Quote:
Originally Posted by Solutioneur
My comments are directed at the economics of some of these projects. It's very clear in Austin that highrise residential is getting cheaper and cheaper. Look at the floorplans for SkyHouse, it's basic student housing. Look at the prices, too. Because traditional construction cannot deliver a product at market value they continue to deliver cheaper buildings. That's why this particular building is being built in 6 different cities.
Have a closer look. That's not negative.
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Don't be discouraged from expressing your opinions, assuming you know your facts. Some people on this forum get very protective when they think there is Austin bashing going on. The boosterism gets a little ahead of itself sometimes, especially when facts are presented that might question the quality, integrity, or even the likelihood of a project. I agree with you that a lot of the rental projects are poorly designed and constructed and fail to deliver a real quality product. This will interfere with some of these projects ever converting to condo down the line. I guess that will guarantee a supply of rental units over time, so it may be a mixed blessing.
In fairness I think it is worth noting that most of the new rental construction taking place on streets like S. Lamar or in central east Austin is also not being built with much integrity. The most substantial element in any of these stick-built units seen outside of downtown is the multi-story concrete parking structure that lies at the core of each of these buildings. The high rise buildings may have more fireproof building materials used in construction, but the walls are tissue thin, the plumbing fixtures are mediocre, and the floor space and storage is tight at best except in the most expensive units. I recently visited a friend for dinner at the Windsor (formerly known as the Legacy BTW) on the Lake. The amount of noise audible from next door and from the unit underneath was unreal. I could imagine sitting at home at bed time just fuming at the price I had to pay to listen to my neighbors music and partying. This is not a problem that was typically part of high rise living in older buildings, but it does reflect the lack of attention to these matters by today's typical apartment developer.