HOUSTON | Development Thread II

[Great_Hizzy]

Eh, the whole parking thing is not a big deal to me either. I guess if they were looking for a two lane/two way street it was the way to go. Although if preferred, I would have made the sidewalk wider to make for parallel parking. (I understand the whole traditional retail district feel, but when it comes down to it there is no logical reason for the preference.) I am sure it is to cut down on building more parking spaces in another location anyway. Plus this place is a destination (private street development) rather than a piece of a mosiac that makes up a neighborhood (public street development), so it attracts more motorist. A lot of great neighborhoods in the inner loop are experiencing more & more visitors & residents that can't quite quit the car habit sort of like the Village.

Exactly. The adjustment that the urbanist must make with regards to new urbanist type projects in rapidly growing metropolisis in the Sunblet is that these urbanist projects will typically make a quirky concession to the traditional autocentric sensibilities of a significant portion of its clientelle. Even so called urbanists in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc will behave in a more autocentric manner than would someone from a traditional urban locale (SF, NY, Boston, Chicago, etc). Anyone who is being honest with themself as a developer and wishes to have a (financially) successful project understands this.

As for 2727 Kirby... I'm with Complex. I'm really anxious to see the building rise. Not just for the sheer energy it will bring to the Kirby Corridor but because I really dig the way the building looks.

[Xeelee]

Oh and texasboy, the Westheimer Tower is suppose to be a block east of Katz's on Westheimer.



What do you mean by the westheimer tower?

[Cory]

What do you mean by the westheimer tower?

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=2775820&postcount=521

[RocTX]

My only complaint; why oh why can't anyone build something like this on the current rail line in midtown or the museum district? Can you imagine a project like this on the rail line near the museums? It would be KILLER.

Exactly...Better yet, why is it taking so long to build out the other proposed rail/BRT lines? I know they've changed some of their plans and there's been some resistance along Richmond, but can't Metro start building somewhere? I mean, didn't we decide to do this over three years ago?

[Great_Hizzy]

Construction on the proposed lines (particularly the BRT along the North Main and Harrisburg corridors) is tentatively scheduled for 2009. The hope is to have the Richmond E-W corridor ready to go by then as well.

It's not just up to METRO to start building like they did with the Red Line. This time, they'll have to receive federal financial support for these projects, and up until last fall, they didn't exactly have anyone in the federal government on their side.

[RocTX]

The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly, I guess. It's amazing how they can fast-track something like the I-10 expansion but not light rail for the city. I bet this project would move way faster if it got the same level support from John Culberson's office as the Katy Freeway did...

Anyway, this topic is probably better addressed in HAIF than here, but it is a hot button of mine.

[weatherguru18]

Driving up 45 today and saw a huge area of land cleared at the Beltway and the N. freeway across from Greenspoint Mall. Anybody have any idea? I believe it's a big warehouse, but I'm not sure. I caught a glimpse of the sign and only caught "...business park..."

[rdavis4559]

No idea but they have been working on it for quite a while. You're right, its a huge stretch of land. There has been a great deal of expansion on the beltway between 290 and 45 as well as that stretch right there.... business parks and warehouses going up everywhere.

[c4smok]

They are pretty close to finishing the new 5 story bank on 1960 close to Humble. Looks pretty decent so far..

[Double L]

I thought the Houston area taxpayers were paying for METRO Solutions. I thought the only federal funding issue at play was whether or not we would have the opportunity to upgrade the Bus Rapid Transit systems to light rail as was proposed by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and has as yet not been able to recieve support in Congress.

I thought the only work going on right now is designing the system and garnering whether or not there is political support and approval for the design of the system.

[Shasta]

O'Connor and Associates came out with their first quarter 2007 office report for the city of Houston. There's plenty of good news...

2,100,000 square feet were absorbed in the first 3 months of 2007.

Class A office space is running a 91.7% occupany rate. That is VERY healthy and indicates we should be hearing about a few more big developments soon from the likes of Hines (on Main St. downtown), Brookfield (Allen Center Garage tower maybe?), Crescent (a 6 Houston Center), and Linbeck (mixed-use for historic area downtown). It's also good news for the people building office space in places like Regent Square, The Oaks District, and BLVD Place.

Things are getting very tight around town. It appears that downtown might see more cranes than she has since the early 1980s.

