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To see Press Releases & Announcements
Excerpts from articles - print & online
Seaholm District plans moving forward
Residents got a chance to view the redesign models
KXAN
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/seaholm-district-plans-moving-forward?ana=e_aus_rdup
By Cody Lyon , ABJ Staff
October 18, 2011Austin residents got a chance to see the proposed renderings for the redesign of the Seaholm District on Tuesday night.
The Seaholm District is a former industrial section of southwest downtown Austin that the City wants to transform into a vibrant urban neighborhood
At the core of the district is the decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant, which will be redeveloped into a landmark residential and retail destination.
Downtown projects set to start in '!2?
Austin American-Statesman
By Shonda Novak
October 19, 2011Seaholm's lead developer, Austin-based Southwest Strategies Group, plans about 450,000 square feet of development at the 7.8 acre site. The landmark power plant will be renovated to house a special-events center, office, shops and restaurants.
... Condos had been envisioned for the Seaholm site, but the high-rise will now feature "ground-floor retial with approximately 300 apartment units above," said John Rosato, principal with Southwest Strategies. A hotel is no longer planned as part of the Seaholm site, Rosato said.
Plans for Seaholm District move forward
Austin Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/morning_call/2011/10/plans-for-seaholm-district-move-forward.html?s=newsletter&ed=2011-10-19&ana=e_aus_rdup
October 19, 2011Construction on the redesign of the Seaholm District in downtown Austin could begin next year.
Plans for the decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant include redeveloping the area into an urban neighborhood and retail space.
Public Art + Design in Austin's Seaholm District
Austin CityConnection
Press Release
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/redevelopment/nextlevel_symposium.htm
September 12, 2011Off The Grid: Recharging Public Art + Design, a full-day symposium hosted by the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places Program, will feature an intimate look at existing and future public art and design in the Seaholm District, a former industrial section of southwest downtown Austin that is undergoing a transformation into a vibrant urban neighborhood.
The symposium will take place from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at the decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant located at the terminus of West Street at 3rd Street. Check-in and breakfast begin at 8:30 am.
A uniquely Austin adaptive reuse project, theSeaholm District serves as a model for sustainable urban revitalization nationwide. Panel speakers include Jana McCann, McCann Adams Studio; Greg Kiloh, Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office, City of Austin; and John Rosato, Southwest Strategies Group.
Dirt may turn at Seaholm site next year
Mix of uses still in air; nearby land to change
Austin Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/print-edition/2011/07/29/dirt-may-turn-at-seaholm-site-next-year.html
By Cody Lyon , ABJ Staff
July 29, 2011The Seaholm power plant redevelopment can proceed now that a major obstacle was removed, said John Rosato, a principal at Southwest Strategies Group and the spinoff it established for the project, Seaholm Power LLC. Now that Union Pacific Corp. agreed to release an easement of less than 1 acre to the city, Rosato's team hopes to complete its site plan with the city of Austin by year's end. The new target date for the 7.8-acre project's construction is mid-2012, he said.
The developers are "in due diligence mode" and "updating our plan," Rosato said, adding that Seaholm's height and scale will not change markedly. The Seaholm project was originally planned to have 80 condominiums, 160 hotel rooms, up to 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and 100,000 square feet of office space.
Live from Seaholm Power Plant
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/seeingthings/entries/2011/06/29/live_from_seaholm_power_plant.html
By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
Wednesday, June 29, 2011Last March, vanguard musician Ellen Fullman and Austin’s New Music Co-op awed with a captivating concert featuring Fullman’s 100-foot Long String Instrument set up in the decommissioned Art Deco Seaholm Power Plant.
It was a singular event — an unlikely but perfect union between unusual venue and progressive music.
... Recorded at Seaholm, “Flowers,” a meditative and rather plaintive piece, opens with the sound of birds chirping thanks to a flock of sparrows that nest inside Seaholm’s cathedral-like cast-concrete space. The chirping continues to filter in and out of the nearly 10 minute composition.Nice work, birdies.
Review: Blue Lapis Light's 'Devotion'
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/seeingthings/entries/2011/06/21/review_blue_lapis_lights_devot.html?cxntfid=blogs_austin_arts_seeing_things
By Claire Christine Spera
Tuesday, June 21, 2011, 10:10 AM
Gliding out over the waters of Town Lake Sunday at dusk, a passenger on one of two Capital Cruises boats making its way west toward the old Power Plant Intake Building on the shore, I had more time than I’d had in a while to simply bask in my surroundings: Austin’s skyline all lit up, the Frost Tower its signature edifice; the sight of a lone swan floating between the boats; the sounds of a freight train rumbling on the bridge tracks over the lake; the feel of gliding over water.
I was here to experience Blue Lapis Light’s “Devotion,” a 45-minute site-specific aerial dance piece being performed by 15 artists under the direction of artistic and executive director Sally Jacques, with the help of an intricate system of harnesses, trapeze equipment and ropes, on the facade of the Power Plant Building.
Off the Record
Music News
http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2011-05-13/off-the-record
By Austin Powell
May 13, 2011The Black Angels proved that their Austin Psych Fest could be the All Tomorrow's Parties of the South, a three-day, artist-curated rock & roll drone that proved as singular of mindset as the towering, historic confines of the Seaholm Power Plant where it took place two weeks ago.
Constructed of cast concrete in two phases in 1950 and 1955 and retired four decades later, the art deco-style former municipality was deemed ready for public reuse in January 2006, after a nine-year, $13 million remediation process. Since then, the city-owned facility has become a popular event destination for everything from last November's Hot Rod Revolution to the recent Fusebox Festival.
"It may not be the greatest sound in the world for most music," says prolific local composer and Fusebox performer Graham Reynolds, "but the environment trumps and every event is memorable."
"The inside of it is like an old European cathedral or a Roman Baths," furthers choreographer Sally Jacques, whose site-specific dance company, Blue Lapis Light, hosted Illumination there in October 2007, the first and by far the most legally challenging event in the space. "The sunlight that comes in there and the way that it radiates across the space is just magnificent."
... According to Gloria Aguilera of the Contract and Land Management Department, Seaholm will close at the end of the month for a series of site-intensive infrastructure projects, including the installation of wastewater lines on Cesar Chavez, which will take 18-24 months.
Those improvements will coincide with the redevelopment efforts of Seaholm Power LLC, a development consortium led by Southwest Strategies Group of Austin, whose Master Development Agreement with the city was approved by council in April 2008. The 7.8-acre site overhaul will include a 160-room boutique hotel, condos, an abundance of mixed-use space for retail and restaurants, plus two spaces on the south lawn and in the plaza for outdoor events. The renovation is scheduled to break ground next year and will last an estimated 24-28 months.
"One of the things that struck me about the building is that it's versatile and has a very broad appeal that can encompass even very formal events, " says John C. Rosato, a managing partner at Southwest Strategies Group. "We hope to continue that in the future."
Which One's Pink?
An Austin Pink Floyd Experience
at Seaholm Power Plant
http://www.electricopresents.com
Saturday May 28th 2011
Doors and art show 6pm
Show at 7pm
214 West Avenue Austin, TX 78701
What classic rock music fan hasn't looked up at the smokestacks at Seaholm Power Plant and envisioned a pink pig flying above? The Electric Company could not let the small window of opportunity left for shows at Seaholm go by without bringing that vision to life. This epic Pink Floyd tribute for the ages will recreate the live Pink Floyd experience, completed by an amazing light show from Ilios Lighting, top-flight sound, and special effects.
Big ups to Seaholm
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2011/03/15/big_ups_to_seaholm.html?cxntfid=blogs_austin_music_source
By Michael Corcoran
March 15, 2011The place is in need of a Shop-Vac with unlimited suction, but it’s a gem, with great sightlines and all that cool power plant machinery in the background.
