Time-Lapse Slides Show the Most Spectacular Skyline Changes in the U.S. in the Last Decade
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The top growing cities in the country are among the largest U.S. cities, according to the newest U.S. Census population data. In other words, the most populous metros continue to be the most popular as well, drawing new residents to their already dense urban landscape. Millennials are flocking to these big urban centers, driving demand for more housing and office space. This is where we see the most impressive amounts of new development.
So what drives this population influx? A strong job market, high quality of life and sunny skies! The vast majority of the top fastest growing cities are located in the Southern U.S., including Texas — the ultimate fostering ground for the next Great American City, with as many as 5 contenders in the top metros for growth.
We selected the most striking skyline transformations to take place recently in America’s expanding cities. Slide the arrow left and right to see the time-lapse slides of the best real estate developments built in the U.S. in the last decade or so:
San Francisco, CA – The Infinity
San Francisco has been experiencing a condominium fever in recent years. One major addition to the city skyline is the 4-tower complex developed by Tishman Speyer Properties. The Infinity, Phase II (300 Spear Street) added a massive 1-million-square-foot mixed-use development to the Rincon Hill neighborhood. This 41-story residential condominium tower adds 285 units to the already 369 contained in the 1st tower and double low-rise buildings. Its sister project, Lumina, seen on the right side of the image, was opened in 2015. Located at 201 Folsom Street, the two towers, 42-story and 37-story high, respectively, bring an additional 655 luxury condominium units to the insatiable San Francisco market.
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San Francisco, CA – 149 Mason Street
Another project to have had a significant impact on the SF’s urban landscape is 149 Mason Street, Glide Economic Development Corporation’s 8-story, 43,915-square-foot housing project consisting of 56 studio units for individuals transitioning out of homelessness. The building features ground floor commercial and retail space, a community room, and support services. A visually striking 8-story, ceramic tile art feature “Intertwined,” created by Johanna Poethig, encircles the building.
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San Diego, CA – Bayside at the Embarcadero & Sapphire Tower
San Diego’s Core-Columbia neighborhood keeps rising with two major development additions. Bosa California LLC’s Bayside at the Embarcadero at 1325 Pacific Hwy is a prominent 36-story condominium tower perched on the Embarcadero’s residential “front row.” Sapphire Tower is a 23-story luxury condominium development by Centurion/Avion. Located at 1262 Kettner Boulevard, the multi-use tower has 13,000 square feet of office space, 2,000 square feet of retail space, and 183 underground parking spaces.
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Seattle, WA – Amazon Tower I
Seattle’s famous Belltown is now home to three striking new skyscrapers. The gleaming glass facade of Amazon Tower I provides a home for Amazon.com’s headquarters; this 37-story building offers not only office space, but also retail and dining areas. West 8th offers open-plan interior spaces for offices and restaurants, as well as a large outdoor garden terrace. And the bold, contemporary-designed Cirrus contains luxury residential spaces, with sweeping views of the city.
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Charlotte, NC – Catalyst
If we were to identify the projects that have completely changed the Central Business District and Charlotte’s skyline, we’d have to go with the following 3: Duke Energy Center, completed in 2010, Catalyst, a 27-story luxury apartment high-rise developed by Atlanta-based Novare Group, and completed in 2009, and Element Uptown, a massive 22-story apartment and condominium high-rise right next door.
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Denver, CO – 1900 Sixteenth, DaVita World HQ, Triangle Building – Union Station
The skyline of the Union Station – LoDo neighborhoods has completely transformed over the last few years, featuring an abundance of new office, residential, hotel, parking, and retail space. The 17-story tower in the center is Trammell Crow’s LEED Gold-Certified mixed-use building: 1900 Sixteenth. One of the first projects to kick off Trammell Crow’s redevelopment of Union Station was the 15-story DaVita World Headquarters. It was the first private sector build-to-suit project in downtown Denver since the mid-1980s and features 270,000 square feet of Class A, LEED Gold-certified office space. The 10 story-Triangle Building developed by East West Partners at 1550 Wewatta St. (on the left) is a LEED Gold-Certified, 200,000+-sq ft building offering 10,000 sq ft of street level retail space and two floors of underground parking.
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Austin, TX – The Austonian
The “Main Street of Texas”, Congress Avenue, welcomed the tallest building in Austin, also the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi – The Austonian. The 56 floors of these state-of the art high-rise residences, built in 2010 by Spanish developers Grupo Villar Mir, soar above the city at 683 feet tall. Located at 200 Congress Ave, The Austonian offers sustainable luxury with a coveted Four-Star Commercial Rating from Austin Energy Green Building and swank high-end retailers flank its ground floor. Next door the 36-story Ashton, completed in 2009 by UDR, offers upscale, custom apartment residences. The vibrant 2nd Street District also welcomed the city’s largest hotel, the 34-story JW Marriott Austin. Completed in 2015 by developer White Lodging Service Corp, it provides 1,012 spacious guest rooms and more than 120,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space in the very heart of downtown Austin.
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Dallas, TX – 1900 McKinney
Located in the heart of Uptown, 1900 McKinney topped out in 2009. Designed by famed architects Gromatzyi Dupree and Associates, the 27-floor, 230-unit rental tower comes with a 7-level parking garage. It was the first multi-family residential tower to become LEED Certified in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Right across the street, another towering structure was built to impress. 2000 McKinney is a Class “AA” office building featuring approximately 442,355 rentable square feet spread over 21 stories. Also visible in the far right of the image, Granite Properties’ 17Seventeen McKinney added more energy and style to an already vibrant area.
