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Screen grabs from the Houston Chronicle. Notice the south side of the renovated building only has railings on the second floor.

Bumping this thread because I finished up another video with some new views. Hoping to keep these a little more regular going forward.

And its now open for customers. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/02/20/photos-houstons-largest-health-system-opens-17.html?ana=e_me_set1&j=90481551&t=Morning A&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWlRnM1pHUmpNalF3TTJSaiIsInQiOiJ6c1NDQVZwMnJhXC9HMHZ0M1F5S3lkWFhiMkZNNlY0RUpSYVlJWUxhXC9zN3RMTzhleFdvWlQwcUpJalI5dWR3NURjQWtrU2s4akNYQkJMNFFxT1wvVVg1b3I5ank1ZEZpbUtvZ2xoazlhSEVBdTdUOUxvdHFQR2hsUjRPVjY1RWw2VCJ9 Some screen grabs.....

I'm super pro-rail and pro-LRT, but I am also pretty surprised at just how much cheaper it is to build BRT than LRT. I totally get why, and I'm not knocking LRT, but wow that is pretty nuts, and it really makes a lot of sense why METRO's opting to go this route, and I respect it. I was disappointed that old maps that showed heavy implementation of LRT/heavy rail seem to have been scrapped in favor of BRT and less LRT, but now that I've actually seen the cost, and understand that it's been a huge fight for METRO to even get money for these projects at all, it does seem like BRT will be more bang for their buck, let them move more people, and maybe be able to prove that Houston CAN be a transit-friendly city. Those BOOST lines sound neat, too. Are they currently being implemented around town? I think I saw on one of the bike path threads they were (painted bike lanes and 'floating' bus stops). If that's what the BOOST lines will all be like, that will be awesome!

February 20, 2020 METRONext Business Now—Upcoming Projects Sharing a few of the slides

Here's a rendering.

$550 million med center expansion w 18.19 and 30 story buildings.

While its not ugly (and God knows Houston has some ugly buildings), its a massive step down from the older renderings and models, and a definite retreat from ambition. Does no one in Houston have ambition anymore.

I think the problem with existing freight corridors is that the major railroads do not want to sell them because they do a brisk business hauling freight for the time being. And they tend to have narrow, constrained ROW's and sharp curves and grades. Not really HSR friendly, anything using them would be a slow heavy rail line like what Amtrak already operates. Texas Central seeing the potential in high voltage power line corridors is a really interesting idea that I hope catches on. There's potential there to build super straight routes between major cities.

I feel like I read this on HAIF, don't remember where or when, but isn't this the plan long-term from whoever owns the land some of those strip centers are on? I cannot imagine Uptown keeping strip centers around for much longer, especially since it's expensive over there, and with the new BRT I'm willing to bet prices will get pushed higher up and there'll be more incentive to build upwards, not outwards. I hope the BRT brings more pedestrian-friendly development! And parks...Downtown has several really neat parks and I feel like Uptown would really benefit from more greenspace areas. I know it has the waterwall park, but I feel like they could really use a nice park or two- it did wonders for Downtown! (I know that Uptown's close to Memorial Park, but IMO you can never have enough parks! :D) I think Uptown looks more shiny and new and well-landscaped and polished...and I really think because it's a large area the skyline looks impressive! But you just can't beat Downtown's walkability and the iconic buildings there.

Then you may be disappointed as smoking, smokeless tobacco, and vaping were banned on all Texas A&M University System property starting January 1 of this year.

I think this will be really great. One of the reasons so many people are pushed out to the suburbs is, frankly, housing is kind of expensive closer to town. Right now, it sort of feels like a lot of multifamily development going is geared towards the high-end/luxury market. Which is fine, but it's leaving a massive gap for people who aren't making big piles of money. Working-class people, disabled people on fixed incomes- don't they deserve the good access to walkable areas, centers of employment, hospitals, etc., too? How do most of these projects determine 'affordability'? Is it tied to a percentage of an area's median income? Are these projects exclusively low-income or do they offer tax credits for mixed-income housing as well?

Holy shit good stuff @BeerNut. So far it's looking to be a pretty good plan, that covers a good amount of Houston. Also I was looking at the total miles added to both the rail and BRT, and saw they didn't include the miles for the line to sugar land. So I went my way to google maps and measured the distance, finding it to be around 17.5 miles of commuter rail. Nearly doubling the proposed inner city rail line extensions. If they're able to get the partnership this would bring the total amount of rail to 49.5 miles. This On top of the new BRT (including Uptown BRT) would bring the total rapid transit mileage to around 129 miles. Increasing the total miles by 6.23 times the original system.

NY coworking co. targets Uptown/Galleria tower for first Houston location https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/02/18/ny-coworking-company-targets-uptown-galleria-tower.html

More excavation.

Foundation permit issued:

From the picture : the lower left hand corner is the remodeled former bank building, the one facing Fannin street will be built where there is a parking garage which will either be torn down or incorporated? into the design, and lastly the tallest building on Main will be built where currently stands a one or two story building. Amazing project. Not an Aggie , but nevertheless Way to Go!

Concrete pours scheduled for both today and tomorrow. I'm guessing today's will get delayed due to weather. That said, I'm expecting another level up by the weekend.

That's from Bridgeland out in Cypress. My daughter's school is right around the corner so I had seen this for months before actually making the trip with my drone to capture it. Really nice little park area! Haha man I have a bit more from that location including some sweet Saint Arnold's action but the footage is pretty grainy due to the ISO having to be cranked up. More videos to come, I promise! I still need to get over to the ship channel/Fred Hartman bridge area for something different.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Texas-A-M-medical-center-TAMU-college-med-millio-15069488.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HC_DailyHeadlines&utm_term=news&utm_content=headlines# "The complex will occupy 5.5 acres at the southern border of the main medical center campus and comprise an 18-story academic building for the specialized engineering medicine program on which Texas A&M and Houston Methodist are partnering; a 19-story student housing building; and a 30-story medical office building. All three will tout the A&M logo."

