SAN ANTONIO │ Frost Bank Headquarters │ 386 FEET | 23 FLOORS │ Complete

[UltraDanPrime]

There are always a few that have to be negative just for the sake of being negative. Its pathetic actually. I feel sorry for them. Anyway, I think its totally cool to have the party! Just my opinion!

[PDG91]

In most construction sites, It is a tradition to put up a pine tree on the last beam when topping off a building. The beam would also include the signatures of all the people that have taken part at the construction site along with the country's flag hanging on it. It’s a blessing/symbol that a construction project has reached its highest and noticeable point, like a tree. It's also a symbol that it's the beginning of the end of the project and a blessing for a so-far safe construction site. Just thought i'd add this to the "controversy" about giving a celebration to the construction workers for the completion of the 23rd floor. I wonder now if they'll place a tree on top of the last piece of the crown installed?

[JACKinBeantown]

^^ I love the "tall" example you used. Very apropos.

[Big A]

Originally Posted by maxus

Nope. No belittlement. Just the facts. This building, although a nice change, does not get me excited. I had much higher expectations for the overall "look" of this building.

For me it's not the look of the building but the height that's lacking. It is still a very nice and welcome addition to downtown.

[txex06]

I guess all the party poopers in here can hope USAA builds a tall new building downtown. USAA's profits are in the billions and not the hundred millions like Frost.

[micahinsa]

Originally Posted by txex06

I guess all the party poopers in here can hope USAA builds a tall new building downtown. USAA's profits are in the billions and not the hundred millions like Frost.

I have thought about that recently, too---what would happen if USAA moved their headquarters downtown. I honestly think it would be an absolute game-changer for San Antonio, almost as if we had won the Amazon bid.

And forget "a" tall building---USAA could build several. Their headquarters right now has almost 5 million square feet. I believe the Frost is going to have about 500K square feet. USAA could build five towers double the size of the Frost, for their workers alone, let alone if they shared office space.

And then think of how many new towers would go up to house all the people living and working downtown. It would change the skyline/density/prospects of San Antonio overnight.

[JACKinBeantown]

Originally Posted by PDG91

In most construction sites, It is a tradition to put up a pine tree on the last beam when topping off a building. The beam would also include the signatures of all the people that have taken part at the construction site along with the country's flag hanging on it. It’s a blessing/symbol that a construction project has reached its highest and noticeable point, like a tree. It's also a symbol that it's the beginning of the end of the project and a blessing for a so-far safe construction site. Just thought i'd add this to the "controversy" about giving a celebration to the construction workers for the completion of the 23rd floor. I wonder now if they'll place a tree on top of the last piece of the crown installed?

Here's another way of celebrating a topping out.

https://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram...42201344_n.jpg

[Fryguy]

Originally Posted by micahinsa

I have thought about that recently, too---what would happen if USAA moved their headquarters downtown. I honestly think it would be an absolute game-changer for San Antonio, almost as if we had won the Amazon bid.

And forget "a" tall building---USAA could build several. Their headquarters right now has almost 5 million square feet. I believe the Frost is going to have about 500K square feet. USAA could build five towers double the size of the Frost, for their workers alone, let alone if they shared office space.

And then think of how many new towers would go up to house all the people living and working downtown. It would change the skyline/density/prospects of San Antonio overnight.

It's always been said that if they were to ever build a single tower, it would be bigger than the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), which houses 4.6 million sq.). One World Trade has 3.5 million sq. as a comparable example.

[Fryguy]

https://youtu.be/MJyqA5eW8Xc

Someone asked about the workers writing on one of the steel beams...

[AwesomeSAView]

Originally Posted by UltraDanPrime

There are always a few that have to be negative just for the sake of being negative. Its pathetic actually. I feel sorry for them. Anyway, I think its totally cool to have the party! Just my opinion!

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ON YOUR FIRST THREE STATEMENTS!

AND BY THE WAY NAYSAYERS, THE TOPPING OUT PARTY WAS ACTUALLY FOR ALL THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS TO SHOW APPRECIATION!!!

THAT IS JUST THE TRUE SPIRIT OF SAN ANTONIO AS ALWAYS

[JACKinBeantown]

So it's pretty clear that the topping out party was fully justified in every conceivable way. Can we move on?

[AwesomeSAView]

Originally Posted by JACKinBeantown

So it's pretty clear that the topping out party was fully justified in every conceivable way. Can we move on?

I'm ready to move on, are they??

[Montirob]

Originally Posted by txex06

I guess all the party poopers in here can hope USAA builds a tall new building downtown. USAA's profits are in the billions and not the hundred millions like Frost.

USAA has already started adding people downtown. They own 2 buildings on Convent (18 and 28 stories). They have been renovating 3-4 floors at a time - so fast that they have built temporary exterior construction elevators to ferry materials back and forth. You can argue that this method basically only replaces one group of tenants with another... and I can't disagree.

I don't think they would ever abandon their I-10 campus, however, to just move 10 miles in. Too much land and too much investment.

[Fryguy]

Originally Posted by Montirob

USAA has already started adding people downtown. They own 2 buildings on Convent (18 and 28 stories). They have been renovating 3-4 floors at a time - so fast that they have built temporary exterior construction elevators to ferry materials back and forth. You can argue that this method basically only replaces one group of tenants with another... and I can't disagree.

I don't think they would ever abandon their I-10 campus, however, to just move 10 miles in. Too much land and too much investment.

Wait, USAA owns the Bank of America Plaza building?

[PDD]

Originally Posted by Fryguy

Wait, USAA owns the Bank of America Plaza building?

Yes, USAA purchased it almost a year ago.

[JRG1974]

I have not been on the forum for a few days, but when I got on today I noticed that there were almost 2 pages of comments in this thread on the topping out ceremony. I know that the topic has died down. Jack even said that it was clear that "topping out party was fully justified", so I really don't want to drag this on, but I take the discussion on this topic personal.

To start, it does not need to be justified. I have been in the construction business for 23 years. I have been mainly in industrial where we celebrate different milestones, but when I did work in commercial, every project had a topping off ceremony. It is a source of great pride for the people that put a lot of time and effort into these projects. It is a time honored tradition that dates back centuries. Here is a small article about it:

https://coarchitects.com/topping-ori...ent-tradition/

Tons of buildings have parties to celebrate a topping out. Any contractor that cares about their workers and has any pride in the project they have done will have one. I would be disappointed with Clark construction if they did not have a party.

Even smaller projects have them.

The STEM building at TAMU- San Antonio:
https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local...-tech-building

The Embassy Suites at Brooks:
https://livebrooks.com/embassy-suite...august-2016-2/

Even big and small projects in Toronto have these celebrations. Even though they have "been there".

10 story Bridgeport Hospital expansion:
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/10/...es-its-topping

Also, the 58 story L Tower:
http://www.ctbuh.org/News/GlobalTall...n-US/view.aspx

Even New York does it:
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/06...r-topping-out/

At the end of the day, I just hope you guys can understand the great pride everyone on a site has in a topping out ceremony. This is not a celebration for the city, though some officials may and will want to attend. This is about the hard work of the people on site. Like a wrap party in film making, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to get out a finished product, but this really does mark the beginning of the end. This would be the last time all major contractors will be on site. Slowly all the groups will be start to leave the project, so you take this time to celebrate as a whole. They are not looking to others to justify celebrating their hard work.

[UltraDanPrime]

Well said 👍

[AwesomeSAView]

Originally Posted by JRG1974

I have not been on the forum for a few days, but when I got on today I noticed that there were almost 2 pages of comments in this thread on the topping out ceremony. I know that the topic has died down. Jack even said that it was clear that "topping out party was fully justified", so I really don't want to drag this on, but I take the discussion on this topic personal.

To start, it does not need to be justified. I have been in the construction business for 23 years. I have been mainly in industrial where we celebrate different milestones, but when I did work in commercial, every project had a topping off ceremony. It is a source of great pride for the people that put a lot of time and effort into these projects. It is a time honored tradition that dates back centuries. Here is a small article about it:

https://coarchitects.com/topping-ori...ent-tradition/

Tons of buildings have parties to celebrate a topping out. Any contractor that cares about their workers and has any pride in the project they have done will have one. I would be disappointed with Clark construction if they did not have a party.

Even smaller projects have them.

The STEM building at TAMU- San Antonio:
https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local...-tech-building

The Embassy Suites at Brooks:
https://livebrooks.com/embassy-suite...august-2016-2/

Even big and small projects in Toronto have these celebrations. Even though they have "been there".

10 story Bridgeport Hospital expansion:
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/10/...es-its-topping

Also, the 58 story L Tower:
http://www.ctbuh.org/News/GlobalTall...n-US/view.aspx

Even New York does it:
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/06...r-topping-out/

At the end of the day, I just hope you guys can understand the great pride everyone on a site has in a topping out ceremony. This is not a celebration for the city, though some officials may and will want to attend. This is about the hard work of the people on site. Like a wrap party in film making, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to get out a finished product, but this really does mark the beginning of the end. This would be the last time all major contractors will be on site. Slowly all the groups will be start to leave the project, so you take this time to celebrate as a whole. They are not looking to others to justify celebrating their hard work.

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS!!

[kmack]

Originally Posted by JRG1974

I have been in the construction business for 23 years.

Well said! I've been in this industry since '97 myself and have seen my fair share of the celebrations. Your statements echoed the sentiment perfectly.

[The Model]

[IMG]Frost Bank Construction by Raul Medina III, on Flickr[/IMG]