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A drilling crew was out there this morning taking soil cores under the tower footprint.

I'm extremely disappointed. I wanted the building to be shorter and a little more boxy. Also, can't they wait until 2025 to build? Why would they want to build this tower before they have enough tenants? What's the rush anyway? What the hell is wrong with everybody? Why can't they ever do anything right in Houston. Traffic everywhere. Insufficient rail. Summer is too hot. I hate the mosquitos too.

Because that was the original height of the building. They added 15 floors late in the design due to the office demand.

I can see Galveston from the top of that post.

This is a 3200+ post obsession with how 50 acres inside one of the least dense cities in the country was utilized. You are absolutely correct that it's a free country and I retain the right to make fun of the fact that this discussion continues when the thread should have died a year ago.

I've got quite a few people hooked on the 99 cent store at Lawndale and 75th. for basic stuff it can't be beat.

Read but ignored. Mixed use is a joke in a city that has the land and space not to offer compromises in retail and residential spaces. Mixed use is fine when you're stacked like rats, because it's the only option.When I see it here I either think, "awe, an architect got someone to believe his charrette of how people will use it" or "wow, a developer used a token ground-floor retail space to negotiate for what he was really after." Either way you have a jack of all trades, master of none compromise, built on an east-coast "we're out of space" city model.

that's correct.

I was told today that Gensler is the architect for the building.

Upon closer inspection of the lobby rendering it kinda has a Pennzoil-esque geometric dynamism but with a much more attuned 21st century notion of public to private space threshold (think of Seattle public library's facade unfolding onto the street). This will be a probably be a new photo op spot on Main St. (although I' m still pulling for Gensler's sunken lobby at the Capital tower as the big pedestrian "wow factor").

Glad you asked. Standard soap, nothing special, ivory I think, something unscented that gets the body clean, honestly, I don't look at the name, just surf the soap isle for unscented and cheap. I wasn't out of soap, just down to 1 bar left in the stockpile, I buy the family pack for maximum payload. I haven't used the last of the soap yet, but I felt worried when I grabbed a fresh bar and there was just one bar remaining in the closet, I imagine if I hadn't restocked my supply, I'd convince myself that using dishwashing detergent wasn't as much of a horrible idea as it really sounds like it is. Once I finish the last bar of the old supply, I'll break out this new supply, so no, it is unopened. NA. NA. I'll buy more soap when I'm down to one bar left in the stockpile I currently have. I'd feel more embarrassed if I used body soap on my car, the formulation of soap they use in soap formulated for cars is designed to remove dirt without removing or damaging the clearcoat. It's very likely that after repeated use, the clearcoat would begin to peel and would damage the paint on the car horribly. It's important to note there are very few places inside the loop one can purchase body soap and a tire pressure gauge in one stop, Target being one, and this Walmart being the other. As ingress and egress from the Target parking lot is horrible, and they never have enough cash registers open at Target, I prefer Walmart for my one stop shopping location.

If they increase the number of floors/height oh, let's just say... 25% for fun and really want this baby to stand out, they will probably want to increase the crown height in proportion or even greater so it flows/matches the design.. So you could potentially see a crown that is somewhere around ~12 stories. I can dream right?

haha, one can dream... i know the FAA didnt like the idea of the Bank of the Southwest Tower back in the 80s, though i heard theyve changed flight patterns out of hobby since then or something, so it wouldnt be as much of an issue anymore. i wish our buildings had better lighting at night too. Wedge used to be all outlined in green but supposably nearby residents complained it was too bright and they were turned off. i hope thats not true. maybe when some of these skyscrapers from the 70s-80s are up for renovation they will implement some better lighting.

Now after writing what I just wrote, and reading what you just wrote, I agree with you! It's such a great location, too. I like your use of "baller" as an adjective, too.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/former-astroworld-gm-at-helm-of-new-theme-park-grand-texas/-/1735978/20889098/-/ka3dyf/-/index.html I don't expect that this park will be everybody's cup of tea but I have to admire Chuck Hendrix for trying to make it up to Houston for the loss of AstroWorld. Just think, if everything goes right, Houston won't be the largest metro in America without a theme park anymore. Welcome to the big time, Houston! Oh, I mean - this sucks. It looks cheezy. It will be hot and full of annoying, rude, ugly people. I hate their guts. I hate everything. The new improved Mr. X relates to all!

funny misterx................

Architects are good onideas and not very good sometimes with economic reality.

Don't get me started. I spoke before city council a couple of months ago. I had reported some pot holes for 6 months with no response from the city. I had photos, etc. the mayor had put her staff on the matter because of my complaints. well the mayor's response was that they closed out my 311 request. so I asked "when are the potholes going to be fixed? closing out a 311 request only improves your metrics but we still have the problem" she quickly batted her eyelashes as she always does when she's put in a bad position and said "my staff has handled your problems" This is who is in charge and why the roads are in such bad condition. Money from the drainage fee she implemented is also supposed to be for road construction. remember she said no money will be used to fund salaries in public works. well 25% of the funding is paying salaries!

Title changed. If anyone can suggest a better topic, let me know.

Three dudes in Skanska hardhats were out by the corner of Milam and Capitol around lunch today. I walked by to eavesdrop, but all I could make out was something to the effect that the city rent-a-bike rck right there would have to stay due to a 30 day notice requirement. From that I would guess that they are about to start clearing out the area. There were guys clearing out some interior stuff too.