[jadidas]

I believe this is the rendering...

http://www.davisbros...apartments.html

With more info here...

http://www.davisbros...ents_specs.html

[rci2145]

jadidas, on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 8:22 AM, said:

I believe this is the rendering...

http://www.davisbros...apartments.html

With more info here...

http://www.davisbros...ents_specs.html

According to the picture, the sidewalks look like the small standard size. I was really hoping they would make them wide like at Post. If Midtown is supposed to be a walkable city area, why don't they give us a little more room? It's so hard to walk around Metro Midtown because of this. Get rid of some of the plants, bushes, and grass and give us room.

[SteveTXMD]

So it will be called "Citiplace," with 182 apartment units.

http://www.davisbros...apartments.html

and here is a link to the other thread http://www.houstonar...in&fromsearch=1

This post has been edited by SteveTXMD: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 8:24 PM

[editor]

Merged topics.

[DrLan34]

TheNiche, on Sunday, October 4, 2009 at 11:38 PM, said:

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

My bad I meant to say Farb... I guess they are just developing the property finally and didn't sell it... at any rate this is excellent, more pedestrians in midtown.

This post has been edited by DrLan34: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 10:31 PM

[totheskies]

OMG... is it really too much to DEMAND street-level retail space?? How hard is it to do?

[totheskies]

Just called Davis Bros... they are HUD-funded apartments. No retail or amenities planned

Target date for completion is 15 months, so we're looking at Feb. 2011.

[SteveTXMD]

totheskies, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 8:51 AM, said:

Just called Davis Bros... they are HUD-funded apartments. No retail or amenities planned

Target date for completion is 15 months, so we're looking at Feb. 2011.

"HUD-funded"? That doesn't mean lower-income, does it? The links I've seen suggest it will be "high-end."

[brian0123]

SteveTXMD, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 9:56 AM, said:

"HUD-funded"? That doesn't mean lower-income, does it? The links I've seen suggest it will be "high-end."

Yep, HUD is lower income. I guess they scraped their plans for high-end stuff and went the HUD route. I guess the service related businesses within Midtown will have a new workforce of people that they can hire from.

[CHiPs]

brian0123, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 10:13 AM, said:

Yep, HUD is lower income. I guess they scraped their plans for high-end stuff and went the HUD route. I guess the service related businesses within Midtown will have a new workforce of people that they can hire from.

Uh-oh...

[brian0123]

CHiPs, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 10:31 AM, said:

Uh-oh...

It could also be for elderly or disabled.

EDIT: Never mind. Just called and was told that it will be HUD funded "luxury" multi-family, 185 units.

This post has been edited by brian0123: Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 10:58 AM

[houston-development]

brian0123, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 10:13 AM, said:

Yep, HUD is lower income. I guess they scraped their plans for high-end stuff and went the HUD route. I guess the service related businesses within Midtown will have a new workforce of people that they can hire from.

no, thats not the case at all.

the financing is via a hud 221d4 loan, which has ZERO restrictions. full market rents, full amenities, full everything. no one on the outside would know the difference...

farb has rate locked and im 99% sure he moves forward.

[brian0123]

houston-development, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 11:20 AM, said:

no, thats not the case at all.

the financing is via a hud 221d4 loan, which has ZERO restrictions. full market rents, full amenities, full everything. no one on the outside would know the difference...

farb has rate locked and im 99% sure he moves forward.

Well that makes sense then. I was told on the phone that they were luxury apartments... so that wasn't an overstatement I guess.

[OkieEric]

houston-development, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 11:20 AM, said:

no, thats not the case at all.

the financing is via a hud 221d4 loan, which has ZERO restrictions. full market rents, full amenities, full everything. no one on the outside would know the difference...

farb has rate locked and im 99% sure he moves forward.

So what's the catch? Why wouldn't other developers currently on hold pursue the same kind of solution?

Breaking ground on this now seems like terrible timing, but what do I know? There are already so many rental options in midtown, and Camden Travis will obviously open somewhat soon

[houston-development]

OkieEric, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 11:30 AM, said:

So what's the catch? Why wouldn't other developers currently on hold pursue the same kind of solution?

Breaking ground on this now seems like terrible timing, but what do I know? There are already so many rental options in midtown, and Camden Travis will obviously open somewhat soon

there are a couple of catches (red tape, escrow, budgets, etc) but im headed out to lunch. ill gladly elaborate on my thoughts later and others (ie niche) may chime in as well.

there are some details that i cannot disclose but ill try my best to be as open as possible...

[kylejack]

OkieEric, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 11:30 AM, said:

So what's the catch? Why wouldn't other developers currently on hold pursue the same kind of solution?

Breaking ground on this now seems like terrible timing, but what do I know? There are already so many rental options in midtown, and Camden Travis will obviously open somewhat soon

Camden Travis opens Monday, for the record.

[TheNiche]

A lot of multifamily developers grudgingly (for reasons that houston-development touched on) started looking into mortgage insurance from HUD when things got tight in the private capital markets. The program has a finite budget, however, so there are only so many of these deals that can get done in any given fiscal year.

