HOUSTON | Development Thread II

[citykid09]

Luxury Apartment Community Breaks Ground in Houston's Greenway Plaza area.
http://www.multi-housingnews.com/photos/2007/03/Millennium.jpg
http://www.multi-housingnews.com/multihousing/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003553763&imw=Y

[Cory]

Thanks for the info citykid. Never heard of that website. Seems like a lot of infill is happening in the Greenway Plaza area. Even more reason to connect rail to the area. Fortunately it seems like a lot of it has not been the tapered roof garden style apartment complexes. If only some of the commercial/retail going up could compliment some of the development.

[Cory]

Courtesy of Shasta, here is an updated rendering of the Turnberry development. Click for larger fiile:

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2830/15409turnberry1pp8.th.jpg (http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=15409turnberry1pp8.jpg)

Also looks like the old building owned by Crosspoint properties and Wulfe at McGowen and Travis (across from the Superblock) is finally getting its makeover. Reef Seafood is the first tenant.

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/3888/prop5imagepi2.th.jpg (http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=prop5imagepi2.jpg)

[Trae]

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2830/15409turnberry1pp8.jpg

What is that thing on the lower right hand corner with the poll on the top? Is there anything under it?

[houston19514]

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2830/15409turnberry1pp8.jpg

What is that thing on the lower right hand corner with the poll on the top? Is there anything under it?

I'm guessing it's a parking structure

[Shasta]

FIVE downtown office projects are being shopped around...

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2007/03/12/story1.html

[Xeelee]

FIVE downtown office projects are being shopped around...

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2007/03/12/story1.html

whoa.... anything on the sizes? holy carp!

[guess]

Finally,

Grayco is digging right in on apartments
http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4618369.html

"Grayco is developing a third complex in the Museum District in a separate partnership with Lionstone Group, a Houston-based real estate investment firm.

Bounded by Oakdale, Prospect, San Jacinto and Fannin, the six-story midrise will be just north of the Museum of Fine Arts complex. The light rail line is less than 200 feet from the site."

5300 block of Fannin
http://www.graycopartners.com/currentprojects/museumplace.php

[Shasta]

That is great news. It's been too long since something opened up that utilized the light rail line. 8 total floors will add to the nice little skyline in the Museum District.

Also saw that the same firm is planning on an 8 story project on the 2900 block of Westheimer (between Ferndale and Sackett). This one will offer 119 units and deliver in 2008.
http://www.graycopartners.com/ima/toppics/im_bellemeade.jpg

[JManc]

whoa.... anything on the sizes? holy carp!

http://www.carplines.co.uk/img/upload/feedback/large_36_lb.jpg


seriously though, where and how big?

[LordElPaso]

FIVE downtown office projects are being shopped around...

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2007/03/12/story1.html

sweet!!! :banana: :cheers:

[Great_Hizzy]

Whoa! So that's what's going up in the Museum District? That would be, like, the first real residential project built on the rail line since it opened. That's pretty freakin' awesome.

And help me envision 2900 Westheimer? What's on the block now? Regardless, it's only a couple blocks west of the Westheimer @ Kirby mixed-used development, which, along with 2727 Kirby (if they ever actually resume construction) would make this five block area one of the more urban districts in the city.

[Shasta]

It says its between Ferndale and Sackett so I assume that is the South Side of the street?

I really hope it's the strip mall that gets removed and not the really cool 1940-50s era shops with the black detail around the brick. It's been awhile since I have been down to Houston but those are the things that pop up in my head...

[Trae]

Bump! Don't let this thing go down to page 2.

[Xeelee]

Bump! Don't let this thing go down to page 2.

I concur

[Great_Hizzy]

Yesterday, I saw a backhoe doing "something" once again on the site where 2727 Kirby is supposed to go up. I have no clue what was going on, however.

This is really one strange project or non-project, as it were.

[CALMSP]

what happened to the idea of Camden City Centre having commercial on the bottom floor of their new apartments?? i thought that was the idea?? from the looks of it, it certainly doesnt seem like any commercial will be there. :(

[CALMSP]

sweet!!! :banana: :cheers:


i think we are going to lose our front lawn at our building............Brookfield is suppose to add 1500 Smith Street.........which would put it in between Continental's HQ's and the old Enron building.

[Xeelee]

sweet!!! :banana: :cheers:

Wanna print it out or email it to me? I cannot see it.

[Cory]

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizspace/houston/news_of_note/?story_id=1429210

[Shasta]

the old Warwick Hotel is getting close to reopening as the Hotel ZaZa Houston.

This will certainly give the Museum District a jolt. With suites like Geisha, Houston we have a problem (lunar/space theme), Rock Star, Outlaw (playing up old West/Texas themes), SoHo, and more and a new ZaSpa, Monarch Restaurant, and active pool level with cabanas available for rent overlooking the Mecom Fountain, I fully expect this hotel to be successful.

www.hotelzazahouston.com

[Cory]

A more realistic view of the new Outpatient Building in the Med Center. The way construction is so slow, you would swear they were building St. Peter's Basilica.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/5033/51449046ax0.jpg

BTW, there is no end to the TMC construction it seems. The Faculty tower is noticeably rising and there is another crane on the southern end of the skyline. Anyone know what? Don't forget the new towers for Texas Childrens, Methodist Hospital Research Institute, The Rice Collaborative building u/c, the Baylor development near VA, something is going in on Holcombe, can't tell, at least four projects for UT Health Science, M.D. Anderson's research therapy building and much more. Hard to remember it all.

[Trae]

That building looks nice.

[Shasta]

I am not certain WesternGulf, but the crane that shows up on the south side of the TMC in Boris' rodeo pics looks to be in the location of the proposed Life Sciences Plaza. This was where that old motor hotel was torn down. It's a 13 story office tower. A rendering can be found on the www.kirksey.com site.

[Shasta]

OK, here's Boris' pic showing the two cranes which appear to be for two different projects in the southwestern portion of the Texas Med Center area.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/issaaa/Porter%20Park/HoustonRodeo2007-2029.jpg

I am almost certain that the crane on the left is for the Sorrento Condo project by InnerLoopCondos. It'll be a 5 story building with 44 condos.

I am guessing that the crane on the right is for the Life Sciences project. Here's the rendering for that...
http://www.kirksey.com/images/portfolio/healthcare/2130/image-left.jpg

[Shasta]

The Houston Club Building downtown has been sold to a local investment group. There are several options they might take including changing the format into a hotel, a residential building, or a mix of office space with high end residential on the top floors. Here's a link and a photo of the bldg...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4651544.html

This is taken from the Chase Tower plaza (Houston Club in background in upper left)
http://k53.pbase.com/u43/ngruev/upload/40567064.P3044850.jpg

[CALMSP]

i sent this to my Local 2 news contact a while back, asking them to look into this. can you imagine a skyscraper 1.3 miles in the air covering 9 city blocks??!! and 500 stories high!!! the commute from the 1st floor to the 500th would probably be the same as commuting from The Woodlands to downtown!!

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=houstontower-houston-tx-usa

[Xeelee]

?

[guess]

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5822/rampartix4.jpg
across from mosaic. sign says "rampart residential"

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7035/museumplacetr5.jpg
new residential finally on the rail line? i hope so

[c4smok]

"Grayco is also developing the 219-unit Museum Place residential project in the 5300 block of Fannin, Houston's affluent Museum District. The first units will deliver in September 2008 with construction slated for completion in May 2009. "
A newly formed Houston real estate firm has aligned itself with Camden Property Trust to develop apartment and mixed-use developments across the country.

Grayco Partners, led by former Finger Cos. executive Jeff Gray, and Houston-based Camden have pooled $90 million in equity that could grow to $140 million, supporting more than a half-billion dollars worth of development.

The first two local projects under the Grayco-Camden agreement include a 119-unit complex on Westheimer near River Oaks and a 344-unit complex on North Braeswood. Grayco will develop the projects, and Camden will manage them.

Construction is under way on both projects.

Located on Westheimer just west of Kirby, The Belle Meade at River Oaks will be a six-story building with two levels of parking built on a full city block.

Rents will be in the $1.78-per-square-foot range.

Braeswood Place will be just east of Stella Link. It's replacing a 1960s apartment complex called Gardens of Braeswood. Rents will start at $1.35 per square foot.

Grayco is developing a third complex in the Museum District in a separate partnership with Lionstone Group, a Houston-based real estate investment firm.

Bounded by Oakdale, Prospect, San Jacinto and Fannin, the six-story midrise will be just north of the Museum of Fine Arts complex. The light rail line is less than 200 feet from the site.

Rents in Museum Place will be in the $1.75-per-square-foot range.

The project will be more "edgy and contemporary in feel," Gray said, with a lot of floor-to-ceiling glass.

Gray left the Finger Cos. last year after more than 18 years working with veteran apartment developer Marvy Finger.

In addition to apartments, Grayco plans to build mixed-use developments in urban areas around the country.

The company is developing 100,000 square feet of retail space and hundreds of housing units on 26.5 acres on Town Lake in Austin, and has projects in Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta.

"Given what's happened in most U.S. cities, land prices have escalated rapidly, and the density of the type of construction you're building today is not what it was five, 10 or 15 years ago," Gray said.

Zaza opening pushed back
The redevelopment of the historic Warwick Hotel into a flashier, modern boutique hotel called the Zaza has been extended, and it won't open until early June.

Developer Charles Givens said the project was initially envisioned as a basic update of the existing hotel.

"As we kept going along and looking at the neighborhood ... we realized we needed to make the hotel a more urban resort," Givens said.

The hotel's amenities have expanded. Changes Givens thought would take one month took three.

The property at 5701 Main St. will have a 10,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, a resort-style pool with cabanas and 18 suites that will have themes like Rock Star and An Affair to Remember.

Monarch, the hotel's restaurant, will run the entire west side of the building facing Main Street and the Mecom Fountain. At night it will evolve into a lounge.

Givens said the hotel is in "Houston's most enlightened area."

"We love it here, and if we're going to be here, we wanted to be the absolute, very best," he said.

Despite its central location and prestigious past, the Warwick's redevelopment into the Hotel Zaza wasn't a risk-free proposition.

During the oil boom of the 1970s and 1980s, other high-end properties were built, displacing the Warwick as one of Houston's top hotels.

And in later years, the property was often overlooked because it's not in a major shopping or office district like the Galleria area or downtown.

But this area could soon look a lot different from its past, because museums are planning major expansions, along with new housing and restaurants being added.

"Younger people are more interested in arts now. It's a whole new social connection, and businesses embrace the arts more than they ever did before," Givens said.

The hotel will also have meeting space for corporate events.

Trammell Crow's retail plans
Trammell Crow Co. is ramping up its retail development division.

The Dallas-based firm that has a large local presence recently announced a development venture with MetLife to buy land and build shopping centers in major metro areas in Texas, California, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Oregon, Colorado and the Northeast.

The company will target 10- to 100-acre tracts of land for community shopping centers to large open-air projects in urban and suburban locations.

Trammell Crow is an independently operated subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis Group. Its first development with MetLife is a 430,000-square-foot power center in the Orlando area.

nancy.sarnoff@chron.com

[irees]

No I was saying they have not started on the second one. I just thought they would have by now.

I am assuming the smokestack is near the port.

That smokestack is Lyondell Citgo.


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/166248944_cd17ebd33b_m.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/433234123_b789d5915b_m.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/6/6054028_f517cf0beb_m.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/61/173632729_e0e41f258f_m.jpg

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/irees/sets/72157594166833389/ )

[mikecolley]

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7035/museumplacetr5.jpg
new residential finally on the rail line? i hope so

Why do Houston businesses have to make a variance request if Houston doesn't have any zoning laws?

[irees]

Why do Houston businesses have to make a variance request if Houston doesn't have any zoning laws?

I think it typically has to do with setback requirements.

[Cory]

Some new drawings for the new Regent Sqaure development on Allen Parkway.

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5057/13519003hq4.png

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/927/aabj4.png

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/51/aa2pc8.png

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4547/aa3xr5.png

[Boris]

Luv it. I hope this development goes through.

[CALMSP]

is this suppose to be next to the Bel-Air apartments on the empty lot they just dug up??

[c4smok]

Trammell Crow Co. has acquired a city block in downtown Houston, known as Block 126, that will be the location for a new Class A office building to be named Discovery Tower.

The building will be part of the 12-acre, $93 million Discovery Green downtown park under construction near the George R. Brown Convention Center.



Gensler Architects has been tapped to design the project, which will be built as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified project.

Aaron Thielhorn and Adam Saphier, both with Trammell Crow, and Joe Wanninger with Principal Real Estate Investors, will oversee the development; John Pruitt and Cody Armbrister, with Trammell Crow's parent company, CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., will handle leasing and marketing of the space. David Cook of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented the parties in the transaction.

Trammell Crow said the tower will be between 600,000 and 1.2 million square feet, with the final size to be determined based on tenant interest in the next few months. It is expected to break ground in early 2008, with completion by early 2010.

The project is the second in Houston under a national office development program established in 2006 by Trammell Crow Co. and asset management organization Principal Real Estate Investors, a member of Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Financial Group (NYSE: PFG). The program aims to develop nearly $1 billion of Class A office buildings throughout the United States over the next five years.

Discovery Tower will be the program's largest single project

[Cory]

is this suppose to be next to the Bel-Air apartments on the empty lot they just dug up??

Where the Allen House apartments are located.

[Great_Hizzy]

An updated Chronicle article says the Discovery Tower would have 31 floors. Of course, this is all preliminary so use that as a guide more than anything.

I'm still tickled by those crayon drawings of Regent Square. Nevertheless, it's a really cool project.

[irees]

Regent Square looks like a nice urban neighborhood. Therefore you can expect it to look absolutely nothing like the renderings. :)

Probably will turn out to be a few blocks of 4 or 5 story wood framed apartment buildings with the garage facing street level/sidewalk, complete with 1 or 2 strip centers, each containing: 1 (one) Dry Cleaners, 1 (one) Tanning Salon, 2 (two) Starbucks.

[Trae]

That rendering looks real nice.

[Great_Hizzy]

I fully expect some revisions, Ian. And while I think you're exaggerating on the negative side, there's probably some truth to it.

Not that I'm a pessimist, but it's quite common for large scale projects to make some concessions or revisions for either economy's sake or other logistics.

I just hope they do a good job with the streets and sidewalks and add in abundance of greenery. The positives for Houston in its late arrival to urbanization game is that it can avoid the pratfalls of going after density to the point where it eliminates some natural elements that would make the development a lot more asthetically pleasing.

[CALMSP]

Regent Square looks like a nice urban neighborhood. Therefore you can expect it to look absolutely nothing like the renderings. :)

Probably will turn out to be a few blocks of 4 or 5 story wood framed apartment buildings with the garage facing street level/sidewalk, complete with 1 or 2 strip centers, each containing: 1 (one) Dry Cleaners, 1 (one) Tanning Salon, 2 (two) Starbucks.

I hope they follow the trend that POST has done in Midtown. This will make the area that much more interesting. Now theyjust need to expand teh subway down Dallas from the redline :notacrook:

[JManc]

the area where hisd was was supposed to have a similar layout as regent square but will end up having a costco instead. i am pessimistic about RS as well. this is houston so expect revisions to big box stores and strip centers.

[Cory]

Since there is a hotel in the mix, I am hopeful that they will not settle for strip centers. Although we do have Uptown Park. Plus check out David M. Schwarz's work. Not even close.

Anyway here is an overhead shot of CityCentre that I do not believe has been posted yet.

http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/7026/untitledzx3.png

[Great_Hizzy]

Cool.

[irees]

Houston development has failed to follow through on too many projects for me to have any optimism left for such an ambitious project. I've resigned myself to leaving eventually.

[Cory]

Houston development has failed to follow through on too many projects for me to have any optimism left for such an ambitious project. I've resigned myself to leaving eventually.


Which ones? Only asking since Houston is unfortunately just getting started on the whole mixed use band wagon.

Scaled down projects have been Houston Pavilions and Richmond and Weslayan. Is that it? High Street was scaled down a little bit with the parking plaza outfront but look what it is replacing.

[Xeelee]

Regent Square looks like a nice urban neighborhood. Therefore you can expect it to look absolutely nothing like the renderings. :)

Probably will turn out to be a few blocks of 4 or 5 story wood framed apartment buildings with the garage facing street level/sidewalk, complete with 1 or 2 strip centers, each containing: 1 (one) Dry Cleaners, 1 (one) Tanning Salon, 2 (two) Starbucks.

I see you've noticed the trend too. I will wait to see what happens.

[Cory]

An interesting perspective of the Mosaic

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/437188981_04fd0caf15_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/437188987_2adafe06ef_o.jpg
courtesy of vanVleck @ flickr.com

[Complex01]

Oh that is real nice. I am loving all these new developments. Ill save now and buy later, he he...

:D

[Trae]

CityCentre looks a lot better than what use to be Town & Country Mall.

[Great_Hizzy]

I hope they include the same variety of palm at City Centre as they have at T&C Village. Those are beautiful, well manicured-palms, IMO.

[rdavis4559]

Here is a shot of the Pavilions lots from Wells Fargo. Its not a very good shot but I only had my phone with me
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/IMG00107.jpg

[Von]

omg i saw a crane go up on san jacinto!!!! well the houston pavillions....but it looks kinda small.... can n e one take a pic?

[Xeelee]

they are proceeding.

[Shasta]

Globe Street is reporting that Legacy Partners has purchased land and plans from Fairfield Residential at Studemont @ Memorial Drive and will launch the Legacy at Memorial in Sept.

The Legacy at Memorial will have 274 apartments in a 25 story tower and 60 lofts in a wood frame building adjoining the tower. It will also have an 8 story parking garage.

www.globest.com/news/876_876/houston/159431-1.html

Here is a look at the tower as planned by Fairfield. I get the sense Legacy will be using the same plans...
http://www.hayneswhaley.com/project_images/MemorialCondos.jpg

[rdavis4559]

Here are some shots of Discovery Green and Park Tower:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/PT1.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/DC1.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/PT_DC1.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/PT_DC2.jpg

[dave8721]

Do you guys know anything about this tower? It was posted this week on a Miami Architect's (who also designs towers for Las Vegas & Dubai) website under the name "Houston City Centre" but it doesn't appear to be the City Centre project that is discussed on this thread and I can't find any other mention of it anywhere:

http://www.kobikarp.com/site/ (you can find it under projects>multifamily residential>Houston City Centre)
http://www.kobikarp.com/images/houston1.jpg

[Cory]

Never heard of it. Looks like it is next to the Rice.

[c4smok]

wow I counted over 60 stories on that rendering

[TexanatPenn]

That's the shamrock site on Main ...view from the west

[Trae]

Why is Downtown so short?

[Shasta]

Wow.

That is the site for the old Scamrock proposal at Main and Texas I believe.

This would be HUGE. Mixed use. On the rail. Near Minute Maid Field. Just East of the Chase Tower (Houston's tallest).

Crossing my fingers now...

[Complex01]

Yeah i saw the rendering to. Its right downtown by MM Park. I love the tower, its so kewl, and would really stand out. I am crossing my fingers to. Now that is tower.

:yes:

[Trae]

Check out those big tv's on the bottom! Much better than what the Scamrock would have been.

[Trae]

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/issaaa/Porter%20Park/HoustonCC.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i222/issaaa/Porter%20Park/HoustonCC2.jpg

[bigdogc]

what is the big building getting built at the texas medical center? its got to be around 40-50 stories.

[Trae]

Like the Great Hizzy said, we all shrug our shoulders at the TMC development. So much going on there.

[Cory]

what is the big building getting built at the texas medical center? its got to be around 40-50 stories.

Huh? If you are talking about the building that is still in its skeleton that is the Faculty Center Tower. 21 or 22 story building that should be complete in 2008.

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2719/407heightsub4.jpg

If I am counting correctly, there are about 6-7 cranes in the TMC currently. Most of them have just recently started so the Faculty building is the only one that is clearly rising.

[c4smok]

now we need to find info on who wants to build this tower :frog:

[bigdogc]

Huh? If you are talking about the building that is still in its skeleton that is the Faculty Center Tower. 21 or 22 story building that should be complete in 2008.

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2719/407heightsub4.jpg

If I am counting correctly, there are about 6-7 cranes in the TMC currently. Most of them have just recently started so the Faculty building is the only one that is clearly rising.
yeah that looks like the building i saw. it sure does look big though. i will be attending school in TMC next fall and I gotta say im looking forward to the new buildings in houston :tup:

[nygirl1]

Why is Downtown so short? It isn't. They probably just want to highlight the building .

[Trae]

It isn't. They probably just want to highlight the building .

Yeah, that's what I was thinking afterwards.

[Trae]

The towers look very much alike. Here is a photo of the MO in Chicago, possibly Houston, then Dallas:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=160

This project is also on the Red Line.

And here is a project map:

http://www.houstonx.com/houstonprojects.gif

[rdavis4559]

"April 5, 2007, 12:58AM
Houston metro area now 6th largest in U.S.

The Houston metropolitan area is now the nation's sixth largest, surpassing Miami, the Census Bureau said in a report released today.

The Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land statistical area grew by 824,547, or 17.5 percent, to 5,539,949 people between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2006, the bureau said. It was the nation's third-highest growth in raw numbers and 30th-highest in percentage terms.

Growth in the Houston area helped to cement Texas' position as the fastest-growing state between 2000 and 2006, said Steve Murdock, director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The state population grew by 2.7 million in the six-year period, Murdock said, about 120,000 of that because of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Four of the nation's fastest-growing metro areas in raw numbers are in Texas: Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, the San Antonio-to-Austin corridor and the Texas-Mexico border area.

"Those four regions have been the fastest-growing in the state for 20 years, and we're seeing an affirmation of those as the growth centers of Texas," Murdock said."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4689569.html

[Cory]

http://images.chron.com/photos/2007/04/04/5749824/311xInlineGallery.jpg
Metro is purchasing a piece of property between Main and Travis, bordered by Holman and Winbern, to promote transit-friendly development.
Steve Campbell: Chronicle


April 5, 2007, 1:07AM
Metro buys Midtown tract, and developer buys time

By RAD SALLEE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Metro is buying two blocks along its light-rail line in Midtown from a developer the agency expects will buy the property back and build transit-friendly residential and business space.

In a transaction unprecedented in the agency's history, the Metropolitan Transit Authority board voted March 22 to spend $7.2 million for the blocks bounded by Main, Holman, Travis and Winbern, next to the Ensemble station of Metro's light rail Red line.

The idea is to sell the tract back to developer Robert H. Schultz of RHS Interests for at least the same price after Schultz's partnership is ready to build. Schultz approached Metro with the proposal, he and Metro said.

Agency spokeswoman Raequel Roberts said Metro knows of no other instances in which a transit agency has bought land to hold and sell to a private company for what is known as transit-oriented development.

The board did not discuss the purchase publicly when it voted for the transaction, but Schultz and Todd Mason, Metro's vice president of real estate services, since have outlined the plan for the Houston Chronicle.

Schultz said Metro may join in developing a parking garage on the site that could be used by rail riders but that the agency chose not to invest in other parts of the project.

"They didn't want to extend that kind of money. They wanted to be much more conservative until they could see this thing was going to happen," he said.

Mason agreed, saying, "Metro does not want to be a developer and take on a lot of risk, but we want to be an enabler of projects like this one."

He projected that the development could increase Metro ridership by 1,000 passengers a day at virtually no cost. "By comparison, a typical Park & Ride lot adds 1,500 riders but costs $20 million to $25 million," he said.

Read More: http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4689600.html

[Xeelee]

whoa... so many good things going on. :)

This is why Houston > *

[Trae]

A lot. Houston's projects just don't get as much spotlight as other cities do, because of its lack of zoning. There are actually more multi-family units being built in Houston than Dallas.

[Tymel]

I wish Houston didnt build buildings all over the place. I wish they built them all in a specific area so it would be nice and dense.

[LordElPaso]

maybe for some, that kind of density makes for a nicer skyline - but i think houston's skyline(s) generally reflects the people who live here - they'd much rather have room breathe and be themselves rather than be packed like sardines in a place like NYC, where surely many houstonians would go insane

[rdavis4559]

I agree.... I think its great when you can drive through streets like San Felipe and see the contrast of mid-rise buildings almost literally next to or in within neighborhoods.

[Trae]

I like the way Houston's skyline is, too, but I don't know if they would all fit Downtown anyway.

[CALMSP]

i just wish we had a subway system like the "L" in Chicago, where it travels right through the neighborhoods!!!

[Trae]

Photos of the crane from HAIF (Houston Pavilions):

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n259/WatchCat/P4040004.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n259/WatchCat/P4040003.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n259/WatchCat/P4040001.jpg
A veritable gaggle of cranes!!!

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n259/WatchCat/P4040005.jpg

[weatherguru18]

This is my first post guys...be nice to me! j/k.

According to the Chronicle, a 25 story apartment building is planned for Studemont and Memorial! Has anybody heard anything on Discovery Tower and it's final height or any other office structures?

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4692578.html

[Boris]

You should visit the HAIF.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php

[Trae]

Yeah, that is where most Houston posters are.

[guess]

You should stay away from

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php

yep

[Trae]

^^ Ha

Nah, HAIF is a good forum.

[Boris]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boris
You should stay away from

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php

Originally Posted by Guess
Yep, you should go to the HAIF

I agree with Guess, you should go to the HAIF

[Xeelee]

why cant we all just get along?

[Trae]

METRO buys land to sell to developer at later date

THE DEAL
• Buy : The Metropolitan Transit Authority buys two square blocks in Midtown from a developer for $7.2 million, with the sale closing in the next four months.

• Hold : Metro holds the property for a year to 18 months while the developer seeks city building code variances and designs a transit-oriented residential, retail and office project.

• Sell : Metro sells the property back to the developer and construction begins.

• Pros : Midtown can draw residents, and Metro can draw riders. Metro can hold the land without paying property taxes or interest.

• Cons : The city, county and other taxing entities lose property tax revenue while the property is off the rolls.

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4689600.html

[Shasta]

Baylor College of Medicine activity

The Alkek Building for Biomedical Research

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/11-28-05.jpg

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/3-1-06.jpg

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/7-14-06.jpg

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/9-15-06.jpg

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/10-31-06.jpg

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/2-5-07.jpg


The DeBakey Library and Museum

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/exterior.jpg

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/exterior3.jpg

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/model_top.gif

http://www.bcm.edu/cms_web/95/model_campus.gif

[Trae]

How much more is the Med Center going to do?

[TexanatPenn]

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but here is the redering of the Collaborative Research Center going up at Main and Dryden

http://www.collaborativeresearchcenter.org/images/building/FINE_Hub2_ed.jpg

[Trae]

http://www.collaborativeresearchcenter.org/images/building/FINE_Hub2_ed.jpg

[Xeelee]

nice

[Cory]

M.D. Anderson, Health Science Center break ground on research facility

Houston Business Journal - 1:46 PM CDT Tuesday, April 10, 2007

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are collaborating on a new imaging research facility.

The organizations broke ground Tuesday at The University of Texas Research Park on what will become the Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research, dedicated to developing technologies that will detect heart disease, cancer and other illnesses at their earliest stages.

The facility, scheduled for completion in late 2009, is being built in cooperation with GE Healthcare and the Texas Enterprise Fund.

The Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research is the fourth building to be constructed, and one of six centers that will comprise M.D. Anderson's Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer. The McCombs Institute is located on the UT Research Park.

The six-story, 315,000-square-foot building, near El Paseo and Cambridge streets in the Texas Medical Center, will accommodate research laboratories for synthetic and analytical chemistry, biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology and facilities for production of clinical-grade imaging agents such as radiopharmaceuticals, nanoparticle-based agents, gene-reporter and cellular tracers.

The building will also house UT-Houston's new Department of Biomedical Engineering.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2007/04/09/daily22.html?surround=lfn

[Cory]

Westcreek Update:

Here are some more renderings of the mixed use development that will replace the westcreek Apartments. 350,000 sq ft of retail, 300 apartments, 200,000 sq. ft. of office, two hotels

View from Plaza
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/6259/viewplazach6.jpg

Southwest Corner
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/1375/swcornerbw5.jpg

View of Plaza
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/667/viewofplazaqa5.jpg

Conceptual Drawings
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/1231/conceptualfo0.jpg http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/4361/conceptual2wn4.jpg http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/4083/conceptual3wo5.jpg http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/1438/conceptual4uy7.jpg http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/3141/conceptual5zp0.jpg http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/2281/conceptual6ed4.jpg

From Westheimer looking north into the project
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/3183/northwestheimerew6.jpg

Westheimer looking west
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/1516/westheimerwestmv2.jpg

Center of Project
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8761/centerje8.jpg

Aerial
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4656/houstonaerialviewbx4.jpg