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Stowers Building To Become An Aloft Hotel At 820 Fannin St.


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I think it's vacant.  I checked the other day, and not a single tenant is listed on the board in the lobby.  After all the money that was spent renovating it less than a decade ago, it's been sad to see it empty, but it'll probably cost quite a lot more to turn it into a hotel.  Glad to see it finally put to use!

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The Stowers Building was originally refurbished for "office condos," a concept that apparently never panned out.  Good to see that someone saw another use for it.

 

So it looks like in the next 3 years...

 

Houston will have a dozen new hotels, which should definitely accomadate growth and ease the room issue.

1. Hotel Alessandra

2. Stowers Aloft

3. JW Marriott

4. Marriott Marquis

5. Hyatt Place

6. Homewood Suites

7. The other hotel sharing Hyatt's downtown block

 

Office space will be adding tons of office space with new and rennovated towers

 

1. 800 Bell

2. Chevron Tower

3. 609 Main

4. Capitol Tower

5. 6 Houston Center

6. International Tower - Possibly -

 

Residential is also beginning to boom... hopefully we see more in this area

 

1. 40 Story Market square Tower

2. Hines Market Square Tower

3. Fingers Ballpark Apts

4. The sliver 38 story tower behind Hess

5. Other 34 Story tower near the ballpark

6. 10 Story apts South DT

7. The 8 / 12 Story buildings South DT

8. The 5 Story apartments in South DT

9. Skyhouse

 

Am I missing anything? With all these things going up.... what areas does Houston DT grow? I think Retail would grow... but those arent big buildings. Would we have met all market needs at this point?

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So it looks like in the next 3 years...

 

Houston will have a dozen new hotels, which should definitely accomadate growth and ease the room issue.

1. Hotel Alessandra  225 rooms

2. Stowers Aloft  150 rooms?  (Just guessing)

3. JW Marriott   325 rooms

4. Marriott Marquis  1100 rooms

5. Hyatt Place   261 rooms

6. Homewood Suites  132 rooms

7. The other hotel sharing Hyatt's downtown block (Hampton Inn)  168 rooms

8. Springhill Suites  166 rooms

9. Holiday Inn 250 rooms (Just guessing)

 

Total hotel rooms to be added to downtown Houston:  2,777

This will take the total downtown hotel inventory to very close to 8,000 rooms, compared to about 1,800 a mere 13 years ago.

 

Am I missing anything? With all these things going up.... what areas does Houston DT grow? I think Retail would grow... but those arent big buildings. Would we have met all market needs at this point?

 

Springhill Suites Hotel replacing the Humble Tower apartments.

Holiday Inn (Savoy)

 

(The other hotel sharing the Hyatt Place downtown block is Hampton Inn.)

 

I took the liberty of adding the two additional hotels to your list and also added the room counts.

 

Edited by Houston19514
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Avossos, on 26 Mar 2014 - 12:02 PM, said:snapback.png

So it looks like in the next 3 years...

 

Houston will have a dozen new hotels, which should definitely accomadate growth and ease the room issue.

1. Hotel Alessandra  225 rooms

2. Stowers Aloft  150 rooms?  (Just guessing)

3. JW Marriott   325 rooms

4. Marriott Marquis  1100 rooms

5. Hyatt Place   261 rooms

6. Homewood Suites  132 rooms

7. The other hotel sharing Hyatt's downtown block (Hampton Inn)  168 rooms

8. Springhill Suites  166 rooms

9. Holiday Inn 250 rooms (Just guessing)

 

Total hotel rooms to be added to downtown Houston:  2,777

 

Am I missing anything? With all these things going up.... what areas does Houston DT grow? I think Retail would grow... but those arent big buildings. Would we have met all market needs at this point?

nice.. almost a dozen new hotels in downtown alone. thats around 2,750 new hotel rooms.. i wonder how that will affect existing hotels prices. with all these new rooms will hotels continue to be able to charge the same high expenses?
along with that W thats scouting for locations (i have a feeling it will be Uptown.. maybe where the AmReit property is at San Felipe and Post Oak), Ritz is apparently actively looking for locations downtown and were trying to find one close to Discovery Green or something. there arent many plots left near discogreen with a view of the park though, so i wish they would build where International Tower is supposed to go on Market Square since that ones likely to not happen for a number of years, if ever (i think a hotel would be a nice complement to MS).