As a point of reference: In fiscal year 2008, HUD insured mortgages for 88 projects with 13,784 units, totaling $1 billion. Year-to-date, they've endorsed 82 projects with 11,301 units, totalling $784 million.

[houston-development]

so long story short, 221d4 loans are pretty much the only game in town. in previous years 9 out of 10 developers wouldnt touch the loan with their putz but with the credit markets frozen, there really are no other alternatives. developers that swore off d4 loans are now seriously considering them; though they will probably pass.

on the plus side: no personal recourse, 40 year am, zero rent restrictions, and thats about it

on the negative side: mip (which is comparable to the additional interest on a sub-prime loan), high reserves ($200 - $300 more / door), fighting over reimbursement of cap ex expenses, and a long and painful process to get the development loan closed.

as for my own personal opinion for this development... his all in costs are relatively low, a carp load of units are coming on-line, and we have lost over 100k jobs. if i was in his shoes, i would sit on the dirt for a couple more years. its not a "prime" midtown location but in the next few/couple years, assuming mix and the super block eventually build out, it could become "prime" real estate. today, not so much.

but thats just me.

[htownproud]

midtown apartments are currently at a high occupancy rate (e.g., Post is near 100%). obviously with Camden coming online, there will be excess capacity for awhile, but in 15 months who knows

[TheNiche]

htownproud, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 2:12 PM, said:

midtown apartments are currently at a high occupancy rate (e.g., Post is near 100%). obviously with Camden coming online, there will be excess capacity for awhile, but in 15 months who knows

Even Post Midtown is now offering concessions. They didn't used to have to do that. I'm betting that by this time next year, typical concessions in Midtown will be pushing past two months.

[brian0123]

houston-development, on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 11:20 AM, said:

no, thats not the case at all.

the financing is via a hud 221d4 loan, which has ZERO restrictions. full market rents, full amenities, full everything. no one on the outside would know the difference...

farb has rate locked and im 99% sure he moves forward.

Sorry about that. I misread the post and for some reason thought it said HUD housing. Never the less, this development will be great for the area. The more people in Midtown... the better.

This post has been edited by brian0123: Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 4:29 PM

[rci2145]

Anybody know what is meant by "luxury" apartments? Where would they rank with Post, Metro Midtown, Smith St., etc? Also, with 180 units, how would that rank in size compared to the other apartments in the area? Thanks.

[brian0123]

Drove by over the weekend and they have already started clearing the lot across the street. My guess is that these will end up being as the Chron article states... having a parking garage across the street with a skywalk over Bagby to the complex itself.

[lockmat]

Added to the wiki

http://towrs.com/wik...er_Construction

[iluvmidtown]

I live across the street from the new Farb development. Wow! It's going up fast. Very impressive. I walked into the on-site office and saw the design rendering for interior and exterior. I was told that the theme will be," luxury boutique hotel." I hate to say it, but pretty amazing. Not only is this going to be a top-knotch project, but also they're including several green elements into the construction. I heard that Austin based Big Red Sun( they did San Jose Hotel in Austin)is working on their saltwater pool/landscaping concept. Kudos! Can't wait to see how it turns out. Does anyone of a completion date?

[DrLan34]

iluvmidtown, on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 1:12 AM, said:

I live across the street from the new Farb development. Wow! It's going up fast. Very impressive. I walked into the on-site office and saw the design rendering for interior and exterior. I was told that the theme will be," luxury boutique hotel." I hate to say it, but pretty amazing. Not only is this going to be a top-knotch project, but also they're including several green elements into the construction. I heard that Austin based Big Red Sun( they did San Jose Hotel in Austin)is working on their saltwater pool/landscaping concept. Kudos! Can't wait to see how it turns out. Does anyone of a completion date?

It seems like the parking garage will be on that middle lot under the lofts or in the center instead of across the street from bagby...

Also, does anyone know how far down mcgowan (towards this new development) that the sidewalk expansion project will go? It would definitely be helpful to have those wider sidewalks along next to this new apartment complex

[houstonartstudent]

rci2145, on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 9:27 PM, said:

Anybody know what is meant by "luxury" apartments? Where would they rank with Post, Metro Midtown, Smith St., etc? Also, with 180 units, how would that rank in size compared to the other apartments in the area? Thanks.

Apparently having a grocery store, small neighborhood gym or other beneficial retail underneath you isn't considered a luxury in Houston Of course it's better than an empty lot but why is it a requirement to have a parking lot in front of every store in Houston? - OK I'll step off my soap box

[brian0123]

So I just drove by this place an can't believe how quickly these are going up. They have one block of apartments on one side of Bagby, a parking garage on the other side (and it looks like they will surround it w/ more apartments), and then more apartments one block away from Bagby. The one thing I was wondering is what are they going to do about parking for the two blocks of apartments w/out a garage? I don't see anywhere they could possibly build a skywalk between the blocks. Are people living on the 4th floor one block over going to have to walk across Bagby everytime they want to get to their car?

