Quote:
Originally Posted by The ATX
It appears that the surface parking lot will disappear which is a plus. But they are not seeking a density bonus to increase the FAR - they are only using the standard CBD 8:1 FAR. Hence 15 floors. Since they don't need the density bonus, they don't have to provide public benefits like Great Streets. Although the filing does say there will be streetscape improvements. The new building will also have a drive through bank similar to the current configuration.
One thing I noticed in the filing, was that Intel owned this site from 2000 to 2004. Maybe this was once planned as the site of their failed chip design center.
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The Intel proposal was for two buildings. It was originally called Museum Park. The developer acquired all the permits and then sold the land to Intel who then planned their HQ there.
Based on the original site plan that's still online (it even includes the elevations with the heights) - the two buildings would have sat catty-corner from each other. There was the one that occupied the federal courthouse site that wasn't completed and set unfinished until what I started to call the "Intel stump" was finally demolished in 2007, and the other would have been located where the Horizon Bank is today.
I was going to upload the site plan and elevations to Facebook to post them here, but the files are too big and didn't size down nicely, so I'll just post the City of Austin links. The elevations and site plan are files 010 and 011 in one of these two links, I forget which.
Garage/building -
https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...ertyrsn=227274
Building -
https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...ertyrsn=227274
This link below also included one of the renderings for the project that I had saved years back. This also includes an aerial photo (look how bare downtown was) that includes some massings models of the project. This shows 4 blocks as being part of the project, which I didn't realize was the case. I guess the media only ran with the story after Intel bought the two lots for their HQ.
http://scherinvest.com/proj_01_ss.html
Quote:
The Museum Park project in Austin Texas was designed by Scher Investment Group’s team for a downtown property that previously housed three car dealerships and a vacant lot. The plan is for 725,000 square feet of central business district office space, 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and below-grade executive parking, in addition to two parking structures, allowing enough space for 2,200 cars.
In order to begin the project, Scher Investment Group acquired the land in a competitive bid from a prominent Austin family. Our Museum Park design was intended to create a major office environment on the western edge of the central business district that would attract major employers.
To make the project an even greater benefit to the community, Scher initiated negotiations with the city to renovate a recreational park across the street from the project, as well as to work with the proposed Austin Museum of Art on an adjacent corner.
SIG successfully acquired the land and secured the necessary permits. The land and entitlements were sold to Intel Corporation 18 months after the land acquisition at a price more than double the acquisition cost.
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These are the only two renderings I have saved of the project. I think this first one was the one that the original developers were working on. They don't look the same as the 2nd, which matches more closely to what is in the site plan. It's crazy to me to think that this project is now at least 20 years old.
