Sanjorade

Was 1115 Live Oak always part of this or was that recently added to the scope?

1 hour ago, 004n063 said:

Getting closer. This is a great project, but I would love to see more of the promenade (and that last mixed-traffic bit of Bastrop between Bell and Leeland) activated. The part between McKinney and Polk would be a great place for low-rent stalls (think European Christmas market, or even the Navigation esplanade), the east side of the Leeland-Bell stretch of Bastrop deserves a new build, and the building at the corner of Bell and Hutchins would be worth transforming, I think.

Iirc, there is already something planned for the awkwardly trapezoidal lot between this and Emancipation.

I believe the old MT trading building has some work happening. There’s a dumpster outside and saw some workers there last week. Still shown as for lease … so who knows?

Based on this they plan to build the garage facing st Emanuel, which is fine but hopefully there is something on that side as well other than just garage … 

Doesn’t appear to be based on the renderings, but maybe they’ll alter the plans  

Looks like all the concepts are currently facing Hutchins? 

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

High Fashion Fabrics, a Houston staple that has supplied fabrics to the community for 42 years, announced it is closing May 31.

The store will have a sale that lasts through the end of its run. It is currently at 25% off everything and 50% off an entire bolt.

The announcement of the store closing comes less than a month after the craft and fabric chain Joann announced it was filing for bankruptcy.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/high-fashion-fabrics-closing-19381660.php

Guessing this will be developed. They own the dirt I believe, which has to be more valuable than the operation at this point. 

2 minutes ago, goofy said:

Are these immersive art museums for children? I can’t imagine the point. We have world class art just a streetcar ride away!

 

These types of installations are for all ages and imo are pretty cool. There’s one in Tokyo that has many interactive experiences and definitely worth the price of admission.

Excavator on site today, excavating …

Large piles of dirt are emerging. 

3 hours ago, hindesky said:

Broadstone Eado has a sign on the north building.

That’s one ugly sign. 

40 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah because he's equating public safety to JUST crime. He's not realizing he has a responsibility to build a safer city. There aren't enough cops to force people to stop for pedestrians, to stop running stop signs and red lights, to stop speeding .

The amount of people blatantly running red lights has increased substantially over the last couple years. It’s scary …

7 minutes ago, strickn said:

I don't know that the bedroom suburbs need to start so close to downtown either though.  This is Sugar Land style living with the convenience of the inner loop.

Hmm, wouldn’t Sugar Land be more of a McMansion than multifamily? 

1 hour ago, E.Res said:

When is this supposed to be finished?

My guess is late Summer/early Fall. 

24 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. 

This is definitely more in line w what Rice wants than what the startup ecosystem needs. 

IMO this will just lead to same status quo/laggard mentality that is synonymous with Houston in general.

The Rice and UH students won’t get a real taste of the startup ecosystem and thus will never be on the same level as those from, let’s say, Stanford. 

For a real startup ecosystem to emerge and get into orbit, bootstrapped big vision companies will have to want start and stay here. It likely won’t happen. 

The Ion District is going to turn into a shinier, more expensive version of what’s come before. 

It really is a pity. There’s so much potential here.

17 minutes ago, CREguy13 said:

Don't disagree with any of this. I think the Ion District has huge potential, but moreso a critical mass of later stage tech, energy transition companies, O&G low carbon teams and the capital providers for the transition.  There seemed to be a lot of Private Equity, CVS, and VCs that had set up shop there with more coming. The 'start up community' feel was never really there, much more corporate and academic as you've stated.

 

Honestly, I think the best thing would be for Greentown Labs to pick up their things and take their 80+ member companies to a warehouse (Somewhere like Ironworks would be ideal) in Eado/East End or the Heights. If the district is no longer aligned with Rice's vision, they should sell it to Hines and keep their academic programs/accelerators in the Ion.  There's huge potential here, just not necessarily for early stage companies.

It’s unfortunate for the startup community. We all got hyped about what was being proposed, just to be disappointed by the lack of real vision.

VC money typically doesn’t flow to Houston, simply because people don’t have the right mentality/strategy to building world changing tech. There are a few companies that are success stories, but there could be many more with the right leadership and resources.

I’m building my company in Houston, but spent many years learning how to do so from people elsewhere.  

Shiny new buildings rarely yield successful startups. Again, the Ion district is just a real estate play under the guise of being a place for innovation. 
 

50 minutes ago, Fortune said:

Why would The Ion and Greentown Labs have a single leadership team? Aren't they two separate entities that are tenants of The Ion District? 

What do most early-stage companies need that The Ion does not deliver? 

My apologies. They had two separate leadership teams. 

IMO, these orgs were more interested in touting the big name leases they signed.  No one on the leadership team of the Ion had ever built a startup.

One example of a disconnect is attempting to charge a freshly launched, bootstrapped startup to host a launch party on premise. Early stage startups barely have the funds to stay afloat and are trying to break through. 

The founder opted for another venue that didn’t charge and actually contributed to the very successful launch party. 

The whole thing just seems very forced, as is typical with academia and government. 

 

41 minutes ago, houstontexasjack said:

What’s your source? I haven’t seen any news on this front.

Through the grapevine, from multiple people close to the situation. 

Apparently the entire leadership team of The Ion and Greentown Labs were let go last week. Guessing they weren’t able to attract enough renters. 

As a startup guy, The Ion is a nice idea but doesn’t actually deliver what most early stage companies need. There’s a major disconnect between the stakeholders and startup founders. 

Will be interesting to see what comes next …

On 12/24/2023 at 9:36 PM, E.Res said:

Is it closing?

 

Doesn't seem like it. Maybe once the land sells it will be developed into apartments or something. 

Looks like this lot is for sale: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/2619-Polk-St-Houston-TX/29787285/

8 hours ago, hindesky said:

Does “mixed use” mean there will be gfr?

Really interested in what will happen at 2315 Polk. This is right across from 8th Wonder on the Promenade. 

With the amount of development, both commercial and residential happening in EaDo and the Greater East End, a grocery store is all but necessary. I can only imagine there are discussions happening as I type. 

26 minutes ago, monarch said:

^^^ with a brand spanking new $8 billion proposed DYNAMIC POWERHOUSE development such as METROPOLITAN PARK, they are already "winning".  the ASTROS have seemingly invested in "winning" and what do we have...?

Houston has affordability and thus the ability for many people to do more than just dream.

East River is turning into a great dev and EaDo in general is coming of age. Downtown will also continue to grow little by little, and that's okay. It's come a long way in 15 years and will be completely different in another 15. 

As an entrepreneur, Houston allows me to live comfortably while I build my company. I get to do more than just dream :) 

56 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Meanwhile Steve Cohen owner of the Mets plans to build a $8 billion complex next to Citi Field.

Maybe they should invest in winning ... 

8 minutes ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

Warehouse Live is closing Dec 3. All operations are moving to Rise Rooftop, which will be rebranded as Warehouse Live.
The entrance is moving to McGowan St, with an elevator so my bud Raul can come to a show. 

Rise will shut down for 2 weeks to do the major reconstruction of the interior, this happens after the Dec 16 show.

Any idea if anything will replace warehouse live in eado? Quite a big space to fill. 

12 minutes ago, dart330 said:

The caboose is going to be part of Figo Sugo, currently in Bravery Chef Hall. They were serving sandwiches on Saturday of the home tour.

Their mozzarella sticks are delicious!