Its happening (stadium renovations)

[TrashMaster G 18,030]

Where is the School of Social Work moving to?

[SizzleChest 8,302]

14 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

Where is the School of Social Work moving to?

Supposedly to McCombs building.

[TrashMaster G 18,030]

Just now, SizzleChest said:

Supposedly to McCombs building.

Temporarily?  What happens to McCombs?

Surely somebody is getting a new building out of all this, right?

[Surly Bevo 25,655]

1 minute ago, TrashMaster G said:

What happens to McCombs?

We are going to turn out accountants and m&a guys with hearts of gold.  

[SizzleChest 8,302]

2 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

Temporarily?  What happens to McCombs?

Surely somebody is getting a new building out of all this, right?

Possibly co-located, possibly temporary.  Just rumors but McCombs could move to a new facility where Dobie garage currently sits.

Rec Center is a big domino.  I guess they could put a football practice facility south of it if the Hicks School moves, but would be better for the football program if the Rec Center building could be repurposed for an indoor football practice facility.  Dunno about that though.

 

[TKthunder2 5,058]

26 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

Where is the School of Social Work moving to?

I35 & 6th, 183 & McNeil, Ben White & Manchacha

[Guest Lobo]

22 minutes ago, SizzleChest said:

Possibly co-located, possibly temporary.  Just rumors but McCombs could move to a new facility where Dobie garage currently sits.

Rec Center is a big domino.  I guess they could put a football practice facility south of it if the Hicks School moves, but would be better for the football program if the Rec Center building could be repurposed for an indoor football practice facility.  Dunno about that though.

 

A big portion of McCombs undergrad will be moved over into Dobie that's not currently Target and may even take up a portion of the first couple of floors.  They'll probably still keep a small footprint in the two existing buildings across from PCL.  Undergrad courses can also be expanded to fill up next-door Rowling Hall which still has classroom capacity, particularly Monday-Thursday before 4:00p.  Social Work will likely be moved into much of the two McCombs undergrad buildings...and also a portion of one of the new buildings around the Med School in the "Innovation District" for clinical work and collaborative space with Nursing, Med School, etc.  But yeah, most coursework and faculty offices will make the move back towards campus central.  The existing building is just too expensive to overhaul and will likely be demolished.  What goes in its place will likely be announced at the Capital Campaign launch next month.  

A head scratcher though is, as mentioned above, the RecSports Center.  A campus of our size needs more than just Gregory Gym.  Gregory, when it's the middle of the semester and no Covid, is pretty damn crowded.  And there's really nowhere to expand it.  Redoing a portion of Dobie to become another gym/rec center/intramural space has been discussed.  It'd be a pain-in-the-ass retrofit but the allure is how conveniently located it would be for students living in West Campus for whom all the way to RecSports is a  pain in the ass, especially at night/weekends.  Building a new rec center on top of social work site is the least likely scenario.  Obviously Athletics wants that building/patch of dirt for new practice facilities, but just eliminating a facility that thousands of students and staff use each day is not going to go over well without a turnkey solution somewhere else on campus.  And we're running out of room on the campus proper.  We could easily get financing to build a brand new, state-of-the-art rec center over East of IH-35, but nobody would ever fucking use it so what would be the point?  Other than some of the grad student housing bound for that area in the coming years as Breckenridge tract slowly gets developed.  

There's not really much baked into the Capital Campaign for athletics once Moody and the practice facility are completed, save for some locker room/team flex space upgrades in some venues.  A "long-term vision" plan for football practice facilities is expected to be announced but still won't explain where all the other pieces will fall.  And there is serious talk of more money going into Disch-Falk Field improvements aside from the training center at the SE corner but construction/improvements would not begin for at least 2-3 years.  And all of this begs the question...if more of the fields and bubble on the IH-35 access road are moved closer to the stadium...what will be done with those lands?  Obviously some of the outdoor grass fields will be kept for additional use during summer and spring football.  But a huge section of that can be redeveloped for other purposes (not housing though, not even our cruel administrators would make students live on that noisy shitheap).  

