[HTexas]

I can't help but notice that since January 2006, when Farb bought three areas of land (McGowen @ Bagby (and on Bagby across the street) + McGowen @ Baldwin) there has been no development of what was supposed to be a midrise to be built starting in Spring 2006. Quite a long time to own expensive property without development (after purchasing it with a predetermined plan). Yes, the City of Houston building and parking lot were torn down (probably for tax reasons) making it less expensive to hold undeveloped property. And one of the lots is a disgusting "swamp".....neighbors are constantly calling to have the weeds cut down below "skyscraper height" ......not to mention a bird that looks like a crane that was hanging out in that "swamp" with the rats....true!

Now they have had a guard outside the property for about 4 days while a communications shed is further disassembled...must be some expensive equipment in there running the cell phone tower on the lot! They put up new fencing and barbed wire around that shed today...

Anyone heard anything new regarding what has happened to the development of these properties and the supposed midrise? Did it fall through?

[bachanon]

welcome to the forum HTexas.

[HTexas]

Anyone know anything about this development? Is it going through?

Thanks!

HTexas, on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 @ 9:24pm, said:

I can't help but notice that since January 2006, when Farb bought three areas of land (McGowen @ Bagby (and on Bagby across the street) + McGowen @ Baldwin) there has been no development of what was supposed to be a midrise to be built starting in Spring 2006. Quite a long time to own expensive property without development (after purchasing it with a predetermined plan). Yes, the City of Houston building and parking lot were torn down (probably for tax reasons) making it less expensive to hold undeveloped property. And one of the lots is a disgusting "swamp".....neighbors are constantly calling to have the weeds cut down below "skyscraper height" ......not to mention a bird that looks like a crane that was hanging out in that "swamp" with the rats....true!

Now they have had a guard outside the property for about 4 days while a communications shed is further disassembled...must be some expensive equipment in there running the cell phone tower on the lot! They put up new fencing and barbed wire around that shed today...

Anyone heard anything new regarding what has happened to the development of these properties and the supposed midrise? Did it fall through?

[houston-development]

sorry for the delayed response, i normally stick around the going up section.

farb is still moving foward. ive seen the renderings and its going to be a gorgeous project.

there was a possibility of him selling a chunk a while ago but the potential buyer realized it wasnt feasible.

[rci2145]

It looks like construction has finally begun on the lots of land at McGowen and Bagby owned by Harold Farb. They are supposed to be upscale apartments. An existing cell phone tower on the big lot of land has stalled them. It likes like they are probably building a parking garage across the street from the big lot right now.

[rci2145]

It looks like construction has finally begun on the lots of land at McGowen and Bagby owned by Harold Farb. They are supposed to be an upscale midrise apartment building. An existing cell phone tower on the big lot of land has stalled them. It likes like they are probably building a parking garage across the street from the big lot right now. Hopefully that means the cell phone tower will be taken out soon so they can actually start building.

The apartments are supposedly going to be really expensive. Every apartment will include granite countertops. After they are finished with that I'm guessing that some of the seedier stuff accross the street on Bagby will be torn down and they can put in some decent commercial development there.

[ricco67]

Got any additional info on this?

I was always wondering what they were planning on doing with that tower. the location for it sucked and I always wondered why they didn't put it near the edge of the property.

[lockmat]

Are you talking about this piece of land?

I don't see any other land that it could be.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Houston,+TX,...p;z=19&om=0

And if so, it doesn't look like many apts could fit onto it.

[ricco67]

Nope. sorry, that was downtown. We're talking closer to the montrose.

[lockmat]

Here it is. Google map is stupid for some reason. If you click on the link, it takes you to the location I saved and then goes to downtown. I don't know why.

Sorry Jax, but here's the live link: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...2&encType=1

This post has been edited by lockmat: Monday, January 28, 2008 at 12:13 PM

[Jax]

[KinkaidAlum]

If I remember correctly, this was Papa Farb's son who purchased this land. He plans on building an upscale apartment community with a garage across the way attached via skyridge. The project was dubbed CitiPlace when it was first announced.

If my memory is correct, you can see some of the townhome communities he's developed here, www.farbhomes.com

[houston-development]

theres a thread or two about this project in the midtown forums.

for clarification, its harold farbs grandson.

long story short:

it will be built on 3 parcels, parking garage will be wrapped by the main building, pool on top overlooking downtown (while hopefully somewhat hiding the phone tower) , and rents are projected to be about $1.50 psf.

edited to add midtown forum links here and here (gave details in post #23)

This post has been edited by houston-development: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 10:22 AM

[lockmat]

Thanks, HD. Both links are the same though.

