UPDATE 2: Reader jefffwd writes that the domain name “thecassidy.com” was registered on August 1st by the Enilon Group, a local web design and marketing company. One of Enilon’s clients is none other than Sundance Square Management.
The plot thickens. More info as it becomes available.
UPDATE: There is some word that the “The Cassidy” plaque is simply a reference to the name of the parking lot used internally by Sundance Square and that it does not have anything to do with the long-planned tower. I guess we’ll see. I’d still like some more confirmation of that.
I reported yesterday that talk was running around of a sign of some sort reading “The Cassidy” being installed in Sundance Square, and sure enough, the talk was correct. This metal plaque has been installed between the two benches at the southeast corner of 3rd & Throckmorton, in front of a quarter block that has been a parking lot for quite some time.
If this doesn’t mean anything to you, let me fill you in. “The Cassidy” is the name of a building that has been planned by Sundance Square for quite some time (and I mean it - there is a reference to the project on the New York Times web site from 1996). There is very little information about the building - there have been a few details tossed around here and there. It’s supposed to be 22 stories tall, have 78 units, have ground-floor retail, and has been designed by David M. Schwarz. It has been hidden away for a long time, but speculation is that with the sales at Villa De Leon in Uptown and the Omni Hotel condos in the southern part of downtown, the Basses are finally about to start the project up.
One of the interesting things about the project that almost nobody out there knows is that some work on the building has already been done. That 1/4 block parking lot which currently occupies the site sits atop part of a two-story underground structure that runs from the historic Sanger building on 4th Street to the Sundance West apartment tower on Throckmorton. That underground parking garage currently serves the Sundance West apartments and the Sanger Lofts. There are a couple of things of note about it, though. First off, the garage has quite a few more spaces than there are units in the two buildings. Secondly, the section under the 1/4 block parking lot was built ready for the Cassidy - it already has the foundation of the long-planned tower.
Here’s a Google Street View of the Cassidy site as it sits today. I’m trying to find out if there’s some stirring on the project - as soon as I find something out, I’ll share it.
Nice try.