Leaderboard

You're exactly right, it was in the early 2000's that Houston leaders really started to get serious about enhancing quality of life in the city. There was a Quality of Life Coalition of major business leaders that formed around 2001 or 2002, some major planning initiatives like the Main Street Master Plan in I think 2001 and the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan in 2003, and corporations led by Enron started to give more money to quality of life causes. The Astros and Rockets moving downtown also happened around this time and signaled a renewed interest in the city. City Hall embarked on downtown renovations like the Cotswold project to enhance sidewalks in the historic district and light rail also was led by these same forces. Of course, people had to be dragged along kicking and screaming. Lots of suburban middle-aged folks just couldn't believe you would put a baseball park downtown where there was "nothing but homeless," the traffic would be so bad, no parking, etc., and they laughed similarly at Discovery Green, saying it would be a homeless encampment. Online bloggers like Tory Gattis said that walkable neighborhoods would never work in Houston because it's too hot and humid and there are no "portable air-conditioners" for people to carry around. People were stuck in a vision that the only good life for successful people was in master-planned suburbs like The Woodlands with big tract homes and uninhabited, purely decorative front yards, places so anti-civic that even their own streets were empty and the inhabitants only gathered on backyard decks if they ever went outside at all, not touching the ground, whereas the city was for society's failures and any enhancement of the city was essentially social welfare. You can still find this view in some places, although it's more quaint and comical now than scary, especially since their own children have grown up and now largely chosen city life.

Some groundwork was definitely laid in the 90's with the beginnings of downtown residential conversions led by Randall Davis, the decision to locate the new ballpark downtown, some early dreaming about downtown revitalization, etc. Some groundwork was laid in the 80's for that matter with Sesquicentennial Park along the bayou, the Wortham Center, the George R. Brown, etc. But I see the early 2000's as the inflection point, when the business community really became aware that "quality of life" was a big deal and you started getting huge donations for things like parks from oil billionaires.

it took 6 tries to bring up the "add post" box here... Anyway, Saturday was a nice day to be outside trying to figure out how much of the work a gym's treadmill does for you as you "jog"... (it was definitely more than half... a stair stepper machine does 75% of the work for you)

Found the FAA Determination for the tower crane. Link: https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=455911424&row=14 Determination: No Hazard Structure Type: Crane Structure Name: TMC3 Tower Crane Work Schedule: 04/12/2021 to 10/12/2022 Structure Height: 215ft or 65.53m A total of 18 months for this crane, I'm expecting this part of the construction to be totally complete at best late 2022, but most likely early 2023.

A lot of this historical discussion about Houston and it being primarily driven, development-wise, by business interests, and the utilization of land outside the city for these corporate campuses, is covered in Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America by Stephen L. Klineberg. Its a great book, I never knew the origins of Houston or why it developed the way it did. One of the primary points of the book is that Houston was always a town where business interests came first, and it just so happened that for various times in Houston's history, the interests of the city also aligned with it. I primarily picked it up because I was inspired by discussions like these on HAIF.

Is there any better mascot for short-sighted American consumerism run amuck than a seven-story self storage place being shoehorned into the middle of a historic neighborhood?

Demo didn't take too long....

The worst part of the Marlowe is that sales aren't great and it might lead other condo developments to only view downtown as a rental market. I looked at units with my sister who was thinking of buying after years of renting in One Park Place. She ended up renewing her lease because One Park Place is a better building with better amenities so why buy?

Not sure what the big fuss about "middle of nowhere" is because a majority of the corporations were/are in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. Yeah it's the "COH" but I'm so tired of labeling downtown as this separate isolated section of the city, when in fact it is the main part of Houston. So yeah I wish we had made a bigger push to get some of the corporations downtown. The biggest change was in the early 2000's. Now we are seeing companies move back in to an urban setting. The Innovation District will be a great example of this.

I'd like for you all to note that it was the 1990s that really sparked what we're seeing today. Mayor Lee Brown, despite the negative things I've heard of him when I was younger, really envisioned what is still happening today. Don't forget all those shiny new towers Downtown are all connected to an highly desirable, air conditioned, underground network of tunnels to avoid the streets. Or they have above ground skywalks. Very, very, few interact with the street. We're only seeing a toe being dipped in the pool with stuff like the Houston Center reno, Allen Center, 600 Travis, Bank of America, and the Texas Tower. We've got a long way to go. We're making a good move in the right direction and progress takes time. Just like the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan.

Dear God, I despise this building. Paint it all black and save us of this eyesore.

