HOUSTON | Forme Houston | 401 FT | 35 FLOORS

[Wattleigh]

c/o hindesky on HAIF









c/o cityliving on HAIF

[Wattleigh]

Fairmont Museum District III and X Houston

c/o cityliving on HAIF



X Houston within the Museum District

c/o cityliving on HAIF

[Wattleigh]

c/o cityliving on HAIF

[Wattleigh]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/busines...dential-tower-stalled-stopp-18436015.php

Construction stalls on 33-story co-living skyscraper in Houston's Museum District

MARISSA LUCK
Oct. 21, 2023
Updated: Oct. 21, 2023 1:11 p.m.

Construction of a 33-story co-living apartment project in the Museum District has stopped, leaving the project, called X Houston, partially complete and dormant with no clear indication of when work will continue.

X Houston was expected to be one of the city’s first co-living projects built from the ground up. Co-living is a form of roommate housing in which renters lease space by the bed, often with more affordable, flexible lease terms, while sharing common spaces.

X Co., its Chicago-based developer, did not respond to multiple requests for comment about why the 750,000-square-foot project between La Branch and Crawford north of Binz has paused. Neighbors say construction activity at the site stopped two to three weeks ago.

That timeline would align with when X Co. halted construction on a co-living project in Phoenix. Noah Gottlieb, the developer's CEO, told the Phoenix Business Journal that he expected work on X Phoenix would resume "very soon,” adding that company was still planning to break ground on a separate apartment tower in downtown Phoenix called X Roosevelt.

[Wattleigh]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/busines...uston-construction-update-x-19433002.php

What's happening with the unfinished $107 million high-rise in Houston's Museum District?

By Marissa Luck,
Staff writer
May 8, 2024

Contractors say work could restart in June on X Houston, a 33-story skyscraper in the Museum District, several months after construction abruptly stopped on what was expected to be one of Houston’s largest co-living projects.

Chicago-based X Co. halted construction last fall for unknown reasons on the Houston project, as well as those in Phoenix and Tampa, Fla.

X Houston, at 5501 La Branch, had nearly reached its peak height when work on the 750,000-square-foot project stopped, leaving neighbors wondering about its future. The new anticipated schedule could push the building's completion to sometime next year.

During the construction delay, there hasn’t been significant damage to the project site, said Brady Johnson, senior vice president with lead contractor Hoar Construction.

“We’ve been walking the job regularly and it looks good,” said Johnson. “Obviously we’ll go through and look at the structure and get an all clear to say everything is ready to go.”

X Houston was estimated to cost $107 million, according to initial state permit filings, which are subject to change.

Since September 2023, subcontractors filed dozens of liens against affiliates of The X Co. for unpaid work and services tallying more than $67 million, according to Harris County deed records.

[Green Country]

Also, “Contractors are working with the developer to resolve the liens, Johnson said: “That’s what we’re working toward, and they’re really close to finalizing those.”  

[Wattleigh]

$172M in funding was granted to complete the tower, based on reports from November of last year.

Sure enough, construction crews returned to the site just before Thanksgiving.

11/26/24
c/o Brooklyn173 on HAIF





1/31/2025
c/o hindesky on HAIF

[Urbannizer]

This behemoth is complete.



https://houstonarchitecture.com/topic/45...la-branch-st/page/21/#findComment-729126

https://www.formehtx.com/

[TexasBoi]

Yikes

[plinko]

Wow is that ugly!

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by plinko

Wow is that ugly!

And that's its "good" side.

[Altoic]

Genuine question for those who live in Houston: are there changes in progress so this stops happening? I frequently see new developments with no parking screening, no street activation, etc.

I know the city has no zoning code from what I heard, but is change underway?

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Altoic

Genuine question for those who live in Houston: are there changes in progress so this stops happening? I frequently see new developments with no parking screening, no street activation, etc.

I know the city has no zoning code from what I heard, but is change underway?

Only certain parts of town have less stringent parking restrictions but a building like this will almost always require it due to the demand and the area. This nasty ass building is between the Medical Center and the Museum District which isn't a walkable area so a car is a must.

[Altoic]

Oh for sure (nice to hear some movement towards changing parking minimums), but I was moreso talking about aesthetic requirements, like covering the podium up with art or metal screening like what Austin developments do.

Also having mandatory retail or walk-up units on the ground floor.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Altoic

Oh for sure (nice to hear some movement towards changing parking minimums), but I was moreso talking about aesthetic requirements, like covering the podium up with art or metal screening like what Austin developments do.

Also having mandatory retail or walk-up units on the ground floor.

In some residential areas there are certain deed restrictions but otherwise, no.

[Green Country]

From the Houston Building Code:


406.4.4 Garage Screening
Any parking garage structure shall provide an exterior cover for each floor of the structure where parking occurs that directly abuts property in use for or restricted to residential use or which is located across the street from property in use for or restricted to residential use. The exterior cover of such a parking garage structure shall be made of an opaque surface or be constructed of other material in a manner that blocks or redirects the light from headlights on vehicles located within the garage, so as to not create light trespass onto adjacent residential property. The exterior cover shall be at least 48 inches (1219.2 mm) in height measured vertically from each finished floor where parking occurs. Where an applicant provides evidence to the building official that a 48 inch exterior cover will require the garage to have a mechanical ventilation system, the applicant may reduce the exterior cover enough to meet open ventilation requirements but in no instance may it be less than 42 inches. For ramps and other sloped surfaces, the exterior cover shall be positioned to block light from headlights from crossing property lines onto adjacent properties in use for or restricted to residential use or across the street from residentially used properties.

When a parking garage structure abuts a public street or land used for or restricted to residential development, one of the following is required to minimize light trespass from internal garage ceiling lighting:
A photometric plan showing all internal garage luminaires, demonstrating that no light trespass occurs beyond the property line that exceeds 0.2-foot candles measured at grade on the property line; or,
Screening for the entire height of the garage facing the street or abutting residential development to prevent light trespass beyond the property line that exceeds 0.2-foot candles measured at grade on the property line.

[Green Country]

Originally Posted by Altoic

Oh for sure (nice to hear some movement towards changing parking minimums), but I was moreso talking about aesthetic requirements, like covering the podium up with art or metal screening like what Austin developments do.

Also having mandatory retail or walk-up units on the ground floor.

Can you reference the applicable Austin building code sections? That would be really interesting.