[Trae]

I love the new news.

[Xeelee]

I love the new news.

as do I. :)

[weatherguru18]

When can we expect renderings or news on any of the planned towers DT? I've heard them proposed, but that's it. I hope the others turn out better than Discovery Tower will. I really expected more out of that building. What a pity.

[Shasta]

The Chronicle mentioned today that the island in South Shore Harbour (League City) will be renamed Beacon Island and it will have 800 residential units added (including 180 in twin twenty-five story condo towers).

With these twins, the 2 proposed for Kemah, The Endeavour, The Endeavour Parkside, The 2 Endeavour Loft towers (at the Marina), the Apollo Marriott and a few others, the Clear Lake area is really starting to take off!

[Trae]

Yeah, a new skyline is rising in Southeast Texas!

[Shasta]

Moody National purchased land at the corner of Cambridge @ Woodbury near the Texas Medical Center and they plan to put up a residential tower.

CAMBRIDGE TOWER will have 200 rental units and break ground in early 2008 with an opening set for 2009. Total cost of the build out will be $35 million. The location is near the VA Hospital as well as the area Baylor Med is planning on building their own teaching hospital.

No news yet on architecture firms or height...

[Great_Hizzy]

Don't you love how "inactive" Houston is. LOL!!!

Ho hum...

[JManc]

Don't you love how "inactive" Houston is. LOL!!!

Ho hum...

compared to the early 80's and mid 90's it kinda is.

[Trae]

The Houston Dynamo will be building their stadium downtown. Pearland and Sugar Land dropped their bids.

[Cory]

compared to the early 80's and mid 90's it kinda is.


Mid 90's? :stunned:

I don't think there is a city in the US currently except for NYC and maybe Chi that could compare to Houston's scraper boom of the 80's. No, but Houston has never been this economically healthy in years if people are actually paying attention.

[rdavis4559]

I agree with you about the economic health of the city. We have diversified beyond energy to a great extent and have a great airport and seaport and a huge amount of immigration to boot... Houston is expected to grow its population much more than many large US cities. Thinks can only get better and better. Exponential growth...

[Shasta]

Here's the first rendering from the University of Houston's master plan. This is the 1,000 bed and mixed-use graduate level housing that should start construction soon.

http://athena.divshare.com/s03/files/2007/05/09/606500/Picture6.jpg

[Great_Hizzy]

Is that at the main campus?

[LordElPaso]

I agree with you about the economic health of the city. We have diversified beyond energy to a great extent and have a great airport and seaport and a huge amount of immigration to boot... Houston is expected to grow its population much more than many large US cities. Thinks can only get better and better. Exponential growth...

famous last words!

[Cory]

Thanks for the rendering Shasta. The design was very expected IMO but still nice.

[Shasta]

Is that at the main campus?

Yes. It will rise near the Law School and Bauer School of Biz.

A second garage with ground floor retail is also due to go up near Robertson Stadium later this year too (the first opened near the Moody Towers earlier in the school year).

In 15 years, the main campus will look nothing like it currently does. Plans are for almost every surface lot to be replaced by garages, green space, and new construction.

[Bailey]

Yes. It will rise near the Law School and Bauer School of Biz.

A second garage with ground floor retail is also due to go up near Robertson Stadium later this year too (the first opened near the Moody Towers earlier in the school year).

In 15 years, the main campus will look nothing like it currently does. Plans are for almost every surface lot to be replaced by garages, green space, and new construction.

Any information on the University Rail Line? Do we know how close the rail is going to campus? I can envision UH being one of the most cutting edge urban campuses with the plan and rail.

[Cory]

Any information on the University Rail Line? Do we know how close the rail is going to campus? I can envision UH being one of the most cutting edge urban campuses with the plan and rail.

Here is some more info on the master plan:

http://www.advancement.uh.edu/masterplan/

Here is the power point. The only info on rail connections is slide 44

http://www.advancement.uh.edu/masterplan/downloads/presentation.pps#533,1,Slide 1

[Trae]

UH is going to look good in ten years.

[JManc]

Mid 90's? :stunned:

I don't think there is a city in the US currently except for NYC and maybe Chi that could compare to Houston's scraper boom of the 80's. No, but Houston has never been this economically healthy in years if people are actually paying attention.

i remember the 80's...downtown looked like dubai.

when i first moved (back) here in 1997, there was a lot of construction going on. not downtown (except for enron II) but other areas all over the city. now the construction has been concentrated on residential and the medical center. back then it was predominantly mid-rise office buildings.