Re-energizing Seaholm
Downtown corner to be remade into vibrant district
Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/business/planned-projects-will-transform-downtowns-southwest-corner-1146299.html?cxtype=rss_ece_frontpage
by Shonda Novak
December 26, 2010Over the next decade, the southwest corner of downtown will undergo dramatic change, as a 13-acre area that once was largely city-owned land is reshaped into a dynamic urban neighborhood with residences, shops, restaurants, and entertainment and cultural attractions.
The land is within the larger Seaholm District, bounded by Lamar Boulevard, San Antonio and West Fifth streets and Lady Bird Lake that is named after the landmark former power plant. The 13 acres includes the largest assemblage of city-owned land downtown that remains for potential redevelopment.
Five major projects, including redevelopment of the former Seaholm Power Plant and Green Water Treatment Plant sites, along with recent private projects nearby, will represent about $2 billion in new investment for the district, said Fred Evins, the city's project manager for the Green and Seaholm redevelopment.... John Rosato, a principal with Southwest Strategies Group, lead developer on Seaholm, said the projects will be "transformational for downtown."
N.A.S.A. headlines dance party at Seaholm
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2010/12/21/nasa_headlines_dance_party_at.html?cxntfid=blogs_austin_music_source
By Michael Corcoran
December 21, 2010
N.A.S.A. (an acronym for North America/South America) brings its Brazilian funk sound to Seaholm Power Plant New Year’s Eve for a party that also includes a DJ set from Reuben Wu of Ladytron and other techno acts. Promoters the Electric Company are keeping capacity to 1,200. Tickets start at $75, but can go as high as $250 for entrance to the VIP Skybox Lounge.
Seaholm District Music & Arts Fair
http://www.seaholmdistrictfair.com/
The Electric Company
Saturday September 18, 2010
12:00 Noon – 10pm – 3rd and Nueces Street
The city of Austin has designated the area from Lady Bird Lake to 5th Street and from Lamar to San Antonio as the Seaholm District. Over the next 20 years this former industrial village will complete it’s transformation from a utility zone to Austin’s most revered residential, cultural, and entertainment centers.
In accordance, Seaholm District Music and Arts Fair was put together to create a new festival that is a reflection of this up and coming and vibrant city center. For one night in September we will come together at 3rd and Nueces and celebrate all that makes Austin great. This event was conceived by a group of neighborhood business owners, community leaders, and residents, along with event producers, The Electric Company.
'Metropolis' takes over Seaholm
Classic movie set to screen
KXAN
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/entertainment/metropolis-takes-over-seaholm?CMP=201009_emailshare
by Kate Weidaw
Thursday, September 2, 2010If we didn't get this place, we wouldn't be involved," said Alamo Drafthouse owner Tim League.
The place League's talking about is the Seaholm Power Plant, which has become the hot spot for all sorts of events.
Yet, the Alamo may have found one of the most perfect uses for the space.
"We're opening the first Southwest screening of the newly restored print of 'Metropolis,' which many people consider to be the most important film of all time," said League. "The movie centers around an art deco power plant, and here we are at an art deco power plant."
Seaholm Power Plant’s blank canvas spurs imagination in event planners
Austin Business Journal
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/19/story8.html
by Sandra Zaragoza
Friday, July 16, 2010It’s supposed to be a dormant, quiet, old electric plant waiting to be redeveloped in the coming years, but the Seaholm Power Plant has unexpectedly become an in-demand setting for exclusive parties, concerts and black-tie fundraisers.
Despite being stripped of the typical niceties found in hotels or traditional event venues — it doesn’t have electricity, running water or bathrooms — Seaholm has attracted some impressive bookings.
The historic nature of the building has lured MTV, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Rare magazine. Paramount Pictures leased the iconic building for about six weeks this spring to film the remake of “True Grit.”
... Adding to the building’s novelty is that the opportunity to see Seaholm in its raw condition may end this year. According to Southwest Strategies Group, the company chosen by the city to redevelop Seaholm and its surrounding land, the long-awaited project may be turning dirt as early as next year.
