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  1. I heard from someone in the real estate community that this property traded hands. Does anyone know what the new owners plans are? I believe the restaurant depot store has already shut down.
  2. I was just wondering, how far apart are these two developments and do you all thing these two sites could change the perception of Houston as a urban walkable city? Which development do you think has the greatest potential for development? Some say that the KBR site should become a park, but I believe that there could be a much better use for the site. KBR Site Regent Square
  3. The one along Holly Hall crosses freight tracks owned by UP or Houston Belt & Terminal, but the frequency of trains is very low and almost never during the daytime. At night, small trains drop off and pick up cars at the Grocers Supply Co. distribution center on Holcombe, which is where the line currently ends, but that is the only user of the tracks of which I'm aware.
  4. Nothing to report here but was walking by the building today and thought it would make an excellent loft conversion (image below). 500 Crawford (apartments at ballpark development) is two blocks to the east and the downtown development map shows a 28-story residential building by Marquette Land going up one block to the east. If this building converted to lofts, it would make for three consecutive blocks of residential. The ground floor of the building looks like its perfect for retail. However, there are major structural issues with the property and it was almost demolished in 2009: "It could cost $4.7 million to resolve the warehouse's structural issues, according to an August 2008 engineering report. "The problem with the [Hogan-Allnoch] building is that the brick is load-bearing brick," Ellwood says. "Unfortunately, with the settling of the earth, the building basically has been compromised. There are pretty substantial cracks going all the way from the bottom to the top." http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2009/todays-news/houston-spares-two-buildings.html The building is four stories and 50,000 square feet. Assuming that just the top three stories are converted to residential, the structural costs would be $125 / square foot before updating and interior improvements. My estimate of the all-in 1111 Rusk conversion is ~$230 / square foot. I'm not familiar with the costs of residential conversions but am wondering if this is a viable project if Harris County gave away the building for free and Houston provided Chapter 380 incentives. http://www.arch-ive.org/houston/texas1311/hoganallnoch.jpg
  5. New project by Austin’s Bunkhouse Group. They’ve previously done El Cosmico (Marfa), Hotel San Jose & Hotel Saint Cecila (Austin), Hotel Havana (San Antonio), and Hotel Phoenix (San Francisco) Unlike their past projects, this will be new construction adjacent to the Menil. Opens Fall 2023 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lifestyle/home-design/article/Austin-s-hip-Bunkhouse-group-plans-cool-hotel-16378230.php?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwAR3CHIF3EC16GTTokNUWNNBS75uNJb49cMiUOT-7MOuC-x5f_mQamjy9UKQ
  6. Work seems to be coming along on this. They cleaned the front facade, and it makes a big difference. They are also replacing the canopy over the front entrance with a new one that replicates the original.
  7. 9-Story hotel going propsed at the corner of Lehall Street & Bertner Ave in the Texas Medical Center. There's a rendering on the current Planning Commission Agenda.