[Cory]

i remember the 80's...downtown looked like dubai.

when i first moved (back) here in 1997, there was a lot of construction going on. not downtown (except for enron II) but other areas all over the city. now the construction has been concentrated on residential and the medical center. back then it was predominantly mid-rise office buildings.

If we are talking about high rise buildings or anything noticeable, construction was pretty much non existent in the 90's. Know that two of the three high rises that I can think of that were constructed in the 90's were prettty much leftovers from the 80's boom. St Lukes in the TMC and some building out in Westchase. There was one building built downtown and that was the Harris County Criminal building. To say what we are experiencing now does not compare to the 90's is kind of a stretch.

[RocTX]

i remember the 80's...downtown looked like dubai.

when i first moved (back) here in 1997, there was a lot of construction going on. not downtown (except for enron II) but other areas all over the city. now the construction has been concentrated on residential and the medical center. back then it was predominantly mid-rise office buildings.

Houston must have been insane back in the late '70's and early '80's. I keep trying to find photographs of the city from that period, but have never had much luck. I've found lots from the 50's and 60's and then again in the '90's, but I would love to see what the city looked like when its skyline was rising up.

[rdavis4559]

the first pic is from "the mid to late 1970s." 2 houston center was completed in 1974 so the pic its at least that old
the second is obviously from 1979
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/aerial2.gif
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/warwickhotel1979.jpg

[JManc]

If we are talking about high rise buildings or anything noticeable, construction was pretty much non existent in the 90's. Know that two of the three high rises that I can think of that were constructed in the 90's were prettty much leftovers from the 80's boom. St Lukes in the TMC and some building out in Westchase. There was one building built downtown and that was the Harris County Criminal building. To say what we are experiencing now does not compare to the 90's is kind of a stretch.

i live in the galleria. many of the residential high-rises were built in late 90's apart from dominion and the new one where coney island was. 9/11 quashed the momentum and only now is it rebounding.

like i said, a load of medium sized buildings (5-6 stories) sprung up all over town in mid the 90's..the kind you drive by and don't give two thoughts about. the 3 new BMC buildings as well as briarlake plaza were just a few of the dozens of buildings to popped up in west houston then. today there are more high profile projects but still at a lower frequency. at least that's my impression.

[Trae]

Yeah, Uptown was getting big in the 90's, while Downtown was stable.

[RocTX]

the first pic is from "the mid to late 1970s." 2 houston center was completed in 1974 so the pic its at least that old
the second is obviously from 1979
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/aerial2.gif
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/rdavis4559/warwickhotel1979.jpg

Thanks for the great pictures. Looks like DT was pretty much dominated by Shell, Exxon, and Houston Center back then. I can't believe all the open space to the east of Houston Center...it's almost 30 years later and we're still trying to fill all of that in!!

I'll have to look around. It seems that someone in my family once had a framed picture from about 1982 that was taken from I-45 looking south. I remember that Wells Fargo (Allied Bank Plaza) was still under construction in the picture and the Bank of America tower did not exist. Pennzoil pretty much dominated the center of the skyline between Texas Commerce (Chase Tower) and the Allied Bank construction. I'll post it if I can find a copy to scan.

[rdavis4559]

that sounds pretty cool. i hope you find it.

[RocTX]

Yeah...I'll ask around to see if anyone still has it. Meanwhile, I was Googling for images and ran across this article (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nbm.org/blueprints/80s/fall83/page8/TexasTower.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nbm.org/blueprints/80s/fall83/page8/page8.htm&h=271&w=200&sz=22&hl=en&start=28&um=1&tbnid=kLHc6G3XCUgrxM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=83&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhouston%2Bskyline%2B1981%26start%3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN). It's loaded with pictures and it's a fascinating account from that time period. I wish they had gotten around to building the Bank of the Southwest before everything fell apart. That thing had to have been a good 1300' tall!

[rdavis4559]

Thats a great article.

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Maze/9975/bankofsw.gif
If only it were built...

