HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Texas & Southcentral > Austin


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 2:58 AM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
Arrow AUSTIN | Tech 3443/Zen Garden/Austin Viie/EightFold | Mixed Use Development

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...re-amazon.html
Quote:
Huge $400M project in East Austin aims to lure Amazon, rival The Domain as Austin's 'second downtown'

Just six miles from Austin’s urban core, a local developer has quietly broken ground on a $400 million mixed-use project he believes will one day rival downtown and The Domain — and potentially even score Amazon.com Inc.'s second headquarters.

The 125-acre project, called Eightfold, aims to transform the decaying former Motorola campus in East Austin into a beacon of the “live-work-play” concept based on the eight principles of Buddhism.

With 4.8 million square feet in entitlements — that's the equivalent of about nine Frost Bank Towers — the project has permits to remodel three buildings, and additional permitting is underway, according to city of Austin records. The company reports it secured its first $200 million in financing. About 300 subcontractors already are on site with plans to deliver 525,000 square feet of building space by the end of the year. Eightfold already has secured about 250,000 square feet in leases from three major tenants.
The renderings from the article:

Office towers




Mixed use - Office, hotel, retail




__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 3:35 AM
clubtokyo's Avatar
clubtokyo clubtokyo is offline
クラブトクヨ
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 2,091
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas View Post
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...re-amazon.html


The renderings from the article:

Office towers




Mixed use - Office, hotel, retail




Reminds me of an Asian development. It would be cool if this really cam to life but I’m not confident.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 4:15 AM
austlar1 austlar1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Austin
Posts: 3,431
Isn't this location a straight shot down MLK from 183 to downtown area? 183 is slated for major upgrade through that area as well. This seemingly out of the way location could actually prove to be very accessible to town and to new housing developments on the east edge of Austin. If it happens, the inner east side gentrification might become a tsunami. Fingers crossed on this one. The renderings are kind of scary though. Definitely not my cup of tea.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #4  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 10:52 AM
Riverranchdrone Riverranchdrone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Austin
Posts: 711
Wont those towers be too tall to by in ABIA's flight path?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 1:46 PM
ahealy's Avatar
ahealy ahealy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: San Antonio / Austin
Posts: 2,559
Omg this is so great....reminds me of something you'd see near NASA.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #6  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 2:30 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riverranchdrone View Post
Wont those towers be too tall to by in ABIA's flight path?
The tower renders definitely don't match the article

"Construction crews are busy plowing through the cleanup and renovations as Zarafshani secures additional permitting and zoning variances to allow for greater building height to 60 feet. "


The current zoning appears to be LI-NP.


The most recent Code Next proposed zoning was IF (industrial flex).


To do this proposal, it definitely seems like they'd have to do a PUD.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 7:33 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,270
A big advantage of the lot is the ability to add a stop onto possible future Green and Mokan Lines. Someone like Amazon settling here and donating to the construction of the line in exchange for incentives would add a lot of value to the lot and to the city.

It would give you a rail connection to downtown, connection to the Red Line, East Austin, Manor and Elgin via the Green Line. It would also connect to a possible future rail to the airport by Transferring at the Downtown Station. There is also ROW available to build a rail line using the old Mokan tracks to Pflugerville, Round Rock and Georgetown and that line would go through Eightfold on its way to downtown.


I mean, 183 is going to have less congestion than 35 especially if/when they rebuild 35. This is what they are in the process of turning 183 into:
Video Link

Last edited by freerover; Feb 2, 2018 at 7:47 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #8  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 8:03 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover View Post
A big advantage of the lot is the ability to add a stop onto The Green Line.
The corporate campus part of the property is actually pretty far removed from the Green Line (1/3 mile at the closest and across what may officially be part of the Walnut Creek Green Belt).

That's about as far as the Domain, but it's nothing like the potential of Broadmoor.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #9  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 8:53 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,270
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek View Post
The corporate campus part of the property is actually pretty far removed from the Green Line (1/3 mile at the closest and across what may officially be part of the Walnut Creek Green Belt).

That's about as far as the Domain, but it's nothing like the potential of Broadmoor.
They could use the ROW from the Mokan line which runs next to the complex by Hudson St and then cut through the Water Treatment plan to get back to the green line rail.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #10  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 9:15 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover View Post
They could use the ROW from the Mokan line which runs next to the complex by Hudson St and then cut through the Water Treatment plan to get back to the green line rail.
You're proposing to re-route the path of the actual Green line into the Mokan corridor to run it closer?

It definitely has that advantage (and what you're re-routing it away from doesn't really have any development/density).

My concerns would be

1. The additional cost above and beyond the large cost to start passenger service on the green line.
2. TxDot apparently claims Mokan can't be used for rail.
3. You'd be introducing 2 pretty small radius curves (ie slow) to get back to the old alignment.
4. There's also the disruption/potential disruption to the greenbelt, the trail, and the water treatment plant.

None of those are necessarily fatal (if that were to be the cost of getting Amazon) but they are some hurdles.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #11  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 10:15 PM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
Quote:
Originally Posted by austlar1 View Post
Isn't this location a straight shot down MLK from 183 to downtown area? 183 is slated for major upgrade through that area as well. This seemingly out of the way location could actually prove to be very accessible to town and to new housing developments on the east edge of Austin. If it happens, the inner east side gentrification might become a tsunami. Fingers crossed on this one. The renderings are kind of scary though. Definitely not my cup of tea.
MLK is a bit north of there, but not by much. You're right, it would be the logical artery into downtown from there. There's also the rail line bordering it to the south. It's not a bad plan really. The only fly in the ointment is the contrary FAA since both runways at ABIA line up almost perfectly with the property.