Anyway, I suspect most of this will go from drunken rumors to full-on announcement level within 4 weeks time.  

[TrashMaster G 18,030]

They should move the Social Work school to the bubble.

[Royale with cheese 1,491]

1 minute ago, TrashMaster G said:

They should move the Social Work school to the bubble.

They should move the Social Work school to the bubble 35-South Access Road.

[SizzleChest 8,302]

I thought the land where Denius and the bubble are located was largely going to be assumed by TxDoT for the Capital Express project.

[TKthunder2 5,058]

11 minutes ago, SizzleChest said:

I thought the land where Denius and the bubble are located was largely going to be assumed by TxDoT for the Capital Express project.

None of the plans thus far were taking any of those.  People were just assuming, but if you look at the actual mock ups they weren’t moving West at all because UT, St David’s, Concordia and those newer condos/office buildings to the North are going to fight for every inch.  If they need more space it’s much MUCH easier to go East.

[Guest Lobo]

Quite possible.  As I said, I've heard a bunch of stuff about relocating but not about what would be done with that land after that other than maybe keeping the one grass field down south across from physical plant buildings, but the middle field and the bubble and the field between it and the highway would certainly be up for grabs.  Not much else to do with it given what's around it, so a staging area makes sense. 

[SizzleChest 8,302]

3 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

None of the plans thus far were taking any of those.  People were just assuming, but if you look at the actual mock ups they weren’t moving West at all because UT, St David’s, Concordia and those newer condos/office buildings to the North are going to fight for every inch.  If they need more space it’s much MUCH easier to go East.

Well, that's a cemetery, so hope we're going over and not under or we'll risk getting some Poltergeist shit happening.

[Guest Lobo]

^
That would certainly explain the curse looming over our football program.  

[MAUFRAIS 6,732]

But then bring in craig t nelson as a consultant.

[Guest Lobo]

We know he knows two things---removing curses on single-family developments and coaching high level football.  

[Davis Lane 5,978]

2 hours ago, TKthunder2 said:

I35 & 6th, 183 & McNeil, Ben White & Manchacha

[TKthunder2 5,058]

3 hours ago, SizzleChest said:

Well, that's a cemetery, so hope we're going over and not under or we'll risk getting some Poltergeist shit happening.

Yep.  It’s a cemetery that no one has been buried in since the 1950s, it’s managed by a cemetery org near St Ed’s https://www.assumptionaustin.com/contact  though I think “managed” isn’t the right word.

Quote

There is very little information readily available on this cemetery. It is quite old and has been subjected to a good deal of vandalism. It is along I-35 just northeast of downtown Austin, Texas. It is just a little north of the larger, much more well known, Oakwood Cemetery.

Due to its age and condition, it is difficult to know how many graves are here, but a conservative estimate of something over 1500 would not be unreasonable.

Car accidents, fires, homeless, vandalism is about all the attention these graves receive. It’s obviously unpopular to move a gravesite but if any cemetery was a candidate this would be the one.

 

and yes it will probably never happen.

[MAUFRAIS 6,732]

What are the weird looking white globe things up on the lights?

[Guest]

Nice camera.

 

[Barbacoa 1,934]

27 minutes ago, MAUFRAIS said:

What are the weird looking white globe things up on the lights?

Kind of looks like cell phone/wifi transmitter or whatever. 

[Guest Lobo]

I think it's the reset button on this bullshit simulation we're stuck in.  Somebody hit it, blow on the bottom (I know the perfect gal), and wake me when it's rebooted.  

[Doc Reeves 6,434]

46 minutes ago, MAUFRAIS said:

What are the weird looking white globe things up on the lights?

 

17 minutes ago, Barbacoa said:

Kind of looks like cell phone/wifi transmitter or whatever. 

yup. In my day when 92000 people are all in the stadium it was sort of a bitch finding out scores on my phone, texting or using the cell internet. Forget live posting a pic on a message board. 

