AUSTIN | 405 Colorado Street | 356 FEET | 25 FLOORS | Completed

[drummer]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

That's what I saw, too. It reminds me of one of those big old tvs on a wooden stand that could barely hold it. My grandparents had one. It was an elephant.

You (and Genral) should send that description to the developer. Or post it on their FB page and see how many likes and comments agreeing with your assessment it gets....anything to change their minds!

[Sigaven]

Who the eff is the designer of this thing?! I wish they would at least screen the gigantic parking garage in glass and maybe louvered panels that reflect a similar language to the "crystal" on top. why does each section of the building have to be completely totally different from each other? It's so off putting!

[starboy92]

yeah this is one is just atrocious why is this thing half garage i thought we were tying to curve traffic this kind of design only invites more cars downtown.

[KevinFromTexas]

I actually don't hate it. I'm really curious to see how it turns out. The design is really out there, which does make me feel a little nervous about how it'll look.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I actually hate it. I'm really terrified to see how it turns out. The design is really awful, which does make me feel exceedingly nervous about how it'll look.

Fixed that for you.

[We vs us]

What's struck me is how prominent that thing is going to be. From pretty much anywhere within the DT area, that thing is going to stick up like sore thumb -- mostly because it's surrounded by single and two story buildings.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by drummer

Fixed that for you.

[KevinFromTexas]

You'll really only see this thing from Congress and from the warehouse district. It'll be blocked from almost every other side. From the north is One American Center, east is the JW Marriott, west is 360 and to the south is The Austonian. The views from the northwest and southwest will pretty much be completely blocked. And don't forget that the 3rd & Colorado residential tower will pretty much completely hide it from the southwest. This building will be nearly surrounded on all sides by taller buildings in the interior of downtown. If I was going to pick a place to put an unsightly building this would be the best spot.

Besides, our worst new building so far has got to be the Aloft. It is so tall and narrow and exposed to the east. It sticks out like an ugly dead tree. I want to cut it down with a hacksaw. I also like that anything built in this area of downtown will hide 5th & Colorado, which is such an underwhelming building for downtown that it's embarrassing.

[the Genral]

Its unfortunate that there are so many new buildings that we wish we could hide with existing or new construction. I agree with you Kevin regarding Aloft and 5th and Colorado. If the only saving grace about 405 Colorado St. is that it won't be entirely visible from all angles, then that's the shits. Its like trying to cover up graffiti with translucent paint. I think I found a tiny positive about this building though, the office portion above the parking garage will probably look relatively impressive looking up from street level, directly below it. Its quite the opposite from the general rule that most ugly things (especially people) look better from a distance. If we can get some really nice towers built, I'm willing to take the bad with the good, except the Barton Springs project, but I found some good with that also, its only 9 floors, and its not part of the downtown skyline. As you can see, I'm trying to not be so negative all the time.

[Jdawgboy]

I just don't see the reasoning behind such a large parking podium. There's more than enough parking within a two block radius of the Warehouse District. Having parking to accommodate workers is one thing but this is overkill. There was already a lot of parking before 3rd @ Colorado/5th @ Colorado were built which have added more parking. I think the city should impose penalties on developers if they want more parking than what is really needed for their projects.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

I just don't see the reasoning behind such a large parking podium. There's more than enough parking within a two block radius of the Warehouse District. Having parking to accommodate workers is one thing but this is overkill. There was already a lot of parking before 3rd @ Colorado/5th @ Colorado were built which have added more parking. I think the city should impose penalties on developers if they want more parking than what is really needed for their projects.

I could be remembering incorrectly but it was my understanding the developer was originally planning to build only a parking garage on that site. It would have been a wasted opportunity. In addition to office buildings that developer builds a lot of stand-alone parking structures in Pennsylvania where they are headquartered. They added office to it as a way to make it more profitable, and also because the City frowns on stand-alone parking garages unless they build them themselves * cough * convention center garage * cough *.

That may explain why the parking is so prominent, but it does not explain why the building is so dang ugly.



*Edited to add - I strongly believe the convention center garage was needed, but it sure was handled badly. Personal opinion here.

[Sigaven]

I really wish we could move past building towers on top of huge parking podiums. Either move that parking underground or don't have a garage at all - being downtown is all about walking!

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

I really wish we could move past building towers on top of huge parking podiums. Either move that parking underground or don't have a garage at all - being downtown is all about walking!

Austin's urban core likely won't be that developed until we're 4-5 million people in the MSA, but we'll probably start seeing more and more parking free towers as time goes on because of the looking lack of large development parcels. The Avenue is currently an example of a parking free structure necessitated by being proposed on a small lot. As large lots dwindle, we'll start seeing more of that. However, because Austin is becoming more multipolar in its urbanity - there are two other urban cores being developed within the city, Mueller and Burnet, and three other potential urban cores (the downtowns of San Marcos, Round Rock, and Georgetown will all likely become more densely built and populated) - which will relieve some of the economic pressure that I'm assuming causes parking free structures (these small lots become less desirable to redevelop relative to other regional urban cores, because they're able to cater to the "car culture" in those other places).

[The ATX]

This project has had trouble moving forward as is because they need a 13:1 FAR, but the site only allows for an 8:1 FAR. So they need a density bonus, and so far the Design Commission hasn't gotten on board with this. But the developers are going to try again this Monday. The Design Commission's concerns about this project begin on Page 28 of the back up file:

http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=275856

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by The ATX

This project has had trouble moving forward as is because they need a 13:1 FAR, but the site only allows for an 8:1 FAR. So they need a density bonus, and so far the Design Commission hasn't gotten on board with this. But the developers are going to try again this Monday. The Design Commission's concerns about this project begin on Page 28 of the back up file:

http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=275856

The parking-to-habitable use ratio seems to be the huge issue here. How much higher can this go with 13:1 FAR beyond what is currently designed? In other words, could we see them present on Monday with just 8 floors of parking, 4 more office levels, and possibly even more office added on top to comply. Sounds like the city may pigeonhole this project into going taller and adding more office. There are elements of this design that I love. The ratio has always been my issue. The Sky Lobby and abstract top are so much better than a glass box.

[The ATX]

Putting several of the parking levels underground seems like it would help resolve the issue; then they could add more office floors if they get the FAR increase.

[AustinGoesVertical]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Putting several of the parking levels underground seems like it would help resolve the issue; then they could add more office floors if they get the FAR increase.

Current orientation is:

13-parking
12-office

4-underground parking
5-above ground parking
18-office

That would be loads better!

[the Genral]

http://d88c075b9dbd4bbc8649003b61ad3ee(2).jpg

[wwmiv]

The pic doesn't work.

[The ATX]

The link doesn't work, but if you go to the URL this is what we are blessed with: