Plan for high-rise near Katz's draws fire

[sakyle04]

Plan for high-rise near Katz's draws fire

Austin City Council will hear debate about a proposal to put a 400-foot-tall tower near historic buildings.

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

A 32-story residential tower planned to go behind Katz's Deli & Bar on West Sixth Street will be the focus of a battle Thursday at the Austin City Council.

The project is up for a rezoning vote on whether to allow CLB Partners to build a 400-foot-tall building at West Seventh and Rio Grande streets. A coalition that includes nearby residents and property owners says the tower would be out of scale with the area, which includes more than 30 historic buildings.

But supporters say the site is appropriate for the kind of dense, high-rise downtown development city leaders are encouraging.

The Planning Commission recently recommended capping the building's height at 120 feet, a move backed by the opposition group.

The city's Design Commission supports a 400-foot structure, although it called for features that would complement the area's historic buildings.

The opposition group — Austin, Draw the Line — says it is concerned that the 400-foot high-rise would set a precedent for more skyscrapers in the area.

"We're urging the citizens of Austin and the council to take planning seriously and consider the character of this really special part of downtown," said Katherine Jones, a coalition member and founder of Milkshake Media LP, an Austin-based branding and creative services agency.

Milkshake Media is across West Seventh from Ranch 616, a popular local restaurant that CLB plans to incorporate into its project.

Ranch 616 has collected more than 250 signatures on a petition supporting the development, said Mike Blizzard, a representative of the property's landowner, Mike McGinnis.

Businesses that support the project include Waterloo Ice House, Waterloo Records, BookPeople, Hut's Hamburgers and Opal Divine's.

In the opposition camp are the Austin Woman's Club and the Austin Heritage Society, Jones said.

About 500 people have voiced opposition through a Web site launched two days ago, Jones said.

Opponents deluged City Council members with e-mail Monday, wreaking havoc on the city's computer server.

Supporters also are mustering their troops.

"The vast majority of nearby property owners, nearby local businesses and all the neighborhood associations that represent this area support the project because they believe it will be good for the area and good for the city," Blizzard said.

Neighborhood groups that support the project are the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association, Downtown Austin Alliance, Old Austin Neighborhood Association and West End Alliance, Blizzard said.

Both sides are holding events tonight to organize support before the council public hearing and vote.

[Mopacs]

This should get very Interesting... The battle is heating up. I'm encouraged that there is a large group of vocal supporters to counterbalance the usual opposition forces. Anyone think there is a posibility of a 'compromise' in height, between the 120ft and 400ft pushed on both sides?

[M1EK]

This should get very Interesting... The battle is heating up. I'm encouraged that there is a large group of vocal supporters to counterbalance the usual opposition forces. Anyone think there is a posibility of a 'compromise' in height, between the 120ft and 400ft pushed on both sides?

I'm hoping for the full 400 - we need it.

As for 'vocal supporters' - the local property owners are mainly in support, and the neighborhood associations with jurisdiction are unanimously in support; it's only the worst of the bad neighborhood associations around the city (led by Laura Morrison and ANC) that are against it. Please, people, reply on your local neighborhood's mailing list and indicate support (as well as noting the support in the actual area). And for future projects, sign up to the austin urbanists mailing list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/austin_urbanists/) so you can be part of group letters of support for projects like this one.

[MichaelB]

I am frightened by the part where the design commission called for "features that would compliment the areas historic buildings" Arrgh!!!!! Sounds like the UT regents mentality.... and quite frankly a soft political middle-ground that just yields diluted design. So which historic design? The flat-roofed midcentury empty strip malls that it would replace? When will they learn that many times urban texture is created through contrast? I am all about having the historic structures protected (even a member of the Nat. trust) That is not the issue here. I would think if that area were really a neighborhood we would all be better off. I think more housing in the area would increase the likelyhood that humans might oneday live in the MilkShake house again.... and not just have a business there! Lets get the zoning changed back to all residential and see how they all feel..... OK that was evil. Sorry.

[MichaelB]

OK.... so I was off this afternoon and took a walk around this site. I was amazed to see the sign of the "draw the line" group in the yard of a day spa? Really? They would not want that many more customers at thier door step? I was hard pressed to find more than one residential structure within two blocks of this site... much less a single family dwelling. So what "neighborhood" group would there even be to oppose it? Info, anyone?