  8. The Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects, Houston passed the following Position Statement at its regular meeting on April 10, 2007. The statement will be presented to the Mayor and City Council tomorrow, April 17, by AIA Houston member Peter Boudreaux, AIA, of Curry Boudreaux Architects. AIA Houston POSITION STATEMENT April 10, 2007 RE: The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation Site Lease / Potential Sale The American Institute of Architects, Houston does not support the sale and demolition of the buildings of the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation located at 3550 West Dallas. The Center and the City of Houston are in disagreement over the validity of the site lease, where the Center's architecturally significant facilities are located. Invalidation of the lease may result not only in the destruction of the homes of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities but also the demolition of these historically important works of Houston architecture, which anchor a visible site in heart of the city. The current buildings and prominent site comprise first-class urban design and environmentally propitious use of open land, both concepts AIA Houston supports in general. The Center buildings are important examples of the architectural trend called the New Brutalism. They occupy a significant place in the history of Houston architecture, particularly in the wake of the recent demolition of the Houston Independent School District Headquarters on Richmond Avenue. The New Brutalism was a modernist architectural movement inspired by the work of Le Corbusier that flourished internationally from the 1950s to the 1970s. New Brutalist buildings usually are formed with striking repetitive angular geometries and are often constructed of rough, unadorned poured concrete. Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry designed the Center for the Retarded (1966), as it was originally called. The Cullen Residence Hall (1978) is the work of S.I. Morris & Associates. These architects are significant in Houston's history and these particular buildings are especially important because they represent a high standard of design in service to a community that has been traditionally under served. The buildings are in good condition and will serve their function for a significantly long future. Together Barnstone & Aubry designed several brilliant Houston buildings such as Rothko Chapel (1971); Guinan Hall, Univ. of St. Thomas (1971); Media Center, Rice University (1970); and 3811 Del Monte (1969). Both architects individually are also well-known for their work. S.I. Morris headed a string of firms (including Morris*Aubry), the successor of which is Morris Architects. The full body of Morris work touches almost all of segments of Houston architecture from the Astrodome (1965) to award-winning skyscrapers, to public buildings such as the Central Library (1975) to small houses. Transactional costs for the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation to build a new facility will take away from monies and services that this special needs population urgently requires. The Center for the Retarded, a non-profit organization, invested $7 million (1960's dollars) in the buildings, which probably cannot be recouped (in today's dollars). The $26 million estimated sale price of the land would fund only a portion of the needs for a new facility of comparable size and quality. The cost of comparable new facilities would mirror the inflation rate of the land and construction cost. Loss of this site and its buildings would entail a substantial net loss to the Center and adversely affect its ability to maintain its present level of service. Therefore, because of the outstanding architectural significance of this campus, the Board of Directors of AIA Houston recommends that the City of Houston renew its lease with the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation so that the Center may remain in its current location and continue to provide essential services to the citizens of Harris County. Hanover Square
  9. Here are my photos so far. I have some more I have to take of this really cool wall they have left standing all by itself. I keep wondering how it stays up because there is nothing to brace it. I guess they are waiting for it to fall on its own. I will head over there this afternoon and add to these. I took these two weeks ago: http://www.tropicaltexans.com/images/Houston/tcfeb05.jpg From the TGI Friday's lot perpendicular to the Tollway. http://www.tropicaltexans.com/images/Houston/tcfeb05-2.jpg Same angle. http://www.tropicaltexans.com/images/Houston/tcfeb05-3.jpg Dillard's goin' bye-bye. http://www.tropicaltexans.com/images/Houston/tcfeb05-4.jpg The backside of the mall--JC Penney is gone already.
  10. 123,306 SF 9 Levels 221 Rooms Anticipated start date of December 2020 Corner of Leeland St. and Crawford St. 1540 Leeland St. Houston, TX 77002
  11. Anyone know what's going on next to the Federal Reserve on Allen Pkway?
  12. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2015/03/30/city-seeks-developer-for-mixed-use-project-at.html
  13. Goree Architects have a self storage building "On the Boards" for this location. HCAD and Google Maps show the address to be 1200 Givens St. https://goree.com/our-work/?type=on-the-boards
  14. Prime Land Up For Grabs By Nancy Sarnoff - 2004 A pair of prime parcels of inner-city real estate is about to change hands for the first time in decades. Apartment developers are in negotiations with the William Dickey estate for six acres of coveted land on Kirby Drive. Gables Residential and the Hanover Co. are lined up to take control of two tracts on the west side of Kirby just south of Westheimer, according to real estate sources. The proposed projects will replace the River Oaks Tennis Club and an adjacent retail center that currently occupy the land. The Dickeys, an old-line Houston family that has owned most of the land along Kirby between Westheimer and West Alabama for more than a century, put the property on the block earlier this year. The family, which has maintained control of much of its land through long-term ground leases, is expected to sell the two acres to Hanover and lease the four acres to Gables. The Dickeys are also looking to lease about two acres on the east side of Kirby, where the now-defunct Hard Rock Cafe and Anthony's restaurant buildings sit. About five years after real estate developer William Dickey died, his family decided to relinquish control of nearly eight acres of land on Kirby. Bids for the property were solicited in May by Wulfe & Co. Of the more than 20 offers that came in, just a few are left standing, said Kenneth Katz of Wulfe & Co. In addition to the land on Kirby, the Dickeys also control long-term ground leases with Whole Foods for its West Alabama supermarket and the Ainbinder Co., which owns the Borders bookstore shopping center across the street.
