Well more developers would be building in DT Houston if they could buy land at the same price there and still charge rental rates $2.50-$4.00psf with a lease-up time frame of well under 12 months and sustained DT rent growth of 4+% even with new buildings going up next door. DT Austin is more expensive than Midtown Atlanta now, which I believe is more expensive than similar areas of Houston (with Miami at the top of the rental food chain, but unbelievably expensive land).

Novare underwrote 20% higher rents for Skyhouse Austin than Skyhouse Atlanta, and considering they paid $11.4MM for 1.72 acres in a not so desirable part of Midtown in Atlanta ($152/land foot), I doubt they paid that much for the plot they selected near DT Austin, so yea...Austin is hottt! I do hear that an Atlanta developer is looking at Houston, though I'm not at liberty to say who (would be for a very similar apt tower) and I don't know if it's DT or Uptown Houston or Rice Village/TMC area.

Austin is turning into the Miami of TX.

Does anyone have any info on when exactly the seaholm wall is going to start?? SecretAgent??
http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9ea6934a.jpg
http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6e43389d.jpg
http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/...psace276c2.jpg

There is a new apartment tower supposedly being built on the west side of downtown Houston along Main Street. It will be the first residential scraper to be built downtown since One Park Place about 3 years ago. Theres also 2 blocks of parking lots that will soon become a 7-8 story apartment building across from Minute Maid Park. Austin is way ahead of downtown Houston when it comes to residential. But I believe in the coming decade downtown Houston will catch up to what Austin is doing now. To be fair, Houston inside the loop and the Galleria area is seeing way more high rise apartments getting built now than Austins but its just that Austin is booming downtown. Our high rise apartment/condo buildings are being built over a huge area.

The WhiteCo and Interfin buildings are the only high rise residential projects that I am aware of in Houston. What are the others?

I dont know the names of all of them because I dont have the time or energy to remember but of what Im aware there are 4 high rise residentials going up or about to, 2 highrise commercial buildings, and one high rise hotel.

Oh oh. We can't let this turn into an Austin vs. Houston thread.

I don't think this is going there in a negative way. It was just a "hey, how many does Houston have". Really, as long as Austin isn't being compared favorably to San Antonio, or Oklahoma City isn't being called non-urban, there really isn't going to be an issue.

:P

No I was going there.:haha:

Houston is one of my favorite cities, but I know it would lose in a Austin vs. Houston thread. So I was trying to spare Houston the embarrassment of losing to a much smaller metro. :)

OK, here is what I was able to find out:
"All of the projects between West Avenue & Shoal Creek, 3rd and Cesar Chavez (library, artwall, bridge, trails, etc.) have been consolidated into a single construction contract. Some early utility work may begin this spring, but most of the rest will start late in 2013. Actual timelines are subject to change due to completion of construction drawings, permitting, and potential conflicts with other nearby construction activities. The contractor will determine the exact sequence of construction of the various components."

I don't know how much Novare/AU paid for the property, but unconstrained downtown land generally costs +$200/foot

That's going to give the market time to absorb the projects that are starting now or that will soon. Green will be a triple threat with office, hotel and residential, so if it happens a little later, that's ok. It'll give them time for 3 eleven Bowie, Gables, 7Rio, Aquaterra, 3rd & Colorado, etc to get some contracts signed before the next wave of construction.

A few photo updates from the past week or so. First I don't see how anyone could justify painting over the graffiti on the railroad bridge as an improvement, it looks so old and ugly now.

http://i.imgur.com/E2jXz.jpg

Gables Park Plaza is really coming along. Once it's topped out and 311 Bowie is underway we are going to have a nice cluster on the Western edge of downtown. It always bothered me how Spring looked so all alone on that end.

http://i.imgur.com/3RkY9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JGKWw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8Hxma.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PZGfT.jpg

This one is a few weeks old.

http://i.imgur.com/ayYd4.jpg

This one was taken today from the city parking garage at 2nd and Brazos.

http://i.imgur.com/g6VmP.jpg

The Skyhouse is moving along too.

http://i.imgur.com/ut9e7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tInt9.jpg

The cranes are up for the JW Marriott.

http://i.imgur.com/NZDYm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fUI8w.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Wj0bt.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XPfaC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pr77g.jpg

Someone had asked for some street level pics of the stonework on the Whitley.

http://i.imgur.com/iIp4R.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZSPq0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/oop67.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/u514L.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/D9qLw.jpg

Dang. I hope the wall rolls out quickly. As y'all know, I've been really impatient with all of it. I want to see seaholm break ground...or at least some better renderings/clear timeline for green.

Really appreciate the update, corvairkeith.

Few thoughts:

SkyHouse is zooming along! They've made a lot of progress since I was last there.

Once 311 Bowie is up, that whole Western edge area will look great. 311 Bowie will be almost as tall as Spring and it will fill in that gap between Spring and the Monarch nicely. For perspective:

http://i.imgur.com/jd4OV.jpg

I just hope they do something to foster more walkability between Gables and these other buildings so that Gables is not a monoculture.

The stonework on the Whitley looks pretty good. Seems like they're pretty close to finishing that building. Another month or so, maybe. I've always been a big fan of curved corners like that in urban places. They create a nice street environment. With the JW Marriott and whatever occupies the U-Ship lot in the future, that could turn into a nice little block.

^3 eleven Bowie will be just 4 feet shorter than Spring, so the two will pretty much appear the same.

Looking good. I noticed Gables will block part of the view of Frost from Zilker Park.

I really like the view on the right. ;)

I really liked the graffiti :(

Yeah, the graffiti was a nice distraction from the ugliness of the bridge. Now without it you realize just how ugly and plain it is.

I don't mind the bridge, even without the graffiti. It has an old rustic look and that kinda appeases me in a way.