HOUSTON | Development Thread II

[TexasPlaya]

^
I didnt know the whole foods was under construction, has it actually started or are they just saying it will start soon?

Already started, via Barracuda:

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo226/chipdigits/IMG_1352.jpg

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo226/chipdigits/IMG_1351.jpg

Here's some more info from a poster on HAIF who attended the community meeting:

So the Whole Foods people were at the North Montrose civic association meeting last night and I got some details. The following is what I learned:

1) The reason the back-end of the store is facing Dallas and the side is facing Waugh is because of the AIG building. They (AIG building owner) required that the store be placed as far away from the building as possible. This meant that the parking lot had to sit between the AIG building and the store pushing the back to Dallas (unfortunately).
2) The loading entrance will be on Dallas and will exit onto Waugh. This means the trucks will not have to cross any traffic to get to the loading docks.
3) The trucks will be loading sometime in the early morning and should be finished by 8:00 AM. There will be nice large wooden doors to conceal the entrance and exit to the loading dock during the day when there is no loading.
4) The corner of the store on Waugh closest to D'amico will contain an outdoor/indoor style cafe with garage-type doors that open in good weather. The renderings of the store show a patio with umbrellas. They expect to have bands, etc playing there.
5) The store will be very pedestrian friendly with all traffic entering from the BACK of the parking lot (close to D'amico). They say they learned from the Kirby store that allowing cars to enter by the store entrance is a nightmare for traffic.
6) There will be bike racks with some 50 or available slots. There will be a free tire filling station. The focus here is to really drive bike traffic (and pedestrians as noted in #5).
7) There will be many skylights on the roof allowing a bunch of natural lighting.
8) There will be many large trees that should grow to provide good shade in time (not just those short trees).
9) No comment on an apartment building going up next to it BUT.. look at the roundabout driveway. Obviously not built just for a grocery store.
10) They will recycle their own rainwater and use it in sprinkler system.
11) I think 250 parking spots. Kirby store has 150. Kirby store is 35,000 sq ft and this one slightly larger at 40,000.
12) No real details on the inside of the store. They expect it to fit in very well with the diversity of Montrose. They are reaching out to local artists to put local art in the store (and around it). I can't remember exactly the email to submit. Maybe montrose.artist@wholefoods.com?? If you are and artist and want to submit your stuff give it a whirl.
13) They expect to open in the spring. Shooting for March if no big weather delays.
14) Store hours aren't set. Expected to be 7:00AM to 10? (if i remember correctly).
15) They are very excited as were the people in the meeting. They say Houston is the #2 market for them (they have 300 stores i think). Every store is built for the specific location (sugarland way different of course than Montrose).
16) They think there will be a bank at the corner of D'amico and Waugh in that section of the parking lot (which is what we really need right????)
17) They are hoping to relieve some of the high traffic they get at kirby store as it is a nightmare.
18) That's all i can think of right now. I'll post more if i remember.

-Shannosa-

[weatherguru18]

Man, that terminal is something you'd see overseas somewhere. Awesome...just awesome!

[JoninATX]

The Houston Intermodal Terminal will be amazing to see once built.:cool:

[Golyadkin]

Hey! Anyone know about River Oaks District, Regent Square, and BLVD Place?
BLVD Place has had some work going on for the passed few months. They recently installed a stoplight that will service the little road that goes through the middle of the project (which they named BLVD Place Drive. :haha: Seriously? Those are all the suffixes of actual road names.)
They also put up signs around the site. The ones that go with any construction project: "The building in this picture is going up at this location" and some phone numbers for leasing info.
In the passed 3 weeks, there were also surveying crews working on the site and some holes were drilled, although I have no idea what for.
I drive by the site about ten times a day (I'm a delivery driver for a shop a block away, and I live across the street from the site), so nothing has escaped me.
The project is definitely moving. As soon as the first bit of construction equipment shows up, I will definitely let you guys know. ;)

[llamaorama]

BLVD Place Drive.

I bet this will confuse computer programs, if it doesn't allow a user to query based on the order the words come in.

"Uh, this is Pizza Hut, yeah man, uh, my manager never trained me to use the computer, so uh, your address, is like, fake or something. Can you come and pick it up?"

[Golyadkin]

Another development going on that I haven't seen mentioned is Grady Middle School. They just demolished the old school, and are working to build the first of a two-phase plan of expanding the school to nearly double the size. But the part that I like the most is that the plans look amazing:
http://harvinmoore.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/2010_0406-Grady-Middle-School-Rendering_m.jpg
The image above came from the article about the construction:
http://harvinmoore.com/the-new-grady-middle-school-opening-fall-2011-the-pride-of-tanglewood-and-briargrove/

Grady is located at the corner of San Felipe and Sage, near the Galleria. What I really love is how much it matches with BLVD Place, which is going up 2 blocks away. I also think it's funny that they included an image of an M3 in the rendering.

[photoLith]

I really wish in the Galleria area they would build stuff up to the sidewalk. Most of the new buildings and towers going in down there have grass lawns for a good 10 feet from the sidewalk and then the building starts. It gives the area still a very suburban feel to it, when it doesnt need that. If it werent for that, The Galleria area would probably feel as urban as downtown does.

[Dylan Leblanc]

3009 Post Oak:

Website (http://3009postoak.com/index.htm)


Thanks for posting! I've put this in the DB - http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=92112

[Golyadkin]

I really wish in the Galleria area they would build stuff up to the sidewalk. Most of the new buildings and towers going in down there have grass lawns for a good 10 feet from the sidewalk and then the building starts. It gives the area still a very suburban feel to it, when it doesnt need that. If it werent for that, The Galleria area would probably feel as urban as downtown does.
It's because of the city ordinance. Anything built on "major thoroughfares" (i.e. Westheimer, San Felipe, Post Oak, etc.) must be built 25 feet back from the property line. And in a lot of cases, the property line, is several feet back from the curb.

[photoLith]

^
Well, thats pretty ridiculous, any chance of that changing?

[johnme]

Main Place

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0818.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0817.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0816.jpg

Main Place and Wells Fargo

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0815.jpg

Wells Fargo

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0819.jpg

[Golyadkin]

^
Well, thats pretty ridiculous, any chance of that changing?

Doubtful. The city wants to keep the building lines back so they can expand the lightrail system.

