AUSTIN | The Thompson (5th & Brazos) | 355 FEET | 31 FLOORS | Complete - Page 6

GoldenBoot · #**101** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 6:53 PM**

Some Austin developments have seemed to have caught a "bug." Both the Fairmont and 5th & Brazos have been reduced by ~10 levels and ~100' from their original designs.

Hummm...Both developers begin with the letter "M" (Manchester & Magellan, respectively).

Who's next? Block 24? 99 Trinity? Waller Center?

How bad is this "illness? How deep does it run?

ahealy · #**102** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 7:00 PM**

our skyline is literally going to be the lonely Austonian giving the finger to all of ATX.

GoldenBoot · #**103** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 10:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahealy

our skyline is literally going to be the lonely Austonian giving the finger to all of ATX.

Yep!

JoninATX · #**104** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 10:49 PM**

That's a good way to put it Ahealy.

hookem · #**105** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 11:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahealy

our skyline is literally going to be the lonely Austonian giving the finger to all of ATX.

So that must be the issue. Follow the money? Perhaps there is a cabal of super-nimbys who occupy the upper floors of the Austonian (maybe known as the illuminimby?) and they conspire behind the scenes with big corporations and the government to make sure nothing over 400' gets built downtown to block their views.

KevinFromTexas · #**106** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 11:39 PM**

I was sort of bummed on the design, besides the height issue, but I've sort of come around to it. If the designs are like the original renderings we saw, it could be a modern sleek tower in the same way the Aloft Hotel appears to be. The two could end up complementing each other well.

Height wise, this is going to be very close to that of the Four Seasons Residences. The two have mechanical penthouses that are only a foot apart in height, and the main roof for this one will be just 3 feet higher than the Four Seasons Residences' roof. The top floor for this one will be 26 feet higher than the Four Seasons Residences' top floor. So overall it'll be taller than the Four Seasons.

Height isn't everything, so I"m just hoping it has good street interaction and a nice design. I just wish architects would get away from leaving mechanical penthouses exposed. I wish they would do a better job of concealing them.

KevinFromTexas · #**107** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 11:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookem

So that must be the issue. Follow the money? Perhaps there is a cabal of super-nimbys who occupy the upper floors of the Austonian (maybe known as the illuminimby?) and they conspire behind the scenes with big corporations and the government to make sure nothing over 400' gets built downtown to block their views.

Actually, even 500 feet is short compared to the Austonian's upper floors. It's really shocking sometimes how much higher those floors appear when you're on them looking down on Frost. Check out the Austonian cam KXAN controls. Frost is considerably lower, and everything else doesn't even show up. I think when they point the camera north the only two tall buildings in the foreground are Frost and One American Center, everything else is too close and too short to show up. West Campus off the in distance when seen from the Austonian reminds me of Midtown New York when seen from the Empire State Building. The buildings there just look like specs in the distance.

jngreenlee · #**108** Posted **Nov 21, 2014, 11:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookem

Perhaps there is a cabal of super-nimbys who occupy the upper floors of the Austonian (maybe known as the illuminimby?) and they conspire behind the scenes with big corporations and the government to make sure nothing over 400' gets built downtown to block their views.

Did anyone ever buy the top floors? From some photos the sun seems to shine right through w/o obvious things like furniture and windows coverings in the way.

hookem · #**109** Posted **Nov 22, 2014, 1:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jngreenlee

Did anyone ever buy the top floors? From some photos the sun seems to shine right through w/o obvious things like furniture and windows coverings in the way.

The Illuminimby have this technology, must be what they are using:
http://inhabitat.com/quantum-stealth...ibility-cloak/

jngreenlee · #**110** Posted **Nov 22, 2014, 7:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookem

The Illuminimby have this technology, must be what they are using:
http://inhabitat.com/quantum-stealth...ibility-cloak/

You can't tell what's happening under THIS blanket...heh heh.

The ATX · #**111** Posted **Nov 27, 2014, 2:50 PM**

I was reading the details of the filing:

The hotel will have 333 rooms. (No mention of the operator)

There will be 329 apartments. (I would have thought there would be condos)

There will be two restaurants. (TGI Friday's and Applebees - JK)

https://www.austintexas.gov/devrevie...erRSN=11232989

Tech House · #**112** Posted **Nov 27, 2014, 4:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hill Country

There will be two restaurants. (TGI Friday's and Applebees - JK)

In the fraction of a second that it took for me to get from the names of the restaurant chains to the JK, i very nearly had a stroke!

How is it that you're able to obtain so much useful information about projects around town? It is surely appreciated. I feel like a useless leech on this forum compared to those of you who fill it with amazing content --- the photos and updates are well beyond anything I've seen for most other cities. We're a fortunate lot to have such a full deck of SP forum participants. I guess this is my way of saying Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

lzppjb · #**113** Posted **Nov 27, 2014, 7:13 PM**

Hey...Applebee's (Club Bee) has half price appetizers after 10pm.

austlar1 · #**114** Posted **Nov 28, 2014, 4:32 AM**

So which one is the "high quality" restaurant and which one is the "high turnover" restaurant?

KevinFromTexas · #**115** Posted **Nov 28, 2014, 5:16 AM**

And which one is the one where people plan to overthrow an oppressive corporation who steals their staplers and makes them come to work on Saturdays???

LoneStarMike · #**116** Posted **Dec 14, 2014, 1:12 AM**

This is a somewhat different rendering than the ones that have been posted before.

It came from the latest emerging projects poster on the City's website.

ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/DowntownAu...r_2014_dec.pdf

Tech House · #**117** Posted **Dec 14, 2014, 2:20 AM**

Wow, that looks fantastic compared to what I was imagining! I love that design. I was afraid it would be another wall monolith with no street life, but it has excellent interaction with the street, and some interesting elements up higher to make it nice and controversial.

KevinFromTexas · #**118** Posted **Dec 14, 2014, 2:52 AM**

I can't say I'm a fan. It will be wide. It looks to me like it runs the full length of the block - so it'll be at least 275 feet wide. That's the same widths as the Fairmont, JW Marriott and the Hilton. And the design is dated already. It looks like it's from 1968. The base is ok, but that tower with those redundant balconies. And that elevator core is awful.

Tech House · #**119** Posted **Dec 14, 2014, 3:18 AM**

Interesting. My guess is that you have a much better grasp of what the actual building will look like than I do. I generally react to the pictures in and of themselves, and I find the finished products to be a big surprise because, to my untrained eye, they never look the way the renderings made them appear.

I also get fooled by this particular view, which is distorted in a way that is pleasing to my eye. Same with the Greenwater, the one being called 500 Second. The only view I liked of that one was the one that was distorted to make it appear as though it had wild angles instead of the usual rectangular yawner.

You said you like 500 Second, which surprises me in light of your not liking 5th/Brazos for reasons that I would think apply to the other as well. So I think it's just that I'm not seeing what the renderings are telling you about the way they'll appear when finished.

the Genral · #**120** Posted **Dec 14, 2014, 3:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

I can't say I'm a fan. It will be wide. It looks to me like it runs the full length of the block - so it'll be at least 275 feet wide. That's the same widths as the Fairmont, JW Marriott and the Hilton. And the design is dated already. It looks like it's from 1968. The base is ok, but that tower with those redundant balconies. And that elevator core is awful.

I agree with you, plus, I really don't like that small section sticking out from the side. It looks more like an add on as opposed to anything with architectural merit. Its just a rectangular blob to me, totally out of place. How many more of these generics are going to fill the skyline