3737 Buffalo Speedway: Office Building At 3737 Buffalo Spdwy.

[swtsig]

3 minutes ago, Avossos said:

I hope we are getting the previously promised hotel...

 

and to SW's point, Dallas is King of marketing itself... we could use a lot of their self-promotion.

 

it goes beyond just marketing itself, it's downright pathetic that a relatively high-profile project like this in the urban core can actually begin construction without a single major publication obtaining any details whatsoever. this is the 4th largest city in the country in the midst of another building boom and nary a word? 

 

in a lot of ways Houston is still very much stuck with a small city mentality... this includes journalists, developers, politicians, etc. we should demand better 

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[ArtNsf]

56 minutes ago, Avossos said:

I hope we are getting the previously promised hotel...

 

and to SW's point, Dallas is King of marketing itself... we could use a lot of their self-promotion.

AMEN to that !  I've been pointing that little known fact out on this site for years.  So glad someone else noticed, too LOL !!!

 

[Triton]

Please remain civil in this thread. Thank you.

[Twinsanity02]

3 hours ago, swtsig said:

 

it goes beyond just marketing itself, it's downright pathetic that a relatively high-profile project like this in the urban core can actually begin construction without a single major publication obtaining any details whatsoever. this is the 4th largest city in the country in the midst of another building boom and nary a word? 

 

in a lot of ways Houston is still very much stuck with a small city mentality... this includes journalists, developers, politicians, etc. we should demand better 

I don't know the cause of this. Lived in Houston > 30 years. Have traveled throughout the world. Houston is a very dynamic and cosmopolitan city by any measure. It is a somewhat odd city with three different ecosystems ( Gulf Coast, Piney Woods, and Prairie like) and is the border where English fades as the dominant language spoken at homes to Spanish. Has a huge Asian population which one does not expect.  Unlike Atlanta or Dallas it is a bit of a border city. For such a huge and growing metropolis it is quiet and unassuming compared to others. Maybe because we don't have glamour industries. Yet it still erupts in population. I've seen the movers and shakers try to come up with clever slogans and other image promotions. Nothing stuck. Houston is enigmatic.

[thatguysly]

45 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

I don't know the cause of this. Lived in Houston > 30 years. Have traveled throughout the world. Houston is a very dynamic and cosmopolitan city by any measure. It is a somewhat odd city with three different ecosystems ( Gulf Coast, Piney Woods, and Prairie like) and is the border where English fades as the dominant language spoken at homes to Spanish. Has a huge Asian population which one does not expect.  Unlike Atlanta or Dallas it is a bit of a border city. For such a huge and growing metropolis it is quiet and unassuming compared to others. Maybe because we don't have glamour industries. Yet it still erupts in population. I've seen the movers and shakers try to come up with clever slogans and other image promotions. Nothing stuck. Houston is enigmatic.

 

I think part is that it is full of so many people not from Houston or Texas and there was never an identity to rally behind. Dallas is the same but the show Dallas really gave it a national identity. Houston is huge but never the focal point of a tv show or movie. Atlanta has an identity that has come from music and entertainment. 

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[MarathonMan]

4 hours ago, thatguysly said:

 

I think part is that it is full of so many people not from Houston or Texas and there was never an identity to rally behind. Dallas is the same but the show Dallas really gave it a national identity. Houston is huge but never the focal point of a tv show or movie. Atlanta has an identity that has come from music and entertainment. 

Atlanta hosted the ‘96 Summer Olympics, too.  There was a lot of investment and attention payed to Atlanta in the 90s.  I think they’ve benefitted from that ever since. 

[Specwriter]

I've often wondered if Houston, "the powers that be" that is, never felt the need to promote itself. People will come here to live or do business because they know what the city has to offer. If you want to work in jobs related to NASA, the petro-chemical industry, or medicine you are most likely already aware of the opportunities here and "advertising" in places outside the city may seem superfluous. I've noticed while watching a particular morning "news" program there is a commercial featuring local celebrities like Lyle Lovett, Jose Altuve, etc. that promotes Houston as a place to live, work, and play but it is being broadcast on local television!  What's up with that?

 

FWIW, If I lived some where else and was coming to Houston as a tourist, I would probably not stay in the Greenway Plaza area as nice as it is. I would look to accommodations in downtown, in mid-town, the Galleria area, or even toward the coast or Galveston Bay.

[BeerNut]

I've seen commercials in the New Orleans market touting Houston.

[Specwriter]

6 hours ago, BeerNut said:

I've seen commercials in the New Orleans market touting Houston.

and commercials touting New Orleans and San Antonio in the Houston market. Perhaps with the steady influx of new residence it makes sense to promote the city within the city.

 

I've always felt one great thing about Houston is it is only a few hours' drive from San Antonio or New Orleans. 

[hammi]

Spoke with PMRG, they're expanding the garage by about 200 spots and adding the ground floor cafe. Not a full Phase II. 

[Highrise Tower]

Building a parking garage is still photo worthy? 

[Highrise Tower]

Been a month since I last posted photos.  Here's the garage as of today.

 

Note: I saw some blue LED lighting in an office the other day.  Wonder what company that is? The only company displaying blue LEDs?

 

 

[Specwriter]

On 10/13/2018 at 4:07 PM, ekdrm2d1 said:

Been a month since I last posted photos.  Here's the garage as of today.

