W Hotel & Residences Breaks Ground
October 13, 2007 23:11 Filed in: Condo Projects
Another Austin project -- the W Hotel & Residences -- took an important step forward yesterday with a lavish ground-breaking ceremony. Not unlike the Austonian which created a pile of dirt to be shoveled for the ceremony, the Block 21 development team and a world-famous basketball player and investor (Magic Johnson) used unusual guitar-shovels for the ground-breaking. The theme of the event, as far as I can tell, was "Keep Austin Weird."
Block 21, a former vacant lot in the heart of Austin’s Second Street District, is moving from planning to reality. Upon completion in early 2010, the new home of Austin City Limits, a 2,200 seat, state-of-the-art theater and music venue, will also incorporate the W Austin Hotel & Residences, a 35-story tower designed by Arthur Andersson with 196 condos, 250 guestrooms, spa and restaurant; plus approximately 47,000 square feet of ground and second floor retail. Unfortunately, the project will no longer contain the Austin Children's Museum which pulled out of the project -- an unfortunate loss for an otherwise great project. Supposedly, the developers made it very difficult for the Dell Children's Museum to affordably create the sort of space they needed for the facility.
The $260-million project is seeking Platinum LEED Certification for its implementation of green building techniques, materials and operational standards under the guidance of Gail Vittori, Co-director of the Austin-based Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems. There are only a handful of mixed-use projects and hotels in the world that have achieved LEED Platinum Certification.
Here is the latest rendering of the project which will clearly have a huge, positive impact on the second-street district:
Block 21, a former vacant lot in the heart of Austin’s Second Street District, is moving from planning to reality. Upon completion in early 2010, the new home of Austin City Limits, a 2,200 seat, state-of-the-art theater and music venue, will also incorporate the W Austin Hotel & Residences, a 35-story tower designed by Arthur Andersson with 196 condos, 250 guestrooms, spa and restaurant; plus approximately 47,000 square feet of ground and second floor retail. Unfortunately, the project will no longer contain the Austin Children's Museum which pulled out of the project -- an unfortunate loss for an otherwise great project. Supposedly, the developers made it very difficult for the Dell Children's Museum to affordably create the sort of space they needed for the facility.
The $260-million project is seeking Platinum LEED Certification for its implementation of green building techniques, materials and operational standards under the guidance of Gail Vittori, Co-director of the Austin-based Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems. There are only a handful of mixed-use projects and hotels in the world that have achieved LEED Platinum Certification.
Here is the latest rendering of the project which will clearly have a huge, positive impact on the second-street district:
Beyond Residential: Other Downtown Projects
January 29, 2007 11:23 Filed in: Development Watch
While the focus of AustinTowers is downtown high-rise residential development, there are a number of non-residential projects that will also help reshape downtown over the next few years. Here are a few:
W Hotel - The new W Hotel will anchor the $225 million "Block 21" project in the heart of the second street district. If it is like other W's, the upscale design-themed hotel's bar and lobby will likely prove to be a popular nightspot. Block 21 will also include 200 high-end condos, a Willie-Nelson owned nightclub, a new Austin Children's museum, new studios for the Austin City Limits TV program, and 50,000 square feet of street-level retail. The project is expected to be completed in 2009.
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W Hotel - The new W Hotel will anchor the $225 million "Block 21" project in the heart of the second street district. If it is like other W's, the upscale design-themed hotel's bar and lobby will likely prove to be a popular nightspot. Block 21 will also include 200 high-end condos, a Willie-Nelson owned nightclub, a new Austin Children's museum, new studios for the Austin City Limits TV program, and 50,000 square feet of street-level retail. The project is expected to be completed in 2009.
Read More...