AUSTIN | Avenir (Formerly Dorsey) | 170 Feet | 15 Floors | Complete

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by The ATX

That's good to hear. The blight can't disappear fast enough.

The site was of course a Safeway anchored shopping center before HEB and Walmart ran most other grocers out of town. But what was there before Safeway?

Is this a quiz?? My guess would be a used car lot, and a Fotomat.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Is this a quiz?? My guess would be a used car lot, and a Fotomat.

I guess if I knew the answer it would be a quiz. But I don't, so it must be an inquiry?

Did you see my last post in the Domain/North Austin thread? That was the IBM Bldg. 60 site. Oh, the memories.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by The ATX

I guess if I knew the answer it would be a quiz. But I don't, so it must be an inquiry?

Did you see my last post in the Domain/North Austin thread? That was the IBM Bldg. 60 site. Oh, the memories.

I worked in Bldg. 060 for a few years. Some genius designed the cupric chloride ventilation pipes out of fiberglass instead of pvc and whenever the fans went down they leaked all over the place. Do you remember hearing 'CODE 300'? I was on that chemical spill response team. IBM burned through so much money back then. They built a covered walkway to connect Bldg 060 to 045 so when we had to go between the two buildings, we wouldn't get wet when it rained. I can't get my current company to fix the ballast in some of my lighting. We talk about changes to downtown, you and I have seen some remarkable changes from IBM site to the Domain. I spent over twenty years working there. I knew just about every inch of the place.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by the Genral

I worked in Bldg. 060 for a few years. Some genius designed the cupric chloride ventilation pipes out of fiberglass instead of pvc and whenever the fans went down they leaked all over the place. Do you remember hearing 'CODE 300'? I was on that chemical spill response team. IBM burned through so much money back then. They built a covered walkway to connect Bldg 060 to 045 so when we had to go between the two buildings, we wouldn't get wet when it rained. I can't get my current company to fix the ballast in some of my lighting. We talk about changes to downtown, you and I have seen some remarkable changes from IBM site to the Domain. I spent over twenty years working there. I knew just about every inch of the place.

I don't remember "code 300" specifically. But one time me and a coworker were cutting up large sheets of copper in the basement level, and our manager walked in dripping wet and pathetic looking. He asked why we didn't evacuate? We informed him that there was no alarm in the area here we working. There was a major thunderstorm going on, so we were actually glad there was no alarm.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by The ATX

I don't remember "code 300" specifically. But one time me and a coworker were cutting up large sheets of copper in the basement level, and our manager walked in dripping wet and pathetic looking. He asked why we didn't evacuate? We informed him that there was no alarm in the area here we working. There was a major thunderstorm going on, so we were actually glad there was no alarm.

The water table in that area was actually pretty high. The north elevator shaft in 060 was usually flooded, especially following a thunderstorm which in itself became a code 300 when all that water mixed with hydraulic fluid. And hey, how 'bout that Huston tower?? hehehe

[KevinFromTexas]

Funny, this article seems confused about what will be built there.

https://atxrealestatenews.com/2018/0...aring-it-down/

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Funny, this article seems confused about what will be built there.

https://atxrealestatenews.com/2018/0...aring-it-down/

The author is obviously not a lurker here. She could have saved some of that snooping time if she did. She used to write for the ABJ, so she should know more about online resources like SSP.

[clubtokyo]

how many floors did we end up with this? oops forgot the header. 14, got it.

[The ATX]

I don't have an update. But maybe someone knows if demo started? These photos showing the site were taken about three weeks ago. One is from the article Kevin posted, and the other from Towers.


https://atxrealestatenews.com/2018/0...aring-it-down/



https://twitter.com/austintowers

[myBrain]

The lot with the credit union on it, that's remaining as-is? Is there mid-rise potential there as well?

[The ATX]

Demo hasn't started yet because the HLC is discussing the Demo at Monday's meeting. Staff approves the Demo but recommends an archaeological investigation to look for artifacts and buried materials because the site was the original location of Sam Huston College. The college closed in 1952 and the Safeway opened in 1965. The site was empty in between those years.

Meeting Backup file:
http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=308268

[The ATX]

From GDA:

MULTI-FAMILY PROJECT AUSTIN, TEXAS

⋅ 15 stories with two levels of below ground parking
⋅ Neighborhood oriented, street level flats
⋅ 372 total units
⋅ Multi-level amenity program with rooftop pool and sky lounge

https://gda-architects.com/gda-mfp.html

[llamaorama]

That old Safeway looks like it belongs in Los Angeles. Are there any other stores like it in Austin, or even Texas for that matter?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

That old Safeway looks like it belongs in Los Angeles. Are there any other stores like it in Austin, or even Texas for that matter?