  15. http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/0/04/Reliant_Park.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/d/df/PictureofReliantStadium.JPG Above & Beyond Roof covers new ground by bringing unique elements into play By DAVID BARRON Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle As you drive at night along the South Loop and gaze at newly built Reliant Stadium, you may think that you see one building that, in the words of its designer, twinkles like a giant jewel box amid Houston's skyline. What you really see, in the orderly, mathematical world of David Manica and his colleagues at HOK Sports, is two projects -- the stadium, which is impressive in its own right, and the roof, which is unlike anything in the history of American sporting palaces. Roofed stadiums are, of course, almost old hat in Houston. Reliant Stadium, after all, towers over the building that broke -- and redefined -- the mold, the Reliant Astrodome. From the upper regions of Reliant Stadium's north side, it is possible to see downtown Houston and the baseball complex now known as Minute Maid Park. Reliant's roof, however, is unique in the small circle of retractable-roof stadiums. It has two retractable panels, as opposed to three at SkyDome in Toronto and six at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. The panels retract in opposite directions, similar to the BOB's roof but unlike the two moving panels at Minute Maid and Safeco Field in Seattle, which travel in the same direction. Miller Park in Milwaukee also has two moving panels, but they retract in a fan-shaped pattern. Manica's first challenge in designing what would become Reliant Stadium actually came back in the days when the NFL's return to Houston was little more than a pipe dream. In 1997, the stadium-to-be was a decidedly different project. For one thing, the roof was fixed, not retractable. "That was the initial design," he said. "But the tenant requirements between the football team and the rodeo were such that the rodeo would require the roof to be closed. They were not interested in being a part of an open-air facility. INS & "Houston was competing with Los Angeles at the time to get the team, and there is no doubt that the NFL prefers an open-air stadium with natural grass. So the best way to solve that problem was to design the new building here with an operable roof." Manica's first drawings of a roof that would open and close began in the summer in 1997 and proceeded in fits and starts for the next two years as Texans owner-to-be Bob McNair wooed and eventually won the rights to the NFL's 32nd franchise. HOK's original plan for the roof called for an "accordion-style" roof -- one that, in visual terms, would simply "fold up and go away" when opened. That plan, Manica explained, would prevent the roof from "overpowering" the stadium by setting too heavily, in a design sense, over the rest of the building. "But that started to present some interesting engineering complications and cost and maintenance worries," he said. "And so we moved away from the accordion to the simple roof panel." To be exact, two roof panels -- each 240 feet long and 385 feet wide. From midfield, one panel slides to the north and one to the south along a set of tracks placed along the 967-foot long "super trusses" that frame the roof structure. When the roof is fully retracted, the open space above the playing field is 350 feet wide by 500 feet long -- 175,000 square feet. Unlike Texas Stadium, which has trusses that span the open portion of its roof, the Reliant Stadium roof is completely open to the elements when the two panels are retracted. And, unlike the roof at Minute Maid Park, which whether open or closed is easily the defining element of that stadium, the Reliant roof is just that -- a top that doesn't overwhelm everything beneath. Smiley N. Pool / Chronicle Reliant Stadium is completely open when two of the roof panels are retracted, a process that takes only seven minutes. "We keep the visual weight of the roof down by not stacking panels, like they do with the roof at Minute Maid Park," Manica said. The second unique element -- at least as it applies to retractable-roof stadiums in the United States -- is that the roof material is made of fabric. Specifically, a Teflon-coated, fiberglass fabric manufactured by Birdair Inc. of Amherst, N.Y. "We wanted to have the feel of an open-air stadium, even with the roof closed," Manica said. "When you walk around the Astrodome, you walk through circular, dark concourses. We wanted to have more light with the comforts of climate control, and the fabric was an important part of that design." Birdair fabrics were used in the United States for the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Elsewhere, the company installed fabric roofs on the Millennium Dome in London, Olympic Stadium in Rome, Hiroshima Stadium in Japan and Shanghai Stadium in China. "We used a high-translucency version of the fabric, which requires a lot of special care to install as opposed to the standard fabric," said Clark Martens, project manager for Birdair. "It allows 24 percent to 25 