Under the agreement with the city, the power plant will stay intact, but Southwest Strategies will turn it into a retail, restaurant and event center. Plans also call for a hotel and residential component, a two-story retail and office building, and an outdoor plaza.
John Rosato of Southwest Strategies said the city is meeting its obligations for environmental cleanup at the site. With the progress the city is making, Rosato believes his company could begin developing the site in 2011.
Rosato said Southwest Strategiess plans to maintain Seaholm's integrity while giving it modern conveniences that would enable it to accommodate events.
http://www.electricopresents.com/
The Electric Company is pleased to announce its inaugural event: A 4th of July Celebration that is free to the public and will benefit local nonprofit Anthropos Arts. Set downtown at the Historic Seaholm Power Plant, this will be the most ideal location to view the fireworks while taking in a lineup of some of Austin's most exciting up and coming musicians all while enjoying ice cold beer, libations, BBQ from The Shed, Tex Mex, and more from some of Austin's favorites. Onsite valet parking is available & the show is all ages and family friendly.
scott.melcer@gmail.com - the photographer
AMAZING seaholm 4th of July fireworks:
http://scottmelcer.photoshelter.com/gallery/Austin-July-4th-Fireworks/G0000asQugJwtNHE/
http://scottmelcer.photoshelter.com/gallery/July-4th-Party-at-Seaholm/G00009LOFYooTmkU/
'Party of the Decade' planned for September Fete
Section of Congress Avenue would get its first new lodging option since 1966
Austin American-Statesman
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2010/05/05/_ballet_austin.html
by Michael Barnes
May 5, 2010Ballet Austin event chairwoman Andrea McWilliams, co-founder of McWilliams & Associates lobbying firm, is planning the 'party of the decade' for Sept. 10.
Dubbed 'Fete to the Power of 10,' the gala will include pricey cocktails, dinner and performances staged by Stephen Mills at the Butler Dance Education Center (tables go for $10,000; individual tickets for $1,000). Tickets for the performance -celebrating Mills - 10 years as artistic director - cost $250.
The party will migrate to the Seaholm Power Plant for an evening-long event (tickets: $95-$125).
Such a deal: MTV gets Seaholm for $500 a day during SXSW
Austin American-Statesman
by Michael Corcoran
February 24, 2010With downtown party space at a premium during South by Southwest, MTV has managed to work out an agreement with the City of Austin to rent the former Seaholm Power Plant for $500 a day over six days. You read that right: no zeroes are missing.
“Wow,” publicist Elaine Garza said, incredulously, at the bargain rate. “Some people are paying $10,000 to rent a club during the day. Seaholm is the hot space. Everybody’s been trying to get it.”
Gloria Aguilera of the City’s Real Estate Services Division said MTV reserved Seaholm, which has 117,000 square feet of space, after doing a few tapings at last year’s SXSW. Aguilera said the price is only $500 a day because there is no electricity or bathrooms in the warehouse-like shell.
Also, the low rental fee adhere’s to city ordinance #20080306-038, an economic growth initiative signed by then-mayor Will Wynn at SXSW 2008, which encourages filming of movies and television programs in Austin.
Several party planners were fighting over Seaholm, Aguilera said, including Rare magazine, which had been contracted by SXSW to put on a couple events, and Perez Hilton, who wanted MTV out at 5 p.m. Saturday so he could host his now-annual SXSW-closing bash. But MTV had already secured the hot spot.
MTV to take over Seaholm during SXSW
Austin American-Statesman
by Michael Corcoran
February 23, 2010The vacant Seaholm Power Plant, which is managed for temporary use by Austin’s Real Estate Services Division, will be occupied during South by Southwest by MTV, the city’s Gloria Aguilera said Monday. “They’ll be filming there all four days,” Aguilera said.
Spelman and Riley competing to cut carbon; plans for artwork at Seaholm
Austin American-Statesman
Urban Affairs
February 17, 2010Seaholm wall to be public art TheSeaholm Power Plant, which sits on the north side of Lady Bird Lake, is prime real estate, but, its Art Deco lettering aside, not exactly the prettiest thing along the shoreline. On Feb. 25, the City Council is scheduled to vote on a small step toward spiffing up the area.
