AUSTIN | 701 Trinity (Block 87) | 428 FEET | 31 FLOORS | Resurrected

[MichaelB]

Happy for this. Perhaps the church will invest in homeless outreach as well.
They do have a soup kitchen of somekind in their basement.

I do hope this will not turn into a thoughtless dumping of the homeless population on a nearby neighborhood.

[The ATX]

The Statesman has it now. This won't happen anytime soon. It's "hopeful" to break ground in 2018.

http://www.mystatesman.com/business/...YZZL6gOK7tGnI/

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Happy for this. Perhaps the church will invest in homeless outreach as well.
They do have a soup kitchen of somekind in their basement.

I do hope this will not turn into a thoughtless dumping of the homeless population on a nearby neighborhood.

There is no neighborhood, nearby or otherwise, that will allow that to happen. The problem is not the ARCH and Salvation Army specifically. It is the fact that hundreds of homeless people are allowed to congregate 24 hours a day in the area where a great many of them engage in illegal activities and harass people who are in the area for legitimate purposes. I have advocated for the homeless in Austin for a long time, but it is clear that the situation around the ARCH has gotten completely out of control and is ruining things in that part of town. I think the site of the former Home Depot up at St. Johns and 35 might be a viable place to concentrate homeless services, but I doubt that concept would get very far with area residents or with the city council either. Another option might be to disperse services. The Salvation Army could move its services and activities to the campus they have on South Congress just south of Ben White. Caritas could possibly be persuaded to relocate. The ARCH should offer services indoors and not permit or encourage large numbers of people to camp out on the adjacent sidewalks day and night. Law enforcement needs to sweep the camp sites along Waller Creek and also along and adjacent to the UP railroad tracks on the other side of downtown and up near Bouldin. One of the main reasons we have such a large and unruly homeless population is that the city does not enforce laws that would discourage this population from setting up shop here in Austin. Lots of homeless come here just for that purpose because the word out there is that Austin is fairly safe and tolerant with a benign climate and has lots of services ("feedings" is one term often used) that allow one to live on the streets in greater comfort than might be possible elsewhere.

[The ATX]

Very well said. Enabling the homeless to engage in illegal, abusive behavior does not equate to empathy or help for the homeless.

[AustinGoesVertical]

Love the design. I hope this is more in line with what it will look like in the end. The park on top with the solar panels would be a welcomed site. I like the glass on this rendering too.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by The ATX

The Statesman has it now. This won't happen anytime soon. It's "hopeful" to break ground in 2018.

http://www.mystatesman.com/business/...YZZL6gOK7tGnI/

They also have a version that isn't behind the paywall.

http://www.statesman.com/business/hi...YZZL6gOK7tGnI/

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by austlar1

There is no neighborhood, nearby or otherwise, that will allow that to happen. The problem is not the ARCH and Salvation Army specifically. It is the fact that hundreds of homeless people are allowed to congregate 24 hours a day in the area where a great many of them engage in illegal activities and harass people who are in the area for legitimate purposes. I have advocated for the homeless in Austin for a long time, but it is clear that the situation around the ARCH has gotten completely out of control and is ruining things in that part of town. I think the site of the former Home Depot up at St. Johns and 35 might be a viable place to concentrate homeless services, but I doubt that concept would get very far with area residents or with the city council either. Another option might be to disperse services. The Salvation Army could move its services and activities to the campus they have on South Congress just south of Ben White. Caritas could possibly be persuaded to relocate. The ARCH should offer services indoors and not permit or encourage large numbers of people to camp out on the adjacent sidewalks day and night. Law enforcement needs to sweep the camp sites along Waller Creek and also along and adjacent to the UP railroad tracks on the other side of downtown and up near Bouldin. One of the main reasons we have such a large and unruly homeless population is that the city does not enforce laws that would discourage this population from setting up shop here in Austin. Lots of homeless come here just for that purpose because the word out there is that Austin is fairly safe and tolerant with a benign climate and has lots of services ("feedings" is one term often used) that allow one to live on the streets in greater comfort than might be possible elsewhere.

Here's an idea. The Episcopal Church could go a long way in helping with the homeless situation in that area. Maybe they will have some sort of component as part of their project. Maybe they will have some affordable housing? Then again maybe not. After all isn't helping the poor a central theme of Christianity. I'll be interested in what all will be planned and how much those residential units will go for.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Here's an idea. The Episcopal Church could go a long way in helping with the homeless situation in that area. Maybe they will have some sort of component as part of their project. Maybe they will have some affordable housing? Then again maybe not. After all isn't helping the poor a central theme of Christianity. I'll be interested in what all will be planned and how much those residential units will go for.

