UP|Austin

UP|Austin http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/forums.html Sun, 11 May 2008 18:20:36 -0500 15 UP|Austin 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 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 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 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 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 Stacy Tower @ 5th and Congress Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:20:32 -0600 Texas Hill Country 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 Four Seasons residential tower Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:08:35 -0600 erdogs