percent of the outside light to get through. The Georgia Dome roof, by comparison, allows maybe 10 percent." As with all projects, there are tradeoffs in using fabric, Manica said. "Fabric is more expensive than using a hard roof surface of decking and membrane," he said. "However, we found that not needing the additional amount of structural steel to hold up the weight of the roof would offset the cost of the fabric. So we came up with the most cost-effective roof that could be designed for this building." This particular element of architectural haute couture cost about $10 million. However, Martens said, it is engineered to carry full hurricane loads, including winds of more than 100 mph. Try that with your garden-variety Armani frock. The fabric also creates a vaulted frame over the roof frame to help shed water and to "give a sense of space for those inside inside the seating bowl," Manica said. A series of 10 steel cables, each two inches in diameter and capable of exerting 200,000 pounds of pressure, secure the fabric to the roof structure and create the series of peaks and valleys. "This is relatively new for the United States, but if you go to Europe, fabric roofs are much more of the norm," Martens said. "The next domed stadium that will be built in this country will be the football stadium in Phoenix, and that also will be fabric. We think it is a cost-competitive system, and it gives you a lot of nice attributes, such as that feel of natural daylight." The job of making the roof panels and their giant fabric swatches move to and fro fell to Cyril Silberman, president of Uni-Systems Inc. of Minneapolis, who also designed the transport system at Minute Maid Park. This system, however, is as different from Minute Maid's as football differs from baseball, Silberman said. For one thing, the Reliant Stadium roof is lighter -- 3,000 tons, as opposed to 9,000 tons at Minute Maid, including the sliding glass wall that runs along Crawford Street. That difference made for some, as Silberman gingerly described it, challenging design problems. "The Reliant roof could depart the stadium under a number of different circumstances if we didn't do something special with it," he said. "In winds of 50 mph from the right direction, in theory it could sail away if you didn't have a retention system. And you have 50 mph winds at least 10 times a year during thunderstorms. "Consequently, this roof has a very complex electrical and mechanical system that measures the wind and keeps the roof gripped firmly on its rails and moves it with timers and sensors that make it absolutely impossible for the roof ever to get away." Another challenge in designing the transport system, Silberman said, is that buildings are subject to lateral defractions. In other words, they wiggle. "To build the trusses strong enough so that they wouldn't have had any movement would have required 400 to 600 extra tons of steel and concrete," Silberman said. "But, by allowing this to be a semi-flexible structure, they saved a lot of money and complexities and erecting hazards." The roof is designed to allow 21 inches of lateral wiggle room as the building expands and contracts. To cope with those changes, Uni-Systems installed what it calls a four-bar linkage system on the north roof panel that keeps the roof on track as the building breathes. The south edge of the roof is on a rigid series of transports engaged to a rail that does not allow movement. "We only needed (the release mechanism) on one side," Silberman said. "The other side has to be rigid. Otherwise, the building could fall over sideways." The roof track also has a series of what Silberman describes as hurricane hold-down clamps that are not present on any other transportable roof in the United States. "It's like a series of giant scissors with teeth under the railroad track (on which the roof moves)," Silberman said. "There's enough clearance for the roof to move, but not enough for it to leave the track. When the roof comes to a stop, they clamp on tightly." If you're concerned about leaks, don't be. When the roof panels come together, it activates a system of inflatable seals, powered by a system of six to eight 15-horsepower air blowers, to keep fans protected from the elements. Silberman's transport system can close the roof in seven minutes, as opposed to 12 minutes for the one-way system at Minute Maid Park. He estimates the total cost of the roof, including the transport system, the fabric and the structural steel, at about $48 million. http://images.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/02/reliant/img/opensky.jpg Reliant Stadium is completely open when two of the roof panels are retracted, a process that takes only seven minutes. http://images.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/02/reliant/img/rooftop.jpg Even at night, it's clear that the Reliant's fiberglass roof shaped up to look very different from the fixed-glass one that covers the Reliant Astrodome. http://images.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/02/reliant/img/roofrail.jpg The retractable roof rides this rail when it is set in motion.