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Phoenix, AZ – CityScape & Alliance Bank Tower
Phoenix’s booming downtown construction is hard to match and there’s no shortage of examples. Encompassing two city blocks, the mixed-use CityScape Phoenix high-rise was completed in 2014 by RED Development. It has slowly evolved into downtown’s shopping, dining, and entertainment hub. The 27-story Alliance Bank Tower hosts a Bank Branch and Corporate Offices along with over 15 other businesses. The 242-key boutique Hotel Palomar located at CityScape is steps from major arenas, concert venues, cultural attractions, as well as ASU’s newest campus. Extending 14 stories above the contemporary 10-story Hotel Palomar, the elegant luxury CityScape Residences completes the picture.
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San Antonio, TX – The Vistana
One of the best works in San Antonio’s mayor Julián Castro’s “Decade of Downtown” is the Art Deco-inspired The Vistana, completed in 2009 by developer Vistana, Ltd. It was the first new construction, Class A, mixed-use, high-rise apartment project in downtown in over 10 years. This 17-story, 530,000-square-foot building occupies an entire city block with 247 apartments, 3-story tower penthouses with floor to ceiling windows, ground floor retail, and 4 floors of parking for over 450 cars.
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Los Angeles, CA – L.A. LIVE & The Ritz-Carlton
The L.A. LIVE development or “the most entertaining place on the planet” has had a lot to do with L.A.’s downtown revitalization. The vibrant venue continued what the Staples Center had started in 1999 and became a catalyst for the area’s recent growth. It welcomed its first visitors in 2007 with the opening of the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre. The focal point of the district is a stunning, 54-story tower that was built in 2010. It houses The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE hotels, as well as 224 luxury condominiums – The Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. LIVE.
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Houston, TX – One Park Place & Hess Tower
Home to several Fortune 500 companies, Houston’s downtown boasts one of the largest skylines in the United States. While many of the area’s structures house mostly office and retail tenants, the tide may be finally turning as new multifamily projects enter the market. As the first residential high-rise built from the ground up in downtown Houston in 40 years, One Park Place received many accolades and continues to impress. Located across the street from the 12-acre Discovery Green Park, the 346-unit, 37-story tower welcomed its first residents in 2009. Also adjacent to Discovery Green Park stands Houston’s first downtown LEED-Certified Platinum office building – the 29-story Hess Tower – as well as the 262-key Embassy Suites Houston-Downtown.
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New York, NY
Queens – East Coast 4, 4545 Center Blvd, School 78, Quik Park, 4540 Center Boulevard
This one image alone shows how much LIC has changed in just seven years. The leftmost tower is East Coast 4, a 41-story, 380-unit residential building. The tower fronts the East River along the Anabel Basin. In front of it, the smaller building on the left, is PS78, the Robert F. Wagner Jr. School. On the right, the smaller building is the Quik Park parking garage. The building offers 1,000 parking spaces 24 hours a day. Behind it is 4545 Center Boulevard on the LIC waterfront. The residential tower is one of the most luxurious in Queens. In the distance is 4540 Center Boulevard, a 345-unit rental building designed by award-winning architecture firm Arquitectonica.
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The Bronx – Courtlandt Corners I and II (a.k.a. The Upton)
The Bronx is going vertical like never before, mostly in response to NYC’s high demand for more residential options. Courtlandt Corners are two buildings on 161st Street featuring 323 apartment homes. Courtlandt Corners II was recently rebranded as ‘The Upton’ and marketed as offering affordable luxury living. The buildings were originally developed under the city’s Quality Housing Program.
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Brooklyn – Avalon Fort Greene & Toren
Downtown Brooklyn is home to majestic developments that offer more than a lifestyle, they offer utopia. Avalon Fort Greene has an awe-inspiring backdrop, while the Toren condominium offers a fresh take on contemporary living. Avalon houses 631 units in 42 stories while Toren holds 240 units in 38 stories. Both have turned underused real estate into new eclectic hot-spots to live.
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Manhattan – Silver Towers, Sky
Of the many major new developments in Manhattan, the two towering structures along West 42nd Street are a spectacular addition to the dynamic Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. The twin 60-story rental Silver Towers were completed in 2009 and feature first-class amenities including white glove services, indoor parking, and a state-of-the-art health club with a 75-foot long swimming pool. Right across the street at 605 West 42nd Street stands The Moinian Group’s Sky – a 71-story tower that adds 1,175 rentals to the Manhattan submarket.
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Manhattan – Skyline
So much has been built in Manhattan in recent years, that only a skyline-shot can fully grasp the new colossal skyscrapers that are now contouring the famous New York skyline. The best one is the 104-floor One World Trade Center opened in 2015, the tallest in NYC and the leading building in the World Trade Center Complex. Another is the sleek 74-floor tower known as Four World Trade Center at 150 Greenwich Street, opened in 2013, which as of yet it is the second tallest skyscraper in the rebuilt WTC. 2 and 3 World Trade Center are currently under construction.
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Nadia Balint is a senior creative writer for RENTCafé. She covers news and trends in residential and commercial real estate and their impact on our everyday life, including rental housing, for-sale housing, real estate development, homeownership, market reports, insurance, landlord-tenant laws, personal finance, urban development, economy, sustainability, and social issues. Nadia holds a B.S. in Business Management from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. You can connect with Nadia via email.
Nadia’s work and expertise have been quoted by major national and local media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, CBS News, Curbed, The NY Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post as well as industry publications, such as GlobeSt, Bisnow, Inman News, Multifamily Executive, and The Commercial Real Estate Show. Nadia also wrote for Multi-Housing News, Commercial Property Executive, HubSpot, and more. Prior to entering the real estate industry, Nadia worked in the legal field, where she gained over 10 years of experience in business, corporate, and real estate law.
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