AUSTIN Update Thread [Archive] - Page 65

Mopacs

Feb 18, 2010, 5:22 PM

Is anyone watching the coverage of the small plane that crashed into one of the Echelon Buildings along 183 near Mopac? It looks bad. There are federal offices in this complex. The building is heavily damaged and on fire with smoke puring out. Happened just before 10:00 a.m.

FOX has streaming coverage right now.

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/generic/news/live_news/myfoxaustin_livestream_index

I hope everyone is ok. This doesn't appear to be an accident (though still speculation). We could see the smoke out of our office....very thick plume of smoke. Looks like it is well under control. My prayers go out to everyone.

It was a small plane...perhaps a Cessna. This is at the Echelon office complex, about a quarter mile south of the Arboretum... it hit one of the middle buildings. There are federal offices in this complex. I am also watching the live stream on MSNBC.

miaht82

Feb 18, 2010, 6:36 PM

I hope everyone is ok. This doesn't appear to be an accident (though still speculation). We could see the smoke out of our office....very thick plume of smoke. Looks like it is well under control. My prayers go out to everyone.

It was a small plane...perhaps a Cessna. This is at the Echelon office complex, about a quarter mile south of the Arboretum... it hit one of the middle buildings. There are federal offices in this complex. I am also watching the live stream on MSNBC.

Not an accident. Dude (Joseph Stack) left a suicide note and had trouble with the IRS.
He then set his house on fire, according to his daughter, and took off.
He clipped some cars as he crossed Research Blvd.
That's just what I'm hearing on the news

Not sure the authenticity of this "letter," but here's the link.

http://www.businessinsider.com/joseph-andrew-stacks-insane-manifesto-2010-2

Mopacs

Feb 18, 2010, 7:00 PM

Not an accident. Dude (Joseph Stack) left a suicide note and had trouble with the IRS.
He then set his house on fire, according to his daughter, and took off.
He clipped some cars as he crossed Research Blvd.
That's just what I'm hearing on the news

Not sure the authenticity of this "letter," but here's the link.

http://www.businessinsider.com/joseph-andrew-stacks-insane-manifesto-2010-2

Yeah, no doubt now that it was intentional. Of course I didn't want to jump to conclusions at the time, but clearly all the evidence added up. Unfortunately there are many disgruntled individuals in this country and world that are capable of such violence.

Hope everyone is OK. This is getting international attention.

TXAlex

Feb 18, 2010, 8:10 PM

I had my suspicions when they mentioned an IRS office was there.

Talon

Feb 18, 2010, 8:38 PM

Allandale is one of my favorite neighborhoods in town unfortunatly there aren't many mid-century modern homes anywhere in Austin. I wish I could have just kept this gem.

Isn't almost all of 78723 mid-century homes? Specifically the area between 51st and 290.

KevinFromTexas

Feb 18, 2010, 9:47 PM

Full coverage on the plane crash this morning. There was already a thread on it in the CE section of the forum, but I gathered some Statesman articles on it to post.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=178741

KevinFromTexas

Feb 18, 2010, 9:50 PM

Beautiful house there, TXAlex. I'm a South Austinite for sure, but if I was ever going to live in North Austin, that would be the area I'd like to live in. Besides nice designs, the neighborhoods look nice with lots of established hardwood trees.

KevinFromTexas

Feb 19, 2010, 7:57 PM

2/18

Went on a bike ride yesterday. I rode at least 10 miles.

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/6625/p1360579edit.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3715/p1360580edit.jpg

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1289/p1360588edit.jpg

mars-man

Feb 19, 2010, 8:52 PM

Interesting new tidbits about projects being planned in the W. 6th area…

I'm not an Austin Business Journal subscriber so don't have access to the full stories, but here are the teasers on their site:

Friday, February 19, 2010

Another downtown Austin building boom?
At least two office towers in the works; some doubt near-term financing
Austin Business Journal - by Jake Dirr ABJ Staff

At least two new office buildings are being planned for downtown Austin and would be among several buildings competing to land a 200-employee law firm. Signing a tenant like that would entice banks to finance such a project.

Austin-based Cypress Real Estate Advisors plans a 120,000-square-foot, six-story, Class A office building at 800 W. Sixth St., said David Cox, Cypress vice president of development.

Also, the stalled Ovation development, originally reported to be a 37-story condo tower on Block 51 by Atlanta-based Novare Group Inc. and Austin-based Andrews Urban LLC, is being revamped. It now involves a partnership with International Bank of Commerce and more office space than originally planned, Andrews Urban principal Taylor Andrews said in an e-mailed statement.

The plan revisions are in the beginning stages, and specifics will be available in mid-2010, he said.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/02/22/story1.html?ana=e_ph

Back from the dead: Architects for Aquaterra, 7 Rio back at drawing board
Austin Business Journal - by Jake Dirr ABJ Staff

Two left-for-dead downtown condominium towers are being resurrected: Aquaterra and 7 Rio.

Although no construction dates are set, the lead architect on both buildings has been ordered to pick up the pencils again, said Brett Rhode, principal at Rhode Partners architects.

But even though the projects are active, experts said the lending market is still a big obstacle before any construction will start.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/02/22/story2.html?ana=e_ph

TXAlex

Feb 19, 2010, 10:14 PM

Isn't almost all of 78723 mid-century homes? Specifically the area between 51st and 290.

There are plenty of mid-century homes in Austin but very few that can be called mid-century modern.

True midmod will have post and beam construction, no attic, vaults through out, tongue and groove ceiling that doubles as the roof decking. In the case of this property it used homosote easyply which is a recycled material made of waste paper and wood pulp (only provides about R7 so I added 6 inches of poly foam on top to up to R38). Originally, this home had a white built up roof similar west coast homes by Joseph Eichler who is considered one of the greatest Mid-Century modernists. White roofs acted as a radiant barrier reflecting much of the suns radiation. Innovative materials and and open concept floor plan and a forward thinking design are what I think makes a home Mid-century modern. Sure their are many homes from that era that have modernist elements but few designers in Austin embraced them fully. I'm not sure if it was material expense or small town mentality. That home was part of a UT and National Association of Homebuilders experiment testing different Central HVAC systems called the Air Conditioned Village. There were 21 homes of them there are several midmod homes. That house I came to find out was the Lenox house and has the ducks in the slab of the building and turned out to be one of the most efficient homes in the bunch over a year of testing with a family in the home. I was privileged to be able to save it.

Kevin you mentioned all of the established hardwood. In a magazine article about the project there was not a single tree in photos of the area in 1954. I would post the photos but they are scans of Xeroxes and look awful.

I have PDFs of the August 54' House + Home magazine article about the project if anyone is interested PM me.

KevinFromTexas

Feb 19, 2010, 11:42 PM

Oh, well then maybe they aren't true hardwoods. Maybe Ash? While Ash trees are nice canopy trees, they're not a very good hardwood. They grow too big and heavy for their structural strength. Pecan trees are a little better. But the best trees to have are either Elm or Oak.

TXAlex

Feb 20, 2010, 1:19 AM

I don't know. Things seem to grow well there and there are quite a few enormous Spanish oaks. Unfortunately, you have the occasional cotton wood. We had some great mulberry trees in our yard 20-30ft. I think the area I lived on was cleared for the experiment.

The area off Shoal Creek and Twin Oaks is pretty with many Oaks live and deciduous. One block east of Shoal Creek (Vine) is awesome as well.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=vine+st+and+twin+oaks&sll=30.64382,-97.733002&sspn=1.238211,2.036591&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Vine+St+%26+Twin+Oaks+Dr,+Austin,+Travis,+Texas+78757&ll=30.344947,-97.745493&spn=0,359.996022&z=19&layer=c&cbll=30.344831,-97.745488&panoid=GiKQzXjXCDVT8t7VlTn8oA&cbp=12,112.79,,0,5

KevinFromTexas

Feb 20, 2010, 1:31 AM

Our old neighborhood where I first grew up had Cottonwoods. None here though. We have mostly Elms and Live Oaks with a few Pecans, Sycamores, Ash and Mulberry. We also had some property in Cedar Creek with one really big Cottonwood at the back of the property. You couldn't get your arms around it. Those trees get huge and usually grow straight up.

Mulberry trees though make a mess with their berry/seeds that drop, and it can also stain everything. Our neighbor across the street had two of them in their front yard, and one of them blew over in the street one day after a storm. The whole tree just blew over. Ash trees also seem susceptible to breaking or falling in storms. After that big storm 2 springs ago, I saw a lot of people trimming and even cutting down a few Ash trees. I see a lot of broken limbs on them all the time.

Dan Denson

Feb 20, 2010, 2:59 AM

On a different subject, are you all seeing an increase in home burglaries in your neighborhoods? As great a neighborhood as Allandale is, we're having a big increase in burglaries lately (something like 73 in 2009, and 2010 is off to a bad start). Our listserve has been buzzing about this, and the neighborhood has started a patrol similar to what they do in Barton Hills. Volunteers drive around at designated times, in their own cars, and with magnets on the side of their cars indicating "neighborhood patrol".

The data can be found on Krimelabb.com for all the Austin zip codes. I"ve only looked at 78757 so far.

KevinFromTexas

Feb 20, 2010, 3:29 AM

Hmm, I'm not sure about map though. It says my aunt was harassed. ?

There was some stuff in my neighborhood by that map, but nothing on my street.

bluedogok

Feb 20, 2010, 5:25 AM

There was some stuff in my neighborhood by that map, but nothing on my street.
Yep, one of those was my house.....last August.

MJay

Feb 20, 2010, 10:28 PM

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/32402211.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/32402234.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/32402265.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/32402284.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/32402302.jpg

KevinFromTexas

Feb 21, 2010, 12:57 AM

Nice pictures, MJay. You should post those in the main photo section of the forum too.

PartyLine

Feb 21, 2010, 1:13 AM

That one of Lake Austin with the 360 bridge looks like one that's on Wikipedia

TXLove

Feb 21, 2010, 3:16 AM

Those pictures make me can't wait until things green up again around here!

wwmiv

Feb 22, 2010, 4:13 PM

These were posted earlier, but they've since been opened to everyone (instead of just subscribers):

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/02/22/story1.html?b=1266814800^2905851

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/02/22/story2.html?b=1266814800^2906421

KevinFromTexas

Feb 23, 2010, 6:04 AM

I spotted The Austonian yesterday from the top of my street. Actually, my street has two sections. I live on the lower part, while the "upper" part that intersects with another street, goes on for another quarter mile or so to the south. I was out riding my bike yesterday, and noticed The Austonian through the trees from that upper part of my street. When the weather is nice and clear again, I'll have to go grab a pic. I'm thinking that it's possible that if anything over about 650 feet is built at the Green site, that I'll probably be able to see it on the lower part of my street. I can also see The Austonian from the opposite end of my street on an adjoining street. I never thought in a million years anything in downtown would be visible from my street.

LoneStarMike

Feb 23, 2010, 7:50 PM

Three quick photos from yesterday (02/22/2010)

From S. Lamar Near Manchacha
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-004-FEB.jpg

From the #3 Bus
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-005-FEB.jpg

From Congress Avenue
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-006-FEB.jpg

Mdlx

Feb 26, 2010, 9:15 PM

Some pics from today.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4389813217_a6c6fe1273_b.jpg
Larger http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4389813217_4115cb8378_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4389830603_1fd99742ab_b.jpg
Larger http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4389830603_5121c72b51_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2794/4390614550_d31fc2a874_b.jpg
Larger http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2794/4390614550_d6168bdb25_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4390634948_ab784e76c8_b.jpg
Larger http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4390634948_f9fe37e4ac_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4390652892_007849267b_b.jpg
Larger http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4390652892_bf88670404_o.jpg

Dan Denson

Feb 27, 2010, 3:00 AM

I am really liking the W more and more. Can't wait to see it finished.

KevinFromTexas

Feb 27, 2010, 8:56 PM

Nice. I've been wondering how the Zilker view was shaping up.

DougRockstead

Mar 3, 2010, 3:35 PM

Any idea how many more floors they have to go? I haven't noticed that they've gone up any higher during the last couple of weeks...

TXAlex

Mar 3, 2010, 5:01 PM

Any idea how many more floors they have to go? I haven't noticed that they've gone up any higher during the last couple of weeks...

There are no more floors. That is the top. Reading on the website it says there are 2 pools. Are they on the roof?

Scottolini

Mar 3, 2010, 6:24 PM

One pool for hotel guests and residents, and one for residents and their guests exclusively.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1083/wpool.jpg
http://www.block21residences.com/

I'm speculating the hotel pool will be outside on the podium level, while the resident only pool will be indoor on a higher level, such as the photograph above.

Scottolini

Mar 3, 2010, 6:30 PM

I think the outdoor hotel pool will be in the area I circled below. can anyone confirm?

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/2584/whotel.jpg
http://www.block21residences.com/

TXAlex

Mar 4, 2010, 4:37 AM

Downtown_Austin

Mar 4, 2010, 12:51 PM

I had big hopes for getting good pics from the W (http://downtownaustin.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/w-austin-residences-city-views/) last night, but the fire marshal wouldn't let us up until just after sunset :-(. Still, you can get a sense for the night time view from the 31st floor.
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0121.jpg?w=600
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0113.jpg?w=600
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0112.jpg?w=600
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0107.jpg?w=600
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0104.jpg?w=600

M1EK

Mar 4, 2010, 3:04 PM

Downtown_Austin

Mar 4, 2010, 3:08 PM

I heard this funny Spring rumor from my sister-in-law; who says she was told that Spring actually forgot to build in trash chutes and had to scramble to announce "concierge garbage service" to make up for it. Anybody know if this is really what happened?

I've heard different accounts of this. It's a funny story, but I doubt experienced builders and architects would simply forget about trash chutes. Intentional, or not, I think it was mis-calculated decision in an otherwise stunning building.

priller

Mar 4, 2010, 4:40 PM

I've heard different accounts of this. It's a funny story, but I doubt experienced builders and architects would simply forget about trash chutes. Intentional, or not, I think it was mis-calculated decision in an otherwise stunning building.

Wow, that's true? They don't have trash chutes? I've also heard about heating problems there.

mars-man

Mar 4, 2010, 9:15 PM

It's true! (that there's no trash chute -- I don't know about the forgetting) That plus other drawbacks -- Spring's location right on the loud curved section of the rail line and its relatively low ceilings (9 feet?) -- apparently are enough to make the building a non-starter for many folks who are otherwise considering downtown. I would think things like that would be enough for the W to fill up before Spring, at least the units that overlap in price range…

AustinBob

Mar 4, 2010, 9:57 PM

I heard this funny Spring rumor from my sister-in-law; who says she was told that Spring actually forgot to build in trash chutes and had to scramble to announce "concierge garbage service" to make up for it. Anybody know if this is really what happened?

Living in a high rise myself (360), I wouldn’t live in a building without a trash chute. I had heard the same rumor about them forgetting to build it into the building. I tend to believe it only because it’s such an important, albeit not very sexy amenity. I toured a couple of the Spring units last week with a friend. One of the units we looked at had the concierge trash service waste bin in a closet. We knew that’s what it was because it said so on the side. It’s literally a brown plastic kitchen waste basket with a top on it.

I was also surprised by how plain and borderline unattractive the hallways and elevators are in the building. The ceilings in the resident hallways are very low and narrow. They almost felt like dormitory hallways. The actual units are nice but for the price they are trying to get they really should have done a little more to make the common areas more attractive and inviting. I love the outside of the building but have to say the inside was kind of disappointing.

KevinFromTexas

Mar 4, 2010, 10:11 PM

Nice pics, Downtown_Austin.

I guess with these new pics of the new lighting scheme on The Austonian, my pics from St. Ed's are obsolete now. :) I went down the night before they turned on the new different colored lights. I guess I'll have to go again this evening!

On the trash issue with Spring. One thing that really bugs me with all the high rises, and any commercial residential property, is that they don't recycle. That really bugs me. We live in a single family house, and I love having our recycling. Because of the amount of stuff we can recycle, we typically throw out half a bag of trash each week. That's for 2 people. I've estimated that recycling for us has cut down our waste by about 2/3s. I remember before the city recycled, we used to have 2 or 3 trash cans for our garbage and they were always stuffed. Now though, if I wanted to, I could cram it all into a single HEB grocery bag. It's amazing.

mars-man

Mar 4, 2010, 10:25 PM

Au contraire, Kevin! I live at 360 and can say that many if not most of us are avid recyclers. There are bins for paper, plastic, and glass on each parking level -- and not because we all come and go by car but because that's just the best place for building-wide access. I do see your point though. Separate recycling chutes with access on each residential level should have been a mandatory feature when the building went up. And Novare should have built these in as an amenity even in the absence of a city code requiring them to.

TXAlex

Mar 4, 2010, 10:32 PM

Recyling chute would be great if there was someway to keep the glass from shattering on impact and contaminating everything.

KevinFromTexas

Mar 4, 2010, 10:44 PM

That's good to hear mars-man. I had heard from someone else that one certain residential building didn't recycle. And now that I think of it, they said at the time that the city didn't require it for commercial residential buildings such as highrises or apartment complexes. So it's city code now then?

@ TXAlex, I'm not sure if that would be a problem. That's one unique thing about having recycling chutes is having glass shatter upon impact at the bottom of a 40-story chute. The other thing I wonder about is having stuff get stuck on the way down like paper. If people threw down wet containers like milk jugs with condensation on them, could that possibly make paper stick to it and stop up the chute?

From what I've heard, two things that are off limits in recycling are pizza boxes because of the oil from the pizza. They said it contaminates the paperboard. I always just tear that part out and throw it away, and recycle the rest as long as it's clean. The other thing they said is that plastic bags can't be recycled because they clog up their sorting machines. Otherwise, there's a lot of stff that can be recycled.

Jdawgboy

Mar 5, 2010, 2:43 AM

Question about the Austonian lighting... I thought there were going to be 3 tube lights around the sides of the crown as well and in fact I remember that the testing they did on the lighting was around the middle part of the crown not up at the rim up top. Are they simply not done yet with the complete lighting or what?

imzache

Mar 5, 2010, 3:26 AM

I bet the east and west sides of the crown will be lit white (perhaps similarly to the north and south sides), and then those tube lights on the side will be lit like the rim.

M1EK

Mar 5, 2010, 2:36 PM

Code was changed 5-10 years ago to require large buildings to recycle at least a couple out of a long list of materials. NOT the same (much larger) set the city currently collects from residences. (the city doesn't pick up recyclables from large buildings - it's the same commercial haulers that do their garbage).

Suboptimal in a lot of ways.

Myomi

Mar 5, 2010, 4:32 PM

mars-man

Mar 5, 2010, 8:55 PM

Yeah, recycling is sadly hit-or-miss in downtown towers, with seemingly no municipal codes to impel developers to do the right thing. In the case of 360, it was definitely an afterthought. The containers I mentioned above (including aluminum, which I left out) made their debut in the first few months of operation. It was only after residents moved in, noticed how hard it was to recycle, and complained. And yes, commercial haulers, not the city, haul it all away.

This is something, IMO, that needs to be addressed and uniformly applied -- citywide, not just downtown, and regardless of building size or configuration. With all the growth that is expected once the economy improves, codifying this now could have a big impact in coming years.

KevinFromTexas

Mar 5, 2010, 9:16 PM

Yeah, I mean I'm sure this wasn't out last residential boom downtown, so it would make sense to prepare a code so that any future projects have to have recycling be more accessible to residents. I don't even care who is the one taking the recyclables away (the city or a company), just that it gets done. Also it makes sense in the long run for many, many years down the road to have recycling stepped up. Cities have been recycling for a long time now, and smaller communities are catching up big time now too. With all that happening it's kind of shocking that not all residential projects either have recycling or make it easy for their residents to do it. It's not like cities can afford to keep sending everything to the landfill. With 25,000 residents envisioned for downtown, plus the 120,000+ downtown and UT workers and 50,000 UT students, that's the potential for a lot of waste headed to the landfill. It's about double the population of Round Rock in just a few square miles.

KevinFromTexas

Mar 7, 2010, 5:02 AM

3/2

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5479/p1360852edit.jpg

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7159/p1360867edit.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/7770/panoedit3.jpg

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9339/p1360896edit.jpg

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/5072/p1370006edit.jpg

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/8066/p1370015edit.jpg

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/1150/p1370073edit.jpg

KevinFromTexas

Mar 7, 2010, 5:03 AM

>>>Scroll>>>
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/264/panoedit1.jpg

TXAlex

Mar 8, 2010, 7:42 PM

Sorry about the quality but this looks like a good sign!
http://www.strossarts.com/public/images/starrev.jpg

imzache

Mar 8, 2010, 8:26 PM

Sorry about the quality but this looks like a good sign!

Where is that/what project is it? And yeah it'd be great to see some new construction.

Downtown_Austin

Mar 8, 2010, 8:28 PM

Where is that/what project is it? And yeah it'd be great to see some new construction.

Star Riverside project at I-35 and Riverside. I thought this was deader than dead. Remember the iBidCondo.com B.S.?

chancla

Mar 8, 2010, 8:32 PM

Yeah, I don't see anything new in this picture. Nothing has changed at the Star Riverside site in months. I drive by it frequently.

priller

Mar 8, 2010, 9:30 PM

Yes, that sign has been there since they started (and later stopped) working at the site.

I really like the look of the buildings, but the project as a whole never made much sense to me. East Riverside, next to the interstate, is just not a good location for "luxury condos". The prices they wanted were unreal, especially the planned 2nd building with million dollar price tags. And yeah, the iBidCondo thing was bad joke.

TXAlex

Mar 8, 2010, 9:41 PM

The new trailer. It just arived. The old trailer was removed months ago. This hasn't even been attached to service yet. It could just be stored there now by the contractor.

Downtown_Austin

Mar 8, 2010, 10:10 PM

The new trailer. It just arived. The old trailer was removed months ago. This hasn't even been attached to service yet. It could just be stored there now by the contractor.

Cool... maybe they've got new legs on this deal. I'm definitely looking forward to something other than the "pit"

Nickelplate

Mar 8, 2010, 10:30 PM

Sorry about the quality but this looks like a good sign!
http://www.strossarts.com/public/images/starrev.jpg

If I didn't know any better this would look like the projects back in Buffalo where I grew up.:yuck:

Downtown_Austin

Mar 10, 2010, 1:04 PM

The colors last night were amazing. We were hanging out on the deck at the Shore and I snapped (http://downtownaustin.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/downtown-austin-evening-views/) a couple of good ones.
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0206.jpg?w=800 (http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0206.jpg)
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0185.jpg?w=800 (http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0185.jpg)
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0191.jpg?w=800 (http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0191.jpg)

KevinFromTexas

Mar 10, 2010, 11:29 PM

Yeah, I've been wanting to go downtown for some photos. This nice weather is awesome. I'm just trying to keep the camera battery at full charge just in case I need it in a moment's notice. ;)

LoneStarMike

Mar 11, 2010, 5:31 AM

Tuesday was just too nice to be indoors

March 8, 2010

From the Hyatt
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-007-MAR.jpg

From the dog park
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-010-MAR.jpg

From Joe's Crab Shack
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-008-MAR.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-012-MAR.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-013-MAR.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-009-MAR.jpg

Traffic on I-35 from The Riverside overpass
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-011-MAR.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline003.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline002.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline001.jpg

From I-35
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline004.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline005.jpg

Joe's Crab Shack
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline015.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline006.jpg

From the Embassy Suites garage
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline009.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline007.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline008.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline010.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline011.jpg

From The Hyatt
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline014.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline013.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline012.jpg

Downtown_Austin

Mar 12, 2010, 3:42 PM

Kevin and I were able to make it to the 55th floor of the Austonian, yesterday. I've posted several pics at Downtown Austin (http://downtownaustinblog.org/2010/03/12/views-from-austins-only-55th-floor-the-austonian/) Blog, as well as a few below. It was incredibly windy, too windy for me to setup a tripod and patiently adjust my camera settings and get a consistent level to panorama. Still, it was really cool of the Austonian's team to escort us up to get photos from the highest vantage point in Texas! I'm looking forward to seeing and reading Kevin's account.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4426633239_35b7397709_b.jpg
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0030.jpg?w=950
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2754/4426631145_cc7490cfce_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4427399422_ea2d0e7c68_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4426631895_909523d9fc_b.jpg
http://downtownaustin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dsc_0039.jpg?w=900
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4426638553_21cab8d5f2_b.jpg

Also, I found some really interesting photos (http://www.buildings.com/Magazine/ArticleDetails/tabid/3413/ArticleID/9146/Default.aspx) at buildings.com. Below you can see the 55th floor terrace where we were took the photos posted above.
http://www.buildings.com/Portals/2/ATWeekly/1209/A_1209_ATW_Austonian1_lg.jpg

Jdawgboy

Mar 12, 2010, 6:19 PM

You two must have been in the Austonian when me and my friend past by. It got really windy and the dirt from the base of the Austonian made a little dust storm through downtown. I had to roll up all of my windows really fast.

TXAlex

Mar 13, 2010, 12:54 AM

Holly Pincushion Distortion.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2754/4426631145_cc7490cfce_b.jpg

JAM

Mar 16, 2010, 12:31 AM

awesome shots guys - thanks for the posts.

LSM this is a cool shot of Spring:

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline008.jpg

AustinSkyscrapers

Mar 16, 2010, 2:41 AM

That glass on the W-amazing! Totally a remix of the white and gray of the renders.

Mopacs

Mar 18, 2010, 1:01 PM

WOW! Great shots! Now I'm really looking forward to Kevin's as well. Any of you try and get some distant shots of area landmarks (10-20+ miles out)?

KevinFromTexas

Mar 18, 2010, 8:41 PM

That's one of the big things I wanted to do. It was so windy though, that kind of hampered our ability. A cold front was coming in, and the north side of the building was very windy. I did get a few shots from the south side of the building looking far off. It wasn't as bad on that side. I took one pic in the direction of my neighborhood, and just missed my neighborhood. I live very close to Crockett High, and I could easily make out the school in the photo and ACC's South Austin Campus. If I had panned just a bit to the left (east), I would have been looking directly over my neighborhood. I was easily able to see those silos down in Hays County. And I'm pretty sure I captured the water tower at Cabelas.

I actually wouldn't mind going back some day when the weather is more cooperative. There was really no way I could have gotten good far off shots with the wind blowing like that. It made it nearly impossible to stand straight and hold the tripod while panning for a shot, focusing and then taking it. The stuff up close was easy enough though. You almost had to lean out over the edge to look down on buildings like 100 Congress and Ashton. I didn't even get a shot of 301 Congress because when you look straight out from the building you can't see it! I sort of forgot about it! Incredible views, and I think it was arbeiter once who said, that when looking at the city from high up, you realize how small it actually is. I mean, when you can so easily see out past the boundary of the city into nothing but rural areas, you realize it's not quite as big as you think.

TXAlex

Mar 19, 2010, 3:44 AM

I saw people working on the star riverside site today.

Site clean up for resumed construction or sell off?
http://www.strossarts.com/public/images/starriverside/sr-1.jpg

It will have a pretty commanding view.
http://www.strossarts.com/public/images/starriverside/sr-2.jpg

I spoke to one of the workers and asked if they were demoing the site and he said that they had been sent over to clean it up but he didn't know anything else. Quite a few boxes were delivered.
http://www.strossarts.com/public/images/starriverside/sr-3.jpg

Talon

Mar 22, 2010, 2:30 AM

Saw this on this Tuesday's (March 23rd) agenda for the Planning Commission, I hadn't seen it already discussed here.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/agenda/2010/downloads/c3_c1420090151_part2_032310.pdf

It would be located between Whole Foods & Austin City Lofts, between 5th and 6th. Asking to go from DMU to DMU-CURE, the plan includes 90 condominiums, office space, and retail. It also promises to provide some open public space and a transition for Lance Armstrong Bikeway between 5th and 6th. I've been wondering when someone would make use of that parking lot. Project is being developed by Schlosser Development.

KevinFromTexas

Mar 22, 2010, 2:48 AM

chancla

Mar 22, 2010, 4:04 AM

I couldn't get that link to work. But would this by any chance be Shoal Creek Walk? A proposed 27-story office and residential tower?

priller first posted about this back in December when it was first announced.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=4602674&highlight=Shoal+Creek+Walk#post4602674

The link worked fine for me. Yes, it is Shoal Creek Walk. It includes the renders posted earlier along with plans for Shoal Creek improvements. Overall, the architecture is kinda meh, but the project is just the right height for that part of downtown.

There are letters from two dissenters to the zoning change included in the pdf. Both presumably live in the Austin City Lofts. One complains of the increased traffic the project will bring and construction noise. The other neighbor, an architect, says that the project is inconsistent with the neighborhood and adjacent structures. What!? Who's he trying to kid? In addition to nearby Austin City Lofts, there's a midrise tower right across the street (Whole Foods HQ) and a couple of scrapers within immediate walking distance (Monarch and Spring).

I hope this project gets the support it deserves.

KevinFromTexas

Mar 22, 2010, 4:58 AM

Yeah, it's totally appropriate for the neighborhood. The Monarch is 323 feet tall, just 27 feet shorter than this tower would be. And Spring, which is nearby, is 84 feet taller than this building will be. Not to mention 360, which is just a few more blocks to the east, and is 126 feet taller to the roof than this will be. I'm actually questioning the "urban" lifestyle of some of those residents in Austin City Lofts. Those aren't valid reasons for a complaint in this case. The only other thing I can think of would be they're whining about losing a view.

As for the traffic argument, the same one was made for Austin City Lofts when it was planned, and it was proven that wouldn't happen. Even Will Wynn lives there and would walk to city hall rather than drive.

Talon

Mar 22, 2010, 2:41 PM

The link worked fine for me. Yes, it is Shoal Creek Walk. It includes the renders posted earlier along with plans for Shoal Creek improvements. Overall, the architecture is kinda meh, but the project is just the right height for that part of downtown.

Thanks chancla, somehow I totally missed the title of the project. I guess maybe the font was too big on the renderings ;). I hope this project goes forward if nothing else for the improvements to Shoal Creek usability.

wwmiv

Mar 22, 2010, 2:51 PM

This tower is good skyline filler. It isn't bad looking, either.

priller

Mar 22, 2010, 5:23 PM

Looks like they're starting on the pedestrian bridge expansion this morning. I drove by on my way to work and they have the area fenced off and some equipment moved in.

Scottolini

Mar 23, 2010, 12:29 AM

Looks like they're starting on the pedestrian bridge expansion this morning. I drove by on my way to work and they have the area fenced off and some equipment moved in.

Construction begins on Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge extension

By | Monday, March 22, 2010, 03:21 PM

FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN:

Austin’s popular Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge will get a new extension this year. The northwest arm of the bridge will be an overpass for pedestrians and bicyclists to easily cross over Cesar Chavez Street from above street level.

Work began this week on the construction, which is expected to last until December 2010.

http://origin.www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/cityhall/entries/2010/03/22/construction_begins_on_pfluger.html?srcTrk=RTR_169636

Scottolini

Mar 23, 2010, 12:34 AM

The article doesn't mention the tunnel under the UP railroad tracks, so I suppose that will be done as a separate project. I'm disappointed, but at least a portion of the project is progressing.

chancla

Mar 25, 2010, 3:12 PM

Hey did anybody else notice that the Frost Bank diagram was included in the skyscraperpage banner skyline above? :cheers:

Downtown_Austin

Mar 25, 2010, 3:15 PM

Hey did anybody else notice that the Frost Bank diagram was included in the skyscraperpage banner skyline above? :cheers:

Nice catch! :tup:

shanny

Mar 25, 2010, 4:22 PM

Hey did anybody else notice that the Frost Bank diagram was included in the skyscraperpage banner skyline above? :cheers:

pretty cool.....but makes it seem kind of insignificant when compared to the rest of the diagram...we need some taller buildings

LoneStarMike

Mar 25, 2010, 6:32 PM

Some skyline photos from last Friday/Sat Mar 19/20 all from the west

01. From a lot for sale that has a little deck on Mount Shepherd
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-014-MAR.jpg

02. Zoomed in
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-015-MAR.jpg

03. Panoramic from Courtyard Dr.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-016-MAR.jpg

04. From somewhere in West Austin - I think it was The High Road or some street off The High Road. Damn telephone pole.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-017-MAR.jpg

05. Zoomed in
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-018-MAR.jpg

06. Mount Bonnell Panoramic
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-019-MAR.jpg

07. Mount Bonnell
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-020-MAR.jpg

08. Red Bud Bud Trail at Forest View Drive
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-021-MAR.jpg

09. Zoomed in a little
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-022-MAR.jpg

10. From a dead end street near Wachovia Bank (2702 Bee Caves Rd.)
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-023-MAR.jpg

If you park at the end of this dead end street, there's a deck on the right. I don't know if it was originally part of a house or if someone just built a little deck, but it has a nice view

11. Midtown from the deck
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-024-MAR.jpg

12. Monarch & Spring from the deck
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-025-MAR.jpg

13. Skyline from the deck
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%202010/2010-026-MAR.jpg

14. Partial skyline from Zilker Clubhouse trail
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline016.jpg

15. From Zilker Park
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline017.jpg

16. From the Mopac Pedestrian Bridge
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline018.jpg

Downtown_Austin

Mar 25, 2010, 7:55 PM

pretty cool.....but makes it seem kind of insignificant when compared to the rest of the diagram...we need some taller buildings

OMG - Is that the Austonian on the far left?