Safeway left Austin (and Texas?) in the '80s. There are at least three other re-purposed former Safeway stores in Austin that I know of.

[KevinFromTexas]

Not bad, but I'll call it average.

About Safeway, my dad worked there in the 70s as a stocker. To my knowledge, all of the old Safeway store buildings in South Austin are still in place and are today occupied by other grocers. The Randalls on Ben White at Manchaca was a Safeway. The other one I know of was at William Cannon and Manchaca. That one now is a Sprouts grocery store. For a time, the closest grocery store to our neighborhood (this was in the 70s) was the Safeway at Ben White & Manchaca, but that was a bit before my time. We were still using that store up through the 80s from time to time, but we had switched to Skaggs Alpha-Beta which was just down Stassney from us at Manchaca (where ACC is now). We didn't start going to HEB until the very early 90s when they started running everyone else out of Austin. Safeway became Appletree, and then Randalls. The Skaggs location was bought out by Albertsons before Albertsons finally called it quits and left Texas. It was odd seeing the old Skaggs building knocked down and replaced by ACC. It had been our nearest grocer for a good 25 years.

[Sigaven]

Kind of unfortunate aesthetically that the frontage of I-35 always gets the huge blank wall treatment. I guess it's understandable functionality wise because no one is going to want apartments that close to a busy interstate, but still.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

About Safeway, my dad worked there in the 70s as a stocker. To my knowledge, all of the old Safeway store buildings in South Austin are still in place and are today occupied by other grocers. The Randalls on Ben White at Manchaca was a Safeway. The other one I know of was at William Cannon and Manchaca. That one now is a Sprouts grocery store. For a time, the closest grocery store to our neighborhood (this was in the 70s) was the Safeway at Ben White & Manchaca, but that was a bit before my time. We were still using that store up through the 80s from time to time, but we had switched to Skaggs Alpha-Beta which was just down Stassney from us at Manchaca (where ACC is now). We didn't start going to HEB until the very early 90s when they started running everyone else out of Austin. Safeway became Appletree, and then Randalls. The Skaggs location was bought out by Albertsons before Albertsons finally called it quits and left Texas. It was odd seeing the old Skaggs building knocked down and replaced by ACC. It had been our nearest grocer for a good 25 years.

The three I remember, which are the ones I used to shop at before HEB ran almost everyone else out of town are:

E. Riverside > Now a bingo parlor

Runberg & N. Lamar > Now chopped up into a restaurant supply, daycare and pizza place

Braker & N. Lamar (NE corner) > The site is unrecognizable and may have been replaced by a strip mall as opposed to being remodeled. I think this is where Leslie's "career" got started. He got booted out of the store for wearing only a thong, and he then set up camp in a card board box on the corner. I remember driving by that area quite a few times, and Leslie was frequently hanging out on the corner by his box, wearing only a thong of course.

[The ATX]

Working in Grocery Stores was apparently a viable career path back in the '60s. The Statesman's article about the grand opening in 1965 included a mention of the Department Heads. Working at Sears back then was thought of as a good job as well.


http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=308268

[Mopacs]

Not a bad design - about what I expected.

As for Safeway in NW Austin, there were 3 along 183 back in the 70s and 80s

- Spicewood Springs at 183: Opened in the mid-70s. Currently a Big Lots
- Balcones Woods at 183: Spicewood store moved to this location in the early 80s. Now a Petsmart and Party City (and an Academy before that)
- 183 and 620 - Opened in the mid-80s, became an Apple Tree and later a Michael's. Now a Mega Furniture (Northfork shopping center).

Another factoid - There was a Kroger on Burnet Road (north of Anderson Lane) in the 70s. The building later became a Ross and Showbiz Pizza/Chuck E Cheese. Now a Subaru dealership. I believe there was another Kroger at Ben White and S 1st. Before my time, but interesting nonetheless.

But I digress. Back to the Huston...

[H2O]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Kind of unfortunate aesthetically that the frontage of I-35 always gets the huge blank wall treatment. I guess it's understandable functionality wise because no one is going to want apartments that close to a busy interstate, but still.

I like the scale of the townhouses facing the neighborhood, but this is very uninspired architecturally compared to the elevations posted to AULCC. I had assumed those elevations were done by Rhode Partners, but it is possible they switched architects at some point.