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The Langley: Residential High-Rise At 1717 Bissonnet St.


musicman

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Looks like this slipped under the radar as well:

23 story with five-level parking garage.

17 floors of apartments including

Specialty Retail (street)

Fine dining Restaurant (street)

spa (6th floor)

Executive suite office space (6th)

226 apartments or 187 owned condos

5 live/work townhomes (street/through 5th level

it will be a red brick exterior.

Edited by ricco67
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Rock on! This is awesome, especially since I'll be able to walk to it!

Any renderings, or timeframe?

I don't recall any empty space in this area, but maybe I am wrong. It's right across from the Hillel house near the Rice Grad Student Apartments, I think.

Edited by Jax
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I don't recall any empty space in this area, but maybe I am wrong. It's right across from the Hillel house near the Rice Grad Student Apartments, I think.

After a bit of searching, Maryland Manor Apartments seems to be what occupies the address at the moment.

I drive through the area a fair bit and think it would be great to see something of that height near the university. I'm Also impressed with the different uses planned. Have to keep up to see how this one pans out!

Edited by ChannelTwoNews
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Sounds like a nice place to live.

When I first saw this thread, my initial reaction was that there would be a lot of upset, wealthy homeowners nearby. The news story proves my intuition right.

Who is the developer and what is the project website? How many apartments are currently on the site?

Edited by nate
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Note dupe topics merged.

It does seem like it would be out of scale for that location. I can understand the neighborhood would be upset. There's probably not a lot they can do to stop it however.

it will be interesting to see what happens particularly when the neighborhood has the bucks to back up their words.
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Well after all there is no zoning, so how could they stop it?

Interesting that they would tear down Maryland Manor. A lot of Rice students live there. I almost rented there myself... I'd rather live in the highrise though, especially since it would be mixed use. Unless it's just way too expensive, it would be a grad student paradise. I used to live around the corner from there, and I would have definitely liked the fact that there would be more restaurants near by.

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I drive by Maryland Manor on a daily basis and a new 23 story high rise on that property would look very out of place. While the developer may not have any restrictions on the property, it is bounded by deed restricted neighborhoods on each side. This project would be far more appropriate in the Museum District or the Village with better transport options. If they are commited to building on the site, I suggest they follow the lead of the Rohe project on Sunset Blvd. (Cheyenne Walk?)

And Maryland Manor went through a dramatic facelift a few years ago and is one of the more appealing complexes in the area. Many of the tenants are Rice students that walk or ride their bike to campus. However, I think the biggest hurdle will be the existing traffic congestion that exists along Bissonnet. It is a traffic jam every afternoon by 4:30 and the inclusion of a high rise (with entrance/exit on to Bissonnet) seems unfeasible.

I expect a good fight from the surrounding neighborhoods. This reminds me a lot of the proposed project a few years back behind the Half Price Books in the Village that never made it off the drawing board. Time will tell.

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Well after all there is no zoning, so how could they stop it?

Interesting that they would tear down Maryland Manor. A lot of Rice students live there. I almost rented there myself... I'd rather live in the highrise though, especially since it would be mixed use. Unless it's just way too expensive, it would be a grad student paradise. I used to live around the corner from there, and I would have definitely liked the fact that there would be more restaurants near by.

sounds like they are going for negative publicity so that they can get a response from the developer.

it will be higher end units so i doubt a grad student could afford it.

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I agree, I wouldn't mind if it were closer to the red line but still in the "museum district", or even midtown. I hope they build it somewhere though. The idea of a mixed use highrise appeals to me. Especially one that gives me more places that I can walk to.

Edited by Jax
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Scoreboard.

This area was able to stop the 28 story Shakespeare (to be built just South of the Village) but wasn't able to stop the 17 story Robinhood.

This area was able to stop a proposal for a tower on Sunset (I think it was going to be 16 stories tall) but haven't been able to stop the Medical Clinic (so far) from building a new office building on Sunset.