So, it’s perfectly safe and it only helps with that and maybe also exposure to its rays over many years might brainwash people to vote Democratic. 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Doc Reeves

[Horn of Gabriel 1,883]

Why not build a new rec center on footprint of the basketball courts behind Jester next to the parking garage?  Could fit plenty in there if they went vertical and also could build into the side of the hill there.  Also an easier walk from West.

[Guest Lobo]

Not a bad idea, there's just not quite as much room there as you may remember.  Plus, it'd be an infrastructure/build shitshow.  Location is good and it could work if you went more vertical with it (which is tough when some of your floors need to be 2 stories anyway---hoops, racketball, etc).  Plus can't impede on the newly redone lacrosse/intramural Caven fields.  There's some interest in it still, but have a closer look next time you're on campus---it could work but the 5 years to get it there would suck ass for all involved.  

[BurntOrange&White 41,649]

6 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Not a bad idea, there's just not quite as much room there as you may remember.  Plus, it'd be an infrastructure/build shitshow.  Location is good and it could work if you went more vertical with it (which is tough when some of your floors need to be 2 stories anyway---hoops, racketball, etc).  Plus can't impede on the newly redone lacrosse/intramural Caven fields.  There's some interest in it still, but have a closer look next time you're on campus---it could work but the 5 years to get it there would suck ass for all involved.  

Are they wanting to put indoor and outdoor fields as part of this facility?

[Guest Lobo]

Depends on where it goes.  The spot mentioned above isn't bad, it's been under consideration.  But look at the parking garage to the West, the newly redone Caven fields (given that families gifts, what they lost, and what just got spent to redo most of it...that ain't going anywhere), then the Chilling Station to the South.  You could certainly put something in there (with more vertical to it) comparable in overall size to RecSports Center...that would flow nicely to those outdoor intramural spaces.  But it's an awfully tight fit, and you'd have to do much dicking around with the infrastrructure/digging/etc right near a chilling station and parking garage.  Plus it'd all but block off that Jester Circle drive for 3 years+.  Now if you're willing to consider how many students from Jester can be moved over to the new Dobie dorms (new for UT owned, building still sells like noodles, whiskey, and feet)...then one could get rid of Jester East at least.  

[BurntOrange&White 41,649]

1 minute ago, Lobo said:

Depends on where it goes.  The spot mentioned above isn't bad, it's been under consideration.  But look at the parking garage to the West, the newly redone Caven fields (given that families gifts, what they lost, and what just got spent to redo most of it...that ain't going anywhere), then the Chilling Station to the South.  You could certainly put something in there (with more vertical to it) comparable in overall size to RecSports Center...that would flow nicely to those outdoor intramural spaces.  But it's an awfully tight fit, and you'd have to do much dicking around with the infrastrructure/digging/etc right near a chilling station and parking garage.  Plus it'd all but block off that Jester Circle drive for 3 years+.  Now if you're willing to consider how many students from Jester can be moved over to the new Dobie dorms (new for UT owned, building still sells like noodles, whiskey, and feet)...then one could get rid of Jester East at least.  

LBJ lawn and those schools on the strip would be an ideal for a mega complex but it seems they’re dead set in SEZ side. 

[Guest Lobo]

Which strip we talking about?  And are we talking about new practice facilities or RecSports Center or an all-in-one solution?  

Bad news is---no good answers.  Lots of pissed off people as per usual at UT.  And real treks for the people that would use this shit most often.

Good news is---lots of land as options.  lots of capital campaign leeway in terms of resource allocation.  And we should know more in three weeks.  

Mixed news---none of it wins us any SEC championships without a lot of other ingredients but I have lost a fair amount of weight swimming at Gregory whilst enjoying the eye candy.

