12 C14H-2022-0073 - Westgate Tower; District 9 Part 2.pdf — original pdf

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A.4 - 1 ZONING CHANGE REVIEW SHEET HLC DATE: PC DATE: September 24, 2012 CASE NUMBER: C14H-2012-0089 APPLICANT: Westgate Condominium Association HISTORIC NAME: The Westgate Tower WATERSHED: Lady Bird Lake ADDRESS OF PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE: 1122 Colorado Street ZONING FROM: CBD to CBD-H SUMMARY STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the proposed zoning change from Central Business District (CBD) zoning to Central Business District – Historic Landmark (CBD-H) combining district zoning. QUALIFICATIONS FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION: The Westgate Tower is an excellent example of the New Formalism approach to modern architecture, is the only building in Austin designed by internationally-known architect Edward Durell Stone, and has served as a model for continued mixed-use growth in the city, combining residential, commercial, and social uses in the same building. HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION ACTION: PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: DEPARTMENT COMMENTS: The building is not listed in the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey (1984) because of its age. ACTION: PHONE: 974-6454 ORDINANCE NUMBER: CITY COUNCIL DATE: ORDINANCE READINGS: 1ST 2ND 3RD CASE MANAGER: Steve Sadowsky NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION: Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION: Architecture: The Westgate Tower was designed by internationally-known New York architect Edward Durell Stone in 1962; the building was completed under the supervision of prominent local architects Fehr and Granger in 1966. It is an excellent example of the New Formalism in the modern movement of architecture in the 1960s, as espoused by Stone, who was known throughout the world for his high-rise buildings that combined verticality with the monumental scale, refinement, and ornamentation of Classical building styles. The Westgate, named for its location just west of the State Capitol grounds, also served Stone’s philosophy of building up-scale residential buildings in park-like settings in or near downtown areas, luring wealthy residents away from single-family houses in the suburbs. Stone was concerned that most high-rise architecture of the era was sole solution to 1 of 12112A.4 - 2 overdevelopment where going up was the only way to develop a site that was otherwise overbuilt already. The location of the Westgate Tower provided Stone the opportunity to express the ideals of downtown living with a green setting. The Westgate was also innovative in several other ways, providing a model for future central city development – combining residential and commercial uses, and a necessary amenity in the modern era – an integral parking garage that formed a significant part of the entire composition rather than as an auxiliary, utilitarian structure. The Westgate is a 26-story point-block tower, rising squarely out of a cruciform platform. It is constructed of poured-in-place concrete with a brick veneer and rises 26 stories. The verticality of the building is emphasized by brick columns which rise symmetrically above the more horizontal and cruciform-shaped parking garage, with each spandrel containing a metal-framed full-height glass window and a balconette, allowing the residents access to fresh air from their individual units. Brick solar screens, one of Stone’s trademark architectural details, cover the spandrel openings of the parking garage as well as the top two floors of the building. The Westgate embodies the modern goals of accommodating mixed uses and modern facilities in a single building. The Westgate was designed to contain commercial space on the ground floors, a 5-story parking garage, residential units ranging from efficiencies to two-bedroom apartments, and a social club and restaurant on top of the building. It is contemporary to the Cambridge Tower at 1801 Lavaca Street and the Penthouse Apartments at 13th and Guadalupe Streets, all representing the 1960s trend toward high- rise residential living in the central part of the city. However, only the Westgate possesses the refinement of the New Formalism ideals of monumental architecture and Edward Durell Stone’s ideal of a residential tower in a park-like setting downtown. Historical Associations: Construction of the Westgate Tower was the work of Julian Zimmerman, who headed the Lumbermans’ Investment Association of Austin. Growing out of an association of Texas lumber dealers in