 

Note: I saw some blue LED lighting in an office the other day.  Wonder what company that is? The only company displaying blue LEDs?

 

It might be Solvay on levels 8 & 9 or it might be Cannon Design on level 12 (or both).

[Urbannizer]

Architect: Ziegler Cooper 

 

[CaptainJilliams]

woah

[j_cuevas713]

Now if the city could get its act together and build nice pedestrian sidewalks in Greenway Plaza that connect with the new wide ones on Westheimer, you would have a nice cohesive section of the city. 

[Houston19514]

8 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Now if the city could get its act together and build nice pedestrian sidewalks in Greenway Plaza that connect with the new wide ones on Westheimer, you would have a nice cohesive section of the city. 

 

Aren't sidewalks generally the responsibility of property owners, not the city?

[Texasota]

And that's part of the problem.

[Luminare]

20 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Aren't sidewalks generally the responsibility of property owners, not the city?

 

If the property owner is doing new construction, then yes the property owner must furnish new sidewalks if they currently aren't up to code. If the city is doing new construction of Right of Way, then the city will furnish new sidewalks either by minimum requirements per code or per neighborhood/district requirements if they go above and beyond the code.

[jgriff]

I've had lots of new construction around my house. Not only did the city require the developer to upgrade the sidewalks around their development, they made them upgrade sidewalks around the area that weren't adjacent to their property. They also had to widen our street and curb & gutter it. It worked out great for us.  The drainage in our neighborhood was upgraded significantly also. The construction manager talked with me often since I am in a similar business. He said the owner of the building was very upset that all the improvements he had to do cost far beyond what they thought it would. He went back to the city to argue that he shouldn't have to pay for some unexpected things that were discovered and lost. 

[Luminare]

23 hours ago, jgriff said:

I've had lots of new construction around my house. Not only did the city require the developer to upgrade the sidewalks around their development, they made them upgrade sidewalks around the area that weren't adjacent to their property. They also had to widen our street and curb & gutter it. It worked out great for us.  The drainage in our neighborhood was upgraded significantly also. The construction manager talked with me often since I am in a similar business. He said the owner of the building was very upset that all the improvements he had to do cost far beyond what they thought it would. He went back to the city to argue that he shouldn't have to pay for some unexpected things that were discovered and lost. 

 

If you think we are in a nice building boom now? Just think what it would be like if the city unloaded the burden of reconstructing right of way and parking. This place would be bananas!

 

Where do you live though? I would understand if its a neighborhood that has yet to be touched by the city, but if its further in town then thats a bit unacceptable. A lot of times this is the city's way of cover their butts for past negligence. Especially when it comes to ADA. The city could get into a lot of trouble if people report unsafe sidewalks and lack of ramps. The city has a limited budget to make these improvements and it often gets laid upon the feet of the developer.

[jgriff]

7 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

If you think we are in a nice building boom now? Just think what it would be like if the city unloaded the burden of reconstructing right of way and parking. This place would be bananas!

 

Where do you live though? I would understand if its a neighborhood that has yet to be touched by the city, but if its further in town then thats a bit unacceptable. A lot of times this is the city's way of cover their butts for past negligence. Especially when it comes to ADA. The city could get into a lot of trouble if people report unsafe sidewalks and lack of ramps. The city has a limited budget to make these improvements and it often gets laid upon the feet of the developer.

I live in North Montrose. It’s a good question... public vs private funding of things like sidewalks. The city doesn’t have an unlimited budget and you can only raise taxes so

much. In a city with the square mileage of Houston the cost would be enormous. Maybe they could fund infrastructure like this for only certain areas. Of course I want it to

be my area.   Right now they use variance approvals to strong arm developers into paying for it. Bottom line though it’s paid for by all

of us. The system we have now makes rents a little higher for new buildings and doesn’t raise taxes on old ones.

[Luminare]

44 minutes ago, jgriff said:

I live in North Montrose. It’s a good question... public vs private funding of things like sidewalks. The city doesn’t have an unlimited budget and you can only raise taxes so

much. In a city with the square mileage of Houston the cost would be enormous. Maybe they could fund infrastructure like this for only certain areas. Of course I want it to

be my area.   Right now they use variance approvals to strong arm developers into paying for it. Bottom line though it’s paid for by all

of us. The system we have now makes rents a little higher for new buildings and doesn’t raise taxes on old ones.

 

Well if its North Montrose I think they should get to that part of the district next cycle. I live in Southeast Montrose and they are just about done with street improvements here. The worst offenders in my opinion is the Heights. That infrastructure up there is god awful. I'm amazed its so far behind.

[jgriff]

49 minutes ago, Luminare said:

 

Well if its North Montrose I think they should get to that part of the district next cycle. I live in Southeast Montrose and they are just about done with street improvements here. The worst offenders in my opinion is the Heights. That infrastructure up there is god awful. I'm amazed its so far behind.

  Montrose is still a great neighborhood. We might have some busted up sidewalks but we’re lucky to live here. It’s changed a bit but there’s still a lot of the old Montrose and not all the new Montrose is bad. We still have #s and now we also have a nationally recognized culinary scene.

[Highrise Tower]

Honest question: Do they even have enough land to build the hotel? Looks to be pretty tight in there.  Or maybe PMRG plans to purchase that old office building next door?

[Highrise Tower]

Parking garage update

 

[Highrise Tower]

From today

 

[Highrise Tower]

From a River Oaks garage