Crane going up

I know dozens of people that live in midtown/downtown hi- rises. Most of them only use their cars socially. They commute via walking, rail, or bike. That's why building along a simple transit corridor is so great. It's why I don't get excited about the Uptown 610 freeway hi-rises. Those places 100% require a vehicle for virtually everything. My sister at One Park Place walks to work in the Houston Center. She walks to plays at Hobby. She rides the rail to UH for football and basketball games. She tells me she can go weeks without her car and usually only uses it for larger store runs or when she leaves for her ranch.

So happy they did not choose this design! I want to root for Schaum Shieh because they’re local, but their buildings are either boring or try too hard, in my opinion. This design looks like a slightly updated version of one of the hundreds of mediocre suburban office buildings out Gessner or FM 1960.

TMC by Marc longoria, on Flickr

Someone please tell me more about this project. This would be for the Texas Medical Center at the corner of Main & Holcombe, where the Bank of America building sits. http://www.slideshare.net/QingjingZuo/smilodon-rendering-collection-20154-47319504

I understand why the current emphasis is on areas which are in the central part of the city. Suburban bus routes have a hard time attracting ridership. Still, I've been playing around in google maps and discovered there are some underrated transit friendly corridors that are ignored. North of I-10 in the Energy Corridor is a Park Row, which is really the western extension of Dairy Ashford. It's solid apartment complexes and office buildings all the way out to Katy. Goes past Addicks P&R. Another area like that is Northborough and Ella in Spring.

Well, it wouldn't need parking. It might be interesting if the developer could implement time limits on street parking around the block - that would provide plenty of parking that would really only be useful for someone stopping to get coffee. But generally speaking - this neighborhood is dense enough that a coffee shop (of all places) could do just fine without dedicated parking.

I am really excited for this development although I wish we could get one of those towers in the previous renderings.

While true of a lot of the 70s and 80s buildings, few of the buildings built either before or after that period are set back from the sidewalks -- 609 Main, 801 Main, Bank of America Tower, Marriott Marquis, Aris Market Square, Market Square Tower, Catalyst, Marlowe, Camden Downtown, SkyHouse Houston, SkyHouse Main, plus all of the mid-rise apartment buildings have no setbacks from the sidewalks.

The medical office building looks a little value-engineered here compared to ekdrm's rendering and the one in the Chron article. Still a nice building. Breaks ground in Fall 2021 per the article, so a long way off.

Wow those 82 drivers sound like speed demons. I was on the 73 and we peaked at 20 on Bellfort - with no traffic, 35 mph speed limit

Ah, so this was the original source of those no seven story apartment signs. Sad to see art deco replaced but glad to see the developer compromise.

ATT

Three stories worth, supposedly. As a thought experiment, with this where it is a short train ride and a short walk from Randalls, got Yoga nearby in midtown, YMCA, the bars, and the foodhalls this is a place where maybe in another city the parking would be outsourced or the actual provided parking would be minimal. Its a nice spot. I do own a car though, so if I lived there I would definitely park it somewhere, so I'm not trying to be hypocritical, but eventually I think I'd be like "hmmmmm, do I really need this now?" (especially if the loss of the car payment helps alot, which it would).

Gensler had a big hand in that project! Pickard has produced better high rises in my humble opinion...but they do add more credibility towards the realization of this project. I wonder who the architect(s) of record will be?

Is it? They kinda taste the same...

Almost done.

Some of the scaffolding is being taken down. This one looks like the outside is wrapping up.

The graffiti bandit has struck the retail portion, he obviously used one of the scissor lifts to do his dirty work. Apartments continue to wrap the parking garage.

Another tenant for M•K•T has been announced for the Radom Capital development.: Da Gama Canteen This is the redevelopment of the Shepherd 10 Business Park at 600 N Shepherd Dr. From Houston Chronicle this morning: Rishi Hospitality, the owner of Oporto Fooding House and Wine in Midtown, will introduce a new concept in M-K-T, an upcoming mixed-use project at 600 N. Shepherd in the Heights. Owned and operated by husband and wife team and Heights residents Chefs Rick and Shiva Di Virgilio, Rishi Hospitality plans to open da Gama canteen, a Euro-Indian influenced café and bar, in fall 2020. The 3,251-square-foot restaurant will be the evolution of Oporto Café and The Queen Vic pub & kitchen on Richmond Avenue, which closed this year and last. The restaurant, inspired by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s spice route, will have a modern decor with Indian art and design elements. Brittney Freed and Linda Rubiola of Shop Cos. represented the developers, Radom Capital and Triten Real Estate Partners. Hannah Tosch of Colliers International represented Rishi Hospitality. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/texas-inc/article/Retail-wrap-Euro-Indian-cafe-coming-to-14554523.php More from Houston Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/10/24/another-restaurant-tenant-signs-on-for-massive.html From CultureMap: http://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/10-25-19-da-gama-cantine-new-restaurant-wine-bar-the-heights-mkt-development-shiva-rick-di-virgilio-radom-capital/

Northern portion is topped out.

From the past few days...

It could happen. If the funding is provided, I see this place being leased and used quickly. The TMC is much more in demand than some CBD areas. And a somewhat of an Intermodal (not really) station here would look nice. More like exactly what its called, a transit center.