Omg ...quite nitpicking every damn thing... The point was for a long time alot of business were fine just setting up shop in Houston and didn't feel a need to engage the community.... All of that and you locked in on a off hand comment about " middle of nowhere " sheesh

Has anyone noticed this video projected ad on the side of Marlowe previously? Wondering if that was always part of the plan

the sign is up. Sorry for bad quality but looks like it will be “The Nash” instead of Mia Bella. Maybe same owners? Edit: website here - https://www.thenashhouston.com/ All-day American restaurant and bar

Not particularly a fan of overhead wires either, but let's keep some context. 1) Most of those poles were there before this development started. 2) This is along what is effectively nothing more than a service alley. I can't think of a better place to have utility infrastructure 3) It's pretty clear this development itself will have underground electrical service. To the extent this development has added poles it appears to be for the purpose of bringing in underground service. 4) Plenty of other "first world" cities have overhead electrical wires to a similar extent as Houston. We are not unique in that respect.

I respectfully disagree. Businesses may provide jobs, but think of all the folks who commute, especially when you build an office campus somewhere like Greenspoint that have been historically and currently neglected. Those workers probably take the majority of their wages and spend them in other places. I applaud businesses and developers that are willing to work and listen to the communities they plan to move into and provide a thoughtful approach with how to work with communities to improve the surrounding neighborhood.

I went last week on Monday at about 11am. it was as full as it would have been in years past on a random Monday morning in December. I suspect that some stores may keep the lines. not that Hot Topic will, but Louis Vuitton may decide it makes sense to provide a 1 to 1 relationship with their customers that come in the store. they can keep people who aren't serious about buying from distracting their staff from a customer that will buy, and they get to provide the customer that will buy a more personalized experience. LV in Vienna, for example only admits customers with an appointment, or if you stand in line. but then, LV in Cologne doesn't have a wait list to get in, so maybe they only do that when they have too many people just wandering in and distracting their staff. not that I am a LV person, but the wife has been waffling on getting one for the past 3 years, and they are cheaper in Europe, so whenever we go, she seeks out the LV store to see if they have the perfect design for her, so I have become knowledgeable on how they handle their stores. if we had been able to go to Europe this summer, I probably would be able to give feedback on the LV in Prague and Berlin too! hahaha

now that this is open, getting from downtown to places southwest of Houston (Sugarland area) farther out than BW8, it is a faster trip to go down the 288 toll to bw8 to 59. at least during peak rush hour. google maps still doesn't show a direct connection from 288 to bw8 (the ramps are open), so it is even faster than Google says.

Exactly! It is all a matter of perspective. Houston is so beautiful, diverse, and stunning in its way. The reason why we’ve never done well to protect/preserve our environment is because of this negative perception that we aren’t naturally beautiful. If we want to be more sustainable, greener, and preserve our natural beauty (Prairies, Swamps, Bayous, Forests, Savannahs, etc) , we need to change our way of thinking and appreciate the unique natural beauty that we are blessed with. Our appreciation will lead developers to appreciate nature as well as there is monetary benefits towards doing so.

Yes, and thank you pablog ! Perspective has a lot to do with the feeling Houstonians and the popular media has about this area. Most of it has been very unfair and false over the decades. But, perhaps, we are finally breaking through all the negative propaganda (I won't mention which cities and areas in the country are the most guilty of that. We can all guess pretty accurately anyway.) There really is so much natural beauty - both "flat and contoured" that surrounds this mega multi-county area of the U.S. and Houston. The Bayous (which a few are actually really rivers - I vote to rename the big one "Buffalo River", but I know that will never happen), the wildlife, birds mammals reptiles and the flora, trees, native flowers grasses, insects, butterflies. All of this and more are what make the natural beauty of this area very much worth protecting and even enhancing and celebrating as a source of major civic pride. We already know how incredible our tall skyscrapers are and most are works of architectural wonder and art, with many more on the horizon. But, lets never forget mother nature in this area CAN and does work well with us humans as long as we respect her and just take a little more time with each building project, to figure out the best way to replace any greenery and wildlife and waterway damaged, with native natural beauty, the way that most developers are "required" to offset the ground absorption displacement by having holding ponds/reservoirs installed on each project, to minimize any added flooding caused by the finished product. Also, so what if we are a marshy swampland (which btw is only in certain far eastern and southeastern parts of the county?) These parts of our area are a paradise of life at it's most diverse and finest in America. It is worth noting that several other great American cities, albeit much smaller, have the same climate and swamp lands surrounding their fair cities, yet you rarely hear them complain to the rest of America. These would be cities like Miami, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, Savannah, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and indeed, many more famous smaller yet significant cities in the Gulf Coast and Southern Atlantic regions of the lower 48. So, I feel it is high time for Houston to offer up it's natural beauty and diversity of plant/tree and animal life, and diversity of species as yet one more great reason to visit and enjoy this part of our shared American treasure, which is known as Houston. Oh yeah, did I mention how bad the mosquitoes are in these other cities ? Like WAY WORSE at times than Houston's ever thought about being.

