HOUSTON | Development Thread II

[Great_Hizzy]

Why, don't bring up actual facts, 19514. It's better to sit and fall apart because a tentative ground breaking date yielded no results.

Keep up, bub!

[Cory]

Courtesy of DJ V Lawrence

Rendering of AstroWord mixed use plan.

[Trae]

That thing looks pretty big. I hope it gets filled up and the land behind it gets developed. The south side needs some help.

[Cory]

I don't think you can do too much with the land of office parks.

[Shasta]

A major 300,000 square foot lease in the former Texaco Heritage Plaza (called 1111 Bagby now) is just another sign that a new building may be on the way...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/4539237.html

[Great_Hizzy]

12.5% DT vacancy rate! The magic number, baby!

[Complex01]

Nice, maybe we can get another tall one, soon. We need another one in the DT.

[Houston Proud]

A couple of highly anticipated downtown real estate projects are expected to get started this month, lifting a cloud of uncertainty that often hangs over much-touted developments — some of which never see the light of day.

Finger Cos. will officially break ground in March on the first new ground-up apartment tower to be built in this area in decades with the pouring of its slab, but construction trucks were set to be on-site by today, according to Houston developer Marvy Finger.

The 37-story One Park Place will contain 346 upscale apartments overlooking the new city park Discovery Green, which is being developed across the street with fountains and gardens as well as two restaurants run by the Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group, creator of Cafe Annie, Cafe Express and Taco Milagro.

The high-rise at McKinney and Austin is expected to have a specialty grocer, wine store, coffee shop and cafe.

The city has granted a foundation permit for the project and plans for the structure are still in the review process, according to Wes Johnson of the city's public works and engineering department.

A nearby development set to transform three blocks is also moving closer to reality.

The Houston Pavilions is scheduled to break ground by the third week of this month, according to its developers.

"The project will be completed in October of 2008 as originally planned," William Denton and Geoffrey Jones said in an e-mail.

It should have received a foundation permit late last week, Johnson said.

Bounded by Dallas, Polk, Main and Caroline, the project is planned as a retail, entertainment and office destination.

The developers said about half the space has been leased. House of Blues and the Lucky Strike bowling concept, along with McCormick & Schmick's, Red Cat Jazz Cafe and Lawry's, the Prime Rib, have signed up for space.

Houston Pavilions won't have a residential component as once envisioned, but another nearby property — the long-vacant Texaco Building — is said to be the next residential conversion project with more than 400 units.
The broker involved with the building couldn't be reached for more details.

Real estate observers say the new projects will give a major boost to downtown's residential market.

"It'll be a real turning point for downtown residential," said David Cook, a real estate broker with Cushman & Wakefield who's active in the area.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/4542550.html

[Houston Proud]

Research building started
Construction has started on the Methodist Hospital Research Institute building in the Texas Medical Center.

The 420,000-square-foot advanced medical research facility will have five floors of laboratory space, imaging equipment and operating rooms for research.

In early 2004, Methodist's board approved $100 million to create an endowment to launch the institute.

Later that year, the board committed an additional $30 million to fund a neurological institute as part of the research center.

The project is being built next to the Methodist Hospital on Bertner Avenue and it should be completed in 2009.

[Xeelee]

Well blow me down!

[Great_Hizzy]

I'm becoming more and more intrigued by the possibility of the old Texaco Building moving forward again as a loft conversion. That could really have a nice integrating effect on the eastern edge of DT and the critical mass developing along Main Street. Having such a "large" residential component would seem to contribute to the newfound desire to make Main Street more of an upscale corridor rather than just a weekend hangout. In other words, such a conversion would go a ways in helping to make that area of DT feel more like a neighborhood.

[Trae]

Almeda @ Spanish Trail

JV Plans 304-Unit Mid-Rise in Medical Center

By Amy Wolff Sorter

HOUSTON-Two Texas companies have joined forces for the first time to develop the luxury mid-rise Almeda at Old Spanish Trail. Groundbreaking on the first phase, 304 units in the Medical Center, is scheduled to take place in the coming months.

The project will be situated on a little more than eight acres at the intersection of Almeda Road and Old Spanish Trail. It is being funded through Crow Holdings' Realty Partners IV LP's $850-million fund. Houston-based Simmons Vedder & Co. is the developer. Almeda at Old Spanish Trail is the first ground-up multifamily project for the Dallas-based fund.