[Major AWACS]

/\ NO kidding, what a tower. Chase should have 5 extra stories but it hit height problems from approaches to Hobby.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, A Houston tradition since 1975

[rdavis4559]

Does that mean there is a CBD height limit in effect?

[Trae]

Most likely.

[RocTX]

/\ NO kidding, what a tower. Chase should have 5 extra stories but it hit height problems from approaches to Hobby.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, A Houston tradition since 1975

I've heard that about Chase. However, this article says that Bank of the Southwest was planned for 83 stories, plus a spire. I wonder why would there have been a height limit for Chase and not for this building?

[JManc]

chase tower was planned in late 70's while BSW was planned in early 80's so i would imagine the FAA changed their policy.

[RocTX]

chase tower was planned in late 70's while BSW was planned in early 80's so i would imagine the FAA changed their policy.

Good point. You know, another thing about that article that caught my eye was that DT office vacancy in 1981 at the height of the boom was at around 5%, and towers were going up despite the high interest rates at that time. Aren't we at 5% vacancy now? The overall business climate also seems more favorable as compared to 1981. Why aren't we seeing more DT offices going up now?!!

[ChiPsy]

I was Googling for images and ran across this article (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nbm.org/blueprints/80s/fall83/page8/TexasTower.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nbm.org/blueprints/80s/fall83/page8/page8.htm&h=271&w=200&sz=22&hl=en&start=28&um=1&tbnid=kLHc6G3XCUgrxM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=83&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhouston%2Bskyline%2B1981%26start%3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN). It's loaded with pictures and it's a fascinating account from that time period.

Great find with that article, RocTX! What a fascinating "recent historical" perspective to read. I had to laugh out loud at her assertion about the tall buildings precipitating cloud formation, though!

Fun stuff :tup:

[rdavis4559]

Good point. You know, another thing about that article that caught my eye was that DT office vacancy in 1981 at the height of the boom was at around 5%, and towers were going up despite the high interest rates at that time. Aren't we at 5% vacancy now? The overall business climate also seems more favorable as compared to 1981. Why aren't we seeing more DT offices going up now?!!

I know the vacancy rate is low but I don't think its as low as 5%. I thought I remembered the number being discussed here but I went all the way back to the 13th page and found nothing. From my memory (and I could be wrong) the vacancy rate was somewhere around 9-12%.

[Trae]

I remember an article stating it is lower than 10% now.

Here are more photos of One Park Tower (from HAIF):

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m5/vidfo12/ParkTowerCon.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m5/vidfo12/ParkTowerCon2.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m5/vidfo12/ParkTowerCon3.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m5/vidfo12/ParkTowerCon4.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m5/vidfo12/ParkTowerCon5.jpg

[guess]

right across from the new park and the hilton

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2372/whatse6.jpg


http://www.westaveriveroaks.com has new images
pavilions, what could have been.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/4060/gallery5ko3.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7302/streetlevelxw6.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1407/terracelevelkm2.jpg

[Trae]

I like it!

Here is the new Metro Solutions plan. It is a lot better than before, too:

Metro Solutions Plan 2007 (http://metrosolutions.org/posted/1068/METRO_Solutions_Overview_and_Update_May_2007.156816.pdf)

[Trae]

What stores will be in West Ave?

[RocTX]

I like it!

Here is the new Metro Solutions plan. It is a lot better than before, too:

Metro Solutions Plan 2007 (http://metrosolutions.org/posted/1068/METRO_Solutions_Overview_and_Update_May_2007.156816.pdf)

Thanks for the Metro update. I'm glad to see that they'll start turning dirt petty soon. I saw this article (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4780331.html)recently saying that Union Pacific officials are casting doubts about the feasibility of running communter rail through the proposed transit center. I wonder if this will affect Metro's planning in any way.

[RocTX]

I know the vacancy rate is low but I don't think its as low as 5%. I thought I remembered the number being discussed here but I went all the way back to the 13th page and found nothing. From my memory (and I could be wrong) the vacancy rate was somewhere around 9-12%.

You're right. The most recent data I can find comes from Grubb-Ellis (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/PDF/metro_off_mkttrnd/Houston.pdf)and it has the CBD office vacancy rate at 16.7% as of the first quarter 2007. The good news is that Nancy Sarnoff at the Chronicle reported that absorption during 2006 through Nov. 1 of that year was at 2.8 million square ft (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4359035.html), which was second highest in the city's history after 1981 (at 3.7 million sq ft). The really good news is that this is almost all existing office space vs. 1981, which was mostly new construciton. The more we soak up all of that existing office space the greater the probability of a new tower popping up sometime in the near future.

[RocTX]

Great find with that article, RocTX! What a fascinating "recent historical" perspective to read. I had to laugh out loud at her assertion about the tall buildings precipitating cloud formation, though!

Fun stuff :tup:

Yeah, that was pretty funny. I bet that idea originated from a bunch of NIMBYs!!!

[rdavis4559]

You're right. The most recent data I can find comes from Grubb-Ellis (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/PDF/metro_off_mkttrnd/Houston.pdf)and it has the CBD office vacancy rate at 16.7% as of the first quarter 2007. The good news is that Nancy Sarnoff at the Chronicle reported that absorption during 2006 through Nov. 1 of that year was at 2.8 million square ft (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4359035.html), which was second highest in the city's history after 1981 (at 3.7 million sq ft). The really good news is that this is almost all existing office space vs. 1981, which was mostly new construciton. The more we soak up all of that existing office space the greater the probability of a new tower popping up sometime in the near future.

Great article. Also from the same article is "Stewart Robinson, principal of commercial real estate firm Conine & Robinson' saying that downtown vacancy rate should be close to 10 percent by year-end. And to some, that means it's time to start building new space. But nothing's been announced yet."

[Owlhorn]

The thing I noticed that got things jumpstarted in Dallas was demand for big blocks of office space, which are more rare in inner cities. But, these also have to be inquiries, which these days come from only certain sectors of business. So you could have 1% vacancy and still have a hard time finding enough inquiries to those big blocks. Once you get a few of these, you start getting speculative building. Yes, speculative, but still based on something.

[Xeelee]

Thanks for the Metro update. I'm glad to see that they'll start turning dirt petty soon. I saw this article (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4780331.html)recently saying that Union Pacific officials are casting doubts about the feasibility of running communter rail through the proposed transit center. I wonder if this will affect Metro's planning in any way.

They need to divert UP traffic to the northern outskirts of Houston and NOT in the middle of downtown. The Texas Railroad Commission is chock-full of corrupt old-line good-ol boys. They will never agree to such a move.

[weatherguru18]

Why doesn't METRO make it just one big transit center, including Amtrak? Our Amtrak station in Houston is a sorry excuse...it's a dang bus station placed underneith a freeway. Just a thought.

[Trae]

Team and the City agreed to terms...

70 Million dollar Stadium going up just east of Minute Maid Park..

The team owners will pay most of the cost for the stadium..

in the pre-design it showed the stadium in a diagonal direction from 59 and it will keep some distance from 59 at least in the pre-design at least. Stadium looks dwarfed by MMP though =X

http://houstonx.com/dynamosite2.jpg

[Cory]

right across from the new park and the hilton

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2372/whatse6.jpg



:D

[Shasta]

Here's the new Baylor Clinic and Hospital rendering that broke ground today...

http://www.bcm.edu/development/campaign/images/bcmchrendering.jpg

[vjhe]

^

Right off of the bat, that is one of my favorite designs for Houston in the past decade, simply because it has a "different" element to it, which is something that placed Houston on the architectural map but as a whole has been noticebly absent since the early 90's. Nice design. More More More.

Where exactly will this be located?

[Shasta]

Here's a pic from the Spires Condo just East of the Med Center. You can see the new Pickens Academic Center (formerly called Faculty Center Tower) rising as well as the cranes for the 8 floor expansion to the 12 story Feigin Center at Texas Children's Hospital.
http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/60/hr1922060-13.jpg

[Xeelee]

I like that design too. It is about time something a little bolder gets built here... in sharp contrast to the bland designs coming out lately. :)

[Xeelee]

Team and the City agreed to terms...

70 Million dollar Stadium going up just east of Minute Maid Park..

The team owners will pay most of the cost for the stadium..

in the pre-design it showed the stadium in a diagonal direction from 59 and it will keep some distance from 59 at least in the pre-design at least. Stadium looks dwarfed by MMP though =X

http://houstonx.com/dynamosite2.jpg

This should really help business in the area. :)

[Complex01]

:previous:

I agree. The area has some development, hopefully this will give it a bigger push. Nice DT has really come a long way, and still has some more great potential...