[CALMSP]

Doubtful. The city wants to keep the building lines back so they can expand the lightrail system.

and you think the traffic is bad now in the galleria, they put the light rail through post oak/westheimer, its going to be a complete mess!! For the sake of the people, they need to put almost the entire post oak line underground.

[Double L]

If there is any possibility of getting our light rail off of roads, that possibility is for elevated rail, not subway.

[mfastx]

I'm glad Wells Fargo Plaza fixed the lighting, and I absolutely love MainPlace's lighting. Other skyscrapers in downtown Houston need to take note, this is how lighting is done.

[TexasPlaya]

If there is any possibility of getting our light rail off of roads, that possibility is for elevated rail, not subway.

There is possibility, but I would say it most likely won't happen. I think the most ideal and realistic scenario would be elevated/underground under key intersections like Westheimer, San Felipe, Kirby, Shepard, etc. I think at this point, Houston just needs to get as much money out of the Feds and get this thing built. I wish we could hold another referendum, but the chance of it not passing and setting Houston back another 15 years is too great.

Also, because of Houston's population growth, the suburbs will hold more representation than the City of Houston in METRO transit agency in the coming years. It could be possible that this is Houston's last chance to build an inner core light rail network.

[Double L]

-Texas budget

-Houston soil

That prevents it from happening.

[Trae]

-Texas budget

-Houston soil

That prevents it from happening.

The Houston soil thing is overrated.

[johnme]

The Wells Fargo Tower on Friday night.

Blue and Red

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0822.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0823.jpg

Green

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0821.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG0820.jpg

[CALMSP]

i have no problem on the elevated system at all. However, going through the galleria, I highly doubt anything would be approved for an elevated train running down post oak. it doesn't fit the area.

has there been any confirmed reports/drawings of where the rail hooks up with the galleria? I think it would be great to have it linked up to the bottom floor of the food court.

[shakman]

It is of my opinion that not running the light rail line at street level may act as a discouragement of using mass transit. Are streets needed... ...yes. However if driving options are slightly limited, it may better encourage the use of the light rail.

[Golyadkin]

i have no problem on the elevated system at all. However, going through the galleria, I highly doubt anything would be approved for an elevated train running down post oak. it doesn't fit the area.

has there been any confirmed reports/drawings of where the rail hooks up with the galleria? I think it would be great to have it linked up to the bottom floor of the food court.

No plans have been approved, but the idea is that the Uptown line would run down Post Oak, and the University line would run down Richmond (continuing on Wheeler, running near HCC downtown, passed St. Thomas, through TSU, and ending at UH), and they would converge near the Best Buy. No idea how it would link with the Galleria, but it would probably be a small surface station near it, around where the pedestrian crossing across Post Oak at the Dillard's is.

[Urbannizer]

Midtown Grove under construction in southeast Midtown

http://innerlooped.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/design.jpg

http://innerlooped.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/siteleft.jpg

http://innerlooped.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/siteright.jpg

Link (http://innerlooped.com/?p=116)

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

However if driving options are slightly limited, it may better encourage the use of the light rail.

no it won't. People will avoid the street that the light rail is on.

[photoLith]

Photos I took 2 days ago, now Im back in Arkansas, YAY

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/birdboy1/mp.jpg

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/birdboy1/mp1.jpg

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/birdboy1/mp2.jpg

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k591/birdboy1/mp4.jpg
That is how you do a parking garage.

[TexasPlaya]

no it won't. People will avoid the street that the light rail is on.

Hopefully vehicular traffic to a small degree. It should disperse a small amount traffic to the side streets and parallel streets. The Uptown Management district and the City of Houston have been upgrading the streetscapes in Uptown and incrementally been adding and connecting streets to form a more urban street grid (Uptown certainly still has ways to go). These additions should help alleviate some of the traffic presently, and in the future (assuming light rail is built).

[Complex01]

Love those night pics. Very Kewl...

[Trae]

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2011/01/07/hotel-icon-deal-a-slam-dunk.html

Magic Johnson and his new investment partner plan on turning the Hotel Icon Downtown into either a W Hotel or Ritz Carlton. Just in time for the Final Four this April, too.

[mfastx]

That last pic looks like the rendering, thanks for posting Photolitherland!

BTW I agree about the parking garage. :D

[johnme]

The Wells Fargo Tower Jan 12, 2010. Once I get my good camera back I will get some better quality videos; the lighting is visible from many miles outside of downtown. Here are some links to my videos from tonight of the tower changing colors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eZ9CiK7LbI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4DwxBxFNi0

[Urbannizer]

Look at what I found today...
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm99/YahTrickYah57/HoustonUnbuiltTowers-1-1.jpg
Another supertall from the Oil-Boom era that never made it :(. You can see 3 Allen Center and the Doubletree hotel in the background.

[weatherguru18]

Maybe with oil prices getting ready to spike again, Houston will once again become 'super wealthy' and the demand will drive new highrises.

[weatherguru18]

Look at what I found today...
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm99/YahTrickYah57/HoustonUnbuiltTowers-1-1.jpg
Another supertall from the Oil-Boom era that never made it :(. You can see 3 Allen Center and the Doubletree hotel in the background.

Do you have any info. on this tower? What website did you find this?

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

looks like it was one of the proposals for the 'other' infamous supertall, the Block 265 Tower

[Von]

isn't there a parking lot there now??:hmmm:

[LouisianaRush]

Maybe with oil prices getting ready to spike again, Houston will once again become 'super wealthy' and the demand will drive new highrises.

Lets hope not.

[Golyadkin]

isn't there a parking lot there now??:hmmm:
Close. It's a parking garage. :(
http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=1204bagbygarage-houston-tx-usa

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs036.snc6/166621_835853141816_37526399_42928596_6293520_n.jpg
(screen grab from Google StreetView)

[Metro Matt]

The Wells Fargo Tower Jan 12, 2010. Once I get my good camera back I will get some better quality videos; the lighting is visible from many miles outside of downtown. Here are some links to my videos from tonight of the tower changing colors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eZ9CiK7LbI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4DwxBxFNi0

HOLY SHIT!!! That's just bad ass.

When did Wells get the new lighting scheme? For the longest time only a small section of white neon was all that was on. I knew that they had been testing out a new setup, but didn't think they would actually go through with doing the whole thing! Very cool!

I thought Chase Tower got new lighting up top too, but I never see it on.

Space City is looking mighty good these days I must say.

[Complex01]

I just saw it last night. I was shocked to see. It looked awesome. Loved it.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp200/complex2501/WF0111a.jpg

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp200/complex2501/WF0111.jpg

Very Kewl...

:tup:

[Metro Matt]

I'm glad they finally fixed & updated the look of Well's Fargo Plaza's lighting.

Now if Chase Tower would turn theirs on every night.

[johnme]

@ Metro Matt; the Chase tower recently has only turned on the lighting for Christmas (white) and in February (Red), but the rest of the year the tower has been mostly dark. A few years ago just before Hurricane Ike a non-profit called lights out Houston got many towers to commit to reducing their lighting, and that is when many building owners shut off the lights on the tops of the towers. Chase tower, Four out of the Five Houston Center buildings, The shorter former Enron building, Exxon, and a few other smaller buildings turned off their lights with this commitment. Others such as the Heritage Plaza and the taller Enron were probably damaged and never fixed and have been dark for several years. Wells Fargo's owners hopefully started a trend in office tower lighting in Houston that will have the owners competing for better designs such as in the 1980's when most of the larger downtown skyscrapers were built. Just take a look to the south at the lighting schemes in the medical center office towers for what can be done downtown.

I pass downtown 5-6 times a week, so I have noticed many things over the years and researched what happened when the towers mostly went dark a few years ago.

[Samwill89]

Cruising condominiums? Whatever floats your boat
Developer plans to base 180-unit vessel in Bayou City

http://www.chron.com/photos/2011/01/24/24968158/260xStory.jpg

source (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7403558.html)

Minnesota-based River Cities is proposing a floating condo community that would be based in Houston. The developer, which is targeting retirees, is showing a model condo at the Marina Del Sol in Kemah through Feb. 6.

The boat, which will be 600 feet long and called the Marquette, would spend more days in Texas than in any other state, according to the developer, which hopes it will eventually dock at the Bayport cruise terminal or someplace that has "a less commercial feel."

"While we are in town, we will be looking at the possibilities," developer David Nelson said. "Especially in the river towns north of the Gulf, the docking location usually puts us right in the middle of town, which is very convenient and usually a fun place to be. Ideally, if we could find a similar place in Houston, we would be very happy, especially since it will be our longest stop of the year — 10 days."

The boat would cruise the inland waterways along the Gulf coast in the winter and northern rivers within the U.S. in the summer, getting as far north as Minnesota.
The boat would have 180 condos, restaurants, lounges, swimming pools and a golf course.

Not surprisingly, developers Bill Tout and Nelson are self-funding the $109 million project. "Unfortunately, bankers only do what has been done before, so we are unable to get banks to participate in financing our vessel," Nelson said. A project like the Marquette has never been done on the inland waterways, said Nelson, who has worked on smaller boats. His largest boat project was $1.3 million houseboat, he said.

The condos cost from $310,000 per unit to $1.8 million for a deluxe penthouse. Or $55,000 will get you a two-month shared unit. There's also a homeowners maintenance fee, which covers the shared cruising costs, of $1,200 to $2,500 per month.

So far, most sales, about 25 percent of the boat, have been full ownership, Tout said. Construction won't begin until enough units are sold to make the project viable. The youngest buyer so far is 49 and oldest is 84, according to the developers, who added that they have buyers from Alaska to Australia, but none from Houston yet.

I don't know about this one.

[TexasPlaya]

I don't know about this one.

LOL. Hey, if they can make it work.... more power to them.

[KevinFromTexas]

So they finally switched to LEDs on Wells Fargo. I'm guessing that's what it is since they're able to change lights like that. They're far more efficient and can change colors without any physical/manual change.

[Metro Matt]

So they finally switched to LEDs on Wells Fargo. I'm guessing that's what it is since they're able to change lights like that. They're far more efficient and can change colors without any physical/manual change.

Yeah they ditched the white neon look for LED's.

Its the same thing used on the Austonian in Austin & Plaza Tower here in Tyler.

Wells Fargo had a ton of the old neon go out during Ike & only sections of it were lit. I'm sure they used the insurance money to upgrade.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

one day I'll pull out the binoculars and have a closer look at the lights surrounding Wells Fargo.

As far as I can tell, there's separate red, green, blue, and white LED tubes, since sometimes I see the red fade below the green

[Metro Matt]

one day I'll pull out the binoculars and have a closer look at the lights surrounding Wells Fargo.

As far as I can tell, there's separate red, green, blue, and white LED tubes, since sometimes I see the red fade below the green

On a building as tall as Wells Fargo they would almost have to use separate rows of tubes for it to show up good.

Makes sense.

[weatherguru18]

Mayor Parker has signed an endorsement letter for a 1,000 room hotel and convention center on the east side of the Eastex Frwy across from GRB!

From HBJ:

Businessman Dan Nip wants to build a 1,000-room convention center hotel on the east side of downtown and has secured a letter of support from Houston Mayor Annise Parker to help him do it.
The hotel is proposed on a two-block site Nip controls on the opposite side of State Highway 59 from the George R. Brown Convention Center. The project includes constructing a pedestrian bridge across the busy freeway to connect the hotel and convention center.
The mayor’s letter is designed to show potential lenders and investors that Nip’s project is needed and would have the backing of the ...


Read more: Houston backs downtown convention hotel | Houston Business Journal

[photoLith]

^
Holy crap, a pedestrian bridge over the highway, the will be sweet. I never thought anything of any importance would be built on the other side of 59 for at least another decade because that area is pretty much a shithole right now, but its getting better. And expanding downtown to the other side of the highway will do wonders. What I really hope one day is that somehow, they can move 59 further from downtown, that probably wont ever happen though.

[Trae]

^
Holy crap, a pedestrian bridge over the highway, the will be sweet. I never thought anything of any importance would be built on the other side of 59 for at least another decade because that area is pretty much a shithole right now, but its getting better. And expanding downtown to the other side of the highway will do wonders. What I really hope one day is that somehow, they can move 59 further from downtown, that probably wont ever happen though.

With the raise in property values in that area over the last few years, I wouldn't call it a shithole. Now you got the light rail, Dynamo Stadium, and Houston sister-cities gardens going up there.

