Austinist: Marriott Delayed, Waylaid

LoudMouth

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:24:31 -0600

told you so.

OHFOUR

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:20:46 -0600

lots of real estate moguls on here.

mdahmus

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:16:40 -0600

shooter, that's a load of crack-smoking nonsense. The previously low FARs weren't inducing more people to develop over surface parking lots; they were inducing LESS such development.

shooter

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:28:11 -0600

Mike, Let's be honest here -- the City bent over backwards to make this deal happen, and it wasn't enough. In a bit of irony, when the City grants very generous entitlements, it may actually thwart the type of development you and other Galindo/Riley/McCracken-istas want, because the property then has to reach monumental levels of economic return before anyone will break ground. CLB, AndrewsUrban sites will likely now lay fallow for years to come until margins return (if ever) to pre-sobering levels. So if anyone is to blame for the next few years of surface parking lots, its the developer friendly folks who freely handed out FAR increases merely for passing go.

Grape Ape

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:32:07 -0600

Have to go with Mike on this one. I can't see any possible way how an empty piece of prime real estate being undeveloped is sweet justice of any kind. They either need to move forward or sell to someone else who wants to before we end up with another Intel fiasco.

mdahmus

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 09:56:13 -0600

Seth, hearing that from you is like Bush telling me I need to be a little more intellectually curious.

seth

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:55:01 -0600

Mike is an awesome thinker. Unfortunately, he sabotages his own agenda with his dysfunctional rhetoric. I share everyone's collective 'ughhhh...' over this false start hysteria. Seth

heyzeus

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:24:17 -0600

If there hadn't been the delay of the project related to the Las Manitas flap, chances are White Lodging (aka Marriott) would've broke ground in the summer and right now would be ceasing construction operations because there's little chance there'll be need for 1000 new hotel rooms in the near term, and we'd be left with an infamous "Marriott Shell." And maybe some day we'd desperately give it to the feds, just to be rid of the embarrassment.

tim

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:18:04 -0600

I'm not a fan of the hotel, but I can't help but think if Las Manitas had made up its mind about the cities loan a bit faster the funding could have already been sewn up. All parties involved made this the cluster that it is.

leggyblonde

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:42:54 -0600

Um, if it's on hold are they still being torn down? or wouldn't that be on hold?

mdahmus

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:08:12 -0600

Hooray! Now we can knock down those other buildings and put in a new surface parking lot so the old hippies who loved Las Manitas so much will have a better place to park their smoke-belching Volvos and their SOS-sticker-adorned SUVs. Yay, progress!

austinsoundcheck

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:40:52 -0600

Sweet justice.

OHFOUR

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:36:34 -0600

is this the same hotel that caused las manitas to close? i cant wait that long for another plato de chorizo

austinhealy

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:15:11 -0600

HALLELUJAH! ....For now