:yes:

[Texas Tuff]

^

Right off of the bat, that is one of my favorite designs for Houston in the past decade, simply because it has a "different" element to it, which is something that placed Houston on the architectural map but as a whole has been noticebly absent since the early 90's. Nice design. More More More.

Where exactly will this be located?

According to the BCM website, the new clinic and hospital will be located at the corner of Cambridge and Old Spanish Trail across from the VA hospital.
Check out the detailed map on www.bcm.edu under news and events on the first page.

[RocTX]

I took my daughter to the Children's Museum today and I saw a notice for a high-rise development across the street. I think the sign referred medical space and the picture on the sign looked like at least 20 stories, but I was too far away to see it clearly. Does anyone know anything about this one? I believe the block is at Binz, La Branch, Calumet, and Austin St.

[Shasta]

Yeah, that's a proposal that's been around for awhile now. Starting to doubt if this one will rise. You can find out more here,

www.binzmedcorp.com

[Shasta]

Does anyone in Houston know if this is under construction?

http://www.wulfe.com/Realister/manager/property/Louisiana%203201/Pictures/3201louisiana-night.jpg

This is a proposal for 3201 Louisiana Street in Midtown. Apparently, 24 Hour Fitness has leased the entire second floor (24,000 square feet) and only a few small spaces remain on ground level. This is good news if it is rising because of the way it is built to the street and because it has garage parking rather than surface.

[toxteth o'grady]

Team and the City agreed to terms...

70 Million dollar Stadium going up just east of Minute Maid Park..

The team owners will pay most of the cost for the stadium..

in the pre-design it showed the stadium in a diagonal direction from 59 and it will keep some distance from 59 at least in the pre-design at least. Stadium looks dwarfed by MMP though =X

Maybe I'm jaded, but $70 million sounds like a lot of bucks being thrown around for a soccer stadium. How many seats, and how does it compare with the stadium in Frisco, Texas?

[Complex01]

Does anyone in Houston know if this is under construction?

This is a proposal for 3201 Louisiana Street in Midtown. Apparently, 24 Hour Fitness has leased the entire second floor (24,000 square feet) and only a few small spaces remain on ground level. This is good news if it is rising because of the way it is built to the street and because it has garage parking rather than surface.


I passed by the site this weekend, and dont recall anything new, other then that fact that its still fenced in. I was wandering what they were going to do at that location.

[RocTX]

Yeah, that's a proposal that's been around for awhile now. Starting to doubt if this one will rise. You can find out more here,

www.binzmedcorp.com

Yup...that's what I saw. The curved tower is ok but not very original. I don't like the base/parking garage and surrounding plaza at all. The area around there has a decent amount of foliage, so why did they just leave half a dozen small trees in the middle of a barren plaza that has all the appeal of paved surface parking? So much for pedestrian-oriented development near the light rail!! To me, this looks more appropriate for Westchase. It won't kill me if this one doesn't go up--I think the area around the museums deserves much better.

Thanks for the link.

[Cory]

Does anyone in Houston know if this is under construction?

http://www.wulfe.com/Realister/manager/property/Louisiana%203201/Pictures/3201louisiana-night.jpg

This is a proposal for 3201 Louisiana Street in Midtown. Apparently, 24 Hour Fitness has leased the entire second floor (24,000 square feet) and only a few small spaces remain on ground level. This is good news if it is rising because of the way it is built to the street and because it has garage parking rather than surface.


If that is McGowen, it is definitely under construction.

edit: eh, looks like what is going in near the Calais. Site has been inactive for a while.

[Shasta]

Bummer to read that it is inactive. With 24 Hour Fitness signing for the entire 2nd floor and most of the ground floor spoken for (according to Wulfe's website), it seems like it should rise soon.

And, while not the greatest looking project, this just appeared on har.com tonight...

http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/90/hr1928390-1.jpg

the lot today
http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/90/hr1928390-5.jpg

5001 Fannin at Wichita Street in the Museum District. 20 for sale condos starting at $270,000. Love the fact they are advertising the light rail line as one of their top selling points. No ground floor retail it seems but this area (just a few blocks South of US 59/The Spur) is way too barren right now to support retail. That will come if more of these are built...