I think it will be harder to stop a tower proposal on Bissonnet however. That street is a hodge-podge of converted businesses, medical clinics, yoga studios, apartments, restaurants, and even gas stations. I do feel sorry for the homes on South Blvd. Their pretty back yards will now have some company!

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I just don't recall that much opposition to the building on Robinhood. It it surrounded by commercial businesses (including a 10+ story IBC bank) and offers far easier access to the freeway and Rice Village. This proposal would offer neither.

Given the concentrated wealth in the area, I would except some kind of compromise to be reached with the developer. A mixed use development would be great, but 23 stories is just exploiting the available land, without regard for the surroundings. Somewhere along Montrose Blvd (less than a mile away) would be much more in tune with the surrounding landscape.

Edited by talltexan83
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http://www.buckfund.com/1717%20Bissonnet/

Other things I thought notable:

If this further examination of projected traffic warrants the installation of a traffic signal and it is approved by the City of Houston , we will pay to have the signal installed.
The number of parking spaces is sufficient to accommodate all residents, dining and retail customers, and guests. The garage is designed to minimize its appearance as a garage.
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My wife works not far from where this is going up(?)...

I could see this area becoming higher-density in the future but right now the transit infrastructure is not there. The University Line will run not far from there....when it comes to be - if it comes to be, it seems anymore.

I agree this is better suited for Main Street. They could plop this on the Greyhound station site and nobody in Midtown would complain about it being 28 stories. Or it could be around the other high-rise buildings between Montrose and the Museum district.

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I had ambivalent feelings about this until I read EDI would design it. Now I am TOTALLY against it. Whether it's on Main, Bisonnet or some other place in the Museum District, Houston could do better without another eyesore from EDI :angry: . Fight homowners...fight!

I just looked at their portfolio. I like their stuff alright.

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And the houses on Inwood, Brentwood, Del Monte, etc... don't?

Not to mention that $1 million houses have been built on streets like Hazard, McDuffie, Elmen, and others over the past 5 years.

true there's money...but i'd say northhampton will be more organized in their efforts. i wouldn't consider the immediate area south of RO shopping center in the same league.

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"The project design has been chosen so that all building residential units will be above the tree line, ensuring the greatest level of privacy for the surrounding neighborhood and the maximum view of Houston

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The River Oaks shopping center is a different animal. They are replacing one commercial shopping center (albeit a historically significant one) with another commerical center. Over time, I would expect a Barnes & Noble to do more business with the River Oaks clientele than a Black Eyed Pea ever did. It was a frustrating loss for those trying to maintain Houston's architectural heritage (myself included), but replacing a 1 story structure with a 2 story one was never the issue.

I hope to hear more following their neighborhood meeting this evening, but I expect to see quite a fight from the local residents. Building a high rise this close to deed-restricted neighborhoods would be unprecendented inside the loop (I can only think of a few along Westheimer, San Felipe and Kirby - but they are not completely surrounded by dense single family homes) . I really encourage you to drive by and understand how out of place it would seem.

Edited by talltexan83
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The target market is current residents of the area who would prefer to move from their single-family homes with yards to a secure, maintenance-free environment of similar quality to their current home.

So the general opinion is that the housing slump in Houston will remain confined to homes under $200K? Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but is the developer wagering that the target market will have no trouble selling their current houses by the time this is completed? I have no idea what the turn-around time on a housing market slump is - I wasn't of the mind to pay much attention when all the condos went vacant in the 80's and foreclosures were on every street. Of course, it's not like the facility will be an exclusive club open only to current area residents.

The older inner-loop apartments are vanishing quickly. I'm truly surprised that the neat 1930's apartments at 1537 Castle Court haven't been plowed over for townhouses.

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So the general opinion is that the housing slump in Houston will remain confined to homes under $200K? Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but is the developer wagering that the target market will have no trouble selling their current houses by the time this is completed?

there's an article in today's chron about home sales here...this sentence may interest you.

One bright spot is the luxury home market. Homes that sold for more than $500,000 saw a 26 percent increase in sales.

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