CREguy13

2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

I think joint venturing the development of the district has always been the plan.

Definitely, just wasn't sure if that may have been where a possible disconnect was on Rice's course correction/reorg as it relates to their involvement in the District going forward.

https://houston.eater.com/2023/5/23/23733262/summer-restaurant-openings-houston-autry-park

Should be a great pedestrian experience when all of these places are open.

This site has high-rise MF written all over it.

The oversupply could be next level.  Will be interesting to watch over the next few years.

9 hours ago, 004n063 said:

I'm trying to think of a better location for a Houston hotel, and I'm coming up empty. It's very easy to imagine this quickly becoming the best hotel in the city.

Totally agree. If the Daphne hotel at 20th and Ashland breaks ground as they plan, it's going to be great for Houston having excellent boutique hotels in our best Inner Loop neighborhoods. Hotel SA should crush it, and would love to see Bunkhouse doubles down on Montrose + look at the Heights.

Tourism would grow for our food scene and cultural institutions, and given the option, many business travelers will way more prefer to stay in Montrose/Heights than our core Business districts.

1550 is such a great addition to this side of downtown - really great for the skyline vantage from Eado/East End.  So excited for the future phases of Discovery West.

15 hours ago, astrohip said:

There's a very limited market for high-end condos. The number of potential buyers for multi-million dollar units is very finite. The River Oaks Condos took about four years to sell all 70 units. And we've already seen several "announced" that never came to fruition. It's tough to presale enough to get financing commitment.

Having said that, the resale market is still firm, especially for the smaller, less-expensive high-end units. One & two bedroom units in TRO, going for $2 million and less, get snapped up immediately. The larger and more expensive units take a few months.

Also note that $5 million tag is for the penthouses. The other units are less.

Totally get that, and understand that high dollar range was specifically for the penthouses (probably should have been more clear).  I'm more broadly stating I love that the condo market is picking up and a growing demand of buyers are interested in more expensive, lock-and-leave homes as opposed to wanting a yard.  In simple terms, a more urban Inner Loop lifestyle is continuing to take shape.

$4.85m-5m+?  Really interested to see how quickly these units sell here, London House, The Lexington and others.  Could be an exciting time watching the high-end condo market take off, would love 20 more of these mid-rises scattered around the Inner Loop.

12 hours ago, CREguy13 said:

I'm sure Crane, Shell (Shell Energy Stadium) and many others that stand to benefit greatly from the capped park will be big donors.  Imagine if they built a new basketball Arena where Astros Lot C is... you'd have 3 downtown stadiums all with light rail access, fronting the capped park, walking distance to one another and all close proximity to this entertainment district.  Not gonna happen, but that'd be a Houston urbanist dream!

I know this is off topic from MMP, but to expand on my above comment: imagine if there were some movement behind the scenes to build a brand new state-of-the-art downtown arena to officially lure away the NHL Coyotes to Houston? 

Phoenix is trying to block Tempe's plans for a new stadium, as the Coyotes are currently playing in ASU's arena that seats 4600 people... A brand new stadium could close the deal, if things have been quietly progressing.

NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS all downtown? One can dream!

Article from yesterday:

https://frontofficesports.com/phoenix-looks-to-block-tempes-2-1b-deal-with-coyotes/

I'm sure Crane, Shell (Shell Energy Stadium) and many others that stand to benefit greatly from the capped park will be big donors.  Imagine if they built a new basketball Arena where Astros Lot C is... you'd have 3 downtown stadiums all with light rail access, fronting the capped park, walking distance to one another and all close proximity to this entertainment district.  Not gonna happen, but that'd be a Houston urbanist dream!

5 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

Another Instagram story posted to BuiltNearby that was taken from Houston Architecture Info Forum without attribution:

Yesterday, BuiltNearby shared news of Chris Kinjo's MF Lobster coming to Autry Park. The part BuiltNearby posted without attributing HAIF is the speculated location of the restaurant. 

In their Instagram story, the caption read, "MF Lobster opening later this year in Autry Park." Included in the story, a photo at the intersection of Autry Park Dr and Buffalo Park Dr.

I speculated MF Lobster may be located at the corner of Autry Park Dr and Buffalo Park Dr last month (none of the building permits indicate where it's going and there are no alcohol permits for it yet). Unlike the photo BuiltNearby posted showing the units in the round, the speculated location is actually across from the round structures:



https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/44432-hanover-autry-park-mixed-use-at-allen-parkway-w-dallas-st/?do=findComment&comment=673137

I don't know why, but I find it interesting BuiltNearby and Walking Houston are constantly on HAIF, but never attribute the site in their posts. Yet, both accounts will attribute publications like Houston Business Journal, Houston Chronicle, Bisnow Houston, CultureMap, and others.  It's more noticeable to me because BuiltNearby mostly uses my posts pertaining to restaurants and bars, mostly ones that I didn't find online. 

