AUSTIN | Hyatt House | 120 FEET | 11 FLOORS | COMPLETE

[The ATX]

Continuing on with the bandwagon...even the greenery rendered on the slope looks awful. It looks like a poorly maintained weed patch. Some of that typically fake rendering greenery would have helped.

[the Genral]

My first impression of the slope reminded me of the grassy dunes you find near the hotels and condos in Port A and N. Padres Island, but the building behind it would be more suited on Rikers Island, minus the pool.
Snap! This building reminds me of an old "U" shaped, red brick apartment bldg I lived in in NY. It was about the same size, in sort of a ghetto part of town. Everyone openned their windows and threw garbage down into the "courtyard". Had a cat try to commit suicide from my 5th floor apartment window but survived....fell onto a large pile of trash. Ironically he died shortly afterward, not from injuries from the fall, but by eating rat poison that was being used to control the rats that were attracted to the trash people were throwing into the courtyard that initially softened the landing that saved his life. But what the hell does that have to do with this rendering? That's what I'm reminded of when I see it...

[drummer]

Originally Posted by LoneStarMike

In keeping with the "prison look" maybe they'll put in some nice barbed wire along the top of that railing/fence that separates the pool area from the outside. We wouldn't want non-hotel guests climbing over to try and bathe in the pool.

I agree; this is a great idea. I see that photo and all I want to do is hop over the fence and hang out in that little oasis.

[Tech House]

On the plus side, the windowless back walls are going to provide a great canvass for graffiti artists and random taggers. So they'll have to put up barbed wire fencing around the entire back, with flood lights blasting at the perimeter. May as well throw in a sentry tower.

[drummer]

Actually, the blank walls could be used for murals. I would love to see more and more of those around downtown - in addition to the ones that are already there.

There's a section in Kuala Lumpur along the river that has concrete embankments that they've let a lot of graffiti artists take squares and go to town on them. There are so many different murals that are all so unique - I think it's one of my favorite areas of that city because it truly is art in most cases. I don't have any of my own photos on my computer at the moment, but here's a link I just found with some great shots:

http://www.anothertraveler.com/graff...-kuala-lumpur/

Tagging is a separate thing altogether - not art, in my opinion, just rude and damaging to the neighborhood, much less someone's property.

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

Buried in the link is a request by the developers to waive the requirement for "Pedestrian Oriented Businesses" because of the "slope restraints" of the lot. But they will be participating in the Great Streets program and have street access to their lobby bar.

This is from the most recent meeting of the Design Commission:

Discussion and possible action on the Hyatt House Design Development submittal located at 901 Neches St. seeking support for a waiver request to the Pedestrian Oriented Business requirement due to slope constraints along 9th St. (Reece Whitley, Noble Surveying & Engineering Works).

Discussion: Mr. Ross Hamilton introduced the project and initiated the presentation seeking a waiver to the Pedestrian Oriented business requirement. Mr. Reece Whitley gave details of the project and Great Streets compliance. Mr. Roger Brown gave the Commission details on the building’s entrance and relationship to great Streets.

The motion to support the waiver request as requested with the following conditions and recommendations:

Conditions:
1. The artworks be of greater extent and be more articulated;
2. The artwork engage the works across the street; and
3. The artwork begin to address the larger context; and

Recommendation:
1. Engage the Waller Creek Conservancy and Arts in Public Places to
conceptualize the role of the artwork on 9th Street.
made by H. Hasbrouck; Second by J. Shieh; was approved on a vote of [5-0] [B. Whatley; J. Cotera not present].

[The ATX]

Site Prep is underway:


Austin Towers/DAB: http://austintowers.net/news/

[corvairkeith]

Posted on facebook today:

Well, it has been a shocking and swift development: The Hyatt Hotel is being built directly above our property on 900 Red River St. (Cheer Up Charlies), and they are set to carve out and destroy large chunks of the rock wall facade, and all of the plant vegetation above us, that is so iconic to our location, and has been iconic since the days of Chances and Club Deville. The first portion of the deconstruction of the rock facade is slated for Monday the 22nd, this Monday. We recently spent a lot of money installing a beautiful and lush planter area along the alleyway of the rock wall, the exact place it turns out that they want to dig down 40 ft to build an underground parking garage for the Hyatt, and disturb the limestone. And I've been hearing nonstop from you all how much the forest-y area has changed the vibe of the place, and how often you visit Red River now that we have moved down there, not just for live shows, but for hanging out. If you feel emotionally involved at all about losing another awesome piece of Austin's history, you have Monday and Tuesday (2 business days) to call the District 9 rep Kathie Tovo about it and leave a message. 512-978-2109. And since our landlord has us mentally arrested over this ("If you go to the press, the damage to the rock wall could be worsened, i.e., you could lose the whole rock facade"), if you are feeling interested in being an "anonymous stranger who just heard about this" and reporting it to the news ON TUESDAY MORNING 6AM (not now) when they break ground, that could help us too. Not sure if we can stop them, but otherwise-- you officially have 2 1/2 days left to enjoy that location as you have known it for so many decades. Starting Monday, they will be blocking off a key and functioning part of our bar and doing construction on our entire property, setting up a tall fence on our property, obstructing part of the outdoor stage, as the rocks tumble down 6am-3pm everyday. You can just call as a concerned citizen.

[The ATX]

I guess this is looking towards the limestone "rock facade":




Here's the view from Streetview (updated in April):



They don't say they own it in the Facebook rant, so I'm guessing they don't. Even if Tovo puts on her magical NIMBY cape in response to a bunch of emails this weekend nothing can be done at this last minute.

