Brooklyn173

New sign by the new water feature. Is this standard language or is it in response to recent activities?

Whatever it is, it'll have a translucent roof.

I posted this back in November (albeit, well off topic for that discussion) I don't know if Reef owns the building. but if so, their recent closing and business setbacks would seem to end any continuation of this construction. The area used to be an open air concert venue for Proof. The adjacent 'interior' walls are open to the air now, so I have no idea if this would have been a closed in space. There were 3-4 guys banging on the metal beams on Saturday (January 4) but they didn't seem to be be doing any real impact. A mystery to me.

"... Finally, the Hawker Asian Night Market is intended to expand the number of Asian-style establishments in Midtown, which is already home to a number of full service restaurants that serve cuisines from different Asian countries, including Jinya Ramen, Pho Saigon, One Dim Sum, Japanese barbecue restaurant Gyu Kaku, and Chinese barbecue restaurant Siu Lap City. The 11 vendors at the Hawker Market will include both “rooftop dim sum” and “a shanty bar alley.” 1-800-Lucky, an Asian food hall from Miami, will also open in the neighborhood at the former site of Celtic Gardens/Irish Cowboy. Mai says he’s aware of that project, but is confident that the Company of Nomad’s experience in the marketplace will allow them to distinguish Hawker Market from its competition." http://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/12-30-19-new-food-halls-conservatory-eado-galleria-railway-heights-market-hawker-asian-market-midtown-company-of-nomads-anh-mai/

A couple of years ago, Crane and the Astros bought the old New Hope building on Hamilton. At the time there were rumors of additional parking. "Jim Crane, owner of the Astros, plays a significant role in this plan. Horak-Brown said he purchased the Hamilton and has kept it operating as a dwelling until the Harrisburg building replaces it. “Once Harrisburg is complete in the fall of 2017 (likely November),” said the housing group’s president, “New Hope will relocate its corporate headquarters to its fourth floor, and the eligible residents of Hamilton will move into Harrisburg or another New Hope property. Then, Hamilton will permanently close.” She said Crane is expected to raze the Hamilton and use the property as part of the Astros ballpark complex, possibly a parking lot. The property, now owned by Crane, is located at 320 Hamilton at Congress Avenue, just west of U.S. Highway 59." Did anything ever happen at that site? It appears that Crane/Astros are purchasing all the land surrounding the stadium. A lot of professional teams want that sort of real estate leverage for their facilities but are looking for governmental assistance in getting the land. Maybe Crane is a step ahead of everyone else and has something big and special up his sleeve?

Yes. The old site of the Irish Cowboy. Maybe a 3-4 block walk.

I walk by this site from McGowen to the Downtown "Y" a few times a week. I agree with all that's been posted above (including hopes for the vacant Holiday Inn and Exxon sites). In my mind, the Pierce Street Elevated is the demarkation line from Downtown and Midtown. So SODO is a subsection of Downtown (all of this only exists in my mind). The greatest obstacle for continuing improvement of this neighborhood transition area is the homeless settlements near the bus stations. Much worse since the 'closing' of the camps under the I69 elevated by Wheeler and an embarrassment in government and social conscience for Houston, IMHO. But I am still excited for the new neighbors (and the north side of the site was getting the orange construction barriers this morning).

Good news

I noticed these barricades this morning. They are only along the Travis Street portion of the site. The METRO office building is next door on the right. Does anyone know if this will be something bigger or is it something as minor as sidewalk repairs?

The mosaic artwork is going in on the water feature. It's very interesting.

Off topic but close. The Reef restaurant building has some interesting construction going on overhead. (Pix) There used to be an outdoor music venue up there and this sort of looks like they are considerably expanding on it. The iron work went up last weekend. Anyone knows anything about this? As a "down noise" neighbor, I am not particularly excited about it.

Just a reminder of what they are aiming for: https://ionhouston.com/

Could the difference be from counting or not counting parking levels? I'm just guessing.

As long as it's Craftsman Weatherbeater paint 😁

I went by this yesterday. There was a bobcat on one of the roofs taking away debris, the window openings were being widened, lots of noise inside. A veritable bee hive of activity. Very exciting.