[houston-development]

brian0123, on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 10:56 AM, said:

So I just drove by this place an can't believe how quickly these are going up.

its going up fast because (1) his grandfather pretty much started davis bros and (2) HUD pops the GC for delays. put just those two together and its pretty much a top priority.

Quote

They have one block of apartments on one side of Bagby, a parking garage on the other side (and it looks like they will surround it w/ more apartments), and then more apartments one block away from Bagby. The one thing I was wondering is what are they going to do about parking for the two blocks of apartments w/out a garage? I don't see anywhere they could possibly build a skywalk between the blocks.

the parking garage is for all 3 buildings and (or as of last time i saw the drawings) will be connected via skybridges.

Quote

Are people living on the 4th floor one block over going to have to walk across Bagby everytime they want to get to their car?

yes, unless they park on the street.

[houstonartstudent]

It looks like they're keeping the cell phone tower in the middle of the block - I think they should dress it up to look like a mini crown to bring a little bit of Memorial City flare to the area

[houston-development]

houstonartstudent, on Monday, February 15, 2010 at 5:23 PM, said:

It looks like they're keeping the cell phone tower in the middle of the block - I think they should dress it up to look like a mini crown to bring a little bit of Memorial City flare to the area

farb didnt have any other option. he offered to move it, all expenses paid, but they declined.

as a side note, the pool will not be on top of the garage. its now located on the ground floor and the area will be spruced up resort-like with cabanas, grills, etc.

[Jax]

Somebody should post photos of this place. It's hard to imagine an apartment complex with a cell phone tower sticking out of it.

[houston-development]

Jax, on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 10:01 AM, said:

Somebody should post photos of this place. It's hard to imagine an apartment complex with a cell phone tower sticking out of it.

the tower will be enclosed by the parking garage, though the top will be exposed. on paper, it should be difficult to notice, unless youre looking for it.

[OkieEric]

Jax, on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 10:01 AM, said:

Somebody should post photos of this place. It's hard to imagine an apartment complex with a cell phone tower sticking out of it.

The same thing happened with 2222 Smith St back when they built it - you can see it sticking out on bird's eye view on bing.com

2222 Smith St

[Jax]

Hopefully they'll have better reception than I do in the museum district. I can barely make a call on AT&T, even near a window without the audio breaking up and cutting in and out.

[fatesdisastr]

Jax, on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 10:01 AM, said:

Somebody should post photos of this place. It's hard to imagine an apartment complex with a cell phone tower sticking out of it.

I had some time so I ran over there and took some

[crunchtastic]

It may just be the the first new apartment building featuring the added amenity of a parrot colony. I understand they particularly like cell towers, and tend to live by the dozens in them.
Don't know if they're a nuisance in the way grackles are.

[kdog08]

Those grackles are nuts, it's amusing to watch the turf wars that occur on those big powerlines along Westpark inside the loop.

[JWW]

What is the name of the project?


HouDev,

I have a question about HUD popping a GC for delays... I will post it in the D and R Estate thread if you feel like responding..

[dbigtex56]

According to Nancy Sarnoff, Jonathan Farb, grandson of Harold Farb, will build apartment buildings at 306 Mc Gowen, in Midtown (article says at the corner of Bagby; Google Maps puts it between Baldwin and Helena) containing 185 units.
Article

I think it's the vacant lot with the big-ass radio tower on it.

[u080570]

dbigtex56, on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 3:45 AM, said:

According to Nancy Sarnoff, Jonathan Farb, grandson of Harold Farb, will build apartment buildings at 306 Mc Gowen, in Midtown (article says at the corner of Bagby; Google Maps puts it between Baldwin and Helena) containing 185 units.
Article

I think it's the vacant lot with the big-ass radio tower on it.

Also discussed here:

http://www.houstonar...-bagby-mcgowen/

[lockmat]

Quote

It will have a 24-hour concierge, dog walking service, dog run, on-site kiosks delivering healthy meals and a saltwater pool with landscaping designed by the same firm that did the landscaping at the San Jose Hotel in Austin.

Quote

A main building will contain 97 apartments wrapped around a six-story parking garage.

Two adjacent buildings on either side — each with 44 units — will be connected by sky bridges.

The units will range in size from 650 and 1,385 square feet with rents from $1,100 to $2,100 a month.

http://www.chron.com...ss/6995837.html

Interesting, it seems all three of these, especially two, will be relatively small, but I guess on three separate blocks, or just two?

[sevfiv]

Like topics combined..

[LTAWACS]

Are they done yet?

[u080570]

LTAWACS, on Monday, May 10, 2010 at 4:10 PM, said:

Are they done yet?

Nope - still quite a bit to do....brick going up on part - just putting walls up on others....

[DrLan34]

[quote name='u080570' date='Monday, May 10, 2010 at 3:44 PM' timestamp='1273527879' post='363644']<br />Nope - still quite a bit to do....brick going up on part - just putting walls up on others....

anybody have any pictures? I've been working out of town for quite some time...

This post has been edited by DrLan34: Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 10:23 AM