The latest bike share hub being installed this morning at Davis & Rainey Street. Just in time for SXSW, this is a good choice of location in the neighborhood. Across the street Hotel Van Zandt is under construction.
Rainey Street District
Waller Park Place Submits Site Plan for 3 Towers
At ~1,400,000 square feet Waller Park Place, a three tower mixed-use plan is the largest private development ever proposed in downtown Austin (correct me in the comments if I’m wrong). It’s the vision of the Sutton Company, who formally filed their site plan approval application with the City of Austin last week.
Back in September, Downtown Austin Blog first revealed the concept for the 3 acre tract stretching from Cesar Chavez to Davis Street, hugging Waller Creek. Then it was being called Waller Center and seemed really to be just a conceptual vision.
Below is what we know (note these numbers have gone up since Waller Center was announced in September and could still change)
- Tower A – Office, 25+ stories, on the corner of Red River and Cesar Chavez
- Tower B – Apartments, 50+ stories, internal on the site
- Tower C – Hotel/Condo, 40+ stories, at Red River & Davis
- Target FAR is 10:1
- The architect is the IBI Group
- No phasing is contemplated – all three towers built simultaneously
- The site is part of the Waller Creek TIF district
With Block 1 (tbd) anticipated, and Trinity Tower (tbd) being conceptualized, Waller Park Place would be the last opportunity in downtown Austin for waterfront development with protected lake views.
Above and below are a couple of crude massing-drawings I made for each tower to help view the relative dimensions and heights of the three towers, and to help us see how these buildings will fit into the skyline.
Demolition Begins For Dinerstein Development
Snapped a pic this afternoon showing that demolition is well under way along East Ave for the 9 tract assemblage which will host a Dinerstein apartment development, expected to be called Millenium Rainey (aka Rainey Center).
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Kimber Modern Is Coming To Downtown Austin – And It Looks Incredible
If you have ever looked for parking behind the Continental Club on South Congress, you may have been surprised to see the Kimber Modern hotel quietly tucked along the back street.
The Kimber, with it’s clean, manicured building lines, has become a favorite destination for people visiting Austin, or even Austinites taking a staycation.
Though the notion of a Kimber Modern in the Rainey District has been percolating for a while now, the principals have been very tight lipped.
For the first time, we have an original rendering of the project that we can share, and can confirm that it will be called, simply, “Kimber Modern Rainey.”
Here’s what we know…
– 30 hotel rooms (approx.)
– Four above grade floors
– One floor of underground parking
– Street level lobby, bar, pool, and restaurant open to the public
– Three floors of rooms
– Designed by Burton Baldridge
– Will be operated by Kimber Modern Team
– Co-Developed and built by Acero Construction
In almost poetic contrast to some of the recent cookie-cutter development in and around downtown, the Kimber Modern Rainey will be one of a kind.
It’s always refreshing to see a development putting forth a bold design vision. Despite how much downtown Austin has evolved, many of us feel a bit let down by safe “beige box” aesthetic of several new buildings. Hat tip to Burton Baldridge on the design.
The site for the chic bed & breakfast’s 2nd location will be on East Ave (near the corner of River St), sharing an alley with the core of Rainey Street. Made up of two adjacent lots: 62 & 64 East Ave, it will welcome people into the neighborhood.
I’m excited that owner Kimber Cavendish and Vicki Faust are bringing this kind of quality, home-grown hospitality into the Rainey Street area, four years after they launched their South Congress base.
Notably, the South Congress location picked as on of 13 winners (out of 227 entries) in 2012 to receive the Texas Society of Architects Design Awards from a total of 227 entries.
The Kimber joins Hotel Van Zandt in the neighborhood, which finally erupted into construction earlier this year after years of smoke. Just outside the ‘hood the mega-luxury, mega-size Fairmont is also looking to get underway soon.
Plans Evolve For Rainey Street’s Waller Center
Here are the latest revisions to the 3 acre Waller Center plan – an ambitious project that stretches along the east bank of Waller Creek, from E Cesar Chavez to Davis Street.
The updated renderings (below) give a more comprehensive vision for the massing of three distinct towers, and how they could be best be oriented. According to the ABJ‘s interview with development firm, The Sutton Company, their target is to submit plans to the City of Austin for approval by late November
Here’s what we know about the goals of the project:
- Tower A is a 21 story office building
- Tower B is a 46 story residential tower
- Tower C is a 38 story mixed use Tower
- Target FAR is 10:1
- 26,000 ft retail (possibly grocery store)
Checkout the images below.
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