Combine threads?

[ricco67]

metamorphose and purge?

It just doesn't "Sing."

[houston-development]

lockmat, on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 @ 10:29am, said:

Both links are the same though.

i fixed them.. sorry, coffee hasnt kicked in yet.

[Subdude]

Two of the topics merged. The other was about Webster/Brazos.

[johnnydrama]

The construction you see is a Midtown TIRZ project...updating utilities/water/streets/etc. They currently have Helena and Baldine ripped up.

From what I know about the Farb project, they are eventually planning the midrisde apartments mentioned above. They were unable to negotiate out of the cell tower lease, therefore the building will "surround" the tower. I've also heard this project is delayed behind higher margin projects they have planned.

[ricco67]

Man, I wonder how long that tower lease is.

[REALaw]

ricco67, on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 @ 3:04pm, said:

Man, I wonder how long that tower lease is.

Primary term of five years, with five options to renew for additional 5-year terms.

[houston-development]

johnnydrama, on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 @ 2:54pm, said:

From what I know about the Farb project, they are eventually planning the midrisde apartments mentioned above. They were unable to negotiate out of the cell tower lease, therefore the building will "surround" the tower. I've also heard this project is delayed behind higher margin projects they have planned.

um....

he is not doing a midrise, its a 4-story project.

the cell phone tower will be enclosed by the 6 level parking garage, which will be wrapped by the main building. the top will be seen but hes designed it so focus will be diverted elsewhere. he gave up trying to negotiate several months ago.

it was delayed due to the architects, not because of "higher margin projects". he has a couple of townhome projects and that margin is ABSOLUTELY nothing compared to this deal.

[rci2145]

Anybody know when they will actually start construction? Estimated completion date?

[HTexas]

There seems to be some action in the past week. A large ground billboard, painted black now, has gone up. I imagine they will advertise the new mid rise if that is still happening. Today, they've been putting up a fence around the two parcels of land next to each other. Anybody have any new information on whether the mid rise is still the plan for this property?

[houston-development]

i think that billboard is the same one he had up before (for information, please call..) they knocked down the fence.

hes planning on breaking ground in the next 60-days and allegedly has financing.

and its not a midrise, its 4-story wrapped around a parking garage with 2 out-parcels that will be connected via sky bridges.

[TheNiche]

houston-development, on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 @ 9:45am, said:

i think that billboard is the same one he had up before (for information, please call..) they knocked down the fence.

hes planning on breaking ground in the next 60-days and allegedly has financing.

and its not a midrise, its 4-story wrapped around a parking garage with 2 out-parcels that will be connected via sky bridges.

Definitions of what constitutes a "midrise" are hazy. You're correct that Farb is planning a four-story wrap, but in the spectrum of descriptors (low-rise, midrise, highrise, skyscraper), a lot of people--including professionals--consider this to also be a midrise.

[johnnydrama]

Billboard pic attached...sorry for the low res. They've since addeded a covered chain link fence are the property. Given the placement of the billboard, I would imagine a rendering/advertisement for the complex. Looking forward to the ground breaking.

Attached File(s)

•  farb.jpg (43.31K)
  Number of downloads: 122

[ricco67]

Maybe we should make it mandatory that all HAIFer's carry a camera (whines for a moment at his camera-less situation) for pictures around town.

[houston-development]

TheNiche, on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 @ 10:07am, said:

Definitions of what constitutes a "midrise" are hazy. You're correct that Farb is planning a four-story wrap, but in the spectrum of descriptors (low-rise, midrise, highrise, skyscraper), a lot of people--including professionals--consider this to also be a midrise.

since when did people in our profession start calling 4-story stick product a midrise?

geeze, next thing you know people are going to start over-using the term "luxury living", even for C product.

ooops, too late, they already do...

johnnydrama, on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 @ 10:20am, said:

Billboard pic attached...sorry for the low res. They've since addeded a covered chain link fence are the property. Given the placement of the billboard, I would imagine a rendering/advertisement for the complex. Looking forward to the ground breaking.

thanks for the pic. i drove by there on tuesday evening and nothing was there, so that must have gone up afterwards.

This post has been edited by houston-development: Friday, March 28, 2008 at 9:59 AM

[TheNiche]

houston-development, on Friday, March 28th, 2008 @ 8:57am, said:

since when did people in our profession start calling 4-story stick product a midrise?