[Domedriver 655]

Dig a big hole and move Jester under ground.  Students don’t need windows!  Use technology.  Jester has always been the pits, just put it all underground and build nice things above it

[Pato del Muerto 53,331]

Time for the Scottish rite place to hit the bricks. 

[27-25 2,082]

30 minutes ago, Domedriver said:

Dig a big hole and move Jester under ground.  Students don’t need windows!  Use technology.  Jester has always been the pits, just put it all underground and build nice things above it

Charlie Munger agrees.  Maybe we can get him to help pay for it.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/22/nightmare-of-the-windowless-dorm-room

[Ignatius 4,125]

1 hour ago, Domedriver said:

Dig a big hole and move Jester under ground.  Students don’t need windows!  Use technology.  Jester has always been the pits, just put it all underground and build nice things above it

Lol shit man my recollection of Jester (I lived in Dobie) was that it was pretty much underground as it pertained to natural light. I think dudes in Marion or the Supermax get more natural light than my buddy from high school JJ got in Jester East in 1985….

[Horn of Gabriel 1,883]

23 hours ago, Lobo said:

Not a bad idea, there's just not quite as much room there as you may remember.  Plus, it'd be an infrastructure/build shitshow.  Location is good and it could work if you went more vertical with it (which is tough when some of your floors need to be 2 stories anyway---hoops, racketball, etc).  Plus can't impede on the newly redone lacrosse/intramural Caven fields.  There's some interest in it still, but have a closer look next time you're on campus---it could work but the 5 years to get it there would suck ass for all involved.  

Yeah it would definitely be tight on the existing footprint and they'd either need to go really vertical (really expensive) or get creative.  Why not just cut off Jester Circle right at the parking garage and then they can build over what used to be the street and even into the Jester beach area, which would give a ton more footprint.  It looks like with some creativity they could poke a truck sized entrance to the rear of Jester's loading dock from 21st street, between the dining hall and Breckenridge Hall to still allow them to get supplies in and collect trash from San Jacinto hall - there is already a small service drive there that could be expanded.  That's probably the easiest.

Alternatively, and a LOT more expensive and political...eventually UT will need to close off the little leg of San Jacinto street that curves over Waller Creek, and turn that into usable land.  We can make Trinity 2-way for the small leg next to the Santa Rita drill (assuming that can't be moved due to historical reasons but if it can that opens up a lot of other possibilities).  If that small part of San Jacinto is gone, the Cooling station can be relocated down the hill next to the SR Drill parallel to MLK, which opens up a massive footprint when combined with the basketball courts for the rec center or whatever.

[Tex-19 3,009]

They could put an indoor facility on top of social work only, but you wouldn't have room for outdoor fields too. Seems dumb to me to have outdoor fields somewhere else.

According to this, the chilling station cost $80mm only 6 years ago - https://flintco.com/our-work/projects/ut-chilling-station-7/. So that's probably not moving.

As discussed, idk where you could move the Rec. Can't move it farther away and need it somewhere.

Politically this is probably tough, but I'd move the Swim Center east of 35. Give them brand new digs next to the Disch, tennis, etc. Cost $11mm https://flintco.com/our-work/projects/ut-lee-and-joe-jamail-texas-swimming-center/

[mr. sunshine 2,852]

On 2/15/2022 at 4:45 PM, Pato del Muerto said:

Time for the Scottish rite place to hit the bricks. 

Some good memories there. Once dropped a date off, met another girl in the lobby and fucked her too 

[Pato del Muerto 53,331]

Just now, mr. sunshine said:

Some good memories there. Once dropped a date off, met another girl in the lobby and fucked her too 

Fawn?  Fawn liebowitz?

[Guest Lobo]

She was gonna Scottish Pot for me.  

Swim Center ain't moving after all.  They just got done adding an outdoor training pool to it.  It was heavily factored into the Innovation District/Hub whatever on Red River and made it through which means it's staying for awhile.  

The service roads between Jester, San Jacinto, IM fields present an interesting option that I haven't heard much about.  

