opera and ballet companies AND a true mecca for Southern Hip-Hop. It boggles my mind that we seem to keep all of this cool stuff as a secret from the rest of the country. If you're not aware, come down for three days... spend one in the inner city area (Montrose, downtown, Galleria), one in the southeast (Clear Lake, Galveston), and one in the Southwest (chinatown, Sugar Land).

At the end of the day, Texas is a very fortunate state to have such pehnomenal urban areas.... Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and El Paso have all defined themselves differently. But together, they make a very powerful force within the state, and our country.

There's my one-sided and biased opinion

]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:55:32 -0600 totheskies Four Seasons residential tower Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:08:35 -0600 erdogs Move Over Tom Stacey, Another new tallest announced for Austin!
http://www.theaustonian.com/pics/2008-01-2...n_Report_19.pdf

]]> Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:50:47 -0600 erdogs Texarkana photos

QUOTE (Ndeck83 @ Jan 11 2007, 03:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow these are some awesome pictures! I was born in and lived in Texarkana for 21 years. (I am 23 now) Also spent a few years in Redwater, Tx. I had to move to Missouri to help take care of some family members. Sadly they passed away. I am now ready to move on with my life. My Dad is one of the ones that passed away. He hated moving up here and well we all did. Texarkana was like a paradise for us. We would make several trips there when we could to check out some of the new stuff or just visit with freinds.

I am planning on moving back this year. I am just working here for now to save up some extra money so I can make the move. There is just so much more job opportunities there as well. I have several freinds that live in Texarkana and it will be great to get back home in T-Town!!! Way to barron and cold for this Texas boy here in Missouri.

Sorry to hear about your family members passing. I think you'll like coming back here. The city has really grown in recent years. What part of Missouri are you in? I used to live in Lawrence, KS and me and my fam used to always go to Kansas City.]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:52:41 -0600 bigboyz05 Eat somthing different Houston!

QUOTE (davidzLA @ Mar 28 2007, 02:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hardee's, Krystal and Zaxby's have no operations as far west as Houston, they're more southeastern. There's Ruby Tuesday in Sugar Land and Willowbrook. And wow, where did all the Krispy Kremes go? While I was there multiple locations were thriving, sad to see the short goodbye.

But surely you can't be seriously pining for Ruby Tuesday - while trashing kolaches and Texas barbecue? Blasphemy.

I'd whack any random stranger to have Goode Co. on demand...

There's actually ONE Krystal in Houston near I-45 and FM1960. One chain that I really miss from up north is some type of Mongolian Barbecue joint (Bd's I think?), can't find a single one down here. Other than that, Houston's restaurant selection is pretty amazing to me.]]> Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:46:55 -0600 totheskies Fort Worth - Museum Place - Cultural District

The big building, One Museum Place, continues marching skyward. The building will feature ground-floor retail, office space in the middle, and two floors of condos on the top.

The site of the glassy Flatiron-style building across the street has now been cleared and prepped. Work should be underway soon on this new building, which will feature ground-level retail under multiple floors of office space.

The nasty old stripmall where Pro Cuts and Auto Restyling Center were located has now been flattened. This site will be home to a mixed-use building featuring ground-level retail under residential space, surrounding a hidden parking structure and interior courtyards.

This small building at the back, home of the first confirmed Museum Place retail tenant, is nearing completion. The ground floor will be a 7-11 corner store (replacing the conventional 7-11 across the street, which will be demolished for more mixed-use development), and the upper floors will be condos. You can also see some new infill townhomes on the right side of the photo.

Here's an updated overview of the project's layout:

]]> Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:59:54 -0600 FortWorthology Hotel Cotton (Hotel Montagu) Hotel Cotton Destroyed on Sunday

The former Hotel Cotton, built in 1911-13 and later known as the Hotel Montagu, was destroyed on Sunday morning by implosion. There's no doubt that the building had fallen on extremely hard times, but Houston has already lost too much of its inventory of historic buildings. Also to follow in its wale are two other buildings on the block, including the former Bond Department Store. Perhaps there was no hope for saving this building, but it's unfortunate to see even more of Houston's history swallowed up in a cloud of dust.

The Houston Chronicle ]]> Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:42:13 -0600 tombarnes DTFW: New Convention Center Hotel
View looking south on Houston Street:

The quasi-related new city parking garage (which will be un-garagey and feature ground-level retail) is starting to rise:

Prep work for the Convention Center side's facade is underway as the rest of the building rises. The corner there will be glass clad, as will the curved steel beams of the ballroom:

The ballroom frame and part of the hotel tower:

The first parts of the glass curtain wall are now going up on the Houston Street side:

The glass has already given us a cool new reflection view we've never seen before - the Convention Center's corner tower on Houston Street reflected in the glass:

Closer view and detail of the glass:

View of the Throckmorton Street side. On the left, the first part of the hotel's facade is going up, along with some glass. If you look at the rendering:

...you can see how the glass condo tower is partially surrounded by hotel towers and rises from them.