[photoLith]

Well, it still is pretty bad, except for a few new condos, but overall, the area on the other side of GRB Convention Center is pretty craptastic. Its mostly vacant land, abandoned buildings, and ghetto. But, with the Dynamo stadium coming, and the light rail, things should start to pick up pretty good. Although, Minute Maid Park didnt really liven up that side of town when it went in. I mean, you still have an abandoned hotel right across from MMP and no new development near the ball field, save Discovery Green but that had nothing to do with MMP I dont believe, nor the light rail.

[weatherguru18]

METRO's new intermodal terminal is supposed to go in on the east side isn't it? That should REALLY help out development on the east side. I wonder what ever happened to the Hardy Yards?

[photoLith]

No that's going in near university of Houston downtown on the north side.

[yaga]

Apple Store coming to Highland Village will be Houston's 1st non-mall Apple Store.

http://swamplot.com/the-new-apple-store-on-westheimer-where-the-new-ipads-will-hit-the-street-in-highland-village/2011-02-14/

http://swamplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/apple-highland-village-const.jpg

[TexasPlaya]

Good news about METRO rail, Texas Medical Center, and Buffalo Bayou "greenbelt" west of the Downtown.

METRO rail
"Houston Metro's expansion is getting a $200 million boost in Obama's budget request to Congress. The money for the North Corridor and the Southeast Corridor projects is $50 million more than the $150 million set aside by Obama in his last two budget proposals.
The Metro project is part of a wider bid by the administration to upgrade transportation infrastructure nationwide so that 80 percent of Americans have "convenient access" to a high-speed passenger rail system within 25 years. "
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7427505.html

TMC
"The Texas Medical Center and other research facilities in the state could benefit from the 3.4 percent increase proposed for the National Institutes for Health. The NIH was a rare winner in a budget that left discretionary spending on health and welfare programs almost flat."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7427505.html

Buffalo Bayou
"Construction is expected to start in mid-2012 and take three years. The effort will be funded almost entirely by private donors, save $5 million from the Harris County Flood Control District. The Kinder Foundation has given $30 million, believed to be the largest gift ever given to a park project in Houston. That leaves the partnership with $20 million to scrape together.

"That area of the bayou is so used," said Nancy Kinder. "The trails are in such dire shape. That was really what caught our focus — that this could be a world-class park if you did just some basic work."

The Kinders hope their gift will spur not only physical improvements, but also a shift in attitudes. Viewed as little more than "big open sewers" a generation ago, perceptions of the city's bayous have begun to change, said partnership consultant Guy Hagstette...Between Shepherd and Sabine, the partnership proposes adding a path closer to the bayou so walkers and joggers won't compete with cyclists on the main hike-and-bike trail.

Two dry ravines would become ponds, one of them the focal point of a fenced-in dog park in an area that pet owners unofficially use for that purpose now.

The distinctive blue lighting along the trails at Sabine Promenade would be expanded along the entire hike-and-bike trail. A five-acre plot next to Jamail Skatepark, currently fenced off, would be incorporated into the park. A raised concrete reservoir there would provide views of downtown, function as an event space and host bike and canoe rentals and, possibly, a restaurant.

The plan also proposes adding two pedestrian bridges, one across Memorial Drive near Jackson Hill Street and one spanning the bayou at the Houston Police Officer Memorial. A pedestrian bridge near Rosemont Street is nearing completion; another running parallel to Shepherd Drive is expected to start construction this fall. Both are parts of separate projects."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7425998.html

[Trae]

Well, it still is pretty bad, except for a few new condos, but overall, the area on the other side of GRB Convention Center is pretty craptastic. Its mostly vacant land, abandoned buildings, and ghetto. But, with the Dynamo stadium coming, and the light rail, things should start to pick up pretty good. Although, Minute Maid Park didnt really liven up that side of town when it went in. I mean, you still have an abandoned hotel right across from MMP and no new development near the ball field, save Discovery Green but that had nothing to do with MMP I dont believe, nor the light rail.

Didn't they build a few lofts and things? Besides, remember what was in Downtown ten years ago? Look at it now. No, MMP may not have brought more highrises, but so much has been put together over the eastern sides of Downtown in the past ten years. The Dynamo Stadium has already led to that six block "Sister-City" gardens development, that also seems to tie into the new convention center hotel being built.

[johnme]

February Night in Houston

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG1037.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG1033.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/SAM_0237.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/ww338/espiau1074/IMAG1039.jpg

[photoLith]

Didn't they build a few lofts and things? Besides, remember what was in Downtown ten years ago? Look at it now. No, MMP may not have brought more highrises, but so much has been put together over the eastern sides of Downtown in the past ten years. The Dynamo Stadium has already led to that six block "Sister-City" gardens development, that also seems to tie into the new convention center hotel being built.

There were two new loft buildings across the highway from MMP, but once you get past those lofts, its pretty terrible that side of town is. That six block development hasnt started construction yet and I wont believe it til I see it because Houston has so many projects that they say are going to happen, but rarely do any of them come to fruition.

[AusHou]

There were two new loft buildings across the highway from MMP, but once you get past those lofts, its pretty terrible that side of town is. That six block development hasnt started construction yet and I wont believe it til I see it because Houston has so many projects that they say are going to happen, but rarely do any of them come to fruition.

Rarely? I guess you have a different perspective on the city than I do.

[Complex01]

The east side of downtown is so dead, it needs more infill. Hopefully the light rail will spur some stuff. There is plenty of room out there. Houston needs some projects to start. I am waiting.

[Trae]

The east side of downtown is so dead, it needs more infill. Hopefully the light rail will spur some stuff. There is plenty of room out there. Houston needs some projects to start. I am waiting.

Not since Discovery Green has been there...

[KevinFromTexas]

Gigapan from the roof of Chase Tower. You can scroll and zoom in on buildings way off in the distance.

http://gigapan.org/gigapans/34909/

[Complex01]

Not since Discovery Green has been there...

I know that. I meant on the other side of 59. There are a few things but there is room for so much more. Hopefully the new dynamo stadium will open things up.

I do admit that area is fascinating, such a stark contrast to west side of downtown. It has a very industrious feel to it, and the views of downtown are awesome. I like it...

:yes:

[TexasPlaya]

I know that. I meant on the other side of 59. There are a few things but there is room for so much more. Hopefully the new dynamo stadium will open things up.

I do admit that area is fascinating, such a stark contrast to west side of downtown. It has a very industrious feel to it, and the views of downtown are awesome. I like it...

:yes:

I wish the eastside (refuse to call it Eado) would continue to maintain an industrious feel while it gentrifies but that's wishful thinking.

[TexasPlaya]

Culture Map:Skyscrapers buck the recession: Hines plans another new office tower for downtown Houston
(http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/03-15-11-what-recession-hines-plans-another-new-office-tower-at-block-69-for-downtown-houston/)
"The Hines real estate organization, which has built 23 skyscrapers in downtown Houston, is planning another one. The project, if it comes together as planned, would result in a major office building on Main Street, catty-cornered from the historic Rice Hotel building.

Hines would not proceed unless a major office tenant has been signed, but the developer has been in serious discussions with significant corporations looking for downtown space. Some people in the real estate community say this could be the real deal — a big tenant ready to make a commitment and kick off another Hines downtown project — and soon.

The development site is bounded by Main, Texas, Fannin and Capitol..."

"...Hines has just completed the 46-story BG Group Place tower at 811 Main Street, just two blocks south of the site of the proposed new building. The BG Group Place, on top of other prior improvements, validated Main Street as a prime corporate address. A few weeks ago, Hines President and CEO Jeff Hines told CultureMap that Main Street is the preferred location for new office projects today.

“If we do the next building, that’s where we would go,” Hines said."

Fantastic news if this pans out. This location is the parking lot a block north of Flying Saucer. Sweet.

[glowrock]

Culture Map:Skyscrapers buck the recession: Hines plans another new office tower for downtown Houston
(http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/03-15-11-what-recession-hines-plans-another-new-office-tower-at-block-69-for-downtown-houston/)
"The Hines real estate organization, which has built 23 skyscrapers in downtown Houston, is planning another one. The project, if it comes together as planned, would result in a major office building on Main Street, catty-cornered from the historic Rice Hotel building.

Hines would not proceed unless a major office tenant has been signed, but the developer has been in serious discussions with significant corporations looking for downtown space. Some people in the real estate community say this could be the real deal — a big tenant ready to make a commitment and kick off another Hines downtown project — and soon.

The development site is bounded by Main, Texas, Fannin and Capitol..."

"...Hines has just completed the 46-story BG Group Place tower at 811 Main Street, just two blocks south of the site of the proposed new building. The BG Group Place, on top of other prior improvements, validated Main Street as a prime corporate address. A few weeks ago, Hines President and CEO Jeff Hines told CultureMap that Main Street is the preferred location for new office projects today.

“If we do the next building, that’s where we would go,” Hines said."

Fantastic news if this pans out. This location is the parking lot a block north of Flying Saucer. Sweet.

That would be an AWESOME thing indeed! Of course, it would be even more awesome if the only thing alive in the evenings and weekends in downtown Houston WAS the Flying Saucer! :yes:

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Complex01]

:previous:

Oh I hope they release something soon, and i hope its at least 700 feet. The taller the better. So Kewl. Woo Hoo...

:yes:

[photoLith]

So, I guess this tower will be taking up the space of that terrible surface parking lot that has the one remnant art deco tower left in the northeastern section of that block right? I hope if something big goes up there they leave the art deco tower and restore it, thats probably wishful thinking though. But, it might be too tall to implode so maybe theres hope yet for that building.

[KevinFromTexas]

Good to hear. Hopefully it'll be something big and tall. A 7 percent vacancy rate is pretty good. That's better than Austin's right now.

[CALMSP]

glad there is something in the works...........although I wish that condo tower would have been built there to get more people downtown 24 hours a day, but nonetheless...............I do hope its a building that can be seen from outside downtown (i.e. - TALL!!)

[Hillaryrocks]

^^^^ Just read that in Culture Map Houston.... i am excited, and i hope it is mixed use (residential and commercial) and yes something 700+ feet, sleek and photovoltaic glass. Please, GOD, nothing tan/ beige boring...please, please, please.

m.:haha:

[TexasPlaya]

So, I guess this tower will be taking up the space of that terrible surface parking lot that has the one remnant art deco tower left in the northeastern section of that block right? I hope if something big goes up there they leave the art deco tower and restore it, thats probably wishful thinking though. But, it might be too tall to implode so maybe theres hope yet for that building.

I believe Hines destroyed a similar type building when it built its newest tower on Main St a few blocks down.

[photoLith]

They tore down a 10 story 1920s hotel, the art deco tower on this block is about 25 stories or so.

[WesternSon]

Gotta love Houston's economy, still kickin'.

Besides Shell and Devon leaving downtown. Won't we see Exxon move out in the next 3 years or so with to their Woodlands Compound? Or is that not confirmed?

Downtown has so much potential that's just about to be realized I think. Critical mass is close I think and after that, you will see it really fill up with residents and a more urban feel.

[weatherguru18]

I'm very excited about Exxon-Mobile. It truly will be a compound and a massive one at that. It's going to be a huge boost for The Woodlands/Spring and all of north Harris and South Montgomery Counties. From what I've read, it is going to be 3 million sq. ft. of offices---some 20 buildings.

As far as downtown goes, it's not like we're shuffling a stagnant population around. Houston is growing by hundreds of people a week. People are constantly moving here and in need of jobs. I don't see downtown emptying out...not with all the planned development around DG and Dynamo. Fingers has mentioned another highrise condo project and hines is talking about a new scraper as well. I think we're just getting started. Not to mention, the high oil prices is making Houston a gold mine.

[skys the limit]

Gotta love Houston's economy, still kickin'.

Besides Shell and Devon leaving downtown. Won't we see Exxon move out in the next 3 years or so with to their Woodlands Compound? Or is that not confirmed?


Not mentioned in CultureMap's article is that Continental Airlines is in the process of shrinking its downtown footprint as well. Hopefully the job losses will be kept to a minimum but of the 3,000 Continental employees in downtown Houston there has been an announcement already that 500 are being eliminated. That also means office space will not be needed by Continental either.

Last Friday the former CEO of Continental wouldn't talk to the Houston press to answer questions about the next steps with the merger and its direct impact on Houston - he just slipped out of the building to avoid press entirely. I'm not sure what that says but if it were super positive it would seem he would have hung around to spread the good news.


United Continental CEO gets camera shy at CERA week:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/2011/03/united-ceo-gets-camera-shy-at-cera-week.html

----------------------------------------

CultureMap appears to have jumped the gun on their announcement two days ago for the new Hines tower. Here is the article from today's Houston Business Journal that basically does a 180 degree turn around from what CultureMap was trying to do:


New skyscraper for downtown? Not just yet

Houston Business Journal - by Jennifer Dawson
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2011, 3:03pm CDT - Last Modified: Thursday,
March 17, 2011, 3:15pm CDT.

Some real estate watchers may have been surprised to see a report this week that Hines was planning a new downtown skyscraper — and that it could happen soon.

I certainly was.

It seemed odd that Hines would plan a new tower two blocks away from BG Group Place, which recently celebrated its grand opening at 811 Main and is still lining up tenants.

So I checked in with the developer to get an update.

The subject of speculation is a surface parking lot on nearly a full city block Hines has owned for years. The site bounded by Main, Texas, Fannin and Capitol has long been considered a future development site for the Houston-based developer. The 21-story Texas Tower at 608 Fannin sits on part of the block.

Mark Cover, executive vice president with Hines, said via e-mail that an office tower is envisioned for the site, but development is not imminent.

An unnamed architecture firm has completed a schematic design for an office building to be used for marketing purposes. Creating a design is commonplace when a new building is being shopped to potential tenants, Cover said.

Cover would not share the design with the Houston Business Journal.

The Hines executive also would not say how many potential tenants have been approached, but said the firm is talking to energy, law and service firms.

The ultimate size of the building could vary since “it requires substantial pre-leasing,” Cover said in e-mail.

There’s a possibility that construction could begin later this year, but not without a large tenant, he said.

Still, it would take two years to construct a new tower, so it would not be in competition with the 46-story BG Group Place.

“We will not compete with ourselves, but there is strong interest for the remaining space at BG Group Place,” .....

Full article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/2011/03/new-skyscaper-for-downtown-not-just-yet.html

[KevinFromTexas]

I would imagine with only a 7 percent vacancy rate there's probably not enough space for a large company to come in, especially if they're looking for enough space that would require them to be on several floors. It's unlikely they could have 3 floors of a building that were close to each other. Companies hate having to send employees up and down a building to another office in their company on another floor say 10 floors up. They'd rather have them close together. So Hines should be looking for major tenants that need say 50K or more of space. That's how they could end up with a larger building. Then the rest could be somewhat spec space and maybe residential on top.

[CALMSP]

I would imagine with only a 7 percent vacancy rate there's probably not enough space for a large company to come in, especially if they're looking for enough space that would require them to be on several floors. It's unlikely they could have 3 floors of a building that were close to each other. Companies hate having to send employees up and down a building to another office in their company on another floor say 10 floors up. They'd rather have them close together. So Hines should be looking for major tenants that need say 50K or more of space. That's how they could end up with a larger building. Then the rest could be somewhat spec space and maybe residential on top.

not entirely true. There's a reason why Continental for example has offices in both their Smith street headquarters and at their other building on Jeffereson. It all has to do with money. The cost for office space is way lower in the Jeffereson building.



On another note, yes, the Continental Airlines office space is going to be dwindled to probably about 5 floors in the combined buildings. Basically everyone is going to be out.

[TexasPlaya]

Not mentioned in CultureMap's article is that Continental Airlines is in the process of shrinking its downtown footprint as well. Hopefully the job losses will be kept to a minimum but of the 3,000 Continental employees in downtown Houston there has been an announcement already that 500 are being eliminated. That also means office space will not be needed by Continental either.

Last Friday the former CEO of Continental wouldn't talk to the Houston press to answer questions about the next steps with the merger and its direct impact on Houston - he just slipped out of the building to avoid press entirely. I'm not sure what that says but if it were super positive it would seem he would have hung around to spread the good news.


United Continental CEO gets camera shy at CERA week:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/2011/03/united-ceo-gets-camera-shy-at-cera-week.html

----------------------------------------

CultureMap appears to have jumped the gun on their announcement two days ago for the new Hines tower. Here is the article from today's Houston Business Journal that basically does a 180 degree turn around from what CultureMap was trying to do:


New skyscraper for downtown? Not just yet

Houston Business Journal - by Jennifer Dawson
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2011, 3:03pm CDT - Last Modified: Thursday,
March 17, 2011, 3:15pm CDT.

Some real estate watchers may have been surprised to see a report this week that Hines was planning a new downtown skyscraper — and that it could happen soon.

I certainly was.

It seemed odd that Hines would plan a new tower two blocks away from BG Group Place, which recently celebrated its grand opening at 811 Main and is still lining up tenants.

So I checked in with the developer to get an update.

The subject of speculation is a surface parking lot on nearly a full city block Hines has owned for years. The site bounded by Main, Texas, Fannin and Capitol has long been considered a future development site for the Houston-based developer. The 21-story Texas Tower at 608 Fannin sits on part of the block.

Mark Cover, executive vice president with Hines, said via e-mail that an office tower is envisioned for the site, but development is not imminent.

An unnamed architecture firm has completed a schematic design for an office building to be used for marketing purposes. Creating a design is commonplace when a new building is being shopped to potential tenants, Cover said.

Cover would not share the design with the Houston Business Journal.

The Hines executive also would not say how many potential tenants have been approached, but said the firm is talking to energy, law and service firms.

The ultimate size of the building could vary since “it requires substantial pre-leasing,” Cover said in e-mail.

There’s a possibility that construction could begin later this year, but not without a large tenant, he said.

Still, it would take two years to construct a new tower, so it would not be in competition with the 46-story BG Group Place.

“We will not compete with ourselves, but there is strong interest for the remaining space at BG Group Place,” .....

Full article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/2011/03/new-skyscaper-for-downtown-not-just-yet.html

Lolz thank you for coming into a Houston post to rain on Houston's parade, but it's what you like to do. But Houston's DT will still be nowhere near the vacancy rates of DT Dallas, even with these tenants leaving.

[TexasPlaya]

I would imagine with only a 7 percent vacancy rate there's probably not enough space for a large company to come in, especially if they're looking for enough space that would require them to be on several floors. It's unlikely they could have 3 floors of a building that were close to each other. Companies hate having to send employees up and down a building to another office in their company on another floor say 10 floors up. They'd rather have them close together. So Hines should be looking for major tenants that need say 50K or more of space. That's how they could end up with a larger building. Then the rest could be somewhat spec space and maybe residential on top.

And these large companies prefer LEED certified buildings, which are at a premium in DT Houston.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

there's about to be huge blocks of space available in One Allen Center as Hess moves in to their new joint on the other end of DT.

I know of one company whose IT dept is packed in to their signature building like sardines, and would LOVE to have more space... perhaps the Hines dudes should go a callin'

[Shasta]

Word on the street is the Hines building is a go but someone leaked before they were ready to announce. I've been hearing a late 2012 groundbreaking with an early 2014 opening date set. It's the worst kept secret in town.

Also, while everyone is lamenting the potential loss of some jobs at Continental and Devon, people aren't mentioning that the Houston job market performed WAY better than predicted last year. Additionally, the big oil/energy companies are starting to hire. With the Gulf opening back up to drilling and the price of oil remaining around $100 a barrel, things should really start to pick up here in town.

And, I hate to rain on the Dallasite's parade, but our three brand new towers are starting off pretty damn well. The Hess Tower is 100% leased out. The building in the Pavilions is also 100% leased out to NRG (Reliant Energy). And, while the Hines tower isn't 100% leased, they did land two stellar tenants in KPMG (top floors) and BG Group (naming rights).

The time is right to start something now to take advantage of the future. The class A market in downtown is way too tight right now for someone to not make a play.

Lastly, word in Pine Shadows, where the head of Continental lives, is that the wife is flat out refusing to move to Chicago. Their house, which is just down the street from my parents' place is fully occupied and there's been no attempt to sell... Just sayin'

[JoninATX]

Thats great news.. but any word of 5 Allen starting soon?

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Brookfield wants a major tenant in 5 Allen Center before starting construction. It's still in their proposals list on their website

[Trae]

Not mentioned in CultureMap's article is that Continental Airlines is in the process of shrinking its downtown footprint as well. Hopefully the job losses will be kept to a minimum but of the 3,000 Continental employees in downtown Houston there has been an announcement already that 500 are being eliminated. That also means office space will not be needed by Continental either.

Last Friday the former CEO of Continental wouldn't talk to the Houston press to answer questions about the next steps with the merger and its direct impact on Houston - he just slipped out of the building to avoid press entirely. I'm not sure what that says but if it were super positive it would seem he would have hung around to spread the good news.


United Continental CEO gets camera shy at CERA week:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/2011/03/united-ceo-gets-camera-shy-at-cera-week.html

----------------------------------------

CultureMap appears to have jumped the gun on their announcement two days ago for the new Hines tower. Here is the article from today's Houston Business Journal that basically does a 180 degree turn around from what CultureMap was trying to do:


New skyscraper for downtown? Not just yet

Houston Business Journal - by Jennifer Dawson
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2011, 3:03pm CDT - Last Modified: Thursday,
March 17, 2011, 3:15pm CDT.

Some real estate watchers may have been surprised to see a report this week that Hines was planning a new downtown skyscraper — and that it could happen soon.

I certainly was.

It seemed odd that Hines would plan a new tower two blocks away from BG Group Place, which recently celebrated its grand opening at 811 Main and is still lining up tenants.

So I checked in with the developer to get an update.

The subject of speculation is a surface parking lot on nearly a full city block Hines has owned for years. The site bounded by Main, Texas, Fannin and Capitol has long been considered a future development site for the Houston-based developer. The 21-story Texas Tower at 608 Fannin sits on part of the block.

Mark Cover, executive vice president with Hines, said via e-mail that an office tower is envisioned for the site, but development is not imminent.

An unnamed architecture firm has completed a schematic design for an office building to be used for marketing purposes. Creating a design is commonplace when a new building is being shopped to potential tenants, Cover said.

Cover would not share the design with the Houston Business Journal.

The Hines executive also would not say how many potential tenants have been approached, but said the firm is talking to energy, law and service firms.

The ultimate size of the building could vary since “it requires substantial pre-leasing,” Cover said in e-mail.

There’s a possibility that construction could begin later this year, but not without a large tenant, he said.

Still, it would take two years to construct a new tower, so it would not be in competition with the 46-story BG Group Place.

“We will not compete with ourselves, but there is strong interest for the remaining space at BG Group Place,” .....

Full article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/2011/03/new-skyscaper-for-downtown-not-just-yet.html

Gotta love Houston's economy, still kickin'.

Besides Shell and Devon leaving downtown. Won't we see Exxon move out in the next 3 years or so with to their Woodlands Compound? Or is that not confirmed?

Downtown has so much potential that's just about to be realized I think. Critical mass is close I think and after that, you will see it really fill up with residents and a more urban feel.

BG Group Place is a company that is moving into Downtown. Also, I don't believe Exxon is vacating Downtown. In the articles I've read (and HAIF rumors), they have said the Downtown jobs are staying. Other Exxon employees scattered in random places in the metro area will consolidate in Spring.

[JoninATX]

Rice U Ready To Build Giant Ceremonial Mound in Center of Campus

http://swamplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/rice-skyspace.jpg

Friday, March 25, 2011

A multimillion-dollar gift from eclipse chaser and Rice University trustee Suzanne Deal Booth will be used to build a monumental sod-covered pyramid that will serve as the focus of the campus’s long central axis. Construction is scheduled to start early next month on the $6 million mound, which will contain a room inside with bench seating, as well as a second level above. At the top of the flat-topped pyramid, a 72-ft.-square pavilion with a square hole cut into the top will frame views of the sky.

http://swamplot.com/rice-u-ready-to-...us/2011-03-25/

[JoninATX]

HanOver at Rice Village

http://swamplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/hanover-rice-kelvin-dunstan.jpg

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

In 2007, Houston’s city council sold a block of Bolsover St. in the Rice Village to the developers of Randall Davis’s Sonoma project so that it could be used as a private drive and restaurant plaza linking two phases of the development. Davis and Lamesa Properties did manage to demolish the neighboring buildings, but Sonoma was never built. Now, the Hanover Company is saying it’s ready to build portions of a 6-story mixed-use building directly on top of part of that street. Plans for the new project, called Hanover at Rice Village, show a large plaza with restaurant seating on the eastern portion of what used to be Bolsover, facing Morningside. But the west half of the block is slated for retail space, apartments, and a private courtyard for residents:


http://swamplot.com/hanover-at-rice-village-whats-going-up-over-bolsover/2011-03-29/

[JoninATX]

Parc Binz One

http://images.loopnet.com/xnet/mainsite/attachments/viewImage.aspx?FileGuid=B6E784A2-E018-474A-80E8-A3E5BD1F3AF4&Extension=jpg&Width=631&Height=421

http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=17069399

Found this project off the Houston Architecture Info Forum and got the link from loopnet, and I credit Channeltwonews who had this posted on there. It looks like a interesting project it said it will have ground floor retail I guess we'll wait and see.

