Austin's Next Wave of High-Rises

[KevinFromTexas]

I'm skeptical of any project until it's finished. I'd rather be let down that way than to get my hopes up. Better to be pleasantly surprised.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I'm skeptical of any project until it's finished. I'd rather be let down that way than to get my hopes up. Better to be pleasantly surprised.

Right! You can't even count on groundbreaking or even a few floors completed, if you remember Intel. That really broke my heart when they stopped construction. Otherwise we would have had a lovely 9 story blob downtown.
Now a days its not so devastating if not everything proposed gets built, at least not like 20 - 30 years ago when there was so few towers and proposals were aplenty, as were the no shows. San Jacinto was suppose to have a twin, and the developers of 360 were proposing to build another tower, on the post office site if I'm correct, just to name two that I was looking forward to. That one surprised me because they were just celebrating the success of how quickly 360 sold out and were really considering building a second tower in Austin off of that success. Nada. Then there was that shit head who was going to build our tallest and I got excited, then nada. So yeah, until I smell the turkey baking in the oven, I'm not going to be waiting at the table ready to feast on it.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by ATXSparky

Symphony Square is still alive - sitework is anticipated to start in February

Awesome! Considering the source, my confidence in this project is renewed.

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by ATXSparky

Symphony Square is still alive - sitework is anticipated to start in February

This is great news. Symphony Square might be small potatoes around here, and I know what I'm about to say is somewhat contradictory, but Symphony Square residents, Alexan Capitol residents and Breckenridge office employees will really help the businesses on Red River stay alive. They can be restaurants during the day and early night and then be the live music venues we love at night. These residents and lunch patrons will buoy them to support their exorbitant leases. I'm all for some city/hotel money to help live music venues, but I think Symphony Square and Alexan residents being added to the neighborhood will help this more naturally. I know its gentrification, but take some bad for the bigger good.

[wwmiv]

Symphony Square might actually be one of my favorite upcoming projects from a streetscape perspective. The potential pedestrian level experience seems to be unparalleled for this quadrant of downtown.

[ILUVSAT]

Originally Posted by ATXSparky

Symphony Square is still alive - sitework is anticipated to start in February

Has the site plan been approved?

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by The ATX

My list of hopeful near future starts is dwindling based on a lack of site plan activity for the ones in process and a couple of expired site plans. At this moment, I only have confidence in three big projects moving forward in the near future based on permitting activity and the developers behind the projects:

1. The Linden
2. Hanover on Brazos
3. River Street Residences

Just revisiting this, in the last week or so we can probably add:

Symphony Square
84 East

I feel like we’ll see a couple more significant updates before the end of 2020, with confirmed groundbreakings, or at least pretty firm timelines.

[Geographer]

Other than the infamous Intel shell in the early 2000s, has any building started construction and then gotten cancelled in Austin in the last 20 years?

[Armybrat]

Originally Posted by Geographer

Other than the infamous Intel shell in the early 2000s, has any building started construction and then gotten cancelled in Austin in the last 20 years?

The low rise office buildings on 183 north by the Riata development sat as empty skeletons for several years, IIRC.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Geographer

Other than the infamous Intel shell in the early 2000s, has any building started construction and then gotten cancelled in Austin in the last 20 years?

There's that building at the Highland Mall redevelopment site that was stripped to its girders to be reconstructed for Rack Space offices several years ago. Then a private equity firm bought Rack Space and plans changed. I think it is just now being reconstructed.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by The ATX

There's that building at the Highland Mall redevelopment site that was stripped to its girders to be reconstructed for Rack Space offices several years ago. Then a private equity firm bought Rack Space and plans changed. I think it is just now being reconstructed.

Isn't it going to be come the new Development Services Department offices?

[H2O]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Isn't it going to be come the new Development Services Department offices?

Nope. The Planning and Development Center is behind the former mall facing Middle Fiskville.

[The ATX]

A couple of the major projects that have been moving forward through the pandemic are up for a rubber stamp from the planning Commission tomorrow: The (84) East tower and River Street Residences. Discussion on a third tower - Block 150 - was postponed so the hate from the HLC can play out.

[The ATX]

This seems like a good thread to put this info...

These site plan applications have expired during the review process. That doesn't mean these projects won't happen. But it does mean that they may not happen as proposed, and the start date has been delayed:

14th & Guadalupe
Broadmoor Block F (Two seven-story apartment buildings)
Broadmoor Block L (308' and 398' office towers)
IBC Bank Tower - Domain (250' office tower)

Symphony Square was previously on the list of expired projects, but the status was recently updated to "Waiting on Legal". That's better than expired. But the only other projects that I recall with a "Waiting on Legal" status were delayed at least a year. That would be two Domain towers and the Arena Tower.

[The ATX]

Here’s an updated health check based on permit activity for most of the 300’+ proposals in the pipeline.

These are healthy. They have had recent permit filings or steady site plan updates during the Pandemic.

1. River Street Residencies
2. Symphony Square
3. Republic Tower
4. 90 Rainey
5. 84 East
6. 307 E. 2nd St./Intracorp Residential
7. Hanover 3rd & Brazos
8. Union on 24th
9. 98 Red River


These are unhealthy as proposed. At best, they are only significantly delayed due to the Pandemic.

1. 14th & Guadalupe – No activity in 8 months, site plan application expired
2. 4th & Brazos - No activity in 7 months
3. BBVA Tower – No activity in 6 months*
4. Tower 5C – No activity in 6 Months*
5. Block 16 – No activity in 9 months**
6. Broadmoor Block L (2 Towers) – No activity in 5 months, site plan application expired
7. Ikon – No updates to the site plan in 20 months, a more recent Plan Review expired in July
8. Block 150***

*In May the developer (Ryan Cos.) stated in an ABJ article that both the BBVA and 5C towers were a go and that groundbreakings would be in January. Site plan activity went silent on both projects shortly after that, and BBVA was of course bought by PNC.

**This project may be resurrected as part of the Convention Center expansion. But in a different form I suspect.

***This project is unusual in that it is a recent one with a lot of ongoing discussion with the City. But based on the Historical Landmark Commission meetings and the backup files posted online this week for the upcoming Planning Commission meeting, it has virtually no chance of happening as proposed. The last chance it would have to proceed would be City Council approval. But it is highly unlikely that the City Council would approve something that the Planning Commission shot down – especially when there are loud NIMBYs speaking against it.

[Maximusx1]

Good list and thanks for compiling. What's your feeling on Travis Towers? And would you add Linden to your good to go list?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

Good list and thanks for compiling. What's your feeling on Travis Towers? And would you add Linden to your good to go list?

I would put Linden on the healthy list since it is permitted and they have been having pre-sales for a while. I don't know where to put the Travis project. It's permitted but seems to be in limbo.

[We vs us]

5C hurts my feelings. Of all the ones we've seen, that's the most forward thinking from a design standpoint. Totally my fave.

And also, as my runner-up fave, glad to see The Republic on the healthy list. Crossing my fingers we get to see new plans ASAP.

[AusTxDevelopment]

Originally Posted by We vs us

5C hurts my feelings. Of all the ones we've seen, that's the most forward thinking from a design standpoint. Totally my fave.

I heard from a reliable industry source that Ryan dropped the Tower 5C project and another developer stepped in. The project is still alive but may get redesigned. The source also said that Ryan is moving forward with BBVA Tower which has a large residential component. Residential is obviously drawing the investment money because of Austin's white hot housing market. COVID and in-migration have created even more demand for single family housing, but developers can't build them fast enough and there's just not enough land within the city. That makes residential towers very popular projects with developers.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by AusTxDevelopment

I heard from a reliable industry source that Ryan dropped the Tower 5C project and another developer stepped in. The project is still alive but may get redesigned. The source also said that Ryan is moving forward with BBVA Tower which has a large residential component. Residential is obviously drawing the investment money because of Austin's white hot housing market. COVID and in-migration have created even more demand for single family housing, but developers can't build them fast enough and there's just not enough land within the city. That makes residential towers very popular projects with developers.

These are both excellent pieces of news . . . though it will still disappoint me if the original 5C design gets chucked. Far and away my fav of what we've seen so far.

Re: BBVA and residential demand broadly -- my theory is that anything that remotely can be built WILL be built as soon as humanly possibly. I also think we could see some of the towers on ATX's dead list flip to residential -- and in fact, that kind of flip might be a contributing factor to almost all of the delays.

Obviously Austin is still a hot location, but the KIND of hot (once office, now residential) has def shifted with the pandemic.

Interesting to hear there's not enough land in the city proper any more . . . [strokes beard]