AUSTIN | Skyloft | 190 FEET | 18 FLOORS | COMPLETE

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Flat flat flat. Flat flat flat flat! Why do so many walls in West Campus have to be so fucking flat.

I ask the same... somehow it must be in the "formula" that the lowest of low developers use. Not all Student housing is this way, but tooo much of it is.
This building wins the prize for:
"how many interns does it take to design a project no one else wants"

[Sigaven]

I guess I already know the answer is two things: "bottom dollar" and "student housing." Developers know that students don't care how a building looks, they just want an affordable place to live. So, cheapest materials, cheapest construction, and cheapest designs. Which unfortunately means awful buildings like this.

Still, other developers seem to at least give aesthetics a little thought, like aspen heights or Pointe on Rio. Wish more could be like those buildings, especially big tall ones like Skyloft.

[KevinFromTexas]

2/16

[KevinFromTexas]

I don't remember this being posted.

https://vimeo.com/265055955

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

I guess I already know the answer is two things: "bottom dollar" and "student housing." Developers know that students don't care how a building looks, they just want an affordable place to live. So, cheapest materials, cheapest construction, and cheapest designs. Which unfortunately means awful buildings like this.

Still, other developers seem to at least give aesthetics a little thought, like aspen heights or Pointe on Rio. Wish more could be like those buildings, especially big tall ones like Skyloft.

Honestly I think with the way downtown is growing, there's a chance that things could start to change in that area. West campus is already so dense, and when downtown, and particularly commercial buildings start to creep north like they already have, more and more non-students will look to live in west campus.

For example, I owned a condo in west campus that I lived at while I was an undergrad there, and when I moved out, I leased the place to a doctor for a year.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

Honestly I think with the way downtown is growing, there's a chance that things could start to change in that area. West campus is already so dense, and when downtown, and particularly commercial buildings start to creep north like they already have, more and more non-students will look to live in west campus.

For example, I owned a condo in west campus that I lived at while I was an undergrad there, and when I moved out, I leased the place to a doctor for a year.

agreed. I myself lived there for 9 months in a sublet back in 2001. It is hard to find short term leases in the urban core for cheap prices, but students will sublet their condos cheap (like 50% below market) if they don't get it leased before the start of a semester. Now that I think of it, I did it again when my Milago unit was 3 months behind in summer of 2006.

A lot of student condo owners stay for years after they graduate if they find work in Austin. Why leave?

[Urbannizer]

Skyloft by Darius Fontenette, on Flickr


Skyloft by Darius Fontenette, on Flickr


Skyloft by Darius Fontenette, on Flickr

[Geckos_Rule]

Seems like a strangely high amount of air vents, no?

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

Seems like a strangely high amount of air vents, no?

Nah - there's at least 3 per unit: kitchen exhaust, laundry exhaust, bathroom exhaust. Unfortunately they look so numerous because they aren't well hidden or designed within the facade.

[The ATX]

This one may be completed or very close to it. Move ins begin on August 8th according to their social media.

[Urbannizer]

Uh oh.

It really makes no sense’: Skyloft ‘Luxury Living’ grand opening met with criticism

As students settled into their homes for the new school year, some tenants found themselves unsatisfied with their rooms at Skyloft, a newly constructed 18-story building on the corner of Nueces and 23rd Streets in West Campus.

Residents have expressed discontent with malfunctioning electricity and pipes, as well as misleading floor plans. A handful of rooms have large concrete pillars that take up space in living areas and bedrooms. These pillars were not included in the floor plans shown to prospective residents. Biology sophomore Lexus Wilson, a Skyloft resident, said the pillar in her bedroom makes it impossible to
move around.

“The pillar takes up about a quarter of my room,” Wilson said. “I can’t move any furniture around, it’s literally in the middle of everything.”

Wilson said she was never told about the pillar before she moved in and plans to talk to someone about the issue later this week. Skyloft has not yet responded to The Daily Texan’s request for comment.

Business sophomore Madeleine Stokes, a former Skyloft staff member and current resident of the complex, described other resident complaints, including sewage water leaking through floors, closets with no racks in place and electricity that was not working in some rooms during move in.
Stokes said although she’s paying $40 to $50 more per month in rent for a higher room with better views, her room faces a small dark courtyard and the rooms across the way.

“I live on one of the upper floors and I face the courtyard. I get no natural light but I’m still paying the money just to be higher up,” Stokes said. “It really makes no sense.”

Stokes said Skyloft claims to have a waiting list for switching to other vacant rooms and a possible discount for those who are unsatisfied with the size of their rooms. However, Stokes said she doesn’t think this is a possibility.

“I feel like they’re scamming them,” Stokes said. “I haven’t seen any waitlist or them giving any discounts.”

[The ATX]

That's not cool. I changed the status to "COMPLETE". But maybe it needs a new status like "COMPLETE, BUT JUST AWFUL."

[The ATX]

Yelpers have spoken:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/skyloft-austin

[AustinGoesVertical]

$1,700/month for West Campus. No wonder new construction is surging. We’re going to see an adjustment though as more supply hits the market, and at that $/sf, issues like this won’t fly. I know real estate is all about “location, location, location” but judging by some of these buildings, it seems like “luxury tower” student living is more a facade - good amenities but seemingly cheap construction/management. These rent rates are all about the premium of being a stone’s throw from campus. Looks like developers know that and are shaving down the quality as much as they can. I’m sure the financials on these developments look pretty solid, especially when raising equity. You can essentially build cheap, still market “high-end student living” and ultimately still generate a high fill-rate. Demand is just that good. The shoe will drop at some point though, and this building looks like the beginning. It will be interesting to see how Aspen, Muze, etc. are received. Castilian was always the “luxury” tower in this area, but after University House, very similar developments are on slate for delivery. Until the bubble bursts, you can still get more bang for your buck downtown, but those rents aren’t getting much better either. Difference is the value proposition holds up. Looking at those Yelp reviews, fleeced looks like the right word.

[lzppjb]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

lol wtf

[drummer]

Yeah...that's messed up. I can't believe the developers who poured money into this think that's a good idea.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Uh oh.

I am just spitballing here, but this looks like they planned the building to have x number of units in the beginning, then got greedy and tried to squeeze more units in after the design was complete...or even after construction started. They likely moved the interior walls around to make room for more units, and that caused the columns to end up in the middle of the floorplans. No architect worth his salt sets out to design a column in the middle of a space.

Or maybe they were just idiots.

[Sigaven]

This is what happens when you have big corporate developers instead of architects design student housing. Absolutely no regard for space or comfort, just cramming as many rooms into a floor plan as possible, with no attention paid between architectural and structural design, and using as cheap materials as possible for the highest possible profit. The exterior of this building, which looks like a jumbled mess of cheap materials and zero design, should be a warning to stay away.

[hookem]

Wow, the photo of that apartment with the column and the some of the photos on yelp look like this was a long-abandoned building with squatters living in it. Maybe a glimpse into it's future.

I guess we should have seen a red flag when they seemingly took inspiration from Jester for their design.