[JoninATX]

Vita Nuota Houston "Studewood Place"

This project will be a 6 or 8 story mixed use project on Studewood at 10th ½ St. in the Heights.

Here a link to a construction picture as you can tell they already dug a big hole in the ground.
http://www.richmartinhomes.com/houston-real-estate-market-conditions/studewood-place

Anoter link to the projects website
http://vitanuovallc.com/index.html#

[JoninATX]

Disney to start sailing out of Galveston in 2012

By JENALIA MORENO
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
April 4, 2011, 6:41PM

More cruise magic is coming to Galveston.

Disney Cruise Line will announce Wednesday morning that the Disney Magic will sail 12 seven-night cruises from the Port of Galveston to the Western Caribbean beginning Sept. 22, 2012. Ports of call include Grand Cayman and Mexico's Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Rates for the seven-night Western Caribbean cruise itinerary departing from Galveston will start at $840 per person for a standard inside stateroom, based on double occupancy, according to a Disney news release. One travel agent said not to expect sales for passage aboard the ship that sleeps up to 2,700 passengers.

"Mickey does not go on sale. That cheese is way too expensive," said Steve Cosgrove, owner of Dallas area Dynamic Travel.

Disney's Magic will join the Carnival Cruise Lines' ship called Carnival Magic, which begins sailing from Galveston on Nov. 14. Carnival's Triumph will also begin sailing out of Galveston on Oct. 6. Carnival's Ecstasy and Conquest now sail out of Galveston but will be repositioned to New Orleans.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7506462.html

I see the "magic" in Galveston growing with this and Landry's Theme Park.:cool:

[TexasBoi]

Vita Nuota Houston "Studewood Place"

This project will be a 6 or 8 story mixed use project on Studewood at 10th ½ St. in the Heights.

Here a link to a construction picture as you can tell they already dug a big hole in the ground.
http://www.richmartinhomes.com/houston-real-estate-market-conditions/studewood-place

Anoter link to the projects website
http://vitanuovallc.com/index.html#

Are there any renderings for this? Can't find it anywhere.

[JoninATX]

I tried, no luck of finding any renderings. On there website I think it says renderings will be posted soon or something like that.

[Complex01]

Hey check this link out

http://blogs.chron.com/believeitornot/2011/04/second_baptist_holds_easter_fl.html

Discovery Green has done such a great job for downtown. I thought the flash mob was kewl. Now if only there was 2000 club kids dancing to a trance song. Hmm something by Amrin Van Buuren or Paul Van Dyk.

Now that would be kewl...

:tup:

[mfastx]

Now if only there was 2000 club kids dancing to a trance song. Hmm something by Amrin Van Buuren or Paul Van Dyk.

Now that would be kewl...

:tup:

YES!! :D

Trance is awesome.

[photoLith]

Hopefully Disney sailing out of Galveston will help out its redevelopment.

[JoninATX]

Yesterday I was in downtown Houston and was amazed of how massive it is, btw this was my first vist to downtown Houston since 1999. Went by Discovery Green as well as One Park Place & Hess Tower I can say traveling from Downtown and looking over at One Park Place I thought I was in Chicago the way it looked. BTW nobody can deny that there is no life in downtown Houston as I saw the whole place was full of people walking, running, taking pitures, ect... thanks Houston will be seeing u again:tup:.

[araman0]

Going back through the previous 10 or so pages of developement it's impressive to see all the projects going on throughout the city. The new projects make fantastic use of landscaping elements and water fountains/pools. All this is welcome change from a city that has historically ignored streetscaping and the human experience in their surroundings.

[AusHou]

Going back through the previous 10 or so pages of developement it's impressive to see all the projects going on throughout the city. The new projects make fantastic use of landscaping elements and water fountains/pools. All this is welcome change from a city that has historically ignored streetscaping and the human experience in their surroundings.

Streetscaping certainly has more momentum recently and is found in many more districts than it was. I wish more people would notice and give Houston credit in that arena. Landscaped medians in certain districts have been impressive for many years, but every time I drive around Houston, I see more. I don't know where the money comes from unless a lot of it is donated by companies.

[JoninATX]

BBVA to consolidate offices in new building on Post Oak

http://blogs.chron.com/primeproperty/bbva.jpg

BBVA Compass will build a 380,000-square-foot corporate office building at 2200 Post Oak Blvd.

With this building, the bank will centralize operations currently operating out of four offices in the Houston area. BBVA Compass' local executives and staff will occupy approximately 150,000 square feet of the building. The company has several real estate operations in the area because in the last few years, Spanish financial firm BBVA has acquired four US banks -- Compass Bank, State National Bank, Texas State Bank and LNB, formerly Laredo National Bank.

In addition to the corporate office building, BBVA Compass will also relocate its Op and Tech center located on Port West Drive just west of downtown Houston to a new facility being renovated.

BBVA Compass is also scouting for locations in Birmingham and Dallas to combine its operations in those areas.

"Combining our corporate offices into centralized locations in key markets such as Houston, Dallas and Birmingham is a natural evolution in the integration of our U.S. banking franchise," said Manolo Sánchez, BBVA U.S. Country Manager and President and CEO of BBVA Compass. "In addition to the eco-friendly design and state-of-the-art technology of the new building, bringing together our employees into a single location will foster a more open communication channel and sharing of ideas amongst our team."

Houston-based Redstone Real Estate is the developer of the project. Manhattan Construction has been brought on to manage the overall build. BBVA Compass expects to begin occupancy of the building by the end of the first quarter of 2013. The official ground breaking for the space is scheduled to take place in May.


http://blogs.chron.com/primeproperty/2011/04/bbva_to_consolidate_offices_in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+houstonchronicle/primeproperty+(Prime+Property)

Can't wait for it to breakground next month.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Disney sailing out of Galveston will only help parking lot owners and those three guys who have service stations on Harborside at I-45... The GPD directs cars west onto Harborside, straight out of town.