Probably fewer that 25% of the visible homeless population downtown has the social development needed to live independently or semi-independently in their own housing or a structured housing scheme. The ARCH has a program that attempts find housing for homeless families and homeless individuals who have the mental and social organization neeeded to succeed in a structured housing program. Foundation Communities works with the ARCH and Caritas to provide some of that housing. Most of the people you see squatting on the sidewalks around the ARCH and the Sally are not socialized to that level. They have drug addiction, untreated mental health issues, mental retardation, and histories of violent and criminal behaviors. Probably most of them do not want treatment for substance abuse or mental health. Most of them have been in the system (either mental health/substance abuse or criminal justice) many times in the past and have come to prefer the relative freedom of homeless living rather than submit to the social norms required to live independently or semi-independently in a housing scheme. Some of these people have families nearby and possibly even homes where they are somewhat welcome. I hate to sound like a heartless person, but I think the only real solution for the majority of the homeless on the streets of downtown Austin is some form of involuntary institutionalization for substance abuse and/or mental health treatment. Others probably just belong in jail and off the streets where they prey on other homeless people and innocent members of the general public. Meanwhile, the city needs to enforce whatever anti-vagrancy laws they have on the books (and deemed enforceable by the court system) to make things safer, cleaner, and less chaotic in that quadrant of downtown. What is happening there now is truly shameful.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

They also have a version that isn't behind the paywall.

http://www.statesman.com/business/hi...YZZL6gOK7tGnI/

The Statesman doesn't really have a paywall - just open their articles in Chrome with a new incognito window. I stopped paying for online access to the Statesman because of this option.

[KevinFromTexas]

Well, golly, that's a nifty discovery.

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Well, golly, that's a nifty discovery.

Yep, thanks (Reddit) R/Austin for that one.

[Urbannizer]

You can also get around the Austin Business Journal's (or any other Business Journal) locked subscriber-content articles by pasting the link into http://cachedview.com, click the text only version.

Here's another rendering:

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by The ATX

The Statesman has it now. This won't happen anytime soon. It's "hopeful" to break ground in 2018.

http://www.mystatesman.com/business/...YZZL6gOK7tGnI/

That's soon... It's next year.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

You can also get around the Austin Business Journal's (or any other Business Journal) locked subscriber-content articles by pasting the link into http://cachedview.com, click the text only version.

Here's another rendering:

If this really has that level of street and pedestrian interaction, that'd be great. As much as I hate buildings that insist on being spread out over an entire city block, it's certainly mitigated when you can walk past stores, bars, and restaurants instead of blank walls covering a gigantic parking garage....

[drummer]

^^ Agreed.

[lzppjb]

Another article: http://kut.org/post/mixed-use-high-r...in-parking-lot

Developers say the site has more than 600,000 square feet of space to build on. Lowrey said the development could include public space for community meetings and that the church plans to work with St. David’s Episcopal Church next door to provide more services for the homeless. The Austin Center for the Homeless is just across the street.

Lowrey said safety is an important consideration for the development.

“Surface parking, even though it’s well-lit, can kind of be dead zones" that attract crime, he said. "So we’re designing this project to improve those conditions."

Austin-based real estate firm Cielo Property Group was selected to the block. Founder Bobby Dillard said developers have not made a final decision, but they’re considering office space, residential units, retail or a hotel for the property.

[OKTX]

I love this project, but I image financing will be next to impossible to get as long as the ARCH stays put.I hope I'm wrong though - Cielo does great stuff.

[the Genral]

I think it would be more successful as an office tower given the proximity to the current situation. Worker tenants would be pretty much gone at night, where as hotel guests or residents would be there 24 / 7. That could keep those folks away. If they were to pursue this as an office tower, the balconies would go and we could be left with something less appealing.

[wwmiv]

I think people who are looking to live downtown go in knowing they are likely to live nearby to and have to interact with homeless people. I don't think that'll be too much a big deal either with funding or sales if it is residential. A hotel, on the other hand, might present a funding problem.

[We vs us]

I'm pretty sure that, regardless of the stated goals of the Episcopal Church, prospective tenants will raise holy hell about ARCH and its problems. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this project becomes one of the major nudges to get ARCH et al moved out of downtown for good. It just presents such a huge, visible risk to anyone wanting to be part of that block.