InTheLoopFromNYC

That's a big concrete box for a gas station, but maybe a similar concept to the two-story Chevron/Danny's market at I-10 and Washington/Westcott. This building seems double the size of the Chevron/Danny's Market.

6 minutes ago, hindesky said:

@InTheLoopFromNYC Gas station.

Thanks Hindesky and... as more often not, very disappointed! I'll shift over to that thread.

Anyone know what's going up at Washington and Shepherd where Jack in the Box used to be? I thought this was going to be a holding yard for the Shepherd/Durham construction, but a large, two story concrete structure now occupies the southern portion of the lot, with the northern portion, where the Jack in the Box stood, presumably parking for whatever is going in. Sorry in advance if this is covered elsewhere on the site but I couldn't find anything. 

Awesome! A monumental building and I love the use of the land, unique in all of Houston. Too bad it is surrounded by forgettable stick built apartment complexes, but I really think this is destined to become a multicultural destination befitting of an international city like Houston!

1 hour ago, gene said:

for those in another topic asking about the cool ufo street lighting, you can see they WILL be coming back as that is the huge pole that divides the front view of the building...those poles on all 4 corners haven't been removed because the ring/ufo/circular street lights will be up hopefully sooner than later!

 

I hope you are right!

54 minutes ago, gene said:

somewhere on here (i think the Post Oak Blvd redevelopment thread) there was a link to an article i believe that stated they were being taken down during the Post Oak Blvd construction but not to worry...that they were being cleaned and shined like brand new and would be back up.) My thought is that once Aspire has the sidewalk done they will maybe then put them all up at once (some are still up btw).

anyway i miss and love them too! they are like Uptown UFOs! 

here is a related article: 

https://www.click2houston.com/news/2017/04/24/scheduled-maintenance-on-post-oak-circular-sign-leads-to-industrial-equipment-accident/

but can't seem to find the one about polishing them and putting them back up...i remember it even said "not to worry they will be back"

 

 

Thanks Gene, and yes, I remember that article - the amazing thing is that its from over 4 1/2 years ago! I was concerned that given the length of time, maybe something cropped up that prevented them from reinstalling the rings. Hopefully we'll see them back in 2022 - they really are iconic!

A bit off subject but related... What happened to the giant rings with the street names that used to hang at the Post Oak/Galleria area intersections. They were removed before the reconstruction for the bus rapid transit. Is there a plan to bring them back? They were a classy part of the area and tied in with all of the other metallic elements along Post Oak.

What am I missing? I mean, don't get me wrong, cool interiors and rooftop spaces, but what about the exterior? Most people see this thing from the outside and frankly, its as ugly as its always been! 

With a November opening, seems what you see is what you're going to get -- to me it looks like umm, an old post office processing facility and offices! Why no significant improvements to the exteriors? I mean, not like this place was landmarked or had an exterior with anything worth preserving!

On 9/16/2020 at 2:56 AM, MidCenturyMoldy said:

 

Better copyright this design or else Randall and daughter are sure to steal it! 🤣

"just thank the lord we dont have a developer here in town that loves gold and puts very large signs up with his last name on them. I will take Randall "the EIFS / Stucco queen" Davis over some others any day of the week!!!"
 

At least that unnamed developer you allude to leaves most of the gold on the inside. Some of his buildings aren't bad from the outside, like the famous one on 56th and 5th, but by his interior design taste, you'd think he fancies himself an 18th century French queen! Who knows how he dresses up once he's alone in the "His" bedroom at night!

10 hours ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

ok, place your bets... I have $5 on Randall Davis buying the plot at the NW corner of Post Oak and San Felipe and building something ugly and tall just to block Aspire's views of downtown.

I think you mean the NE corner (Aspire is on the NW corner), but yeah, scary thought. That corner is primo and will surely be developed with an Aspire view-of-DT-blocking tower some day! Let's hope nothing designed by the Davis father-daughter combo! They're adding their blight to River Oaks now with the Paramount, another gaudy, retro piece of crap on a pedestal.

On 12/16/2019 at 11:44 AM, Urbannizer said:

Hmm... In that first rendering above, behold Diesel, Burberry and DKNY! We'll be lucky to end up with a Verizon, Mattress Firm and UPS Store!

