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I'm not too worried about Kimpton being value engineered as Kimpton was a highly regarded boutique hotel brand before being acquired by IHG. They still remain highly rated and people rave about their hotel stays. Here's a shot of the pool area at Kimpton Hotel Van Zandt in Austin.

Is this new? Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan

Every project by every firm goes through "value engineering". Its a necessary part of the process. Value engineering when done the right way can actually make a project better and bring in an outside perspective to a project to either make it more efficient or make an architect's vision buildable...but this can also be the downside. Its a double edge sword. You want to know if its prone to the bad kind. I would look at a render of Drewery Place and then compare that to the final product. Its pretty comparable. I really don't see a difference. Maybe they switched a material or two, but its basically the render as advertised (which is really hard to do btw). I will say that while I like Drewery Place it isn't pushing the envelope architecturally. I would even say that for a foreign company this last project was the best possible entry that was safe aesthetically, but at the same time is very presentable. It was also a good project to figure out what trades can do in the area, or what trades they can pull into town from afar to do the work. This next project is definitely starting to push it further aesthetically. With that being said, professionally, I don't see anything in that render that screams "can't be built", or "yeah I know thats not going to happen! They will probably have to do it this way." I didn't really see anything like that. I already see where they might switch out some materials if costs run high, but I think thats where they will cut costs. Aesthetically its nothing crazy. This isn't a Frank Gehry building or Calatrava. The wild card for me is that I don't know much about Kimpton Hotels and what they like aesthetically. If they are a client that likes high end and this is suppose to be a flagship then they will throw money at this. If this were a Holiday Inn, well there are plenty of those so they will save a buck where they can. I imagine this is a one time build Kimpton in Houston, and so they will drop money on it. I really wouldn't worry about the "bad side" of "value engineering" in a special case like this. Its not a spec building, but a crafted building for a specific client.

Amen to that. I love the whole New York feel to the lower part of this building! (The whole building is amazing though!)

Soon there will be no place in the Heights that isn't within walking distance of a boutique ice cream shop.

Photo with newer camera (still not 100%) Hardy Yards by Marc longoria, on Flickr Hardy Yards by Marc longoria, on Flickr

https://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/article/Kimpton-Hotels-to-open-first-Houston-property-in-14488855.php

Yes. I think 1Q 2020

That restaurant space is big time! Can you imagine the views? I can only imagine the restaurant this development would attract. Emeril's?

Maybe they could take a cue from the Midtown parking garage and charge "event pricing" for Astros games.

They really like the blue streaks at the top of buildings in that area. I think its interesting. Gives that area an identity. I do like how this office is actually designing that feature as an actual band of blue at the top rather than just throwing some blue lights on the roof.

beautiful shots ! shout outs and thanks goes to Marc Longoria as always !

Heights mixed-use development announces two new retailers A rendering of M-K-T, a mixed-use development that Radom Capital and Triten Real Estate Partners are developing. MICHAEL HSU OFFICE OF ARCHITECTURE By Laura Gillespie – Reporter, Houston Business Journal 5 hours ago M-K-T, mixed-use project repurposing more than 200,000 square feet of industrial buildings in the Heights, has signed on two additional tenants to add to its growing collection. Burdlife will open its first retail location at M-K-T, according to a press release. The 1,193-square-foot space will sell jewelry and statement pieces. The Heights-based company was founded by Natasha Dadwani in 2015. Brett Levinson, assistant vice president with Weitzman, was the broker for Burdlife. Brittney Freed, Linda Rubiola and Christie Amezquita with Shop Companies represented the landlord. Although this will be Burdlife's first brick-and-mortar location, the brand has been available in retailers such as Anthropologie. Houston-based Elite Meals will also open its first retail location in 1,653 square feet in M-K-T, according to a separate press release. The meal plan service offers meals for ketogenic, paleo and plant-based diets and more, as well as snacks such as bone broth and brownies. Levinson also was the broker for Elite Meals. Prior to this brick-and-mortar location opening in M-K-T, the company offered meals via home delivery or pick-up at its commercial kitchen at 6906 Airline Drive, Suite 108. Other tenants previously announced, to debut in summer or early fall 2020, include: Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market, which opened its first Houston locations in Rice Village this summer, in Uptown Park this fall and will open two downtown locations, according to previous Houston Business Journal coverage. Honeychild's Sweet Creams, the first brick-and-mortar location of the Houston-based frozen custard company, which sells its products in various grocers, stores and farmers markets in the Houston area and Bellville. Miller Grossbard Advisors, the first office tenant announced for the space. The Houston-based accounting firm was founded 28 years ago and specializes in advising clients on tax, accounting and business advisory issues. The firm is currently located at 2204 Louisiana St. in Midtown. The company will relocate in the second quarter of 2020 to the mixed-use development, where it is leasing 14,000 square feet of Class A office space. M-K-T was designed by acclaimed Austin-based architect Michael Hsu, who recently opened an office in Houston. Houston-based Method Architecture is the architect of record, and SWA Group is the landscape architect. Boston-based Long Wharf Capital LLC is financing the project. Houston-based Radom Capital and Houston-based Triten Real Estate Partners are developing the 12-acre site at North Shepherd Street and 6th and 7th Streets. M-K-T will offer office users modern structures with 10- to 20-foot exposed ceilings that provide the ability to install internal stairwells leading to mezzanine spaces, JLL said previously. Other features include stained concrete floors, exposed beams, private outdoor spaces, and large windows and skylights. Tenants and guests will have access to a wide array of lifestyle amenities including approximately 100,000 square feet of creative office space and 100,000 square feet of chef-driven restaurants, first-to-market retailers and studio fitness concepts. In all, the development will have space for up to 30 restaurant, retail, and health and fitness businesses, including over 1,000 feet of frontage along the Heights Hike and Bike trail.

The design reminds me of The Allen Thompson Hotel/condo project on Allen Parkway.

Great fit for what Caydon is trying to do. Also a great spot for a hotel: lots of bar and restaurant options within walking distance, and transit access to downtown, TMC, Hermann Park, Museum District, plus NRG, MMP, Toyota Center, TDECU and BBVA.

Put another Shrimp on the Bar-B!!

I love this. Midtown was always destined for this. The challenge now is to create an environment that values both historic structures and new innovative builds. There is a ton of cool history in Midtown. The mix is what makes it interesting!

...my god

More ice cream shops needed in midtown and downtown though

Cool design. I'll add my 2cents, since my wife is a professor of medicne, who left the TMC for more advanced research opportunities elsewhere. I hope the TMC3 design (whatever it ultimately becomes) is able to help retain/attract top professors/labs. That should be the main goal (I think). What we, non-researchers think, is besides the point. For all the talk about how big TMC is, which it is, the research is not that broad or advanced besides cancer and cardiovascular. There's a lot of similarities to the energy industry actually. Houston is -the- place to be for energy, but lags big time in other sectors. The TMC is one of the best places for cancer and cardiovascular (but not the best), but lags in pretty much every thing else. So, how will this design, via our tax dollars, make research better in Houston? I have no clue. I asked my wife and she has no idea either. As of right now, US News and World Report has -1- medical school in Houston in the top 50, only 2 in the top 100 (3 if you count UTMB Galveston). If the design gamble pays off, then great. But If top labs/professors around the country don't show interest, within the next two years, of relocating to the TMC, then I would rather scrap the design all together and use the tax dollars to setup a scholarship fund for McGovern, and UTMB Galveston and make their tuition free of charge. Much better return on investment for society as a whole.

Hopes rise that proposed solar farm will transform former Sunnyside landfill site

Not just midtown, but Houston!

Hot damn this looks as good as the BBQ at Willows! Love the curves, and honestly the overall design is phenomenal. Makes me want to see more of this project, not later but now. I can see those placeholders in the background lookin rather sneaky, wonder what they're going to look like; especially with the bar this tower has set. Insane it took an international developer to put something like this in midtown, they'rent playing any games. Some of these local developers need to hurry their pace, or they're gonna get left behind in terms of design.

They still have more to do on the parking levels, although they're getting close. The office portion of the building will only cover a portion of the parking - it'll be a rectangle bounded by the zig zag details on the parking levels IIRC.

Well, time to change my britches...

With the rapid development and densification of Midtown, I wonder if Montrose will pull even further ahead of the Heights in terms of desirability. Currently, both Montrose and the Heights offer ultra short commutes for downtown office workers, but now that Midtown seems like it’s in the midst of a 180, Montrose stands to gain as well IMO.

I think it's just vision. If you grew up in Houston or another southern city and did not spend significant time somewhere else before reaching a certain age, the urban idea does not come naturally and you will always think of certain parts of Houston as the crummy places they used to be. The trends have to drag you along and even when properties are successful, you still shake your head and say, "So all those people want to live there." It takes a pair of outside eyes to look at Midtown and think, "This is a no-brainer for high-density urbanism." And then build accordingly.

I was thinking that too. I took a quick pick. This is how it looks from my bedroom window. For lots of reasons, it is one of the most hated buildings in Chicago.

This morning they came through and wrapped the fence in a green sheath, so you can't really see whats going anymore. And there is a huge pile of junk on the property now, in the corner. Seems like something is afoot.

"Houston is the ideal place to expand our Texas footprint," Kimpton CEO Mike DeFrino said in an announcement. "Midtown is quickly solidifying its place as the heart of the city, and its diverse cosmopolitan vibe fits perfectly with Kimpton's brand of hospitality." Great job Houston!!!

If we're building stuff like that now in Midtown, it's over. Just go ahead and move the UN to Houston. Center of the universe right here, baby.

Cool, my wife is also in biomedical! I have no idea how it will be setup, very good question. I dare to say, although the design is very cool, it may be a design in search of a problem. My wife collaborates with labs all across the world, all the time. She did it a lot too, when she was at Methodist. She just picks up the phone or uses skype to move along the collaboration. Sometimes if there is very, very famous professor (literally a Nobel Laureate) that professor may have an "entourage" of post-docs and assistant professors that help coordinate things, and at -that- level it may help to meet those teams in person. But most collaborations can be achieved with technology.

I'm not sure if it's been linked before; but the Houston Public Library archive has a ton of interesting old photos. Here's an example: Link to the archive: https://digital.houstonlibrary.org/

The general idea is to foster research relationships with the other institutions in the TMC. The CEO of TMC stressed that, as of right now, all of the TMC institutions are very independent, aka, they don’t really work together towards a common goal. He mentioned this in State of TMC 2017 and 2018, I think. The design of TMC3 is supposed to build those collaborative relationships. Instead of walking 2,3, or 4 blocks from one institution to another they’ll be right across from each other with the DNA helix in the middle.

Reserved just means dedicated, there are still 575 other spots lol. The garage probably won't even be that busy during the hours the library is open anyways Plus isn't the whole point to encourage walkabilty anyways?

Done!

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Developer-books-library-for-lower-Westheimer-14490487.php The developer of Heights Mercantile is bringing its penchant for walkability, leafy landscaping and urban design to lower Westheimer, where it’s planning a multi-building complex with a mix of high-end shops, restaurants and office space. The proposed project, called Montrose Collective, will have a unique twist. Developer Radom Capital has been working with the city to relocate the Montrose branch of the Houston Public Library to the development. An agreement with the city is still pending and would need to be approved by Houston City Council, but it would entail the Freed-Montrose Library relocating from its longtime home at 4100 Montrose Blvd. As part of the move, the city would take an ownership stake in the new library space and would swap a small parcel it owns on Westheimer that would become part of the development site. That parcel, at 802 Westheimer, is now a Houston Police Department storefront, which would close. Montrose Collective is planned as a 150,000-square-foot project of three buildings of three to six stories along the north side of Westheimer on either side of Grant Street. Steve Radom, the development firm’s managing principal, said the design team thought careful about the placement of the buildings and their scale in relation to the neighborhood. “We were like, how do we make it to where off the street we’re not overpowering, but we’re fitting into the community?” he said. Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, which designed Heights Mercantile — a collection of restored and new buildings along Heights Boulevard and a hike and bike trail — designed Montrose Collective. OJB Landscape Architecture is also involved in the design. The project would be built around seven live oak trees that will be preserved on the site. The space between the buildings would include greenspace, combined with pavers, colorful tiles and acidized concrete. There will be a courtyard with a half-acre of public space. Radom Capital assembled multiple parcels to form the 1.8-acre site east of Grant, along with another parcel of about 30,000 square feet in the block just to the west. The acquisition included the Uchi building, which will remain intact, and the property next door, which houses Rosemont Social and Hue Salon, each of which will stay in the project. Theo’s Restaurant on the block east of Grant would close when construction begins, Radom said. The library would occupy 12,000 square feet on the second and third floors of a three-story building behind Uchi. The city would be responsible for the interior build-out and would have a so-called condominium interest in the building. Parking will be in a garage at the back of the property. Though garages are not the favored way of parking among Houston shoppers, the building will be customer-friendly, Radom said, with 12-foot ceilings, an electronic system showing available spaces and colorful graphics marking the stairs and elevators. “People don’t like parking in garages ever in Houston,” he said. “But as areas densify, that’s no longer a choice.” Despite its abundance of space for cars, “we want this to be destination everyone walks to,” Radom said, adding that there will be ample bicycle parking as well. The project will include 110,000 square feet of office space in two of the buildings’ upper floors. Retail space will cover 40,000 square feet. Construction could start early next year on the new project, which is expected to take about 30 months to complete. The city hosted a public meeting last week at the library, which is in need of repair, to discuss the possible relocation. The public response was positive, said James Koski, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s deputy chief of staff, who attended the meeting. There were, however, questions about what closing the HPD storefront would mean for policing the area and how parking at the new building would be handled. If the library relocates, its building would be sold. The University of St. Thomas, which is based in the neighborhood and owns the property that houses the Black Laborador restaurant adjacent to the library building, has approached the city about buying the property, Koski said, but there is no deal currently. Koski said the parties involved expect to have a final agreement to bring to City Council by the end of the year.

I count 48 stories on the tower, though I struggle with counts for stories on garage podiums. It's a nice looking tower.

Caydon is turning into the Astros in the league of development firms. They have to be looking at some analytics and stats that no one else is. What are they seeing that no one else is? Would love to be a fly on the wall of other firms yelling at each other looking for what data Caydon could possibly have. Or it could be its just that this is how Aussies roll and they have a massive pair down under.

Yes

In other news, Ric Campo just saw this and decided he's going to remodel Camden McGowen Square across the street and put some ground floor retail in after all. The property will open in five years.

Curious what the other sides look like. At first glance the curves are slightly reminiscent of Lake Point Tower in Chicago.

I have to admit, my first thought was "Wow! It's the world's largest Lady Schick electric razor!" But I like it.

From my LAS-HOU flight last week:

Houston Skyline Over Sesquicentennial Park by Mabry Campbell, on Flickr

Uptown Transit Center progress.

here are a few from this album and some i took today in fenced off lot