This seems very positive - it was only a matter of time. I wonder how much interest this project created following the pandemic. I would bet several companies in the Bay Area/West Coast and Boston/East Coast are looking at this and Hines/Levit's project even more seriously than they were 9 months ago.

Security guards are rarely specialists in intellectual property law. 🧐

You can take photographs as long as you're in a public ROW, so as long as you're on a sidewalk you're fine. Where it gets dicey is when you have an expanded sidewalk or walkway on private property. Sometimes you can actually find little metal badges embedded in the pavement to delineate where the public ROW ends and private property begins.

“ Architectural works are protected by U.S. copyright law, specifically by 17 U.S. Code § 102(8). In fact, copyright law was officially changed in December 1990 in order to include these architectural copyrights. What does this mean for photographers who want the ability to make and sell architectural photos? The law does not apply to buildings created before December 1, 1990 (so architectural photos of such works can be taken and reproduced without permission). Except for buildings that cannot be viewed from a public space, the copyright owner of a post-1990 building (the architect, developer, or building owner) cannot prevent the making, distributing, or public display of pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations of the building. See 17 U.S. Code § 120, which covers the scope of exclusive rights in architectural works. Therefore, photographers need to be concerned only when entering private property without permission to take a photo of a post-1990 building. Such photos may result in a claim of copyright infringement.”

Does anyone have anything on this apparently they bought a block of land in Downtown for 55 million Nevermind* found little more information Skanska has purchased four land parcels, including one full city block, totaling about 14,200 square meters in downtown Houston, USA. The seller is a private citizen. The total investment amounts to USD 55 M, about SEK 520 M.Located adjacent to Discovery Green, these four sites are in Houston’s Central Business District and Skanska plans to develop a mix of office, multi-family and retail for the local community.

I'd say middle of nowhere is actually pretty accurate, historically. when Schlumberger purchased their land out in Sugarland, it was pastures that they bought. when Compaq built their HQ out off 249, 249 was a 2 lane road. I think Louetta had a stop sign at 249 way back then. the Texas Instruments facility out on 249, don't know who owns/uses it now, but when built, 249 was nothing. certainly these are three of the bigger examples Houston has to offer, but there's a reason the 'energy corridor' is where it is, someone decided to move their offices to Dairy Ashford and I-10, and someone followed. why is there so much industry out on Brittmoore? these (and many more) may be 'somewhere' now, but once upon a time, when the facilities were built, they were 'the middle of nowhere'. today, it can't be said that Exxon building their campus where they did is the 'middle of nowhere', I'm sure they paid a hefty premium for that location, but it was probably cheaper than figuring out how to consolidate in their downtown office (and offer all the amenities they have out there), and is closer to nowhere than the spaces in Houston that they vacated. but then no where is relative, isn't it? it's closer to IAH, certainly the employees who live in Conroe don't think that's no where, but if you find some random from San Francisco and say "hey, Exxon is near the woodlands!" they'd say "huh?". thanks for this! my mom really enjoys reading about Houston history, this has been ordered and is going under the tree this year!

Yea 288 makes travelling a lot quicker now. It seriously bypasses a lot of the traffic during peak rush hour but you're definitely going to pay for it. The only dangerous point I see so far is at 288 to the Chenevert St ramp near downtown. I've seen several wrecks almost occur there. If someone wants to get to that exit, they have to do it very very quickly across multiple lanes if they didn't take the 59 exit (from the toll lanes) earlier.

Be more precise in your writing, then. Businesses engaged with the community by providing jobs, many of them paying pretty well.

I have not heard what they will do with the old law center. Half of the structure is below ground and floods all the time so I'm sure they will not re-purpose it. They will probably demolish it but there will be a gigantic hole there to backfill with dirt.

Well yes, there wasn't any real desire to put things downtown because people didn't care about the city, like he was saying. They basically wanted to be on virgin land as disconnected from the city as possible, but still be near the city so that they could use the airport and take advantage of the labor pool, as well as have big-city amenities like pro sports teams to help lure employees.

