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Beginning to get the feel for how DG will look once the ES is obscured.

It looks really good to me.

"Cheniere Energy has leased 151,490 square-foot office space plus about 16,700 square feet of outdoor space at 845 Texas Avenue." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Cheniere-Energy-to-move-global-headquarters-to-17269530.php

Im glad to see this back up to speed so to speak. This area of downtown sure needed some love. With the Exxon building sitting empty, the abandoned Holiday Inn, and the demo of the old historic Y, it just seemed dead. Now they've begun work on the Cullen center building repurposing it into residential. Maybe if they ever work out 45 and they actually tear down the Pearce Elevated, that will spur growth into that no mans land at the edge of downtown and Midtown, and the southwestern corner will come alive.

Finally starting to not look like ass!

My wife met someone who lives across the street at Market Square Tower, who took a tour of Brava because she's looking for a new place. She said Braza was nice, but that MST is better inside. Higher-end finishes and such. But that's just one person's opinion.

Mixed feelings about this. Yes, it's a MCM building with the potential for being attractive - but does Midtown really need another nightclub? A matter of opinion, to be sure. I'm disappointed that the McGowen rail station is still not living up to its potential. Immediately adjacent to the stops there's an abandoned building, parking lots, an underused park, a bar, and the Cadillac dealership (soon to be nightclub). Hardly a destination for those riding the train. Granted, there is an apartment building adjacent to the southbound station, but it could be so much more. I absolutely agree that another high rise on the Cadillac site would be welcome. Here's hoping that someday the plans for restaurants on McGowen between Main and Travis, and the food court in the former Greensheet building become reality. It's been almost 20 years since the rail started operating. I hope it doesn't take another 20 for people-friendly development to become reality.

They’re gettin’ there. One paintbrush stroke at a time.

There is still a lot work to be done on interior units. Exterior looks good. Although I'm kind of surprised they didn't paint or cover the bare concrete columns.

I don't get that parklet. It's had a sign reading something like "temporarily closed" for the last year. How do you close a park? Why do you close a park? Closed to whom, since people walk through it all the time? Who thought that concrete ping-pong tables and zero benches were good urban furniture choices? At least if it was a big lawn you could use it for picnics. Right now, it's just absorbing sun and radiating heat.

Lack of development on half of the intersection is directly attributable to the dealership. Perhaps a nightclub is not the most desirable use for the structure, but it will create a late night street presence. And perhaps the drunks will hang out at the pocket park after closing. And maybe the additional foot traffic is the catalyst that the Greensheet developers have been waiting for. Or maybe everyone drives to the club and parks in the empty lot, and drives home without ever interacting with the neighborhood creating a deterrent to additional development... but that seems too sad to consider.

It looks as if Goode Company is opening its Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina restaurant concept at 1801 Yale St, the site that previously Down House. A few days ago, the restaurant was approved for a sign permit from the city. The name listed for the signage is Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina. Also there is a Google Maps listing for Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina at 1801 Yale St that is claimed and managed by Goode Company. https://goo.gl/maps/3Nuw6s9p53hgAVam9

This is the southwest corner of the lot. Second pic is the 3 row houses that are in really rough shape.

Now Leasing. The fence was taken down by the sidewalk.

This is the back side of the dorms. The huge parking garage and Innovation Tower. Front of the dorms.

Pool deck area.

Rode up the YMCA parking garage to get a better vantage point.

Been bad at updating but they've poured some concrete for the driveway and are getting ready for more. They've also been putting on the siding. The south side of the building shows it better.

Project: Broadstone EaDo Address: 2424 & 2425 Bell St. Architect: EDI Information: Building A: 156 Units, 118,279 SF Building B: 215 Units, 169,118 SF

These 4 North Houston Pole Line front end loaders are parked right in the bike lane. Skanska created this temp lane since they had to close the bike lane by the project on Lamar St.

The use of a lower-case "i" among all upper-case letters is the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. And the "Historic Petroleum Building Erected 1926" seems like an out-of-place afterthought - does that really need to be announced on the building's main sign, and if so, did they really have to use a basic, sans-serif font like Helvetica to do so? Also, the proportions of the sign would be marginally improved if the space below "Hotel" was truncated.