[Saddle Man]

Are those garage doors on the first floor?

[Cory]

Yeah they have a banner up on the wall of that site. The name escapes me but it is called Casa de Ventra or something like that. I might have murdered the name of the project. They have a website. By the way, the lot is EXTREMELY small in person. Hard to believe that is rising on the site.

[RocTX]

Are those garage doors on the first floor?

It wouldn't surprise me. Disappointed?...yes. Surprised...not so much..

[Trae]

The River Oaks District (http://www.olivermcmillan.com/deve/houston/houston_imag_aerialview.html#). I suggest every view the flash version. Real nice project.

[Shasta]

The Medical Clinic of Houston on Sunset Blvd in the swanky Southampton area is planning on adding this 6 story tower. There will be neighborhood objections for sure, but I like the fact that this 6 story building and parking garage will replace a HORRIBLE surface parking lot in the middle of Houston's most beautiful area. The brick details mimic Rice U nearby.

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/84840-400-0.jpg

[Xeelee]

Looks good. :)

[Xeelee]

Bummer to read that it is inactive. With 24 Hour Fitness signing for the entire 2nd floor and most of the ground floor spoken for (according to Wulfe's website), it seems like it should rise soon.

And, while not the greatest looking project, this just appeared on har.com tonight...

http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/90/hr1928390-1.jpg

the lot today
http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/90/hr1928390-5.jpg

5001 Fannin at Wichita Street in the Museum District. 20 for sale condos starting at $270,000. Love the fact they are advertising the light rail line as one of their top selling points. No ground floor retail it seems but this area (just a few blocks South of US 59/The Spur) is way too barren right now to support retail. That will come if more of these are built...




This is already listed on some real estate sites:

http://yahoo.prugarygreene.com/details/start.aspx?propid=0010006722124

[Great_Hizzy]

So this is on Fannin and across San Jacinto from the other project that is going up in the area along the rail line, correct?

[Shasta]

Hizzy,

If you are speaking of the Museum Place Apts. being built on the rail line, I believe that project is about 5 blocks to the South of this one. Either way, it's GREAT to see things being built on the Red Line. It's about time.

[toxteth o'grady]

The name escapes me but it is called Casa de Ventra or something like that. I might have murdered the name of the project.

That's okay; that's a name that deserves to die.:whip:

[Great_Hizzy]

I agree. Sounds convoluted, like they're trying too hard to sound "cool".

Shasta,

Thanks for the clarification. I knew it was somewhere in the Museum District but didn't know how far north. Maybe it's closer to Binz?

[weatherguru18]

This is interesting...one of the guys I work with today said that the Lexicon (or something like that...a condo development off Allen Parkway) said that it was a Donald Trump development. Did anybody else know this??

[toxteth o'grady]

I'll bet that's news to Donald Trump.

[weatherguru18]

Kind of what I was thinking.

[weatherguru18]

I was driving through downtown today and came across the block that the Shamrock Tower was slated to be built on. Much to my surprise, they have a leasing trailer out front with a big sign on the corner with a picture of the highrise? You sure this project is dead??

[Saddle Man]

Deader than a door nail. That stuff has been out there for a few years now.

[JManc]

yeah, the shamrock is DOA.

[rdavis4559]

That trailer has been there for at least 2 1/2 years

[Saddle Man]

I heard that the trailer is haunted by the ghosts of Houston's architectual past.

[c4smok]

http://a.abclocal.go.com/images/ktrk/cms_exf_2005/news/ktrk_060707_beatles105.jpg
Beatles going up on I-10 and Shepard
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5376526

Also Park8 contruction has started off of WestChase - info from TheHAIF


Any Word on City Centre on the Former Shamrock site?

[Great_Hizzy]

Just the usualy mutterings of what could be. Nothing tangible. Don't hold your breath at this point, even with the office vacancy rate hovering around 9.0%. Not saying it won't happen but it's too far off in the cuff to really worry about.

[weatherguru18]

For such a booming city, there sure isn't much to talk about. Just a couple of months ago we (Houston) had an article in the NY Times. The Chronicle talked about as many as 6 new downtown highrises. This forum was a buzz about the new uptown projects and now...nothing. We are talking about statues. :shrug:

[Trae]

HAIF is where its at.

[JManc]

but they are cool statues. :yes: