F1 site announcement (Austin, Onion Creek: real estate, apartments, lease)

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by orngkat

Is it possible this is one of the reasons SH 30 was built in the first place? I wonder who has been quietly investing in the area recently.

SH 130 engineering and ROW acquisition started long before the planning of F1 in Austin. Austin doesn't have any real way to get N-S besides IH-35 and since the west side of town has rich people and is under the edward's aquifer the east side was the only alternative.

I did hear that that new Crow's Nest airport may somehow be related to F1 though.

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

SH and since the west side of town has rich people and is under the edward's aquifer the east side was the only alternative.

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/publications/reports/GroundWaterReports/GWReports/R293/fig10.jpg (broken link)


Isn't the aquifer on the east side too?

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by karlsch

The Texas bravado that often irritates people in the 49 other states:
McCombs admitted he knew nothing about F1 before the project started. He says Bernie Ecclestone asked him Tuesday morning if the track will be ready by 2012, and he replied: "Remember, we are talking about Texas. We are not talking about anywhere else..."
FORMULA-ONE - F1: McCombs Behind Austin Race - SPEED.com

I think he's referring to the fact that Texas is the most business friendly state in the U.S. and since we don't have unions sticking their thumbs in the pie, nor do we have onerous rules/regulations and red tape (relatively speaking, as compared to California for example), getting a project like this built has a better chance of happening on time and on budget than in any other state.

Remember, it ain't bragging/bravado if it's true.

Steve

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Well, at least during the announcement I finally got an answer to who the real "Austinites" are. According to Tavo they began in the 1930's. Anyone from that era on I guess can identify themselves as someone from Austin.

Is the track in Austin?

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/publications/reports/GroundWaterReports/GWReports/R293/fig10.jpg (broken link)


Isn't the aquifer on the east side too?

I didn't think so with the exception of parts of Bastrop and Caldwell that are above the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. I use this map as a reference for the Edward's:

http://campotexas.org/pdfs/Map4-1.pdf

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by austinnerd

Along that line, Steve Jobs recently made a comment about the time it takes to get a cell tower up and going:

"When AT&T wants to add a new cell tower in Texas", Jobs said, "it takes about 3 weeks. But adding a new cell tower in San Francisco has an average turnaround time of 3 years."

Now that's just one extreme, but I do think it reinforces the point that getting regulatory things pushed through in certain parts of Texas can be far easier than other parts of the country.

Agreed. That said, Austin is the exception and is one of the most difficult and onerous cities in which to develop or do any sort of remodeling, or do a project like this. I think this location is outside the Austin city limits and will be a state project. It's against the nature of Austin government to do anything quickly or competently.

Imagine if this F1 track were to be built through a combined effort of City of Austin and Capital Metro. Bwahhahhahhha!!! That would be hilariously disastrous and morbidly sad at the same time. It wouldn't get done on time or on budget.

As long as the City of Austin is involved at little to no level from a regulatory or productivity standpoint, this thing will get done quickly.

Steve

[la60336]

What happens to the track once the contract runs up (assuming they do not extend it)? I am a bit concerned with how well it will do. Austin aside, F1 apparently hasn't done well in the US. It could be the lack of American drivers or something else..not sure. However, if a lot of commercial development is going to occur around the site, which I fully expect, and the event "flops" 2-3 years into the contract, what happens to the track and the retail/commercial built because of it? I am really curious as to what Austin plans to do diffrent from the cities that have tried hosting it before.

[hoffdano]

Some reasons it SHOULD do better than previous F1 races in the US:

- Austin's proximity to Houston and Dallas
- Austin is not far from Mexico and Latin America
- Texas' central US location, which makes it easier for both east and west coast racing fans to get to.
- purpose built F1 road racing track instead of Indy's adapted track
- overhyped or not - Austin has some buzz that is missing from other US cities that might have hosted a F1 race

Some negatives:

- relatively few direct flights to Austin from major US metros
- racing should be in spring or fall; a summer race would be unpleasant

[RaleighLass]

Folks, can I ask you to please stay on topic - thank you!

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by la60336

What happens to the track once the contract runs up (assuming they do not extend it)? I am a bit concerned with how well it will do. Austin aside, F1 apparently hasn't done well in the US. It could be the lack of American drivers or something else..not sure. However, if a lot of commercial development is going to occur around the site, which I fully expect, and the event "flops" 2-3 years into the contract, what happens to the track and the retail/commercial built because of it?

Red McCombs implied during the press conference that it would become a research center for UT or A&M, or even a consortium of the schools. He's donated $50M to UT for the business school in the past, and they used that to build and name the business school after him. Could mean that UT research facility building(s) would be put there from the very start. If that is the case, it could become like another J.J. Pickle remote campus in the future, but with a racetrack. Deloss Dodds (UT Athletic Director) was also at the press conference. So it could be something involving UT sports... I know Disch-Falk eventually needs to be replaced, and it's current location could be ripe for redevelopment into close-in housing/retail/medical. Also if UT sells the Breckenridge tract, they'll need a new biology center. Remember, the 40 acres is pretty hemmed in and UT uses plenty of off-site land for satellite campuses.

Originally Posted by la60336

I am really curious as to what Austin plans to do diffrent from the cities that have tried hosting it before.

Well, building the track from scratch for F1 is already different than what all the cities prior to Austin have done. Also I think the university research center is significantly different.