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nice.. almost a dozen new hotels in downtown alone. thats around 2,750 new hotel rooms.. i wonder how that will affect existing hotels prices. with all these new rooms will hotels continue to be able to charge the same high expenses?

along with that W thats scouting for locations (i have a feeling it will be Uptown.. maybe where the AmReit property is at San Felipe and Post Oak), Ritz is apparently actively looking for locations downtown and were trying to find one close to Discovery Green or something. there arent many plots left near discogreen with a view of the park though, so i wish they would build where International Tower is supposed to go on Market Square since that ones likely to not happen for a number of years, if ever (i think a hotel would be a nice complement to MS).

 

If the Rtiz is "looking" they better act fast because alot of the lots are being eaten up. That Embassy Suites really ruined a good lot - I wish the Ritz could have gone there... Maybe they do not want to be right next to the Four Seasons...

 

I agree the W will likely be in WestCreek or near RiverOaks area. Possibly even in  Upper Kirby.

 

snapback.png

So it looks like in the next 3 years...

 

Houston will have a dozen new hotels, which should definitely accomadate growth and ease the room issue.

1. Hotel Alessandra  225 rooms

2. Stowers Aloft  150 rooms?  (Just guessing)

3. JW Marriott   325 rooms

4. Marriott Marquis  1100 rooms

5. Hyatt Place   261 rooms

6. Homewood Suites  132 rooms

7. The other hotel sharing Hyatt's downtown block (Hampton Inn)  168 rooms

8. Springhill Suites  166 rooms

9. Holiday Inn 250 rooms (Just guessing)

 

Total hotel rooms to be added to downtown Houston:  2,777

 

Am I missing anything? With all these things going up.... what areas does Houston DT grow? I think Retail would grow... but those arent big buildings. Would we have met all market needs at this point?

 

Nice - I can't imagine many more going in after this... downtown at least.

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The Stowers Building was originally refurbished for "office condos," a concept that apparently never panned out.  Good to see that someone saw another use for it.

 

In the early '80s, about five minutes before the end of that particular boom, I worked for a property development company that also had the bright idea of doing an office condo conversion.  It didn't work out then, either.

 

With 20 - 20 hindsight, I think that most office based businesses prefer the flexibility for expanding and shrinking space to meet current and short to mid term projected needs that a lease offers, and that isn't really practical with an ownership model.  In addition, the tax treatment is just easier.  Finally, people who are interested in investing in real estate are more likely to go toward transactions that are more clearly geared to being an investment for its own sake, rather than as an operating adjunct to their primary business.

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Great news! I just passed by Stowers earlier today and noticed it was still vacant. And yeah, it's the only building that was left on the square block to make room for BG Group/MainPlace (Montagu Hotel, West Building, Bond Building, among others were torn down).

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Residential is also beginning to boom... hopefully we see more in this area

1. 40 Story Market square Tower

2. Hines Market Square Tower

3. Fingers Ballpark Apts

4. The sliver 38 story tower behind Hess

5. Other 34 Story tower near the ballpark

6. 10 Story apts South DT

7. The 8 / 12 Story buildings South DT

8. The 5 Story apartments in South DT

9. Skyhouse

Hi guys! I am new here and a new resident of Downtown. I know about skyhouse and the fingers ballpark apartments but many of these other resi projects I had no idea about. Would folks be so kind as to give a an update on them or point me in the right direction to get info?

Thanks!