I wouldn't take an offhand comment from an employee at the dealership as anything approaching a real plan. Considering the general lack of imagination, it could certainly happen. But I'd just consider the source. The Cayden bankruptcy certainly hurt the area, but covid did a lot of damage to a lot of plans. In my view of a perfect world, the Cadillac lot as well as the used car lot across Main and the old car storage lot on Travis/McGowan get developed as a large transit friendly commercial/ residential project. I forget the exact location, but I seem to remember something like that in Austin. But yeah, another club is the more likely scenario ☹️

I suspect that security guards for the apartments use "selective enforcement" standards when it comes to who's allowed to use the park. It's a difficult situation. On one hand if it's a public park, the public should be allowed to enjoy it. On the other, the street people who bathe in fountains, openly smoke reefer, and harass passersby for cigarettes and money don't create a welcoming atmosphere, either.

I think this is exactly what happened. Leaving the two blocks with 55-60% of the units of the original development (since the block right by the rail stop is essentially just a parking garage with a small number of units and a full block of units absolutely had to be taken out) probably majorly ruined the business case on the remaining part of the development. In the end they'll definitely need it for staging and when the project is all said and done it will more than likely be redeveloped into much larger transit oriented residential development that doesn't put a parking garage right next to a light rail stop (which has got to be a Houston joke).

you can submit a parking violation via 311 and parking enforcement will be sent out.

Good on the supreme court for actually siding with common sense on this one. I really hope this moves forward! (I’m also curious how much land they actually have left to acquire vs what they’ve acquired)

I assume this is the onsite Pre-K building.

The names are on.

Texas Central notes they remain "open for business," and Michael Bui is now managing the project. Texas Top Court Says Private High-Speed Rail Can Use Eminent Domain | 2022-06-24 | Engineering News-Record (enr.com) I'm being very hopeful, but if they start now, and REALLY put everything they got into it, maybe they can finish it by the World Cup 🥴

🙂 that's where I've been taking my pix.

https://www.connectcre.com/stories/576-unit-multifamily-highrise-going-up-in-houstons-ten-oaks/

"Chevron is selling its San Ramon headquarters property in California and plans to downsize while remaining headquartered in the city, while also shifting some workers to Houston." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Chevron-to-sell-San-Ramon-HQ-property-move-some-17264711.php Sounds like they might do what Exxon did and eventually realize they should just move here completely.

"In a 5-3 decision, the court ruled Texas Central — the company planning to build the Houston-to-Dallas railway — has eminent domain authority." https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2022/06/24/bullet-train-eminent-domain-texas-supreme-court.html

I haven't seen any work being done on this in a long time but they have a new temporary sign up.

Happily, it looks like Levcor hasn’t updated its website. The parcel appears to have been sold by an entity affiliated with Levcor back in 2020: Edit: I do see vendor’s lien language in this warranty deed. Financing to the entity affiliated with Texas Central was provided by Frost Bank judging by a deed of trust from November 2021.

This area will greatly benefit from the NHHIP and the improvements planned in connection therewith.

Taste (Taste Bar + Kitchen) may be moving from 3015 Bagby. The house sitting on the property is known as the Sterling House. I think it's moving into Local Foods former ground floor space in the Byrd Building in downtown Houston, 420 Main St. Taste is (or was) being sued by its landlord Amir Ansari for a host of things including non-payment of rent, unauthorized construction, and poor upkeep. Taste owner Don Bowie and staff were locked out briefly earlier this year, according to documents submitted to Harris County court (Bowie is also being sued by investors of Rare, the steakhouse and lounge on Washington Avenue). The documents also disclosed Bowie's plan to relocate Taste. Documents from the lawsuit detailed conversations between Bowie and Ansari for a possible new concept at 3015 Bagby in place of Taste (this was prior to the lawsuit). Bowie was contemplating a lounge and hookah bar concept with a limited menu of Taste favorites. However, Ansari claims in the suit that he was fielding interest from other prospective tenants. So, I guess we'll find out what's replacing Taste soon. The lawsuit (and the Rare lawsuit) are definitely eye-opening.