Austin | Annie B (Block 150) | 423 Feet | 36 Floors | Approved/Demo

[The ATX]

I'm minimally surprised to see a new tower proposal - especially for its location at 12th & San Antonio. Stratus is the developer and SCB is the architect. SCB designed Hanover's residential towers. It's 31-stories and 357'.





Street level rendering:




The site from Streetview:




The info is from a backup file for the HLC Architectural Review Committee Meeting this week.

http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=347011

[gillynova]

Nice to see a new proposal, especially during a pandemic. Nice 350'+ on this side of town too!

[the Genral]

I'm not going to comment on the render, ok I will, meh. But what an interesting location. If I got this right, isn't San Antonio St down hill from Congress Ave? If so, that would make this tower look shorter from the east. I really like seeing new taller developments north of 8th St, and either east or west of Congress.

[The ATX]

There's not much of a rendering to comment on. But there is a reason that they are only showing a street level rendering to the HLC. It's a nod to mid-century architectural meant to be a "tribute" to the existing building that will be demo'ed. This is pretty typical for projects that need HLC approval. They don't like showing project renderings to the HLC that show its full height compared to neighboring buildings - especially if it will loom over a historical building next door. But the HLC sometimes requests more renderings for a follow up meeting if they don't approve a project at the first meeting.

[The ATX]

This is a relatively new project, only three permits have been filed for it - all in August. They were for typical predevelopment stuff like trees and Demo. Here's the site from one of the filings:

[drummer]

I like seeing some height over there. And for that area, I'm okay with a box - let's get the ball rolling and eventually some more creative designs can come in.

[MichaelB]

Well crap. This is a mixed bag for me . I think 12th has been destined to be a wonderful Avenue to be developed. HOWEVER... if I was going to save one structure on 12th it would be THIS ONE! We have dreamed for years of owning that property.
Sad.
But I do think this is the future of 12th.

[myBrain]

The street interaction is everything. This area needs to serve as a better, more walkable connection between downtown and campus.

[eskimo33]

Please excuse my ignorance on this, but what exactly is the "commemorative space"? To me, it seems to be the expected street-level interaction.
A thought, might the residential portion be marketed toward the professional worker and university student? It has always been my dream to have a residential tower that incorporates both markets.
West Campus is underutilized when University is not in session and having a better mix of tenants would go a long way toward making the drag businesses more sustainable.
I do realize that this location would be considered a bit of stretch for University student housing.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by eskimo33

Please excuse my ignorance on this, but what exactly is the "commemorative space"?

There's a slide in the backup file with renderings of the proposed commemorative space.

[N90]

This is a marked improvement compared to what’s there right now.

Assuming this will replace that old fugly 1 story building with those gross suburban style setbacks from an already way too narrow sidewalk, then this is a huge improvement. In every single way.

If it’s replacing one of those highrises, then I reserve the right to change my mind.

[The ATX]

This is a rendering of the "commemorative space" that eskimo brought up in his post. It amounts to public art which is one of the considerations given to projects that need a density bonus. This project needs much more than a density bonus. It needs a zoning change.

[The ATX]

Based on the commissioner comments made at the Architectural Review Committee Meeting Wednesday, this has zero chance of being approved by the HLC, and there is nothing that can be done to get approval. So this may go the way of 90 Rainey and get held up for months out of spite before the owners of the building get approval by another means.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by N90

This is a marked improvement compared to what’s there right now.

Assuming this will replace that old fugly 1 story building with those gross suburban style setbacks from an already way too narrow sidewalk, then this is a huge improvement. In every single way.

If it’s replacing one of those highrises, then I reserve the right to change my mind.

The 1 story building there is historic and is a pretty nice gem architecturally, with a beautiful mid-century international style design. I think maybe that's what the "commemorative space" is commemorating.

[13th_and_Guad]

Don't have much to add other than: I live on this block and walk my dog past this existing building multiple times a day. This property is currently the home of numerous stray cats.

[Armybrat]

Originally Posted by 13th_and_Guad

Don't have much to add other than: I live on this block and walk my dog past this existing building multiple times a day. This property is currently the home of numerous stray cats.

Six-toed cats?

[StoOgE]

West 12th is going to have to become a major artery at some point.

[The ATX]

The beat down received from the Architectural Review Committee didn't stop this project yet. They filed for their zoning change today.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/public-s...ertyrsn=428474

[The ATX]

This goes to the full HLC for the first time on Monday 10/12. Beat down #2 is expected. New and tweaked street level renderings:





http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=348402

[myBrain]

They're insane if they don't approve this.