HOUSTON | Development Thread II

[rdavis4559]

"Houston House of Blues rolls out big-name opening schedule

Several big-name musicians are scheduled to christen the stage at Houston's House of Blues, which will officially open on Oct. 18.

Los Angeles, Calif.-based Live Nation Inc. (NYSE: LYV), parent company of House of Blues, released a performance line-up Monday that includes concerts by B.B. King, Willie Nelson and The Black Crowes during November.

The grand opening celebration on Oct. 18 will feature The Blues Brothers, with Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi. The VIP event, which includes dinner, hors d’oeuvres and a poster signed by Dan Aykroyd, will be sold through a Ticketmaster auction from Aug. 8 through Aug. 15.

Once the Blues Brothers have broken in the multilevel music hall, All Time Low, TV on the Radio and Los Lonely Boys will be among other acts in October.

House of Blues expects to produce more than 200 live music events each year at the venue, which is located in the Houston Pavilions development downtown, at the corner of Caroline and Dallas streets.

Anthony Nicolaidis, who currently books HOB Dallas, will be heading up the venue’s talent department. Mason Jambon is general manager of the new facility."

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/s...l?ana=from_rss

[Shasta]

I just heard that BLVD Place is about to announce a new gym for the project. Will contain about 60,000 square feet. Also was told that the Hanover deal is a done deal and the 37 story apartment tower should open by 2011.

[JManc]

well, there are rumors of a high-rise replacing the 24 hour fitness in post oak so i could see the demand for the new gym.

[Saddle Man]

That ballet building rendering from the HBJ is just a picture of a building on San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio.

[Von]

thats good b/c it's not an eye catching building..I hope the real one is a lito bit better

[TexasPlaya]

According to Chron, the Ballet is consolidating all of its office and rehearsal space into this building. It will be connected to the Wortham Center w/a skybridge. Hopefully they will construct something nice and reflective of the performing arts since they will be rehearsing in this building.

[Shasta]

There was a blurb in the local 002 Magazine about a project called America's Plaza but it lacked information. Well, I found a rendering;



This is set to rise on a 7 acre parcel in the shadows of downtown just on the other side of US 59. Apparently it will be adjacent to the proposed Dynamo Stadium and will have 1,800 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail and office space, and an outdoor amphitheater. I really PRAY that this one gets off the ground. Looks like a high quality project.

[Complex01]

That looks very nice. That whole area is going to be something else in the next few years.

[Trae]

Originally Posted by Shasta

There was a blurb in the local 002 Magazine about a project called America's Plaza but it lacked information. Well, I found a rendering;



This is set to rise on a 7 acre parcel in the shadows of downtown just on the other side of US 59. Apparently it will be adjacent to the proposed Dynamo Stadium and will have 1,800 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail and office space, and an outdoor amphitheater. I really PRAY that this one gets off the ground. Looks like a high quality project.

Very nice. Time to HAIF it.

[Sulley]

What is the most "interesting" highrise project going up in Houston right now?

The great majority of architecture around here seems to be stuck in the early 80s.

[Trae]

Originally Posted by Optimus Prime

What is the most "interesting" highrise project going up in Houston right now?

The great majority of architecture around here seems to be stuck in the early 80s.

It's so weird that you're in Houston . The most interesting will probably be One Park Place, or MainPlace. Check out MainPlace here. Watch the videos. The Ritz Carlton looks nice, too (the tall building):





You should join HAIF. It's Houston's local forum.

[toxteth o'grady]

Originally Posted by Shasta

This is set to rise on a 7 acre parcel in the shadows of downtown just on the other side of US 59. Apparently it will be adjacent to the proposed Dynamo Stadium and will have 1,800 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail and office space, and an outdoor amphitheater. I really PRAY that this one gets off the ground. Looks like a high quality project.

It would be the first high-rise on that side of the freeway. Well, aside from the old Brown & Root facility...

[Xeelee]

Originally Posted by toxteth o'grady

It would be the first high-rise on that side of the freeway. Well, aside from the old Brown & Root facility...

Dont forget the old Maxwell House coffee factory. A personal favorite of mine.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by Shasta

There was a blurb in the local 002 Magazine about a project called America's Plaza but it lacked information. Well, I found a rendering;



This is set to rise on a 7 acre parcel in the shadows of downtown just on the other side of US 59. Apparently it will be adjacent to the proposed Dynamo Stadium and will have 1,800 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail and office space, and an outdoor amphitheater. I really PRAY that this one gets off the ground. Looks like a high quality project.

Wow, this would be really great.

[Reverberation]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...f/5933328.html

Office market leveling out
Leasing activity is down. Availability rates are up. And there's an increase in large blocks of space to lease.

Houston's hardy office market of the past few years is showing signs of leveling out, according to a second-quarter report from the Houston office of Studley, a national real estate firm specializing in representing tenants.

While demand for office space is off slightly from its historical average, it's not reflective of a slowdown in the local economy, said Steven Biegel, an executive vice president at Studley.

Over the past couple of years, many companies with plans for expansion renewed their expiring leases or signed bigger ones, anticipating a tighter market and higher rental rates.

"They don't need space now because they took it last year," Biegel said. "It's kind of pre-purchased inventory."

For the trailing four quarters, leasing reached 13.8 million square feet, a 17 percent decline from the year-ago period. The overall availability rate of 15.8 percent, which includes sublease space, posted an annual increase of 1 percentage point, the report said.

The number of large blocks of available space grew, as well.

In the second quarter, there were 40 chunks of at least 50,000 square feet of contiguous Class A space, up from 27 last year.

Biegel suspects another reason demand could be tapering off is because of individual perceptions about the economy.

"Everything you read says the economy is in the tank," he said. "That's having an effect on people's psychology."

And new construction has also changed conditions. The Houston area has 9.7 million square feet under development, and less than 25 percent of it is preleased.

Most of that space is along the Katy Freeway, downtown and the northwest part of town.

"The region will have to sustain above-average demand over the next few years to absorb the new space in the pipeline," the report said.

Still, rental rates are gaining, posting a 3 percent increase in the second quarter to an average of $24.09 per square foot. Rates for the nicest spaces available were up 3 percent to $30.39.

[Xeelee]

Originally Posted by Reverberation

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...f/5933328.html

Partyp00per

[Cory]

WOW. That Warehouse district project is nice. That side of downtown probably has more potential than Midtown. When I went to the Art Crawl last year, they had some open houses of the three story patio homes in that area and I was surprised of how cheap they were for what you get. Although there is a lack of retail in th area, if more developments like this pop up on the east side of downwtown, now is a good time to buy while the places are cheap.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Optimus Prime

What is the most "interesting" highrise project going up in Houston right now?

The great majority of architecture around here seems to be stuck in the early 80s.

Because roughly a gazillion square feet of office space was constructed in Houston in the 80s ... then the bottom fell out.

[Von]

that kinda sucks... but off topic...I went to Discovery Green today...super hot!.. but took these pics hope u guys like em'

[Trae]

Originally Posted by Xeelee

Partyp00per

Did you read the article?