I think it is a great site..... and leaves the smaller businesses/bars/ restaurants along 6th intact.... build it!

[TDoss]

I was at the planning commission meeting when CLB presented.
The arguments against their project were asinine - at best.
The Milkshake Media woman is a trick-ass-byyyyooootch

F.Y.I.------------


HAPPY HOUR
Tuesday, February 13th
Ranch 616 (7th and Rio Grande)
6PM – 9PM
Hosted by CLB Partners

For any of you that attended our Annual Meeting in January, you heard a very good (albeit disturbing) tale regarding the Planning Commission and there views on development downtown.

To bring the rest of you up to speed, CLB Partners (Developer of Austin City Lofts and Bridges on the Park) is looking to develop the property at 7th and Rio Grande where Ranch 616 is. At City Staff's recommendation, CLB Partners went before the Planning Commission to get a zoning change that would allow them to build a 'pencil tower' type building rather than a big block building. The Planning Commission denied the request!

CLB Partners came to the DANA Steering Committee asking for our support of the project before even considering a zoning change request. They met all of our qualifications by proposing an architecturally exciting building with dense residential and mix-used retail space. Overall, the project meets all of our standards.

At the Planning Commission meeting EVERY one there stood in support of the project, including all the affected neighborhoods and businesses (save for one), but the Planning Commission chose to listen to the one business opposed to the project and none of those in favor.

CLB Partners will now be taking their request to City Council this Thursday night with the full support of DANA. If you are interested in learning more about this project, and why we feel you should be in support of this project, please join us Tuesday night at Ranch 616 from 6PM - 9PM.

Also, you are all invited to attend the meeting at City Hall on Thursday night.

I hope to see you there,

Marshall Jones
DANA President

[sakyle04]

At City Staff's recommendation, CLB Partners went before the Planning Commission to get a zoning change that would allow them to build a 'pencil tower' type building rather than a big block building. The Planning Commission denied the request!


A "pencil tower"?

I don't think I've ever heard that term before. I wouldn't mind having a bowl of matzo ball soup at Katz's and looking up to see one, though.

[M1EK]

OK.... so I was off this afternoon and took a walk around this site. I was amazed to see the sign of the "draw the line" group in the yard of a day spa? Really? They would not want that many more customers at thier door step? I was hard pressed to find more than one residential structure within two blocks of this site... much less a single family dwelling. So what "neighborhood" group would there even be to oppose it? Info, anyone?


The immediate neighborhood associations are OAN and DANA, and both have issued statements strongly supporting the project. Milkshake Media got OWANA to oppose and have been heavily astroturfing the city through sympathetic contacts at the ANC for the last few days (Laura Morrison, OWANA officer, is president of the ANC and lives on the side of the neighborhood closest to the project; I have no doubt this is part of the sudden desire to go AGAINST the wishes of the directly affected neighborhood associations).

Heck, if you read the backup material, even two fairly reactionary people from my area (Lin Team and Rick Iverson) wrote in support of the project. But Milkshake's business is communications; and they've done a great job with a very scary black slab picture (http://www.drawthelineaustin.com/) (check austinist for a more realistic rendering (http://www.austinist.com/archives/2007/02/13/7th_rio_grande_condos_on_the_chopping_block.php)).

[TDoss]

That's funny :haha:

The black-box rendering on their website makes the building look as though it was designed and built by Imperial Storm Troopers.

Has anybody seen the bad Sci-Fi movie starring Christopher Lambert, "Fortress"???

http://www.movieprop.com/tvandmovie/reviews/fortress.jpg

[KevinFromTexas]

About the renderings and laughable presentations of the ill-informed. :haha:

I saw this one guy with a dinky model of it built out of - get this...drum roll please...LEGOS! It was pathetic. My model would squish his model. :)

It was so not to scale and the size, color, and placement were all off. The neighbors must have been wondering what I was laughing so hard about.