The city is already planning to redevelop Seaholm and the neighboring Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant as a mix of shops, condos and amenities. Part of that plan is shrinking an existing substation to make room for a new library and then turning a wall that will enclose the substation into a work of art.
Exactly what sort of art hasn't been decided. The city has budgeted $750,000 for the wall and would spend an additional $181,200 that is already budgeted for public art. The city's Art in Public Places program would commission the design, engineering and construction.
Thrillerfest 2009 at Austin's Historic Seaholm Power Plant
Austin American-Statesman
http://www.austindaze.com/2009/10/12/thrillerfest-2009-at-austins-historic-seaholm-power-plant-saturday-october-24-2009/
by Brad Parrett
October 12, 2009FROM ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE -
... To make it even more exciting, this year, the proceedings will take place at Austin's historic Seaholm Power Plant.
Thriller dance at Seaholm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PPGGC17Uq
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z9Kqv69CPY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shea83VEINU
Thrillerfest 2009 at Austin's Historic Seaholm Power Plant
www.originalamo.com
http://blog.originalalamo.com/2009/10/09/thrillerfest-2009-thrill-the-world-at-seaholm-power-plant/
October 9, 2009
It's all going down on Saturday, October 24th at Seaholm Power Plant.
For the ThrillerFest recap: http://blog.originalalamo.com/2009/10/25/thrillerfest-recap/
To see the Austin 360 recap: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1418565568?bctid=46205108001
Out & About Blog
Austin American-Statesman
http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2009/10/03/acl_live_at_sea.html
#ACL Live at Seaholm After-Party
By Michael Barnes | Saturday, October 3, 2009, 01:45 PMEpic.
That's the word for the Live at Seaholm After-Party.
The decommissioned smokestacks lit up like inter-planetary transportation devices.
The concrete ribs of the generating room outlined in blue, recalling urban clubs set up in old industrial sites.
Hundreds — perhaps thousands — gathered around the stage for the three musical acts, culminating in Broken Social Scene.
... Rare Magazine's Taylor Perkins, his partner in production, Jason Hicks, and Voodoo Cowboy's Mark Mueller beamed with pride. (Also expressing pride was Taylor's father, an oilman down from Houston.)
http://www.liveatseaholm.com
All the music is not on the ACL field
ACL-themed before, during and after-parties include big bash at Seaholm Power Plant
Austin American-Statesman
http://www.austin360.com/search/content/music/stories/austin360/2009/10/1001xlaclafterparties.html
by Michael Barnes
October 1, 2009Not everybody can make it out to Zilker Park for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. In fact, a fair number of people don't want to brave the elements for the massive, three-day fest, no matter the weather. That's why promoters invented after-parties, before-parties and during-parties. Ask those folks who have been doing the same during South by Southwest, almost since its inception.
The biggest is a Rare/WOXY production at the defunct Seaholm Power Plant downtown. An outdoor stage will accommodate 4,000 who have gone through the RSVP/ticket process (free at www.liveatseaholm.com)
Big post-ACL Seaholm bash is a dream for producer
Austin American-Statesman
by Michael Barnes
Out & About
September 29, 2009Hicks, teaming up with WOXY Internet Radio and Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment, has secured the iconic Seaholm Power Plant for a two-night bash. Friday, after ACL breaks up across Lady Bird Lake at Zilker Park, Broken Social Scene will headline a free, outdoor concert for up to 4,000 revelers on the Seaholm grounds.
01_Adaptive Reuse
Four preservation projects -- a barn, a grain elevator, a nurses' dormitory, and a power plant -- show that repurposing old buildings for new uses needn't sacrifice soul.