 

 

On 5/28/2019 at 11:20 AM, Timoric said:

What do you expect? This is America’s grandest BLVD in the making

Not sure if a joke or not, but unfortunately, the "grandest" title isn't even close. Post Oak isn't bad and the decorative street elements (the arches, rings over the intersections, etc.) make it really stand out. It does  kind of remind me of a mini Wilshire Blvd in L.A. but a long way from matching the likes of 5th or Park Ave's or 57th st., for that matter, in NYC, Michigan Ave in Chicago, or the likes of the Las Vegas Strip or New Orlean's Bourbon St!

21 hours ago, hindesky said:

Trying to remember wether the Traders Joe was supposed to be in this building or in the apartments across the street? Anyone recall? I do recall word of their being one in one or the other many years ago.

There was talk of Trader Joes being in the ground level retail in Phase 1 - I don't think anything beyond talk. I could be wrong, but doesn't appear from the rendering that Phase II includes GLR, rather is limited to lobby and parking garage.

Turning out a hell of a lot better than Arabella did! 

I had much higher hopes for Arabella based on the renderings but have been completely disappointed with with what we got. The first rendering, mostly glass on the west side, worked for me! The second, more like what we got, at least works to a degree since the glass as rendered doesn't contrast as much with the white stucco surfaces. The close to final product with the white stucco highly contrasting the glass just looks low-grade. Not making final judgement yet, but I'm not hopeful based on all the other garbage Randall Davis has graced Houston with, particularly over on Post Oak! Hard to believe (or maybe not so hard to believe) but the Wilshire and Skyhouse towers to the south of Arabella turned out much better and much classier! 

The tower portion is decent enough, an improvement over some of the outdated 70's office buildings along St. James, but the lower portion is really horrible! The garage and entry are completely out of tune with the surroundings, the entry is minimized, and that whole section looks like any 70's suburban mall exterior. Too bad, and agree with MarathonMan's Randal Davis comment above. Hopefully some tall palms or cypress trees will be added in the future!

Wow, as if the exterior wasn't bad enough, just walk inside and have your barf bag ready. What a joke.

Lobby area of Astoria:

 

Any word on the ground floor retail? A while back there was talk of a Trader Joes.

The last photo above presents this POS in the best possible light by hiding the garish ornamentation (Trump would be proud), downplaying the exterior treatment of the tower, and also hiding the ridiculous pyramid at the top. The Arabella leaves me with some hope based on the renderings that have been released, but with Randall Davis, the architectural bar is low. 

Heres my Mount Rushmore of the worst in Houston:

1. The Godzilla Tower at Gessner and I-10

2. The Astoria

3. The Cosmopolitan

4. The apartment tower just west of Waugh on Allen Parkway that looks like the missing cousin to the

Cosmo, only with a Tiara.

I would have put the Mercer in the list but since its so thin it doesn't really deserve mention.

Agreed on 1-3, but no Houston top 5 is complete without the Mercer! I'll slip that in at #4 (not the worst since it's exterior rework) and add Camden Post Oak Apartments at #5. That last one is completely out of context with anything in the area, including 4 Oaks Place. Btw, the 4 Oaks complex was designed by world renowned Cesar Pelli & Associates and it deserves a better class of neighbors! The new BHP Billiton tower, replacing 24hr Fitness, is definitely a step in the right direction!

I hope there is significant finishing work to be done on the exterior above the garage (not a fan below either though)! I'll reserve judgement, but worries me that, at least as far as I'm aware, there are no daytime renderings of this thing -- the only rendering I've ever seen is the nighttime version, likely casting it in the best possible light. If what we're seeing now is about what we'll be seeing upon completion, this will be right up there in infamy with the Mercer. In fact, with all the exterior work that was done on the latter, eliminating the yellow facade, Astoria may take the crown ^ no pun intended (or dunce hat)! I'd also throw Randall's Cosmopolitan on a "bottom 5" list, but he at least nodded to it's older neighbors to the north with the blue facade. On a positive note, looks like the Arabella may be a rare Davis winner, aside from it's ugly base!