[GoldenBoot]

High-rise developer’s hospitality woos neighborhood
Opponents of CLB Partners’ tower want DMU zoning

IN FACT NEWS
Wednesday, February 14, 2007


While friends and neighbors of Ranch 616 Restaurant sipped margaritas and munched on quail and Frito chili pie last night, the founder of neighboring Milkshake Media, Katherine Jones, instructed a small group gathered at Antone’s on the do’s and don’ts of opposing a zoning case before the City Council.

An estimated 300 supporters:upload_71700: packed into the restaurant, signed petitions and picked up T-shirts reading Support the Ranch. They hope their backing of developer CLB Partners’ plans for a condominium complex stretching to 400 feet above the street, along with retail and parking spaces for adjacent businesses, will be enough to sway the Council.

Developers are seeking a change from GR to CBD-CURE zoning. They have promised to extend Ranch 616’s lease for another 33 years if they are allowed to build the 400-foot tower.

Mike Blizzard, spokesman for CLB Partners, cites a long list of nearby businesses that support the project, including Katz’s, Thai Tara, Waterloo Ice House, Hut’s Hamburgers, Burk’s Reprographics and Miller Blueprint. Developers have made numerous concessions to win over members of the public, including several area neighborhood groups.

But Jones says the property owner should be satisfied with DMU. She and other opponents are sporting campaign buttons that read: DMU will do. The downtown mixed-use designation would allow a building of up to 120 feet.

Not all of the opponents are willing to support even that change however, as one nearby resident confided that he would not be wearing the button on Thursday since he wants to keep the height limit to 60 feet.

Steve Drenner, attorney for CLB Partners, has said his client would abandon the project rather than accept anything less than 400 feet.

Jones and another opponent, Tim Flocos, told about 30 people :haha: gathered at Antone’s last night that the planned skyscraper would overwhelm the resources of their historic neighborhood, bringing in traffic and blocking views for neighbors.

But Jones is also fearful that the project is really just the first step toward a sea of skyscrapers north of 6th Street. She and Flocos argued that the Council should not even be considering the case now but should wait for Roma, which has a contract to draw a neighborhood plan for downtown, to do its work. :koko:

Council Member Mike Martinez stopped by both the Ranch 616 party and the Antone’s gathering. He answered a few questions from project opponents, including one about why the city cannot require developers to make concessions like providing affordable housing—contract zoning is against the law. But he said property owner Mike McGinnis “has agreed to some component of affordable housing. I don’t know how much or where.”

He concluded, “ I didn’t come by here to do anything but hear some of your concerns…I believe that everyone has a right to voice concerns about their neighborhood. I'm not here to give you false hope. This case is coming before us tomorrow (Thursday) and more than likely will be approved.” :notacrook:





--I really hope that Council Member Martinez meant the project will "more than likely be approved" at the 400' height!--

[KevinFromTexas]

Awesome. And given the fact that the developers are going through the trouble to get this, they'll likely go ahead and build it so long as the financing is in place. Apparently they have some interests from the public/possible tenants, so it's looking good. And this is great. There's been a lull in proposals for the area between the West End and the main bulk of the skyline to the east with just a few projects between there. So this will bring more density there.

[Saddle Man]

If anyone is going to the city council meeting tonight, look for my friend Nakia. The mayor will be proclaiming today "Nakia Day" in Austin. Then he is going to sing a song. Fun stuff before the nimby's try to stop the highrise.

[MichaelB]

If anyone is going to the city council meeting tonight, look for my friend Nakia. The mayor will be proclaiming today "Nakia Day" in Austin. Then he is going to sing a song. Fun stuff before the nimby's try to stop the highrise.

Crap..... now I really wish I could go. Love Nakia! He has a release party at Lamberts soon.....

sorry.... off thread....:cheers:

[Saddle Man]

Saturday night at 10. It's also going to be his birthday party.

[MichaelB]

Saturday night at 10. It's also going to be his birthday party.

Cool. I'll see if we can't stop by.....

[rad707]

so what was the verdict last night? i don't think the statesman reported on it, although they did mention the towers south of the lake between 1st and Congress got the go ahead.

[rad707]

Just found out KUT spoke about it this morning. It was passed. Another 400' is on its way.

[Saddle Man]

Woohoo!!!!!!

[JAM]

so what was the verdict last night? i don't think the statesman reported on it, although they did mention the towers south of the lake between 1st and Congress got the go ahead.

Which towers are you referring to?