the late 19th century, the Lumbermans’ Investment Association planned and built several high-rise residential buildings in Austin, Houston, and Kansas City in the late 1950s and mid-1960s. Julian Zimmerman, who headed the organization during that time, apparently knew the work of New York architect Edward Durell Stone from his work in Washington, including the National Geographic Society Building and the building that would later become the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 1962, Zimmerman contracted with Stone to design the Westgate Tower, envisioned to be a mixed-use residential tower, located just west of the Texas State Capitol grounds. Edward Durell Stone, the architect for the building, was a native of Arkansas who received his architectural training at Harvard and at MIT. Stone went on to practice in New York City, and taught at the School of Architecture at Yale. He became well-known for his sleek buildings of the 1930s, and after World War II, he became more dissatisfied with what he viewed as the sterility of modern architecture and well as more fascinated by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. His work in the 1950s and 1960s reflected greater verticality, such as in the International Trade Mart in New Orleans, and the General Motors Building in New York City. His trademark was a solar screen, which provided architectural interest as well as privacy and shade. Stone used the solar screen on the Josephine Graf House in Dallas in the 1950s, and continued to employ it, as seen on the Westgate Tower. Stone hired the prominent local architectural firm of Fehr and Granger to oversee the construction of the building. Fehr and Granger were locally known for their mid-century modern residential designs, and although Stone designed the exterior, Fehr and Granger were responsible for the details. 2 of 12112A.4 - 3 The Westgate was prominent in Austin history as the first high-rise building that was significantly taller than anything else in Austin, except the Capitol Dome. High-rise buildings in Austin of the 1940s and 1950s were no taller than the buildings of the 1910s and 1920s, including the Scarbrough and Littlefield Buildings and the Norwood Tower. The Westgate, at 26 stories, would be significantly taller than either of its contemporaries, the Cambridge Tower and the Penthouse Apartments, both residential buildings completed in the 1960s. The height of the Westgate caused some controversy in Austin, stemming from concerns that high-rise buildings would overshadow the State Capitol, and resulted in the creation of the Capitol View Corridors by the State of Texas. The Westgate was also the second home of the Headliners Club, the most prestigious and prominent social club in the city. Founded in 1954 by Charles Green, publisher of the American-Statesman, Everett Looney, a prominent local attorney and judge, and Paul Bolton, a local television and radio commentator and news editor, the Headliners Club began at the Driskill Hotel, and included the most prominent politicians and intellects in the state, including several former Texas governors, and President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Club moved into the Westgate in 1966 and remained there until moving to a more central location downtown. In addition to housing the Headliners Club for many years, the Westgate Tower has also, because of its location and prestige, been the home of many of the city’s and state’s most prominent leaders in state government, who either live here full-time, or as the State Legislature is in session. PARCEL NO.: 02080119060000 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Amended Plat, Westgate Condominium ESTIMATED ANNUAL TAX ABATEMENT: Will be determined per owner depending on the proportion of the total area and ownership of common areas ascribed to each condominium apartment. APPRAISED VALUE: Each condominium in the building is individually appraised and valued by the Travis Central Appraisal District. PRESENT USE: Mixed use. CONDITION: Excellent PRESENT OWNERS: Westgate Condominium Association DATE BUILT: ca. 1962-66 ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS: Over the years, failing materials have been replaced in- kind. In 1984, the original wood entry doors were replaced with new metal and glass doors, and in 1998, fine black netting was installed over the brick solar screens to discourage bird infiltration and nesting. However, at several junctures in the history of the building, there have been attempts to modify the building and change its architectural character and details. These attempts have not seen fruition