Its self climbing formwork. Here is a decent video explaining how it works: PERI ACS Core 400 Climbing Formwork - Customer Testimonial - YouTube Long story short: It is a faster, cheaper, and safer way to place concrete for repetitive vertical stuff like elevator and stair shafts. All of it gets removed at the completion of the concrete work and sent to the next project.

I imagine the corporations that built in Greenspoint and other non-downtown areas had a very different vision from yours. They likely wanted an accessible office complex with somewhat affordable housing potential in the general vicinity. I wouldn't have built anything corporate in a downtown area had I been in a position to do so.

A lot with a derelict building with a collapsing roof is far worse than a vacant lot. As is a lot with piles of rubble or 42 disintegrating old boats. Losing a metal building in poor condition on the North end of Downtown strikes me as a positive move, since it makes it simpler to build something later.

Where else would you have put the Greenspoint development, especially the buildings Exxon built, plus the old Anadarko building? There wasn't any real desire when those were built to put anything Downtown. Are you also saying that economics should never play a part in where corporations put their buildings? Compaq built in the middle of nowhere in the 90's, because it made sense. I'm sure HP did the same thing.

Looks like a new parking garage Ramp is being built.

Drove down Allen Parkway this weekend. It's crazy to see this U/C with Regent Square. A whole new city arising.

Looks like the bridge can be repaired and replacement is not necessary. Repairs should take 45-60 days once the parks board has permitting approval from the City, corps of engineers and HCFCD. So, the bridge will probably re-open sometime in early 2032 (kidding). Seriously, that seems like really good news. https://theleadernews.com/community/houston-parks-board-assesses-damage-to-pedestrian-bridge-seeks-approval-for-repairs/

Cloudy Sunrise Time-Lapse from Eleanor Tinsley Park

Ten utility poles in a very small area. It's like they are trying to make our city as ugly as possible. If they are too cheap to bury the power lines like first world cities would do, they should at least try to minimize the number of poles.

Further, copyright infringement is a civil matter not a criminal act, so you’ll have no fear of being arrested (and I highly doubt the architect is going to sue some recreational photographer). That said, if you’re on private property you may be arrested for trespassing. disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer

It's attractive all right. Less elegantly modern than Chase but much more likeable. San Felipe Plaza in the distance was designed by the same firm (Houston had a Skidmore, Owings and Merrill office at that time; Chase's designer IM Pei had a Dallas office in the 1980s) that designed Wells Fargo Plaza, with the quarter-circles offset a different amount in the footprint. Here's a picture of SFP that shows it, from the May-June 1982 Texas Architect article (with a lot of other fun pictures) on the state's crop of new towers. Many of them were post-deregulation investments from prosperous lenders who required heavy taxpayer-funded bailouts a few years later, to help keep the state's cities from becoming world-class tumbleweed farms.

Exactly!! It has it spots , but so many poor development decisions in the past damaged it .... Now we are working backwards to reverse the damages.

With all due respect, it's attitudes like this which end up completely erasing historic neighborhoods in cities like Houston. There's so much of the city that's been bulldozed for no reason other than "it's not remarkable," replaced with something that absolutely contributes less to the community than whatever was there before. We'd be so much better off if we had kept more 1936 movie theaters instead of paving another parking lot. This individual building might not be remarkable anymore (though I disagree), it used to be part of an entire community of similar structures, and only now that it's all that's left from the period it looks out of place.

For those who might be confused by the reference to a movie reference, it's part of Bluto's somewhat rousing speech in Animal House.

Didn't think I would ever hear that the TMC is a stepping stone facility. I guess the only direction is up from here.

MIPS sold blocks (portions of) 251, 275 & 276 filed on 10/16/19 per the Harris County Clerks Office. I attached one of the deeds. MIPS Sale.pdf Good work, beat me to it

It sounds like these are the parking lots in front of Toyota center; if these are developed with ground floor bars and restaurants they will be packed before Rockets games and concerts According to HCAD, there's a couple of owners of these lots - Golconda owns about 2 blocks of parking lot (as well as a bunch of other blocks in SE downtown), while MIPS owns about 2 more blocks. None of these parcels have a recent sale listed on HCAD; MIPS seems to have owned their blocks since 2006, and the name associated with MIPS parking on HCAD is a Dallas lawyer. Golconda has been holding on to these parcels since 1989. According to the WSJ, it's a Taiwanese firm that is Opicoil's real-estate arm. It seems likely if it's 4 blocks that Skanska managed to get both of them to sell

If this is one or more of the fully vacant blocks between Lamar and Clay, then that would be excellent. Depending on how quickly they move of course. Take advantage of that Opportunity Zone!