The construction cost for the Almeda at Old Spanish Trail isn't unavailable, but area sources suggest it could range from $160 per sf to $180 per sf for comparable mid-rise product. The one-, two- and three-bedroom units, averaging 916 sf, will sit on half of the development site, according to Simmons Vedders' website. The Almeda was designed by local architect, Steinberg Design Collaborative. Calls to Crow Holdings and Simmons Vedder were not returned by press time.

Colliers International principal Teresa Lowery and vice president Saul Keeton, neither of whom is involved with the deal, tell GlobeSt.com that Almeda at Old Spanish Trail is a property whose time has come due to tightening supply of and increasing demand for multifamily product. "The Texas Medical Center employs 75,000 in one location and continues expanding its boundaries," Lowery explains.

In addition, single-family home prices in the area are on the rise, with existing multifamily properties having gone the condo conversion route. "There's most definitely a short supply of apartment units," Lowery says.

Keeton adds that another aspect to the development is a high barrier to entry, most notably the lack of available land on which to build. He points out that Simmons Vedder also owns a nearby five-acre tract at the intersection of Old Spanish Trail and Kirby Drive. The developer also has demolished a Garden Ridge and Target to build Kirby at Old Spanish Trail, a four-story 293-unit apartment slated to begin construction in March. "To find good tracts of land in that area," he says, "developers and investors are looking for functionally obsolete real estate."

http://www.globest.com/news/844_844/.../152954-1.html

[Trae]

Midway discloses CityCentre components
Houston Business Journal - 3:27 PM CST Thursday, February 15, 2007

After more than two years of silence, Midway Cos. Thursday revealed details about its $500 million CityCentre development in west Houston.

The Houston-based firm started construction last month on the mixed-use project at the southeast corner of Interstate 10 and Beltway 8, former site of the Town & Country Mall. Specifics were outlined today at a private luncheon at RA Sushi, a restaurant in the Highland Village Shopping Center that will be one of the tenants at CityCentre.

The project will include 500,000 square feet of office space; 400,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space; a 217-room luxury hotel topped with 16 condominiums; 375 apartments; 250 urban lofts; 40 brownstones and a 140,000-square-foot fitness facility.

CityCentre will be able to boast several "firsts" for the Houston area when it opens in 2008.

Houston-based Valencia Group will build its first hotel in the Bayou City in a joint venture with Midway. Restaurants Eddie V's, Z Tejas and Brio Tuscan Grille will open their first Houston locations in CityCentre.

Minnesota-based Lifetime Fitness is building its first urban concept in the country there -- a three-story, 140,000-square-foot fitness center.

And Dallas-based Studio Movie Grill will build its first ground-up location in Houston featuring first-run films and a full menu.

The Michigan State Public Employees Retirement System, represented by L&B Realty Advisors LLP of Dallas, is providing $124 million of CityCentre's funding. Midway invested an undisclosed amount in CityCentre, and the firm has various development partners in the project.

[Trae]

In the span of a few weeks, the Park Tower, Houston Pavilions, and City Centre have all begun. Don't forget about BLVD Place which is just around the corner. I think all the developments we've been waiting for have finally kicked off.

[Great_Hizzy]

BTW, in addition to the Mosaic(s) and the new complex that Trae just posted, Almeda's getting quite a bit of infill. There's a huge development across from the Mosaic(s) that's coming along. Anyone (WG?) know what it's going to be? Looks like a Phase II to the complex located next door.

But as I said over at HAIF, we merely shrug our shoulders at TMC developments nowadays.

[Cory]

I have passed that site many times and I still do not know what it is to this day.

[Great_Hizzy]

Apparently, the mixed-use development at the corner of Westheimer and Kirby is underway, too. It was reported by LargeTexas and others over at HAIF yesterday, and yesterday evening on the way home I also was able to confirm construction equipment being on site, including bulldozers and steam shovels.

So add that one, too.

[rdavis4559]

Here are some far off pics of progress on discovery green and broken ground on the tower.

[guess]

Originally Posted by WesternGulf

I have passed that site many times and I still do not know what it is to this day.

I don't see any signs on site but here it is anyway:




other stuff:

[Trae]

I have heard that the Park Tower is about ten feet deep now. What does the Pavilions look like now?