due to active reactions by many residents, but the future of the building rests with the protections offered by historical designations. ORIGINAL OWNER(S): Lumbermans’ Investment Corporation of Austin (1962) 3 of 12112 OTHER HISTORICAL DESIGNATIONS: Individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places LOCATION MAP A.4 - 4 4 of 12112 A.4 - 5 5 of 12112 A.4 - 6 6 of 12112 A.4 - 7 7 of 12112 A.4 - 8 8 of 12112 A.4 - 9 9 of 12112 A.4 - 10 10 of 12112 A.4 - 11 11 of 12112 A.4 - 12 12 of 12112 A.4 - 13 13 of 12112 A.4 - 14 14 of 12112 A.4 - 15 15 of 12112 A.4 - 16 16 of 12112 A.4 - 17 17 of 12112 A.4 - 18 18 of 12112 A.4 - 19 19 of 12112 A.4 - 20 20 of 12112 A.4 - 21 21 of 12112 A.4 - 22 22 of 12112 A.4 - 23 23 of 12112 A.4 - 24 24 of 12112 A.4 - 25 25 of 12112 A.4 - 26 26 of 12112 A.4 - 27 27 of 12112 A.4 - 28 28 of 12112 A.4 - 29 29 of 12112 A.4 - 30 30 of 12112 A.4 - 31 31 of 12112 A.4 - 32 32 of 12112 A.4 - 33 33 of 12112 A.4 - 34 34 of 12112 A.4 - 35 35 of 12112 A.4 - 36 36 of 12112 A.4 - 37 37 of 1211238 of 1211239 of 1211240 of 1211241 of 1211242 of 1211243 of 1211244 of 1211245 of 1211246 of 1211247 of 1211248 of 1211249 of 1211250 of 1211251 of 1211252 of 1211253 of 1211254 of 1211255 of 1211256 of 1211257 of 1211258 of 1211259 of 1211260 of 1211261 of 1211262 of 1211263 of 1211264 of 1211265 of 1211266 of 1211267 of 1211268 of 1211269 of 1211270 of 1211271 of 1211272 of 1211273 of 1211274 of 1211275 of 1211276 of 1211277 of 1211278 of 1211279 of 1211280 of 1211281 of 1211282 of 1211283 of 1211284 of 1211285 of 1211286 of 1211287 of 1211288 of 1211289 of 1211290 of 1211291 of 1211292 of 1211293 of 1211294 of 1211295 of 1211296 of 1211297 of 1211298 of 1211299 of 12112100 of 12112101 of 12112102 of 12112103 of 12112104 of 12112105 of 12112106 of 12112107 of 12112108 of 12112109 of 12112110 of 12112111 of 12112112 of 12112113 of 12112114 of 12112115 of 12112116 of 12112117 of 12112118 of 12112119 of 12112120 of 12112Hello Planning Commission, I am an owner at The Westgate tower and in support of zoning historic at the city level. As our building manager has mentioned, we as owners have shouldered increased costs and responsibility to take meticulous care of our building and maintain its historical integrity. There is simply no other building downtown that has taken the extreme care that the Westgate has to maintain our historic integrity. There is also no other residential building downtown that meets the requirements that the Westgate does. I would also argue that assuming that every unit in this building is a million dollar unit and that all unit owners are wealthy individuals who are strictly after the tax break that is offered is presumptuous and incorrect. The Westgate has some of the most modestly sized and affordable units in all of Downtown. We are one of the only buildings downtown to have units that sell for less than the average median home price in Austin. I was hurt by the Planning Commissions previous comments that seemed to suggest that granting us historic designation should not be offered unless the building was under immediate threat of redevelopment. This is my home. Isn’t the planning commission supposed to be sticking up for the old Austin, those of us who can’t afford to lose our homes to redevelopment? My ask is that the Planning Commission does not write off The Westgate as a haven for wealthy individuals and instead views the Westgate as a building that is comprised of owners from all economic backgrounds who have formed a community in the building with the common purpose of maintaining its’ historic integrity and accuracy. If we do not get historic zoning, I fear that one day soon this admired building will have no choice but to sell to a developer who will turn it into another overpriced glass box that only the city’s elite can afford. I ask that the planning commission think about the owners who chose to live at the Westgate because it’s what they could afford. I ask that the Planning Commission thinks about the owners who have dedicated the time and money preserving the Westgate thus far to ensure we keep an old part of Austin still standing for the public to admire. I ask that the Planning Commission thinks of the owners who chose the Westgate as their home because they have admired the building and dreamed about living in this historic residence since they were kids growing up in Austin. We, as a building, have been doing our part to maintain this building and meet the requirements outlined so I ask that the Planning Commission takes a factual based approach and approves historic zoning. Carson Berry carsonberry@sbcglobal.net 121 of 12112