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Intel Corp.'s decision to halt its partially constructed downtown Austin office building has outraged some, but others say the suspension gives the company valuable options.
Citing near-term uncertainty about the economy, Intel announced in February that it would stop building its 10story design center after completing the concrete shell. The cost of the 400,000-square-foot first phase of the Intel project has been estimated at more than $124 million.
Then on March 12, Intel informed the City of Austin the company wouldn't be completing the concrete shell either and instead would pull Austin contractor DPR Construction Inc. off the project until Intel reassesses it this fall.
Intel spokeswoman Jeanne Forbis says the project at Fifth and San Antonio streets could resume if the company's sales improve.
"We're hoping by the end of the year to be able to make a decision as to when we can restart the building," she says. "It's really based on economic conditions."
Some downtown proponents cringe at the thought of a partially constructed concrete frame standing indefinitely in the Central Business District.
"It would be in extraordinarily bad taste to stop the construction of a building and not at least put the skin on it," says Charles Heimsath, president...