Hell, HAR classifies any condo project that is four stories or higher as highrise. Planners, architects, consultants, politicians, and media also throw around 'midrise' liberally. And as you pointed out, marketing materials just lie outright about various things.

[rci2145]

Is this project ever going to get started?

[houston-development]

rci2145, on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 @ 4:55pm, said:

Is this project ever going to get started?

all i can really say is there may be a change of plans...

[roadrunner]

houston-development, on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 @ 9:08pm, said:

all i can really say is there may be a change of plans...

Scale up or down?

[rci2145]

houston-development, on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 @ 9:08pm, said:

all i can really say is there may be a change of plans...

A trendy commercial development with a large underground parking lot would be nice.

[HTexas]

rci2145, on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 @ 4:38pm, said:

A trendy commercial development with a large underground parking lot would be nice.

I found a little info on "CitiPlace"....looks like Farb has placed a bid for construction. This link details the number of units and square footage.

http://www.davisbros.../citiplace.html

[ricco67]

While talking it out with a few people, it seems that apartment building might be increasing since getting into a home is probably getting a bit harder and probably will remain so for at least a year or so.

[HTexas]

Recent signage on McGowen @ Bagby seems to suggest that Farb is ditching the "Citiplace" idea and selling the properties (3) around this intersection. How about a nice big park!!!??? Unfortnately, the property is too valuable and that idea will surely not go through. I imagine, in the end, we will see townhomes there.

[TheNiche]

HTexas, on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 @ 4:48pm, said:

Recent signage on McGowen @ Bagby seems to suggest that Farb is ditching the "Citiplace" idea and selling the properties (3) around this intersection. How about a nice big park!!!??? Unfortnately, the property is too valuable and that idea will surely not go through. I imagine, in the end, we will see townhomes there.

Don't bother imagining anything; nobody knows what'll happen there. Very few developers can get financing in this environment, investors are skittish to say the least, and this site isn't even one of the better ones for which development has been put on hold or cancelled. It'll probably be at least another couple of years before things get settled and we're able to start seriously speculating again, and even then there's no guarantee what kind of residential product would be ideal.

[houston-development]

HTexas, on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 @ 4:48pm, said:

Recent signage on McGowen @ Bagby seems to suggest that Farb is ditching the "Citiplace" idea and selling the properties (3) around this intersection. How about a nice big park!!!??? Unfortnately, the property is too valuable and that idea will surely not go through. I imagine, in the end, we will see townhomes there.

1) that sign has been up almost as long as he's owned it

2) he's discussing options with different lenders and the land is NOT under contract. if someone told you that, they are either (a) a liar, (b ) misinformed, or (c ) an attention whore

3) there's a perfectly good park down the street

4) no one will pay his price and build townhomes, its not economically feasible

5) and yeah, what niche said ^

[TheNiche]

houston-development, on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 @ 11:43am, said:

4) no one will pay his price and build townhomes, its not economically feasible

Maybe this is a question deserving its own thread, but...what if "his" price were to change? How likely is that?

How can we possibly be in the midst of a financial crisis, with the value of all other assets and commodities (except Treasuries) plummeting, and real estate in Houston, TX doesn't take a mark-to-market hit? Surely the structural illiquidity of real estate and the illiquidity of capital markets both will adversely impact transaction-driven real estate companies as owners of property continue to stick it out, refusing to take a hit, but it just seems as though at some point transaction activity will necessarily return to an equilibrium and not before sellers' expectations are adjusted downward. And if/when that occurs, perhaps townhomes do become feasible on a site like this.

[swtsig]

TheNiche, on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 @ 6:47pm, said:

Maybe this is a question deserving its own thread, but...what if "his" price were to change? How likely is that?

How can we possibly be in the midst of a financial crisis, with the value of all other assets and commodities (except Treasuries) plummeting, and real estate in Houston, TX doesn't take a mark-to-market hit? Surely the structural illiquidity of real estate and the illiquidity of capital markets both will adversely impact transaction-driven real estate companies as owners of property continue to stick it out, refusing to take a hit, but it just seems as though at some point transaction activity will necessarily return to an equilibrium and not before sellers' expectations are adjusted downward. And if/when that occurs, perhaps townhomes do become feasible on a site like this.

this is most definitely the case... price reductions are few and far between in houston right now, but as this economy continues to decline and the overall lack of liquidity in the capital markets continue to squeeze, many of those companies who think they can "wait it out" will find themselves desperate to sell in the next 6-12 months.

houston is lagging the rest of the country, and the distressed assets haven't come to market.... yet

[brian0123]

swtsig, on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 @ 7:19pm, said:

this is most definitely the case... price reductions are few and far between in houston right now, but as this economy continues to decline and the overall lack of liquidity in the capital markets continue to squeeze, many of those companies who think they can "wait it out" will find themselves desperate to sell in the next 6-12 months.

houston is lagging the rest of the country, and the distressed assets haven't come to market.... yet

I'm not sure about this. Despite a crumby economy... Houston is not like the rest of the country. If/when home prices do fall, price declines won't be anything like that in other parts of the country. Also, as soon as oil markets even think the economy might recover... oil will be going back up very quickly.

[houston-development]

TheNiche, on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 @ 6:47pm, said:

what if "his" price were to change? How likely is that?

very unlikely. his cost basis is low (all things considered), no debt, and his only carrying cost are taxes and basic insurance.

financially, doing fine since he has zero inventory of townhomes.

i guess, in theory, anything could happen but again, very unlikely.

[houston-development]

im sorry, i was mistaken.

transwestern put up a marketing sign. transwestern told farb they had a buyer who could and would purchase the property. its on a non-exclusive basis and farb isnt paying a penny for marketing. if it was me, on either side, i wouldnt do it but thats another story.

imo - there is no buyer; they are only trying to get exposure and its a total waste of resources.

any buyer will be unable to justify his price to a potential lender.

but again, crazier things have happened...

[HTexas]

I just noticed today that they are digging large, deep holes at the vacant lot, corner of McGowen @ Bagby. They also installed a box for electricity at the vacant lot across the street at McGowen @ Baldwin. Anyone know what's up? These are the lots that belong to Farb Properties from their failed venture to put up a midrise luxury apartment building. Major action still brewing over there even after 6:30pm tonight....

[SteveTXMD]

HTexas, on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 6:37 PM, said:

I just noticed today that they are digging large, deep holes at the vacant lot, corner of McGowen @ Bagby. They also installed a box for electricity at the vacant lot across the street at McGowen @ Baldwin. Anyone know what's up? These are the lots that belong to Farb Properties from their failed venture to put up a midrise luxury apartment building. Major action still brewing over there even after 6:30pm tonight....

I wish I knew. We live very close to this block, and at 7:30am this morning (Saturday, Oct 3) the heavy trucks were out there "beep" "beep" "beeping" when backing up. 7:30am seems a little early for a Saturday morning. You think they're getting OT? This entire block is being dug up, and there is a cell tower smack dab in the middle of it.

I can't find any info on this contruction anywhere.

[HTexas]

SteveTXMD, on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 1:41 PM, said:

I wish I knew. We live very close to this block, and at 7:30am this morning (Saturday, Oct 3) the heavy trucks were out there "beep" "beep" "beeping" when backing up. 7:30am seems a little early for a Saturday morning. You think they're getting OT? This entire block is being dug up, and there is a cell tower smack dab in the middle of it.

I can't find any info on this contruction anywhere.

>>>All I see is the construction company's sign on Bagby....they are still going....I heard them out there at 7am this morning! There is a mountain of dirt VERY HIGH out there right now....they seem to be wanting to get whatever it is done ASAP! I live close too and heard the beeping as well....I'll post as soon as I find out something.

[DrLan34]

Looks like Forbes has sold their property that spans from Bagby to Dennis along McGowen. I'm not sure if there is already a thread on this...

I saw a bunch of contruction equipment their today and the workers were clearing the area... I had to stop and ask and they said they were indeed building new apartments.

Still haven't found any renderings or anything so please add some if you find it.

Good news in a troubled economy and even more residential for Midtown.

[Subdude]

Note merged duplicate topics.

[TheNiche]

DrLan34, on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 6:13 PM, said:

Looks like Forbes has sold their property that spans from Bagby to Dennis along McGowen.

If true, then the seller would be Farb, not Forbes.

[brian0123]

Is it this thing finally coming alive? Chron Article

The sign around the property makes it look like Farb still owns the land.

BTW, what's with the huge pile of dirt on that land? It looks like they are going to build it on a mountain.


EDIT: I just found this thread on HAR about CitiPlace... Thread

This post has been edited by brian0123: Monday, October 5, 2009 at 1:27 PM