Anyway, here is the photo BuiltNearby shared in its Instagram story yesterday regarding MF Lobster. Although the photo shows the wrong location of the restaurant, some may appreciate yet another photo of the development from a different angle.



 

 

Speaking specifically on the location, I walked around Autry Park last Friday.  There was a building permit for MF Lobster in the above pictured circular building window, dated early February on the permit.  So it appears it's been there for about a month.

20 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Is it coming completely down?  I walked by it a few days ago and it had been completely gutted; had the appearance that perhaps the structure was remaining.  It could make for a nice restaurant/retail structure.

Coming down as of this morning

Looks like demo of the Women's Center should be starting any day now.  I didn't get a picture, but they had the whole property fenced off when I drove by earlier this afternoon, fencing wasn't there yesterday.

3 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

I apologize for being more than a month behind and thinking I had news! 🤣

Haha nothing to apologize for, just more coverage!

2 hours ago, kennyc05 said:

Yeah but there is a ton of money in this city I think it'll definitely happen.

1000%. Too many downtown corporations, local foundations, and uber-wealthy Houstonians that will be interested in naming rights and want to play a significant role in a transformational project for the city.  

10 minutes ago, wilcal said:

Of course, the city doesn't have anywhere near enough money to develop the cap parks or the elevated park.

You have to wonder where the city's priorities lay if there is only $XX millions.

My gut absolutely no inside info says that the elevated park would be last on the list. 

This is years-old memory, but it was my remembrance that the city would be swapping some of the land that they own in the East End for land under the Pierce Elevated, so there is an opportunity for the city to lease/sell some of that land to fund an elevated park. Of course, the Highline is the parallel, which has direct connections to the trail from adjacent buildings. 

That's my point.  These have always been private projects and I think they can raise the funds relatively quickly.  Never let dollars that want to find a home remain on the sidelines..

1 hour ago, Brooklyn173 said:

I, like others on this forum, am very excited about the potential of the 'bus corner' becoming something nicer. Even grander. But two things come to mind:

1. There are a bunch of other already empty blocks in the larger area. A rough count for a corridor from Clay St south to Stuart St, 2 blocks east/west of Main Street, finds that there are nine mostly empty full city blocks. A couple are used for parking, one has a vacant bank, an empty CVS and the others are just dirt. This does not count the bus depots/McDonald sites or the soon to be relocated Cadillac dealer. There is already plenty of supply if there is a real demand. I'm not sure if the bus terminals' availability will change that dynamic.

2. Having said that, I wonder if a decision has been made that only the well connected are aware of, reflected by all the recent activity near the Pierce Elevated. Is that about to come down and the smart money is getting ready for a redevelopment surge? I'd be OK with that.

I won't be around in "a few decades" but I am happy with hopes of a quicker, even modest, improvement.

Your second point is the right take imo.  There's a really strong push on the elevated park, which would make everything within a few blocks of Pierce much more valuable immediately if plans become public.  I'm certainly in the camp of retaining the structure. The opportunities to integrate buildings at the park level whether it be office, MF, Condo, or hotel would be a game changer - in addition to activating the ground level below.

Central Houston badly wants this to happen.  Given the tremendous amount of wealth being made in this city right now (and no other big projects on the docket) they should be able to get private individual/corporate dollars secured for both this and the Eado Capped park... or at least that's the hope. Fingers crossed!

I really hope this developer has the expertise, able to source the necessary capital, and receives a substantial credit from CHI to produce a very quality MF conversion.  This building has a lottt of issues, but the opportunity is so huge for this area if they do it right.  If Chevron moves their HQ and starts construction on a new building, along with this, that'd put a lot of eyes on an area RIPE for major development.  If KBR were to move out of 601 Jefferson and that was also converted? Goosebumps

21 hours ago, Avossos said:

This screams fancy hotel to me.

Totally agree. The Preston has a nice ring to it.

This site is 100% For Sale, listed by Cushman & Wakefield.

This W Dallas/Allen Parkway corridor is really going to be something. It's getting hard to keep up with all new restaurants opening...

This is excellent news. Hopefully this gets the ball rolling for more private companies to start signing leases..