[drummer]

Well, the blessing and curse of this is that they don't own that area that is affected. If they could affect so much what others can do on their property, then NIMBYism would be a lot greater. Granted, I hate to see something like that go away, but I like the idea of protecting the hotel's right to do it also. It's not damaging nature or the quality of life of the citizens of Austin - it's affecting their neighbor's view, but they're well within their legal rights. If you are going to run a business downtown (and no matter how long you've been there), you have to know that development is always a possibility right up to the property line in some cases. I'm amazed by people who don't realize this; I sympathize with them, but that is the reality nonetheless.


Edit: One more thing - it looks to me like the "facade" is remnants of an old quarry or something, much like what you see in and around the Y area in south Austin/Oak Hill. If this was a natural rock embankment, I would feel a little more for them. So far as I can tell, it was cleared out and is man-made. Am I wrong on that?

[corvairkeith]

I'm pretty sure the rock facade is man made. Although it made a great backdrop for bands and would change the vibe of the place if it were to go away.



It looks like construction could cause problems for the Mohawk as well.

http://music.blog.austin360.com/2015...k-owner-says/#

[Jdawgboy]

I just think it's a bad location to put a hotel in the first place and it's design leaves much to be desired. I would not mind at all if this was not built.

[MichaelB]

fuck tard developers. The reason they want to build there is because of places like Cheer Ups.....they are just too stupid to put that together in their $$ blind heads.
They picked a sight in an area flush with entertainment. And now they want to be bad neighbors to the very businesses that drew them there??? ( bangs head)
And for what? A generic infill suburban hotel that will be filled with people no doubt complalining about the noise.
Is it in their "rights' to build whatever and however they choose to?
No . BUSINESSES... which are NOT people have to live within the restricitons of a commuity.
So...Not if we as a city say no. Not if we put the quality of life first. Not if the city, via restrictions, makes it a priority to keep music venues alive and well.
We restrict types of businesses, height of businesses, hours of businesses all the time.
Saying that you can not impact the quality of a neighboring business seems well within the rights of a comminity.
Photos of the stage at this venue are some of most used photos for SXSW BECAUSE of the rock wall. It's that natural setting that makes it a very unique venue in downtown.
Kill the live music and you kill the vibe kids....... well it's already happening.
Bad on the city for not working better to preserve the "nature" of the area.
Sucks.
So... pass it by if you want... if you do, you give up on this city.
I will help my neighbor.
Call made.

[The ATX]

We don't even know for sure what is happening to the limestone wall. All this concern is from a Facebook comment. Where is the information that they are basing the comment on? I can't take sides based on emotional Facebook posts without facts. And for the record, I hope the wall can be salvaged (or recreated after construction) and the hotel is by far the ugliest project proposed or underway Downtown. They are a bad neighbor IMO just because of their ugly building.

[KevinFromTexas]

They're complaining about a wall being replaced with...what for it...a wall. Couldn't they, you know, pull some creativity out of the air and come up with something even better? Considering that the wall wasn't on their property and was natural, they were very limited in what they could do with it anyway. They can still do something interesting in its place. Not to mention they'll get more shade which will cool their outdoor area in the summer from the new hotel.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

They're complaining about a wall being replaced with...what for it...a wall. Couldn't they, you know, pull some creativity out of the air and come up with something even better? Considering that the wall wasn't on their property and was natural, they were very limited in what they could do with it anyway. They can still do something interesting in its place. Not to mention they'll get more shade which will cool their outdoor area in the summer from the new hotel.

They will also get more business because of the Hyatt and the Hotel Indigo as well. The only reason those hotels are being built is because they are close to clubs and music venues.
But it certainly seems that the Hotel developers would want to get along and work with their neighbors because their business model largely depends on the the success of those nearby clubs.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

They will also get more business because of the Hyatt and the Hotel Indigo as well. The only reason those hotels are being built is because they are close to clubs and music venues.
But it certainly seems that the Hotel developers would want to get along and work with their neighbors because their business model largely depends on the the success of those nearby clubs.

Agreed with the last point, definitely. It always makes sense to work WITH neighbors rather than in spite of them. A good neighborhood that flows well and functions well together benefits all sides.

[dphogan]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

They will also get more business because of the Hyatt and the Hotel Indigo as well. The only reason those hotels are being built is because they are close to clubs and music venues.
But it certainly seems that the Hotel developers would want to get along and work with their neighbors because their business model largely depends on the the success of those nearby clubs.

They aren't building hotels for the clubs and music venues. They are building a hotel there because it's blocks away from the Capital. My wife works at the Omni downtown and 70% of their business comes from large groups and people associated with work at the capital.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by dphogan

They aren't building hotels for the clubs and music venues. They are building a hotel there because it's blocks away from the Capital. My wife works at the Omni downtown and 70% of their business comes from large groups and people associated with work at the capital.

I would have to disagree and say that music tourism is the main reason. Anyway, here's an actual article about the Hyatt and Cheer Up Charlie's with a video. There is a quote from a Hyatt Rep at the end of the article. I don't think this is going to be a big deal after reading it. But it will be a big inconvenience to the club during the 18 month construction period.

http://music.blog.austin360.com/2015...es-owners-say/

[The ATX]

Now the ABJ has an article. This is starting to get some attention now. The article says Cheer Up Charlie's will get $5K per month as an inconvenience payment during construction:

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/bl...ut-nearby.html