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soil testing today.......or they are drilling for oil.

There are now barriers around the entire property where the parking garage and office/hotel will go in. Same barriers you would see at 609 Main, for example. The only side that doesn't have barriers is along the light rail line to the north.

The BisNow article appeared to be referring to the East side of downtown and to Class A space, whereas the Colliers number is both Class A and B and all of downtown.

These were the new notches that I was referring to: edit... The progress from one picture to another is AMAZING!

Not surprised the nice video is by Steelblue. They do some great work here in the Bay Area. My favorite of their vids:

At least a couple of weeks - though my ability to put daily sights into the background is a bit disturbing, too.

The article pointed out that the rendering was conceptual. Whatever brand chooses this location will have their own design.I don't see the Ritz/Mandarin/whatever popping up here.

Downtown is 96% occupied, not the tower.

...wish the rail line continued on to Hobby in that way.

When I drove by the other day I didn't see any changes to the exterior on Dallas. Probably the most important change necessary is probably not happening it seems

http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-real-estate/houston/2520-the-future-of-downtown/ "SkyHouse Houston's construction cam in 1301 Fannin caught this happenin' corner. Residents started moving into SkyHouse last month—we don't see anyone on that rooftop tennis court just yet, but Novare tells us it's ahead of schedule on leasing and meeting rent projections. (We hear it's asking about $2.50/SF.)"

Or one really big one...

Phoenica is generally packed to the gills.

Except there is a Broadway and it goes straight to Hobby Airport. (And one day, it might even be nice to look at ).

They're going to need groceries. The whole swath from MacGregor all the way up to Northside and beyond is regarded as a "food desert", so it could definitely support something along the lines of WinCo, Aldi or Market Basket. Trader Joe's could also make a go of it down there. DC has done a lot with apartment blocks atop grocery stores, so it can work in any urban setting.

Lot cleared: http://swamplot.com/daily-demolition-report-lightning-round/2014-08-14/

After watching the video I wish it was going to be 100 floors. Even though it's not, it's a beautiful structure and it's simple... not in a bad way.

When a lot of people think of 600 Travis's plaza, they think only of the giant expanse of granite with the Mirò - but it's more. There is a big chunk on the Capitol side with a water feature, trees, and benches, and it gets used even during the height of summer (mmmm - shade from trees... what a concept... ). Market Square used to be the site of the Houston City Hall and Market. After the current City Hall opened in the late '30s it became a bus station for a while, and ultimately was torn down in the early '60s. It was replaced by - wait for it - surface parking. Around 1980 or so, the asphalt was ripped out and the oaks and some grass planted, with berms here and there that were known as the "wino mounds," after the primary users of the park at that time. This was replaced by an X of sidewalks crossing from the corners and meeting in the middle with the Surls piece that is still there (albeit moved off of dead center), sunk in between linear benches and a water feature or two around the edges. Again, the primary users were the people who lived there. Finally, it was redeveloped in its current form a few years ago, and finally took off. What's really given downtown life is residential. It wasn't that long ago that it completely emptied out after 6.30. But yes, more plazas, with shade trees and benches that are situated so that people feel safe, would definitely be A Good Thing.

Anymore news on this one? I actually like the design of it. Would be nice to see it built.

I think that this is Correct. In my opinion, This will likely be a "business class" hotel if the primary market is conventions.

One word friend....politics! What I'm talking about: http://swamplot.com/how-metro-let-an-international-design-competition-for-houstons-new-central-station-go-down-the-drain/2013-11-22/ You can also go to ArchDaily and get the same story. The city of Houston has a long history of failing to execute on public competitions. In this example they had a great showing of different architects wanting to contribute something unique, but politics ensued and it took months and months for them to put forth any action on anything and then the competition simply died! It's pretty sad, but when you have people in power who have no idea how competitions like this are suppose to be run or how to properly treat those who are in the competition itself then this is what happens. Just in my short time in the architecture field, politics rears it's ugly head very often. You wish that it didn't when the effort should go to coming up with the best design, but nope! You have people that will use architecture as a way to throw their weight around, or sneak stuff in, simply halt things for the sake of attention, throw in completely unattainable goals at any point during the process, or they simply just think it's fun to be in a position of power over others. It's a sad thing to see, but like in anything or any kind of industry it's there. The best example of late of a city that knows how to do fantastic architecture competitions is London. Say what you may about their crazy Mayor, but holy crap does he know how to initiate awesome competitions. From the highly theoretical, to the entertaining, to the serious possibility of getting built it's been fun going on places like ArchDaily everyday to almost always find something new going on across the pond. It will take a new generation of leadership in City Council, Metro, and other organizations before we see a change in this. I mean it's a great principle to be fiscally conservative, but it's an absolute MUST that in those kinds of jobs you are essentially architecturally progressive! Which in my view.....I don't see any. There has to be some kind of balance for all this stuff to work. For the current stations we have....they actually aren't to bad! They just need to freakin finish these projects so they can move onto the next one!!!