  16. Brazos Town Center ready for groundbreaking Allison Wollam Houston Business Journal NewQuest Properties will break ground on a 430-acre, $241 million development in Fort Bend County this week. Recent Company News
  17. Dec. 4, 2004, 10:42PM Pitching a downtown dream Developers see loft-style offices, condos tied into flashy retailing, entertainment By NANCY SARNOFF Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Picture this: A luxury hotel, residential condominiums and loft-style offices, all connected by flashy urban retail, entertainment and culture. Now picture it in downtown Houston. An ambitious pair of developers wants to build the city's biggest mixed-use project yet on what is now three parking lots just off Main Street. Bill Denton, a developer from California, and Geoff Jones, a local developer, are behind this concept that seems almost too good to be true. Denton and Jones have signed a sales contract to buy the three blocks of downtown land bordered by Main, Polk, Dallas and Caroline. They're out there pitching their project to potential retailers and investors. But they won't talk to the media about it until they're further along in their plans. That's probably not a bad strategy. Houston has seen countless developers announce huge real estate projects that never seem to make it out of the ground. So are these guys for real? Denton's company, Entertainment Development Group, is based in Agoura Hills, Calif. It's certainly worth noting that he was behind a large retail project in Denver that many folks believed would never happen. Built in 1998, Denver Pavilions is now a hugely successful entertainment and retail complex with dozens of retail stores and restaurants, a nightclub and a 15-screen movie theater. The project is made up of four three-story buildings, linked by walkways and escalators, that cover two blocks on Denver's famous 16th Street Mall. Tenants include Virgin Megastore, Hard Rock Cafe, NikeTown, Barnes & Noble Superstore, Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe, Maggiano's Little Italy and Lucky Strike Lanes, a hip bowling alley concept. According to the project's Web site, the $108 million development was financed in part by Rosche Finanz of Freiberg, Germany, and Hensel Phelps Construction Co. The closest things downtown Houston has to cutting-edge mixed-use real estate projects are Bayou Place in the Theater District and Houston Center near the George R. Brown Convention Center. But half of Bayou Place has sat vacant since it opened years ago. Just last week, owner Cordish Co. said it wants to build residential units there. And Houston Center is still facing identity issues despite recent repositioning efforts by the owner, Crescent. It's still way too early to predict the future of these three city blocks. Time and interest in downtown Houston will be the ultimate judge. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/business/2931451
  18. My nephew got to stay here when he interviewed with Transocean, had to pick him up. Architect - https://pflugerarchitects.com
  19. Noticed this on Loopnet this week. Another Hotel to Multifamily conversion? The address is 6780 Southwest Fwy. https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/6780-Southwest-Fwy-Houston-TX/25052059/ https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/houswhf-hilton-houston-galleria-area/
  20. Great Wolf Lodge waterpark resort big step closer to opening in Webster, Texas - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
  21. Two houses ( 704-706 I think) were demolished last week. Neighborhood heard it’s a new bar. Any one have details?
  22. There is a sign up near the Bass Pro shops construction at the Spectrum exit off 288 showing the "Waterlight District" with a water taxi in the picture. Anyone know about this Woodlandsesque development?
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