If so, Kevin must be behind this! :shrug: :cheers: :banana:

KevinFromTexas

Mar 25, 2010, 11:40 PM

Nice pictures again, Mike. I love those West Austin views.

That's cool about the Frost diagram.

OMG - Is that the Austonian on the far left?

If so, Kevin must be behind this! :shrug: :cheers: :banana:

No, that building on the far left is the First National Center in Omaha. The Austonian is actually 45 feet taller than that building.

And no, I didn't have anything to do with it. I was aware they were updating the diagram, but I didn't know they were planning to put Frost in there. That's pretty cool.

You can see the other Austin diagrams at the link below.
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?

By the way, some of the diagrams need work I know. I'm not the one to do it of course. Some of the designs are off. A lot of those were drawn before the buildings finished construction and were actually done by viewing the renderings. Spring for example is the most glaring one. It adopted the design of the first renderings we saw for the building which were very basic.

austintilIdie

Mar 26, 2010, 3:30 AM

I think LoneStar's pictures and the presumed conclusion of W construction prompts our speculation and hopes of the next round of Austin' downtown boom and our collective wish list.

When Frosty was briefly our tallest, I fell in love..and yes, wished it was a bit taller and slender. Perhaps Tom Stacy's much anticipated, though perhaps unlikely project will pay homage to Frosty in some respects, in my humble opinion.

In no particular order I'd like to see these particular projects come to fruition. I think our next boom could field at least a half dozen projects over
the next 5-7 years (a solid cushion), favorable economic conditions pending of course.

-T Stacy
-21C
-Block 51
-Block 52 (one of these is the post-office block right?!)
-Shoal Creek walk
-Seaholm/Green Water Treatment Redevelopment

H2O

Mar 27, 2010, 3:21 PM

The East Block development (Shoal Creek Walk) was approved by Planning Commission, but the developers requested a postponement at Council. Even though the project was not subject to affordable housing contributions under the existing and proposed Density Bonus system, the Planning Commission managed to exact a commitment from the developers. The developers committed to the affordable housing contribution even if the project is 100% commercial. The Planning Commission is going to use this as precedence to claim commercial projects can support affordable housing in the new Density Bonus rules.

KevinFromTexas

Mar 28, 2010, 6:33 AM

Dan Denson posted a very nice photo thread of Austin's hills.

You can see it here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=180092

JAM

Mar 29, 2010, 6:29 PM

shanny

Mar 30, 2010, 3:24 AM

did they light another level of the crown?

LoneStarMike

Mar 30, 2010, 3:53 AM

:previous: Here's a photo from tonight

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff158/LoneStarMike/Austin%20Night/NightSkyline019.jpg

And whoever said 100 Congress was only lit for SXSW was apparently right :(

LoneStarMike

Apr 1, 2010, 11:01 PM

We definitely need a water front pic though. LoneStarMike had some really nice ones. Ahem, Mike, :poke: :)

I'll gladly donate a photo, but's someone else is going to have to do all the editing on Wikipedia.

Update: Someone in another post (I can't find it) mentioned a new headline photo for the Austin entry on Wikipedia, but there's still a debate going on at the discussion page. (See Image edit war (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Austin,_Texas#Image_edit_war) )

It took me three days (hey - I'm old and technically challenged :koko: ) but I was finally able to upload a couple of photos from Lou Neff Point that I took on 03/29/2010 and posted links to them on the discussion page for consideration.

One was a daytime view (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AustinSkylineLouNeffPoint-2010-03-29-a.JPG)

One was a nighttime view (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AustinSkylineLouNeffPoint-2010-03-29-b.JPG)

What do you all think?

wwmiv

Apr 1, 2010, 11:22 PM

I voted for AustinWikiPic2

KevinFromTexas

Apr 2, 2010, 2:16 AM

I like your nighttime view, Mike. The quality is much better than the other nighttime image that was up there.

wwmiv

Apr 2, 2010, 2:49 AM

^^^Agreed.

priller

Apr 5, 2010, 2:07 AM

I put up some new photos from sxsw and texas relays weekend here:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=4780768#post4780768

A few more from walking around yesterday. They're starting to get the street-level stuff cleaned up at the Austonian:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4490009047_9a245f04f7_o.jpg

Federal courthouse.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2729/4490011601_e7a17da69f_o.jpg

Just noticed this cool door on 5th street:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4490655084_13ff32f53f_o.jpg

Some of the podium exterior finally going up at the W. I was under the impression that the podium was going to be a brown or copper color, but this looks the same as the tower.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2695/4490654024_5ca2e5fb51_o.jpg

The W:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2744/4490653564_940c62810a_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4490653180_e2a4a91238_o.jpg