Miami | One Brickell CityCentre | 1102 Ft Seattle | 820 2nd Ave | 1300-1400 Ft Chicago has a couple supertalls proposed as well. Regarding Dallas, I suppose it would be the proposed "landmark tower" to be build by Ross Perot Jr. sometime in the future. This one bothers me the most. Because we have no reason to stop building, there's also no reason to not build supertalls. I'm patiently waiting to hear about all the mixed-use and condo high-rises in the pipeline for Uptown and Downtown. I hope a supertall or two is included in the mix.

One thing for sure. Of all of the TIRZ's Upper Kirby district along with Midtown is the most dominant and progressive organizations in the city. They definitely have a concise plan and have consistently worked to improve the area. They are growing the brand to extend from Westheimer to Bissonnet. They also seem to be pro rail. I don't think we'll see a rail down Kirby but they are in favor of the University line. I do think that Kirby will be one of the most important streets in the inner city along with Montrose, which in my opinion is way overdue for a total make over. I'm sure within time, might be 25 years, but that Kirby will be a canyon of highrise towers from 59 to Westheimer. It will happen.

A hotel needs to achieve its rating based on quality/services/performance. They simply do not "build" a hotel - and say "this is 5-Star." Kind of like a restaurant earning its ratings based on the quality of the foods and service. This is my assumption. I'd assume this hotel would tend to end up being a "typical" upper-middle scale hotel. Doubtful its a luxury hotel or even more doubtful it being a 5-star hotel. I would also assume *most* convention goers would rather simply have a nice hotel - to an ultra luxury 5-star hotel (and its prices). Also, I'm under the impression this is almost a "stock" image of what they assume the hotel will look like? Is that not right? I don't think that's the final design, that would be dependant upon the hotel that elects to occupy this space and their requirements. Perhaps I'm wrong on all accounts.

I do not live in a designated historic district, though I am close to several and was up close and personal with the formation of one. I also served in a land use management capacity for my voluntary HOA until the Director of Domestic Bliss informed me that I would no longer do so. The problem with deed restrictions in older neighborhoods is that you have to have someone to enforce them. In theory, the city attorney's office can; however, my personal experience is that unless it's something truly out there like opening up a rave club in your garage, they just don't have the resources, and in those instances where they will take the case, they are very, very slow. Even newer areas with mandatory HOAs often have to hire an outside entity to do the job, and that's before hiring the attorneys to bring the lawsuit. 67% is 67%. These are all just different ways to get to a similar goal. The thing is, there are some people who are going to insist that nobody, nowhere, is gonna tell them what to do with their very own property, and they really don't care if they are the only person on the block that wants to have the ability to install an industrial smelter. And as I've said before, I'm not to jazzed about how the commission works, either. But the way to address that is through the political process instead of calling for dismantling it.

Thanks Nate! Looks like we got some whacky shaped cores goin on again.

They have been busy down there...

^^One of those angles that makes me swoon at the beauty of the Embassy Suites. Just now realized how they made it an homage to the AT&T building... simply stunning.

If all goes as planned 609 should be just under 130 taller than BG Group.

IMG_1038 by Not.Larry.Dierker, on Flickr

IMG_1047 by Not.Larry.Dierker, on Flickr IMG_1048 by Not.Larry.Dierker, on Flickr

IMG_1041 by Not.Larry.Dierker, on Flickr IMG_1044 by Not.Larry.Dierker, on Flickr

Sorry, how foolish of me to think that I might know about what my neighbors have talked about for the last 30 years. It's only been a major topic of discussion at my voluntary HOA that worked its patootie off reinstating and renewing and modifying deed restrictions, and signing up for minimum lot size and prevailing setbacks, and yes, even put in historic designation in a couple corners of the neighborhood (all of which require super majorities to be put in place), beginning in the mid 1980s. You might even be surprised to learn that among the reasons for doing all those things was to enhance our property values. Just because some of y'all think that some brand new giant McMansion with glue on stone and fiberglass bathtubs and a really big price tag are the be all and end all, doesn't mean that everybody does, or even a majority of any group other than you and your cronies. For the record, I'm not too nuts about how the commission deals with things, either. I'd rather have clear regulations, fairly and consistently applied. Let's make a deal. I won't try to tell you what you're thinking, if you allow the rest of us the same courtesy.

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It's the architectural equivalent of a mid-level exception NBA player. Not terrible, but nothing one is going to remember.