The ArchitectsNewspaper
http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3395
April 15, 2009Seaholm
Austin, Texas
Ayers Saint GrossOn a prominent site separating a booming downtown residential district from Town Lake, the Seaholm Power Plant, built in the 1950s, is one of Austin’s most distinctive midcentury structures. Its red neon sign, towering stacks, and stark concrete mass are immediately recognizable landmarks. So when it was decommissioned in 1996, and following a nine-year remediation of hazardous materials, the city drafted a redevelopment masterplan and issued an RFQ to develop the site.
... The project, which is seeking a LEED Silver rating, will also take the reinvention of Seaholm’s narrative below grade. In generating electricity, the plant drew water from the lake for cooling purposes. Once the water was used, it was returned to its source, but before that happened its temperature had to be brought back down. This was accomplished via a network of underground pipes, which the architects plan to incorporate into a stormwater retention and irrigation system. “We wanted to identify a way of tying old and new together,” said Powell, “to take the 1950s version of how things worked and make it part of today.”
Travis may join city in Seaholm taxing district
Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/04/15/0415seaholm.html
by Suzannah Gonzales
April 15, 2009Travis County commissioners, lured by the prospect of gaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue, voted Tuesday to advise the City of Austin that they're willing to join a taxing district to help redevelop the former Seaholm Power Plant.
Seaholm currently generates no tax money because the property is owned by the city, but officials hope the site on West Cesar Chavez Street will become a $117 million mix of shops, offices and condominiums and will include a boutique hotel and special-events space.
... The city hopes that by sacrificing some tax revenue to aid development, it can turn a dead zone into a vibrant part of downtown.
Planned Seaholm Development puts retired power plant to different use
Community Impact Newspaper
http://www.impactnews.com/central-austin/news/3909-planned-seaholm-development-puts-retired-power-plant-to-different-use
by Mark Collins
April 10, 2009For nearly 40 years the Seaholm Power Plant on Cesar Chavez provided energy for residents. Now on the verge of a major transformation, the power plant will serve Austin in a completely different capacity.
... “It is one of the most interesting spaces I’ve ever been in, and I’m a 69-year-old architect that has traveled the world and seen a lot of spaces,” Black said. “I’ve never seen a space more interesting than the inside of that building; it really is a magnificent thing inside.”
... “We were very intrigued by the power plant and spent a tremendous amount of time there,” lead developer John Rosato said. “That has been the main purpose of our design team — figuring out how we take an industrial site and convert the building into retail and offices while maintaining its character.”
Seaholm renovation may start in late '09
Austin American-Statesman
by Shonda Novak
December 16, 2008The taxing zone will capture new property and sales tax revenue gernerated within the 7.8-acre project over 30 years.
... The focal point of Seaholm will be the preservation of the landmark power plant, a 136,000-square-foot building with more than 110,000 square feet of usable floor space. Once renovated, the building will house an events center, offices, shops and restaurants.
Los Angeles company takes $40M stake in Seaholm
CIM Group to foot large part of project's $117M price tag
by A.J. Mistretta
Austin Business Journal
April 18, 2008CIM has entered as an equity partner in the $117 million Seaholm Power Plant project, contributing about $40 million to the redevelopment that will bring a mix of residential, office, retaila nd other uses to the site.
The Austin City Council approved Seaholm's master development agreement earlier this month, pushing the complex public-private initiative that's been in the works for years far closer to reality.
the pdf of the ABJ article
Seaholm redevelopment plan approved
Austin Business Journal
April 10, 2008The Austin City Council approved the master development agreement for the $117.2 million Seaholm mixed-use redevelopment project today.
The agreement says the development group Seaholm Power LLP, led by Southwest Strategies Inc. , will pay $98.6 million or 84 percent of the cost of the project, while the city will pay $18.6 million. The redevelopment plan calls for a 22-story hotel, 60 condo units, 130,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The 150,000-square-foot decommissioned power plant will be the centerpiece of the 7.8-acre property across Cesar Chavez Street from Lady Bird Lake
... City leaders have said the Seaholm redevelopment, along with the Green Water Treatment Plant redevelopment--for which the city is accepting development proposals due later this month--will reinvigorate southwest portions of downtown, provide links from Cesar Chavez to the city's traffic grid, and extend the New Urbanist vision of the city-financed 2nd Street Retail District.
