I like it!

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

Metro Solutions Plan 2007

What stores will be in West Ave?

Thanks for the Metro update. I'm glad to see that they'll start turning dirt petty soon. I saw this article 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.

You're right. The most recent data I can find comes from Grubb-Ellis 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, 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.

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

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."

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.

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.

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.

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

:D

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

http://www.bcm.edu/development/campa...hrendering.jpg

^

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?

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/Me...1922060-13.jpg

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. :)

This should really help business in the area. :)

: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:

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.

Across from the Children's Museum
 

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.

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

Does anyone in Houston know if this is under construction?

http://www.wulfe.com/Realister/manag...iana-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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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/Me...r1928390-1.jpg

the lot today
http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/Me...r1928390-5.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...

Are those garage doors on the first floor?

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.

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

The River Oaks District. I suggest every view the flash version. Real nice project.

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

Looks good. :)

This is already listed on some real estate sites:

http://yahoo.prugarygreene.com/detai...=0010006722124

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?

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.

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

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?

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??

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

Kind of what I was thinking.

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??

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

yeah, the shamrock is DOA.

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

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

http://a.abclocal.go.com/images/ktrk...beatles105.jpg
Beatles going up on I-10 and Shepard
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?se...cal&id=5376526

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


Any Word on City Centre on the Former Shamrock site?

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.

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:

HAIF is where its at.

but they are cool statues. :yes: