AUSTIN | Fairmont Hotel | 595 FEET SPIRE/456 FT ROOF | 37 FLRS | Complete - Page 61

KevinFromTexas · #**1201** Posted **Sep 28, 2015, 7:45 PM**

Crane permits for the FAA. The two tallest cranes will be 590 feet and 580 feet. That makes me wonder, though, how they'll top off the spire if it's taller than the cranes. Helicopter? The shorter of the three will be 225 feet.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external...5787779&row=11

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external...5787782&row=12

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external...5787784&row=13

The ATX · #**1202** Posted **Sep 28, 2015, 9:03 PM**

It might be by helicopter. Here's one of a similar height being installed in France:

http://biggeekdad.com/2015/09/buildi...-installation/

corvairkeith · #**1203** Posted **Oct 18, 2015, 11:54 PM**

Slowly starting to rise.

the Genral · #**1204** Posted **Oct 19, 2015, 3:43 AM**

We are starting to get a sense of scale. I can see how they are going to get 1000 + rooms in this shorter version. Once they add 4 or 5 more floors we should be able to make more sense of this current kaos.

KevinFromTexas · #**1205** Posted **Oct 19, 2015, 5:04 AM**

This thing is going to dominate the skyline view from I-35 heading north of the river.

Tech House · #**1206** Posted **Oct 19, 2015, 6:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

This thing is going to dominate the skyline view from I-35 heading north of the river.

Imagine how it will be when the Fairmont is just one of a half dozen towers of equal or greater stature, all within a few blocks of one another. Yowza!

drummer · #**1207** Posted **Oct 20, 2015, 8:51 AM**

Okay, I'll say it....imagine what it could have been if they went with the earlier, awesomer design...

(I know, I know...awesomer needs a dash - "awesome-r")

Tech House · #**1208** Posted **Oct 20, 2015, 5:42 PM**

As long as we're visiting fantasy land, imagine the skyline if all of the best and tallest skyscrapers ever proposed for Austin had been built by now. This includes any taller versions in earlier designs for existing skyscrapers. If I had the skill, motivation, and a few hundred hours, I'd love to do a realistic mock-up of that skyline, especially with the original plan for the science museum and planetarium + 60-floor skyscraper at MLK and Congress.

austlar1 · #**1209** Posted **Oct 20, 2015, 6:48 PM**

The new skyline is beautiful for sure, but I don't find much to admire about the new downtown at street level. It is crowded with tourists, traffic is terrible, and parking is hard to find and/or very expensive. It is great for the folks who live there or visit there, but downtown has become a big hassle for locals who might want to go there and no longer have easy access. It used to be so easy to pop into downtown for a meal, a show, a night on the town, or an afternoon at Lady Bird Lake. Now it is a big complicated deal. That's the price of progress I guess. Sorry to go off topic with my rant. I spent a frustrating hour downtown Sunday trying to find a place to park and hang out with a dog that I am trying to re-home. I wanted to go to the lakefront, but it was just too damn complicated getting there. Downtown was mobbed, and I could not figure out why. I don't think anything special was happening that day, but there is always something happening down there to gum things up for locals. Zilker was still mostly closed for clean up after ACL. Maybe that accounts for some of the crowds near the water downtown.

the Genral · #**1210** Posted **Oct 20, 2015, 7:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by austlar1

The new skyline is beautiful for sure, but I don't find much to admire about the new downtown at street level. It is crowded with tourists, traffic is terrible, and parking is hard to find and/or very expensive. It is great for the folks who live there or visit there, but downtown has become a big hassle for locals who might want to go there and no longer have easy access. It used to be so easy to pop into downtown for a meal, a show, a night on the town, or an afternoon at Lady Bird Lake. Now it is a big complicated deal. That's the price of progress I guess. Sorry to go off topic with my rant. I spent a frustrating hour downtown Sunday trying to find a place to park and hang out with a dog that I am trying to re-home. I wanted to go to the lakefront, but it was just too damn complicated getting there. Downtown was mobbed, and I could not figure out why. I don't think anything special was happening that day, but there is always something happening down there to gum things up for locals. Zilker was still mostly closed for clean up after ACL. Maybe that accounts for some of the crowds near the water downtown.

Also off topic, some of the unusual crowding might have been from participants for a march on suicide awareness that I attended Sunday with friends and family especially my daughter who recently lost her fiancé to suicide. We stayed around the Capitol but many of the marchers said they were going to explore dt afterwards. I agree with your post btw.

futures · #**1211** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 2:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by austlar1

The new skyline is beautiful for sure, but I don't find much to admire about the new downtown at street level. It is crowded with tourists, traffic is terrible, and parking is hard to find and/or very expensive. It is great for the folks who live there or visit there, but downtown has become a big hassle for locals who might want to go there and no longer have easy access. It used to be so easy to pop into downtown for a meal, a show, a night on the town, or an afternoon at Lady Bird Lake. Now it is a big complicated deal. That's the price of progress I guess. Sorry to go off topic with my rant. I spent a frustrating hour downtown Sunday trying to find a place to park and hang out with a dog that I am trying to re-home. I wanted to go to the lakefront, but it was just too damn complicated getting there. Downtown was mobbed, and I could not figure out why. I don't think anything special was happening that day, but there is always something happening down there to gum things up for locals. Zilker was still mostly closed for clean up after ACL. Maybe that accounts for some of the crowds near the water downtown.

It's definitely more busy, but I disagree on parking. There's plenty of parking downtown, it's just not labeled that well. I think the city is working on that.

I also think there's good street level interaction with most of the new construction going up.

hookem · #**1212** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 2:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by futures

It's definitely more busy, but I disagree on parking. There's plenty of parking downtown, it's just not labeled that well. I think the city is working on that.

I also think there's good street level interaction with most of the new construction going up.

I agree on the DT parking; it's pretty plentiful if you know where to look.

Also, there was the Texas Book Festival on Saturday and Sunday. Pretty big festival, actually. We went on Saturday, also went to the Oktoberfest celebration at the German Texan Heritage Society on 10th street. I was able to park within 2 blocks of both (had to pay meter on Saturday, though).

paul78701 · #**1213** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 5:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by futures

It's definitely more busy, but I disagree on parking. There's plenty of parking downtown, it's just not labeled that well. I think the city is working on that.

I also think there's good street level interaction with most of the new construction going up.

There is plenty of garage parking downtown.

It seems that most of the people who complain about downtown parking are complaining about downtown street parking. Many don't seem to understand that no major city has plentiful downtown street parking. It's simply not possible to provide that.

Also, many people who have been in Austin long enough to remember plentiful street parking don't want to pay for garage parking. That's unrealistic thinking. Cause again, that's just the way it is in any major city. Parking garages are the only way to provide sufficient parking. Austin is no longer a sleepy college town.

KevinFromTexas · #**1214** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 3:05 PM**

I think the issue is that they want free parking downtown and that's unreasonable. There simply can't be enough street parking to accommodate the demand for parking, so we have to rely on garage parking. Of course pretty much no garage is going to be free since they cost more to build.

The ATX · #**1215** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 3:21 PM**

People who don't go downtown too often get upset when parking isn't as convenient and easy to find and free like it is out in the suburbs.

Syndic · #**1216** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 3:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The ATX

People who don't go downtown too often get upset when parking isn't as convenient and easy to find and free like it is out in the suburbs.

One of my friends is like this. He hates downtown. I'm like... "I'm not sure I want to be friends with you anymore."

_Matt · #**1217** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 4:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by austlar1

The new skyline is beautiful for sure, but I don't find much to admire about the new downtown at street level. It is crowded with tourists, traffic is terrible, and parking is hard to find and/or very expensive. It is great for the folks who live there or visit there, but downtown has become a big hassle for locals who might want to go there and no longer have easy access. It used to be so easy to pop into downtown for a meal, a show, a night on the town, or an afternoon at Lady Bird Lake. Now it is a big complicated deal. That's the price of progress I guess. Sorry to go off topic with my rant. I spent a frustrating hour downtown Sunday trying to find a place to park and hang out with a dog that I am trying to re-home. I wanted to go to the lakefront, but it was just too damn complicated getting there. Downtown was mobbed, and I could not figure out why. I don't think anything special was happening that day, but there is always something happening down there to gum things up for locals. Zilker was still mostly closed for clean up after ACL. Maybe that accounts for some of the crowds near the water downtown.

There is plenty of parking, you just have to pay the garage. You might also consider Uber or public transportation if you don't like driving downtown.

austlar1 · #**1218** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 8:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by _Matt

There is plenty of parking, you just have to pay the garage. You might also consider Uber or public transportation if you don't like driving downtown.

I guess I could do all of that, or I could (and often do nowadays) just elect to avoid downtown.

clubtokyo · #**1219** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 8:06 PM**

UBER is your friend! Me and friends do it all the time to get downtown and it makes life so much easier and often times way cheaper than a parking garage!

Jdawgboy · #**1220** Posted **Oct 21, 2015, 8:52 PM**

Plenty of parking as others have said. Plus Downtown is supposed to be crowded and busy with lots of people and all sorts of events. I'm kinda shocked to hear such complaints on an urban development forum of all places.

None of that keeps me from going DT in fact that's why I love going there. It's cosmopolitan and urban and It's the heart and soul of the city and should always be the heart and soul.

Okay here I am going off topic too but the solution to making it easier for people to get DT is by investing in "say it with me...." mass transit.

Now back to Fairmont. I find it interesting that despite part of the building has risen out of the ground, there's still a huge hole I'm assuming is the parking garage. I think everyone here would agree that the 47 or 50 or whatever story version would have been the best but given the overall scope of the project wasn't decreased, it's still going to be an impressive tower albeit a wall.