Hotel facade work:

Here we see the hotel glass going up, and the facade. This portion of the facade is concrete panels with limestone trim, as seen on the lower level there:

Closeup of limestone trim:

Hotel glass:

Limestone:

Looking from Throckmorton towards the Convention Center across the new garage:

]]> Sun, 20 Jan 2008 12:28:28 -0600 FortWorthology DTFW: The Carnegie

]]> Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:19:02 -0600 FortWorthology Four Seasons residential tower

There is also a nice virtual tour at the project website:

http://www.fourseasons.com/private_residences/austin/]]> Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:36:52 -0600 eastsider DTFW: The Carnegie ]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:01:50 -0600 krazeeboi DTFW: The Carnegie

]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:14:59 -0600 FortWorthology DTFW: New Convention Center Hotel

]]> Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:03:26 -0600 FortWorthology <![CDATA[Downtown Fort Worth named "Downtown of the Month"]]> ]]> Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:42:48 -0600 krazeeboi Downtown Fort Worth - Knights of Pythias building redevelopment

As far as the building itself, I like the overall design, but what I think is pretty cool is that the old beauty shop sign is going to be restored and reincorporated.]]> Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:34:11 -0600 krazeeboi Downtown Fort Worth - Knights of Pythias building redevelopment

If you’ve been reading Fort Worthology for a while, you’re probably familiar with the saga of the old Knights of Pythias building in the Hillside neighborhood on downtown’s east side. For the uninitiated, though, here’s the summary:

The building, built in 1925, was threatened with demolition back in June by its then-current owners. As I wrote then:

"Now, a Knights of Pythias hall is worthy enough of preservation, but what makes this building especially historic is that it was the home of the Key of the West Lodge of the Knights of Pythias, a segregated African American lodge. So little of Fort Worth’s built African American heritage from that era remains standing that the loss of this building would be especially tragic. After the Knights moved out, the building was used for various retail uses (including a beauty shop, the decayed signage of which can still be found on the building) before finally being abandoned.

Ten years ago, the surrounding neighborhood was bought by developers to create the Hillside Apartments, a large collection of small apartment houses designed to fit into the traditional look of the neighborhood. When Hillside was developed, the owners of the Knights building did not sell. The building is now in the heart of the reborn Hillside neighborhood, across Crump St. from the Hillside office and sharing a block with a historic church and a sole remaining tiny “shotgun” house. Ever since the Hillside development, the building has still remained vacant and in disrepair."

There was quite an uproar over the building’s demolition. I am very proud to say that Fort Worthology helped lead the charge against demolition and, working in concert with other preservationists, brought the plight of the KofP building to a wider audience. In the end, the TownSite Company, led by Phillip Poole, purchased the building to save it and redevelop it.

TownSite has been quietly putting together plans for the building, which include adding a third floor (set back from the building’s existing parapet to not overly impact its historic appearance, similar to the way architect David Schwarz added a sixth floor to the Sanger Building in the early ’90s during that building’s redevelopment into Sanger Lofts) and a parking addition on the building’s south side. Finally, I am very happy to report that I can at last reveal to the world the Knights of Pythias building’s new look. Here it is:

Doesn’t it look great? According to TownSite, cleanup and initial work on the building begins just after the new year. After getting one final approval from the Downtown Design Review Board (DDRB) in February, marketing for the building’s condos will begin.

This is a great victory for preservation, the Hillside neighborhood, and the city as a whole. I’m proud that Fort Worthology was able to help bring attention to the building, and I’m absolutely thrilled that TownSite stepped up and not only saved the building, but are giving it such a cool new lease on life. A big round of applause to everybody at TownSite for their work redeveloping the KofP building.]]> Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:24:12 -0600 FortWorthology Fort Worth - West 7th - Cultural District Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:20:48 -0600 FortWorthology Downtown Fort Worth

Pink and teal building? By any chance, the one near the river next to that tattoo shop? Yeah, it's not my favorite. The ownership of that land and the land behind it is in flux - local architect Ken Schaumburg (who has been doing a zillion high-end urban infill projects lately) owned it, but it has apparently been sold.

Firestone's cool, been there since the late '90s and now being joined by some new development at long last. There are some nice (and actually rather affordable) new condos called Westview going up on Henderson between the Firestone and the AMLI Upper West Side apartments.]]> Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:20:08 -0600 FortWorthology Fort Worth - West 7th - Cultural District