houstontexasjack

On 3/21/2024 at 4:13 PM, bobruss said:

I have a friend who is lead on the Rice property master plan and yes it will be a game changer. The east side of the village all the way to the Shepherd school of music is going to be a whole new ballgame. So to speak. That's all I can say

“a whole new ballgame”……..🤔

Like a totally redone and repurposed stadium that does away with the ocean of parking surrounding the old structure?  Pleeassseee 😄

On 3/26/2024 at 8:52 AM, HNathoo said:

Think it's the mid-block building behind this. It was sold to a venture tied to the Czech Museum back in 21/22. They also acquired the parking lot at Wichita and Fannin.

This would be a great location for a live demonstrator of how Czech culture has influenced Texas cuisine……a kolache shop. It would make a great kolache shop.

Ziegler Cooper has a link to “Brookfield Greenway” on its site: 

https://www.zieglercooper.com/highrise-residential/brookfield-greenway

Edit: I think these are the renderings previously shown in this forum. I’m not sure what this portends. It could just be that Brookfield decided not to move forward and Ziegler Cooper got permission to share the renders of their work.

Both the currently filed lawsuits got non-suited today. I saw an agreement among the pleadings in one case indicating the sub-subcontractor would get paid and the subcontractor got assigned those claims and would agree not to refile until July 1, 2024.

So, July 1st is our new deadline for getting information.

Connecticut-style lobster roll served warm with actual lobster chunks and butter should not be $5. I don’t mess with that cold mayonnaise-filled stuff.

1 hour ago, CREguy13 said:

Woah! Praying this doesn't get value engineered much, this would be quite the catalyst for Rice Village going more vertical.

I saw a 2.5 acre plot to the west just went for sale (being marketed as Rice BLVD shopping center by JLL). That also needs to go vertical, methinks.

Another lien affidavit was recorded yesterday, March 15th, against the project (contractor claimed they furnished materials through February 2024, so would be timely if true). 
 

Edit: in reviewing the pleadings of the two lawsuits seeking to foreclose the mechanics lien, the prime contractor Hoar Construction obtained extensions to file its answers to April 3rd. That was back in February. My guess is Hoar is giving the X Company a bit of time to try to get financing to get things paid up. If there’s nothing indicating a realistic path to financing in April, we might see Hoar try to consolidate all claims into one lawsuit, with Hoar also bringing its own claim against the X Company.

I maintain the Ion District would make for a good place for the Rice Business School. 

8 hours ago, hindesky said:

Not sure if this is permit means that work will start or just an annual permit they are required to purchase.

No deed of trust recorded for financing on this site. 

11 minutes ago, hindesky said:

I posted the TDLR stating Michael Hsu and Paco Jones also shows that Michael Hsu is the architect.

 

That looked like it was for the Oxberry mixed-use. That three-story structure would be quite small for 29 condo units.

51 minutes ago, hindesky said:

If Michael Hsu is the architect then it will be a nice looking building.

He was the architect on the Oxberry project. I haven’t seen anything tying him to the Randall Davis project.

10 hours ago, hindesky said:

(In Dr. Frankenfurter voice): “Exterior design remains shrouded in antici……………………………………………………….pation.”

3 hours ago, ChannelTwoNews said:

Tema Development's The Parklane apartment-to-condo conversion wraps up - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

"The building sits along the northeastern edge of Hermann Park and is part of Tema Development’s master plan for the 6.8-acre site it owns there, which also includes One Hermann Place, at 1699 Hermann Drive, which was completed in 2016, and the 32-story Two Hermann Place, at 1661 Hermann Place, which is still under construction."

Um... who wants to tell the reporter about the HMNS-contracted parking over there?

Tema was previously working with Nitya Capital on this.  The most recent write-up I recall referencing Nitya is the one below, which just briefly mentioned them as one of the companies facing apparent distress:

https://therealdeal.com/magazine/national-december-2023/syndicators-are-sinking-wholl-make-it-out-alive/

Two Hermann Place is at least fully permitted.......if rates drop a bit and there's an itch to get something up relatively quickly in anticipation of multifamily shortages in 2026 and beyond, I'd guess it might have a shot.  I dunno if Nitya would be the one to get the equity in order, though.

3 hours ago, Sanjorade said:

https://houston.innovationmap.com/ion-rice-university-restructuring-paul-cherukuri-2667203659.html

 

"We have members of the Ion staff who are going to be integrated to the Rice Alliance," Cherukuri says. "The direction of this is really so that we can no longer stay behind the hedges and do more for the Houston community."
 

Sounds like more of a satellite campus. 

On 11/27/2023 at 11:02 AM, Amlaham said:

I'm not sure how related this is, but the Jack in the Box building across the street is getting renovated.

This Jack-in-the-Box location was gutted as of today.

Aaaaaaaand the main building is back up for sale:

Straight land flip from a distressed owner who could no longer hold. How dull.

Should open mid-February, pending city approvals

The parking across the street has immediately been put back on the market:

On a positive note for Greentown Labs:

https://greentownlabs.com/totalenergies-joins-greentown-labs-as-a-terawatt-partner/

17 minutes ago, X.R. said:

Sorry for the long post. I agree to an extent it was a real estate play by Rice, you got a sense from the interviews that there was a bit of "how can we expand the campus in a way that makes sense for us, while generating cash from using the endowment." From the brokers they've worked with that I talked to, I get a sense they aren't just handing out leases wanting just about anyone, but generally know what type of business/restaurant they want. So I disagree there was a lack of real vision. Now, if that vision leads them to eat poo, I can't speak to that.

We talked about it earlier in this thread, but this is still a Rice project and it still has to serve their interests, which is interested (to me) in maintaining or improving their current stature so to continue to attract the best talent. They have robust access to O&G and the med center is on their doorstep but their students miss out on Houston-based tech and startup scene. So they created it.

What they are doing to Rice Village I think is indicative of where they are going with the Ion. The village is being molded into an area that serves a particular type of Houstonian (think West U resident and successful rice alums), after decidely not being that for a long time. Similarly, the type of companies/startups they want to attract for the Ion to expose their students to is not your bootstrapped, could go bottoms-up startup but the types of companies their alumni are most familiar, and that compliments the types of opportunities they already offer students. I think thats reflected in the current mix of clientelle as @CREguy13highlighted, private equity, VCs, and the clean energy offerings from the O&G comapnies. Rice MBA funnels people into consulting, wouldn't be suprised if we see a Big 4 consulting open up there and the focus of that office is startups. Even the restuarants and bars have more in common with Rice Village than the offerings in Midtown. There is a vision, its just more Rice-centric than we had thought. 

“Rice Ion Campus” Do it, Rice. 

3 minutes ago, bobruss said:

While this is disappointing, Rice is still going forward on a new master plan for the village and their western campus and stadium.

Here’s hoping they consider a “Midtown Campus” for the Ion District. The business school could serve as an anchor, freeing up McNair Hall for more undergraduate class space. 

I did find this story regarding appointment of a new vice president:

https://news.rice.edu/news/2024/rice-names-associate-vice-president-industry-and-new-ventures

I certainly would not be surprised if he let some people go and wanted to reevaluate aspects of the Ion District. So. I also noticed the norcity.io website for the food park that was proposed is just not operational. 

I’d be surprised if Rice abandoned the project altogether given the resources put into it. But, delaying and modifying plans as @bobruss indicated seems likely. The proposed 2024 start date for Phase 2 probably has longer odds than the Rockets winning the NBA Finals at this point.