City strikes deal on Seaholm Power Plant development
CBS 42 Reporter: Rebecca Taylor
http://www.keyetv.com/content/news/topnews/story.aspx?content_id=44824b62-7d68-4848-922b-f918b4bcc40f
April 10, 2008The stage is set to start turning an old downtown power plant into an upscale hub where people can live, work and play.
The City Council Thursday sealed the deal on a multi-million dollar plan to redevelop the Seaholm Power Plant.
This power plant, located right on Lady Bird Lake, has been out of operation for more than a decade. Seaholm started pumping power into the city back in 1954, but the turbines couldn't keep up with technology, and it shut down in 1997.
Today, the concrete-based building is ready for redevelopment. The plan approved Thursday calls for spending $117 million to turn the original plant into an upscale shopping mall of sorts with restaurants and cafes. Next door would sit a 20-story high-rise complex with a world class hotel on the ground floors, and 200 luxury condos above that.
Some hope the plan will add new life to Downtown Austin, while preserving a part of its past.
“It originally provided all of the electrical energy for the city, and it's just a great building that has a great deal of potential to be part of a whole development that will really bring it back to life, and we're very excited about that,” John Rosato with the Southwest Strategies Group said.
From Seaholm to sea of mixed-use
News 8 Austin
http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/?SecID=278&ArID=205375
April 10, 2008Austin City Council breathed new life into the Seaholm Power Plant Thursday, when it gave final approval to redevelop the site.
The council unanimously approved a redevelopment plan that will preserve the Seaholm Power Plant and transform it into a mixed-use development project.
"It's really rewarding to see a plan come forward, you know, a complicated legal document, financing package that ultimately delivers on the public goals we wanted," Mayor Will Wynn said.
The $117 million plan, to begin in 2009, calls for the rehabilitation of the plant with almost 100,000 square feet of mixed-use space for retail and restaurants.
"It just is a great building that has a great deal of potential to be part of a whole development that will bring it back to life," developer John Rosato said.
Council OK's Seaholm redevelopment
KVUE.com
http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/041008kvueSeaholm-cb.4f6b9688.html
April 10, 2008The Austin City Council Thursday unanimously approved a new mixed-use development on the banks of Lady Bird Lake.
Developers are now free to move forward with design and marketing for the $117 million redevelopment plan.
Council OKs measures for RV park, power plant
KXAN.com
http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?s=8150597
April 10, 2008The other council approval assures that the Seaholm Power Plant will remain a fixture downtown.
The historic building will receive a makeover, thanks to the council's approval on a $117 million redevelopment plan.
The deal has been in the works for more than two decades and includes plans for a hotel, 60 condo units, restaurants and shops.
The plant's makeover will also preserve more than an acre of open space for visitors.
... Once completed, the development will create about 200 jobs and raise an estimated $2 million a year in tax revenue.
The power plant was built in 1950 and powered Austin for years. The preservation project was sparked in 1984, when the city's historic resources survey targeted Seaholm.
City, developer are near Seaholm deal
Proposal calls for Austin to pay 16 percent of $117.2 million mixed-use project downtown
by Kate Miller Morton
Austin American-Statesman
March 28, 2008The City of Austin and the local group it chose to redevelop the Seaholm Power Plant and surrounding property three years ago are close to reaching an agreement that would allow the $117.2 million project to move forward.
... Rosato hopes the group will be able to start construction by this time next year. If that happens, construction could be completed in 2011.
Book of Power
Austin Business Journal
January 4-10, 2008Q: In the last year, someof the pieces of the Seaholm redevelopment began to come together and the partnership is in the process of securing the master development agreement. What do you see ahead for Seaholm in 2008?
A: The coming year will be an exciting one for the Seaholm site. First, a finalized vision for the site will take shape. We will execute our master development agreement with the city of Austin in January, enabling us to move forward in finalizing construction documents marketing condo units and negotiating leases. Construction could begin as early as December 2008.