[rad707]

Which towers are you referring to?

The guys who bought the Hyatt and surrounding land then sold the Hyatt. On the surrounding land, parking lots right now, they will build to residential condos...both ~200' I believe. Although that may change.

[Mopacs]

Heck, if you read the backup material, even two fairly reactionary people from my area (Lin Team and Rick Iverson) wrote in support of the project. But Milkshake's business is communications; and they've done a great job with a very scary black slab picture (http://www.drawthelineaustin.com/) (check austinist for a more realistic rendering (http://www.austinist.com/archives/2007/02/13/7th_rio_grande_condos_on_the_chopping_block.php)).

As Kevin referenced in another thread, one of the opponents constructed a mock Lego model of the tower, to represent the massing. Well, I saw it on KXAN last night, and I just about pissed my pants, it was so rediculous. The scale of this 'tower' looked more like a skinny 70 story tower. Idiots.

[Jdawgboy]

Im so glad that they approved it. honestly in my opinion there were more supporters for the project than there were opponents but at the same time this is a wake up call people! If more towers are proposed in areas where people may not want them we need to be prepaired for a more organized fight.

[GoldenBoot]

Just found out KUT spoke about it this morning. It was passed. Another 400' is on its way.


Yes, that is correct. However, it was the first reading only. Therefore, the new zoning ordinance is not official yet. They still need a positive second and third reading which should happen at the next Council meeting on March 1.

Something to keep a close eye on is the fact that Council has kept the "public hearing" open! Thus, when the ordinance comes up for its second and third reading, it will not be on the Council’s consent agenda and voted on at the beginning of their next session. This is going to allow for more public debate and a possible change-in-heart of some of the Council Members (which voted last night 6-0 in favor of 11:1 FAR; Mayor Wynn was off the dais – he recused himself from the issue).

Nonetheless, I still very confident that the 11:1 FAR will be approved by the Council on second and third readings.

[rad707]

Check it and spread the word:

http://radtollett.googlepages.com/abetterperspective2

[KevinFromTexas]

I shot an email to the folks at drawtheline.com showing them a few photos of my model of downtown and informed them that their rendering was incorrect!

Here's what I said:

Hello,

I just had to say that the scale of your rendering is incorrect. It won't be that tall. I actually built a scale model of downtown Austin out of Legos. Everything is to scale. Building heights, sizes, (widths/lengths), block sizes, street widths. And the placement of everything from the buildings to the streets are correct. I also included not just skyscrapers, but all of the small retail buildings and of course the older buildings from the 1880s along Congress and 6th. Everything, even the trees and the moonlight towers are included in the model. To do the model I used books, magazines, calendars, photos from the web, a skyscraper forum I visit, my own photos of downtown, GoogleEarth, Live Local Search. And of course I'd go downtown and actually sketch out the block that I wanted to model. So I got pictures/views of the area from all sides and heights to help me with the scale of the project. The heights of the buildings themselves come from the developers and architects. I'm the editor for Austin at Emporis.com. That website lists buildings from all over the world. One of the things it lists is building heights. Most of the heights I obtain come straight from the blueprints, so there's no doubt they're incorrect. I've been doing this for nearly 10 years, so any heights that I don't have I can estimate and I'm usually correct to within 4 feet. Some of those building heights that I've estimated I've been able to go back and find at a later date and found that they weren't off that much. Anyway, the point is with me doing all the research into building heights and doing the model of downtown, I've gotten a sense for the scale of new projects even before they release a rendering. As long as you know the size of the block, it's correct location in the skyline, and the height that the developer releases to the public, you can estimate the height using neighboring buildings which you already have heights for. That's how I've been doing it.

Anyway, visit Emporis.com and look up Austin. I've added all the proposed buildings to the list. It also includes everything built, under construction and approved. There's also projects from Austin's past that didn't happen for various reasons. Do check out the site, there's pictures and information about Austin.

On the model of the tower at 7th Rio Grande. I haven't gotten that far west yet with my model. So far I've only gotten to Lavaca.

Here are a few photos of my model.

Aerial view looking north over Congress from south of the river. The buildings with labels attached are the new towers that would be visible in this view. The new towers in the model here are not all correct just yet. These are what I call "mock models". Only a few of them are using the actual design of the real new proposed buildings. However, the heights, sizes, shapes and locations of these new buildings are fairly correct according to their respective renderings put out by their developers and information released to the public on their heights. As these buildings breakground and progress I will tweak the models to correct them.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/ModelPano2.jpg

An existing building, the One American Center. This was Austin's tallest building from 1982 to 2004. It is 395 feet tall with 32 floors.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/P1020706.jpg

JPMorgan Chase Bank Tower. This was actually the first building in Austin to surpass the height of the Capitol. It is 325 feet tall with 25 floors. It was built in 1974. I haven't completed the facade just yet on the model as I need the correct number of colored pieces for it.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/P1020704.jpg

View from the south.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/P1020398.jpg

View from the northwest.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/P1020426.jpg

Here is a video clip I made of the model. It shows more of it than the previous photos. Sorry for the poor lighting, I didn't realize it was that bad at the time.
http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/?action=view&current=P1020487.flv

Also, the tower at 7th and Rio Grande really won't seem to be that menacing when you compare it to other towers that already exist in downtown. 400 feet is only 5 feet taller than the One American Center which was our tallest building for 22 years. The 2nd tallest building in Austin from 1987 to 2004 was just 9 feet shorter at 391 feet tall. The difference is that the new tower at 7th and Rio Grande will be much more skinny than those two buildings. The One American Center and One Congress Plaza are two of our largest buildings and cover almost the entire block, (One American Center actually covers about 80 percent of it's block). The tower at 7th and Rio Grande will cover only about 25 percent of it's block, meaning it'll be much more slender than those two existing buildings. Also if you look at other skinny buildings in Austin such as the UT Tower. The UT Tower is 59 feet wide, (the shaft of the tower itself). The tower at 7th and Rio Grande, according to my estimate, by using Google Earth, should be about 120 feet wide. So it'll be only twice as wide as the UT Tower and only 93 feet taller. 300 West Sixth, an office tower at the northeast corner of Guadalupe Street & West Sixth, is 127 feet wide on it's narrow side. So the new tower at 7th & Rio Grande will be about as wide as 300 West Sixth's narrow side.

Anyway, sorry to make this long. I hope it helps you to understand the project a little better, as well as other planned projects.

Sincerely,
Kevin Lehnhardt of Austin, Texas - Editor at Emporis.com.

[KevinFromTexas]

Check it and spread the word:

http://radtollett.googlepages.com/abetterperspective2

And rad707, I think it'll be taller than that. If you'll notice, the old rendering for Spring in there is showing it to be in the neighborhood of 300 feet. Spring will be 400 feet. Notice that Spring in that rendering, and the superimposed rendering of the tower at 7th & Rio Grande, are about the same height as 300 West Sixth, (the building just to the left of the One American Center). 300 West Sixth is 325 feet tall, and One American Center is 395 feet tall. I would think at 400 feet that the building should just come up and touch the letters in "7th & Rio Grande". I'm also not so sure, but I think it should be farther south. It's only one block north of 300 West Sixth, and 4 blocks west of it.

Does anyone know where that picture was taken from? Zilker Clubhouse perhaps? If you can find out where it was taken from, you could use GoogleEarth and plot out the line of sight to that location using the ruler feature and pin point the location of 7th & Rio Grande in relation to surrounding buildings, (Whole Foods).

[rad707]

Thanks for the reccomendations, Kevin. Changes have been made:

http://radtollett.googlepages.com/abetterperspective2

It was a picture I pulled off an old thread. If anyone knows who did the original layout please let me know. I simply added the new building (you'll notice a few things are out of place in the Rainey District, but that is immaterial).

I have sent this link to the Chronicle and Austinist. Both are keeping tabs on the blows Draw the Line has been giving to City Council.

Planning to also put it on WorldChanging. If anyone has access to other Austin blogs please send it around (picture or link). Eventually the press will pick it up. I'm hopeful they will run with this picture to dismiss the DTL's photograph taken from the south showing how the tower will impact Old West Austin.

[KevinFromTexas]

^ You can post it on the Austin Skyscraper Forum as well.

http://austinforum.8.forumer.com/

[427MM]

Maybe we are all wrong and the model is to scale. Sweet, Austin’s new tallest will be at 7th and Rio. CLB simply hasn’t announced that they intend on building an 1000’ tower yet.

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/6500/img1923hj9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I took this at the Council meeting. From the vibes I was receiving, the project should get approval, but future projects in the area will be crucified.

[Mopacs]

Maybe we are all wrong and the model is to scale. Sweet, Austin’s new tallest will be at 7th and Rio. CLB simply hasn’t announced that they intend on building an 1000’ tower yet.

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/6500/img1923hj9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I took this at the Council meeting. From the vibes I was receiving, the project should get approval, but future projects in the area will be crucified.

Hysterical. Thats the exact model I was referring to in my previous post, as appeared on KXAN news. I thought to myself "at that scale, we're talking WTC proportions," in height! I was laughing quite hard.

[KevinFromTexas]

LOL. That's it! I love how they put tape on the baseplate and labeled the streets. LOL, wtf? I would think that people living downtown would know which streets are which.

Anyway, here's my version, (not including the 7th & Rio Grande tower), I haven't gotten that far west yet.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/P1020398.jpg

With a few new talls labeled.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/KevinFromTexas/My%20Legos/ModelPano2.jpg

[KevinFromTexas]

Maybe we are all wrong and the model is to scale. Sweet, Austin’s new tallest will be at 7th and Rio. CLB simply hasn’t announced that they intend on building an 1000’ tower yet.

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/6500/img1923hj9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I took this at the Council meeting. From the vibes I was receiving, the project should get approval, but future projects in the area will be crucified.

By the way I tried counting the bricks in their tower. It was a bit hard, though, because some of them aren't full bricks, a couple appear to be slats, but I counted 38/39 bricks. If that was built to scale, and in my model, it would be a 950 to 975 foot tall building! The other buildings in that model are all off, too. The next tallest buildings in that image would be only 100 feet tall. Also the sizes of their city blocks are wrong. They show them to be in the neighborhood of 200 feet square while in reality most of downtown Austin's blocks are 275 feet square as is the 7th & Rio Grande block. Only a few blocks are larger than that, the ones fronting Congress, and a few in the West End near Lamar, and the super blocks for buildings like the convention center and some of the ones on the UT Campus are quite large. A few are smaller, than 250 feet square, but not many. Also their street widths are off there. Most downtown streets are 80 feet wide. 44 feet of traffic lanes, (curb to curb), and 18 foot sidewalks on both sides. Even in places where the sidewalks are wider, for instance, the sidewalk fronting AMLI Downtown is 32 feet wide. The traffic lanes there narrow quite a bit to 30 feet. The n

My method of determining scale is that one Lego brick equals 25 feet tall. The smaller "slats" the flat pieces, are 8 feet. So for a 100 foot tall building it would be 4 bricks tall. And in the case of a 975 foot tall building, it would be 39 bricks tall, or about 15 inches. It gets trickier with heights that end with odd numbers.

[rad707]

Chronicle picked it up:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/News/?oid=oid%3A447938

[KevinFromTexas]

Sweet.

[Mopacs]

Great! Glad the chronicle could help put the scale of the tower into perspective.

I still laugh at this... One thinks of Pinocchio's nose when viewing their model (yeah I know, among other things).

http://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/4f8d/ScaleLegos.jpg

[Jdawgboy]

I also sent a message to those people on that site saying that they need to relize the city is not a small town anymore and we need density rather than low buildings that take up monster size footprints and that it would be great for the city as well as the people in that area. I said that there are many places around the country where they have allowed highrises built near historical buildings and it works just fine.

[KevinFromTexas]

I've gotten some information from Rhode Hurt, and CLB Partners on the dimensions of the tower that is planned at 7th & Rio Grande. They tell me it'll be 96 feet in the north/south direction, and 112 feet in the east/west direction, along West 7th Street. That makes it a very, very skinny building. The width of a typical downtown street is 80 feet wide, so it'll be just 16 feet wider than that. This doesn't include Congress Avenue which is wider than all other downtown streets at 120 feet wide.

This will make it just about one of the skinniest skyscrapers we have. 300 West Sixth by comparison is 156 feet in the north/south direction and 227 feet in the east/west direction along 6th Street.