According to the Austin Business Journal, Tom Stacy (a veteran Austin developer) and Walton Street Capital (a $12B investment firm) are revitalizing plans for two dramatic downtown buildings on a key downtown block bound 5th and Congress.
According to the Report, “Developers are moving forward with plans for two new mixed-use towers and a parking garage downtown. . .The new towers are planned for the same block bound by Brazos and 5th Street, plus a half block across the street. Construction on the first phase — the parking garage — is slated for early 2012. Officials said in 2008 they would invest half a billion in the development. One building will be 500,000 square feet and slightly taller than the 26-story Bank of America building, they said at the time. The other was slated for a hotel and condo tower rising more than 800 feet, plus 1,000-car garage, previous reports said.”
We reported extensively on the original project when it was first announced. Although the details are likely to change dramatically between the first proposal and anything built today, the original plans called for a 925,000 square feet mixed use building which would be the largest downtown Austin project at nearly twice the square feet of the Frost Bank Tower. The project (rendering below) was to be designed by the world-famous architecture firm of Pelli Clarke Pelli, who also designed the Petronas Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world, and the Museum of Modern Art and Museum Tower in New York City.
Original Rendering of 5th & Congress
The original plans called for the project to include 100,000 square feet of retail on the first three floors, 250 room luxury hotel and up to 350 “affordably priced” apartments and condominiums. While many of the details were still up in the air at the time the project was shelved, the project continued to grow in scale after its original proposal. The plans also included a 12-story parking garage one block away. The original building would have soared 110 feet above the Austonian to be the tallest building in Austin and was to include condos on the highest floors.
Will see what similarities exist between the original proposal and whatever new plans evolve for this very important downtown site.
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