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Hi guys! I am new here and a new resident of Downtown. I know about skyhouse and the fingers ballpark apartments but many of these other resi projects I had no idea about. Would folks be so kind as to give a an update on them or point me in the right direction to get info?

Thanks!

 

There is a topic on just about every one.  Start here for a recap:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/28590-development-list-for-buildings-in-houston-march-2014/page-4

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I think this will be hotel overload for downtown.  Where are all these people staying now?  We get a lot of visitors for the O&G industry, but a lot of those companies are not located downtown (unfortunately).  And for the Superbowl and OTC it will be great, but the rest of the year I would imagine that these places will have a high vacancy rate.  I'm sure these companies do the math, but I am suspect . . .

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I think this will be hotel overload for downtown.  Where are all these people staying now?  We get a lot of visitors for the O&G industry, but a lot of those companies are not located downtown (unfortunately).  And for the Superbowl and OTC it will be great, but the rest of the year I would imagine that these places will have a high vacancy rate.  I'm sure these companies do the math, but I am suspect . . .

 

Perhaps not.  According to the 2025 GRB Development Plan, lack of proximate hotel rooms is the single biggest competitive disadvantage for Houston conventions.  At a minimum an additional 1000 rooms are required; to compete with, for example, Denver, we would have to double close-by hotel space.

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Htown, I am a bit suspect too and in the short term occupancy rates will be probably be flat.  But, the Hotel industry is very niche oriented and competitive as well.  If Hilton Builds, Marriott will want a property.  If Hampton Inn goes in, then count on Holiday Inn Express and so on.  It's about market share and Loyalty programs.  However, the convention and meeting industry is self perpetuating.  So, the more inventory, the more meetings, the more room nights.  But...there will certainly be times of reduced occupancy after times of rapid expansion. 

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Htown, I am a bit suspect too and in the short term occupancy rates will be probably be flat.  But, the Hotel industry is very niche oriented and competitive as well.  If Hilton Builds, Marriott will want a property.  If Hampton Inn goes in, then count on Holiday Inn Express and so on.  It's about market share and Loyalty programs.  However, the convention and meeting industry is self perpetuating.  So, the more inventory, the more meetings, the more room nights.  But...there will certainly be times of reduced occupancy after times of rapid expansion. 

 

I tend to agree - If you throw in the ritz, its a lot to digest.. but there are often times that my downtown company has literally no choice but sending people to hotels out west or south of downtown during quarterly meetings - these meetings are planning at low times of downtown events. Houston's downtown is literally stuffed with people 90% of the time and there is a sizable overflow. These new hotels may struggle at times, but i would guess that they are going to be OK. their existance and ammenities will bring more attention and events downtown. The GRB will be propelled to a new high, so this is a positive positive situation for all (forgot the economic term).

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I think this will be hotel overload for downtown. Where are all these people staying now? We get a lot of visitors for the O&G industry, but a lot of those companies are not located downtown (unfortunately). And for the Superbowl and OTC it will be great, but the rest of the year I would imagine that these places will have a high vacancy rate. I'm sure these companies do the math, but I am suspect . . .

As a frequent business traveler to downtown Houston over the last 4 years (prior to moving here recently), I can assure you that trying to book a hotel in downtown on short notice can be quite challenging at times and often impossible during the fall and spring seasons (conventions).

I have no idea how many rooms are "too many" but I know for certain that during significant portions of the year, there are not "enough".

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Perhaps not.  According to the 2025 GRB Development Plan, lack of proximate hotel rooms is the single biggest competitive disadvantage for Houston conventions.  At a minimum an additional 1000 rooms are required; to compete with, for example, Denver, we would have to double close-by hotel space.

 

From the GRB press release:  "The most pressing need identified in the 2025 Master Plan, which was issued to the public today, is the addition of at least 2,000 hotel rooms in the area surrounding the downtown convention center."

 

Edited by Houston19514
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