H-Town Man Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 I think the old county courthouse renovation was $38 million, for comparison. This will likely fund some practical renovations to make the warehouse area suited for retail tenants in a very raw, industrial environment, with maybe some parking lot landscaping and signage. My guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 New update: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/07/31/plans-for-downtown-houston-post-office.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search All I can read is food hall and coworking space. Anyone else see what the article says? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Quote Lovett will develop the 16-acre property at 401 Franklin St. into a mixed-use development with "a host of retail and entertainment spaces" including a food hall and market, a live music venue, art exhibits, restaurants, bars, coworking space and a park on the building's rooftop, a Lovett spokesperson told the Houston Business Journal. Quote A construction timeline wasn't provided, nor was information on any contractors working on the property. That was all the information in the article. The rest was background we already knew 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBC2HTX Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Quote After years of silence, Houston-based Lovett Commercial has revealed finalized plans for the former downtown Houston post office property the company purchased in 2015. Quote Lovett is leasing the property and there are "multiple letters of intent on the table," the spokesperson said. Also from the article. I suppose its an announcement of finalized plans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 basically the biggest news is that it doesn't look like they're planning any new vertical development which is definitely disappointing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 I talked to a downtown retail leasing broker a few months ago who confided her concerns about this project. She said she knew the owner and didn't think he was the right person for it. Take this for what it's worth, just someone's opinion. But from what we are seeing, it looks like they are essentially trying to lease it out for whatever money they can get without investing too much into it. And occasionally putting out renderings and what not to create interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reporter Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Hopefully they will lose every penny they own soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Seems like we have had a few co-working spaces pop into the market recently, but I really don't have an idea of how much demand is out there for those things, so maybe that works. I feel more confident that we can reach food hall saturation downtown without one more all the way over there. Putting one effectively out of foot traffic range for office workers seems like an even worse idea than competing against the other three that are yet to open their doors, one of which is not yet even actively building out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 33 minutes ago, Nate99 said: Seems like we have had a few co-working spaces pop into the market recently, but I really don't have an idea of how much demand is out there for those things, so maybe that works. High demand. Very high demand. Most of the coworking spaces get taken up quickly in this city and people are packed into tight office spaces. That's why there's demand for even more with several more on the horizon. Think the most recent one was announced on the west side of the Heights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 in their report, BisNow [mis]informs us that the property opened in 1936! SMH "The property, which opened in 1936, includes a 500K SF office building and a two-story industrial building."Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/mixed-use/lovett-commercial-announces-plans-for-former-downtown-post-office-91299?be=wdm5%40georgetown.edu&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tue-31-jul-2018-000000-0400_houston-re?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intencity77 Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 3 hours ago, H-Town Man said: I talked to a downtown retail leasing broker a few months ago who confided her concerns about this project. She said she knew the owner and didn't think he was the right person for it. Take this for what it's worth, just someone's opinion. But from what we are seeing, it looks like they are essentially trying to lease it out for whatever money they can get without investing too much into it. And occasionally putting out renderings and what not to create interest. I totally believe this, I believed it from the moment I read Lovett had bought the complex. Lovett doesn’t have the urban density know how or track record to deal with what should obviously be a dense urban project. The fact that they’ve dwadled on this project for years now, with squat to show, further proves to me that they are the wrong developer for this property. A company like Midway or a similar developer, who has the proven experience, would have been the right choice for this one of a kind property. Lovett’s only background is small urban strip centers, suburban strip centers, overpriced townhomes and sitting on undeveloped land for years. This project is simply too large and important for such an inexperienced developer IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Uhhhhh Sawyer Yards??? They’re doing a damn fine job over there. Idk, I’m getting the feeling that some here are still a little salty about Lovett demanding their renderings be removed the site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pm91 Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Can't remember where but I thought I heard Harvey was getting this project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 10 hours ago, BigFootsSocks said: Uhhhhh Sawyer Yards??? They’re doing a damn fine job over there. Idk, I’m getting the feeling that some here are still a little salty about Lovett demanding their renderings be removed the site To this point... Sawyer Yards is turning out great. And it is taking a very long time to deliver (piece by piece). I feel like they have done a quality job. I am/was hopeful that Lovett grows with this development. I would love them to start doing some mixed use / higher density stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 On 7/31/2018 at 4:21 PM, Houston19514 said: in their report, BisNow [mis]informs us that the property opened in 1936! SMH "The property, which opened in 1936, includes a 500K SF office building and a two-story industrial building."Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/mixed-use/lovett-commercial-announces-plans-for-former-downtown-post-office-91299?be=wdm5%40georgetown.edu&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tue-31-jul-2018-000000-0400_houston-re?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser There is a portion of the building towards the front that was designed and constructed in the 1930's. If you look at the curved drive-in ramp of the structure, you'll see the original 1930's portion of the structure. Ive attached a screen shot of the site from 1944 to 2017. You'll see the original 1930's building in both images. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 12 hours ago, Purdueenginerd said: There is a portion of the building towards the front that was designed and constructed in the 1930's. If you look at the curved drive-in ramp of the structure, you'll see the original 1930's portion of the structure. Ive attached a screen shot of the site from 1944 to 2017. You'll see the original 1930's building in both images. That's fascinating. I never realized that. It would have been behind and to the east of the old Southern Pacific train station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Possibly there was a post office at the train station that expanded? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 13 hours ago, Purdueenginerd said: There is a portion of the building towards the front that was designed and constructed in the 1930's. If you look at the curved drive-in ramp of the structure, you'll see the original 1930's portion of the structure. Ive attached a screen shot of the site from 1944 to 2017. You'll see the original 1930's building in both images. LOL I'm sure that's what the "reporter" was referring to. Interesting information. Thanks for posting. (But it doesn't justify the journalist's misinformation.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Any Sanborn Maps gurus handy? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 It was a post office building in 1936 as well. The expansion, which reflects the majority of the property was expanded in the 1960s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) 21 hours ago, Purdueenginerd said: It was a post office building in 1936 as well. The expansion, which reflects the majority of the property was expanded in the 1960s. Was that building built in 1936? There were rail operations (and a station) on site long before that date... Edited August 3, 2018 by Houston19514 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 The post office was probably located there because of the rail service - mail used to travel with passenger trains 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) - Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 2 minutes ago, Timoric said: Which is why I want the Texas Bullet Train Terminal there. You want the Texas Bullet Train Terminal there because mail used to travel with passenger trains???? ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Would a bullet train deliver bullet mail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 On 8/3/2018 at 10:15 AM, Houston19514 said: Was that building built in 1936? There were rail operations (and a station) on site long before that date... The Post office that we see today was constructed in the 1960s, with the exception of the portion I pointed out. That was built circa 1936, and its original function was also a post office. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 A little birdy has told me that they had seen the renderings of this project and that they were "next level". I mentioned about the low planned renovation cost mentioned here and they said that he didn't think it was close to possible with the renderings they saw. Don't want to stoke the fires with non-info, but I'm excited about the possibilities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 11 minutes ago, wilcal said: A little birdy has told me that they had seen the renderings of this project and that they were "next level". I mentioned about the low planned renovation cost mentioned here and they said that he didn't think it was close to possible with the renderings they saw. Don't want to stoke the fires with non-info, but I'm excited about the possibilities. Are you sure it's not just those concept renderings that we saw on here awhile back? Different phases, kind of sketchy (in multiple ways)... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted August 8, 2018 Share Posted August 8, 2018 Just now, H-Town Man said: Are you sure it's not just those concept renderings that we saw on here awhile back? Different phases, kind of sketchy (in multiple ways)... It's possible. If someone is connected though, it would be them. They have several projects in town and have worked for a large Houston developer (although not the one on this porject) so they are likely very well connected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 (edited) - Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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