[ButtFumble 5,246]

On 2/7/2022 at 2:54 PM, TKthunder2 said:

None of the plans thus far were taking any of those.  People were just assuming, but if you look at the actual mock ups they weren’t moving West at all because UT, St David’s, Concordia and those newer condos/office buildings to the North are going to fight for every inch.  If they need more space it’s much MUCH easier to go East.

Concordia moved long ago

 

how much is the new capital campaign going to be for?......$4 billion or more and how much will be retroactively counted vs new money after announcement

[SizzleChest 8,302]

On 2/15/2022 at 4:26 PM, Domedriver said:

Dig a big hole and move Jester under ground.  Students don’t need windows!  Use technology.  Jester has always been the pits, just put it all underground and build nice things above it

Didn't know Charlie Munger posted here.  Welcome!

[Ghost of LL 15,664]

I have never understood how/why the land along University Ave. between MLK and 21st is so underutilized.  There are three surface parking lots, one (poorly laid out) garage, two sorority houses, and four (!) churches.  It seems to me that right there is where you put down a new School of Social Work and Rec Sports Center.

[TKthunder2 5,058]

45 minutes ago, ButtFumble said:

Concordia moved long ago

Jeez, I knew that, went on auto pilot…shows how often/long we’ve been having these same conversations.

[perfectchaos007 6,766]

Jester needed to be demolished over a decade again. When I lived there in 2009 the walls were already supersaturated with piss. Now the jester piss is probably seeping out into the streets

[BurntOrange&White 41,649]

On 2/15/2022 at 2:52 PM, Lobo said:

Which strip we talking about?  And are we talking about new practice facilities or RecSports Center or an all-in-one solution?  

Bad news is---no good answers.  Lots of pissed off people as per usual at UT.  And real treks for the people that would use this shit most often.

Good news is---lots of land as options.  lots of capital campaign leeway in terms of resource allocation.  And we should know more in three weeks.  

Mixed news---none of it wins us any SEC championships without a lot of other ingredients but I have lost a fair amount of weight swimming at Gregory whilst enjoying the eye candy.

This area. 

[Texas Jeff 1,998]

BTW, the current School of Social Work building used to be a Austin junior high school.  It predates Austin ISD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Junior_High_School

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2019/06/29/austins-first-desegregated-junior-high-celebrates-class-reunion/4793366007/

You can still see what was the gym, or maybe it's the auditorium, if you walk between the school and the swim center.

It's a pretty cool little building for a middle school.

[Texas Jeff 1,998]

They could knock down Jester West and go tall.  Build a parking garage under it, a rec center at ground level, and a new supertall dorm on top.

it's kinda close to Gregory, so that doesn't help spread the gyms out.  It would be nice to have a rec center in west campus but UT doesn't have the room.

[Tex-19 3,009]

My prediction is they put the indoor facility on the social work site and leave the outdoor fields where they are. Which is not ideal.

What they should do is move Jamail east of 35 with the other athletic stuff. And leave the rec alone. Cheapest/easiest option that results in things being located in a very logical way. 

[ImissWallyPryor 9,046]

On 2/15/2022 at 4:26 PM, Domedriver said:

Jester has always been the pits

Nothing could be a bigger eyesore than Jester, they said. Land is so precious at UT, they said, that not one square foot can be wasted…

Edited February 17, 2022 by ImissWallyPryor

[Horn of Gabriel 1,883]

1 hour ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Nothing could be a bigger eyesore than Jester, they said. Land is so precious at UT, they said, that not one square foot can be wasted…

Unpopular opinion: I think that building is kinda cool for what it is, an art exhibit.  The light patterns that come through the windows are interesting.

[Tex Pete 21,394]

6 hours ago, perfectchaos007 said:

When I lived there in 2009 the walls were already supersaturated with piss. Now the jester piss is probably seeping out into the streets

What the hell were you doing in there? I pissed in the sink on a few occasions(don’t judge), but none of that got into the walls. At least to my knowledge.