It's why I think Riverside Drive and environs (south to 71) is a much more logical target of increased vertical density on that side of the city.
__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #12  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 10:46 PM
austlar1 austlar1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Austin
Posts: 3,431
Just looked at a map. The longer runway on the west side of airport lines up a bit west of the project. The shorter runway on the eastern side of airport lines up very close to the eastern edge of the site. The site is about three miles (maybe a little more) distance from the end of the runways, so I am guessing that nothing taller than 20 stories would be permitted, maybe less. It would be another office park environment, but if enough housing and other amenities are included, it could house a considerable office component as well as new well located (and possibly more affordable?) housing. I totally agree that the Riverside corridor is the logical place to plan for really tall buildings. I expect that area to merge into an expanded central business district over the next 20 or 30 years, if Austin can continue to grow and prosper.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #13  
Old Posted Feb 2, 2018, 11:47 PM
ILUVSAT's Avatar
ILUVSAT ILUVSAT is offline
May the Schwartz be w/ U!
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Nomadic
Posts: 1,729
If the FAA is screwing with height in the CBD...think what they can limit here!

I don't see anything above 6-7 stories on this site cuz of the damn FAA.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #14  
Old Posted Feb 3, 2018, 1:05 AM
The ATX's Avatar
The ATX The ATX is online now
Moderator
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Where the lights are much brighter
Posts: 12,028
Everything about this project seems like a silly fantasy except the fact that $200 million in financing has been raised. So I'm hopeful that this turns into something more than rehabbed abandoned industrial buildings.
__________________
Follow The ATX on X:
https://twitter.com/TheATX1

Things will be great when you're downtown.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #15  
Old Posted Feb 3, 2018, 4:08 AM
austlar1 austlar1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Austin
Posts: 3,431
Quote:
Originally Posted by ILUVSAT View Post
If the FAA is screwing with height in the CBD...think what they can limit here!

I don't see anything above 6-7 stories on this site cuz of the damn FAA.
The current recommended FAA height restriction is no taller than 250 feet within 10,000 feet of the end of a runway. This Eightfold site is about 15,000 feet (aprox. 3 miles) from the end of any runways. The FAA wanted to reduce this nationwide standard recommendation (it is not legally binding, but any development not adhering to it would face ruinous insurance costs and difficulty with lenders) to 160 feet as recently as 2014 or 2015. They got an enormous amount of push back from real estate developers around the country, and I don't believe it was actually changed. I think buildings as high as 20 stories might be possible in this development
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #16  
Old Posted Feb 3, 2018, 4:21 AM
austlar1 austlar1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Austin
Posts: 3,431
Quote:
Originally Posted by The ATX View Post
Everything about this project seems like a silly fantasy except the fact that $200 million in financing has been raised. So I'm hopeful that this turns into something more than rehabbed abandoned industrial buildings.
The HQ2 part seems silly to me, but the time might be right to try to attract substantial business development over in that area. The location is really rather central in an odd sort of way. It is just a few miles from downtown. There is massive new residential development happening just northeast of there, and the city wants more of the same. There is a long term possibility of commuter rail of some sort headed from town to Manor and Elgin. The new not-so-free "Airport Freeway" is under construction directly adjacent. The area between 183 and IH35 is a very trendy gentrification zone now that old East Austin has become so expensive. I think there is real potential for something game changing to happen there.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #17  
Old Posted Feb 8, 2018, 11:41 PM
wwmiv wwmiv is online now
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Austin -> San Antonio -> Columbia -> San Antonio -> Chicago -> Austin -> Denver
Posts: 5,296
Here are some drone shots posted on Vimeo a year ago by EightFold of the current land:

https://vimeo.com/188317789
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #18  
Old Posted Feb 19, 2018, 10:38 PM
The ATX's Avatar
The ATX The ATX is online now
Moderator
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Where the lights are much brighter
Posts: 12,028
Eightfold Development added a full on Fantasy Land video to their Youtube Channel this afternoon. It starts off with drone shots of the campus from the Vimeo video that wwmiv posted before it gets weird. They even have a couple of robots mingling among the happy humans in a futuristic greenspace.

Video Link


Here are some stills of the towers that will never happen. But I can't fault the developer for dreaming.




__________________
Follow The ATX on X:
https://twitter.com/TheATX1

Things will be great when you're downtown.

Last edited by The ATX; Feb 20, 2018 at 4:02 AM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #19  
Old Posted Feb 19, 2018, 11:37 PM
Jdawgboy's Avatar
Jdawgboy Jdawgboy is offline
Representing the ATX!!!
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Austin
Posts: 5,733
Um yea... Can you say in your dreams? There be flying saucers or giant drones floating around lol. The quality is horrible, looks like something out of the late 90s. Is this a plan for the year 2100 I take it?.

I mean seriously, the presentation is at best unprofessional and at worst, down right ridiculous.

This leaves me with serious questions regarding the legitimacy of this company and how serious they are with the future development of this property.

If your going to make a video showing a vision, it's a good idea to produce the highest quality that you can because I can't see how they can lure companies with something so cheesy.
__________________
"GOOD TIMES!!!" Jerri Blank (Strangers With Candy)
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20  
Old Posted Feb 20, 2018, 12:29 AM
wwmiv wwmiv is online now
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Austin -> San Antonio -> Columbia -> San Antonio -> Chicago -> Austin -> Denver
Posts: 5,296
The whole thing looks like MineCraft.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Texas & Southcentral > Austin
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 9:12 PM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.