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X.R.

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  1. X.R.
    The roof/third floor is almost gone
  2. X.R.
    I wonder whats being seen in the market that these types of projects, ones that have been kind of sitting around for a while, are beginning to move forward in Houston? And then you have stuff like the Skanska purchase. Maybe Houston has gotten further enough away from being absolutely, totally oil-industry dependent that fears of a recession's effects have lessened? Some of my commercial real estate bros said the current building rate is what they remember from 06-07, and I was like, errr not great comparison given some people's current fears, lol. Regardless, this looks crazy. But its also a testament to TMC's vision. Isn't this exactly the type of stuff they said they wanted to have built on that Looped In podcast? If they build everything but that huge tower, its still a massive W compared to what was there.
  3. X.R.
    This. Being from the southside, when I roll through the area I always see two or three OGs with the backpacks walking in between the groups. I always check to see the homeless peeps' wrists for the hospital tag to see if the corner is packed that day because the local hospital released them after treatment. I used to work with homeless people, so you begin to notice the...patterns after a while. My boy runs outreach out there, its not the guys at the light by 59 that gives them trouble (they are pretty nice to the police actually), its the peeps by the Fiesta that they get tired of. So, in short, theres a host of problems. And yeah, dunno about affordable groceries with the way those groups treat that Fiesta by always milling around the outer part of the parking lot. I shop there sometimes, and outside of the occasional douche, its very neighborhood-y. Alot of older folks recognizing each other, asking about how they families are, have they been going to church lately, etc. Gonna be sad when it goes, its kind of a relic. I say all that to say: I don't think those kids have spent enough time in that area to really get to know it. Otherwise, their...requests would be more nuances.
  4. X.R.
    Based on that Business Insider article, seems like Skanska is good to go with what they have. I'm sure they would like to secure some more land if it fell into their laps, but the tone didn't seem to reflect more stuff coming their way. I'd rather STCL just build a giant ugly parking garage than have all those parking lots that don't do anything (are they available for parking during Rockets games?). I go to their library sometimes, and those lots are always mostly empty. At least put a tree or two or something in those lots. You'd think they'd want to do something nice for their students with those lots. I do agree with @H-Town Man. I am a little wary of one developer doing all of the development in that area, especially land that...could shape the weekend Houstonian's experience for years to come. I am happy they are upping the ante and putting pressure on everyone else. Rando thought: Astros announce mixed use around MMP, which makes sense because other baseball teams do it. Tilman buys the Rox, and all of sudden some of the land around the stadium that no one really thought about developing gets sold to a developer who wants to start developing pretty soon? Hmmmmmm
  5. X.R.
    I don't think you would pay the premium they did just to sit on land. Inherent land value IS growing in that area, obviously, but its not like an Austin-type growth that could make a buy and stash a valid approach for this type of firm. Skanska is known for multi-unit developments/hubs, which fits the profile of multiple pieces of land downtown. I would guess the value proposition was high here, downtown Houston still isn't what you'd expect from the 4th largest city in the country, they get in early for what is probably going to be rapid expansion in the coming years. These type of deals usually come after intense vetting, and there are probably proposals on the table already for the usage.
  6. X.R.
    Kinda reminds me of the Dunlavy, with the open nature of the windows and the setting of the building. The amount of thought that went into that space as shown by the website is pretty astounding. Different parts of the area activated for different uses, and its almost like a smaller Miller outdoor theatre/discovery green. Really cool.
  7. X.R.
    The drawings look great, and it really shows just how much space is going to be available for lease for retail/food. Seems like a good amount of space. Its just funny how these developers are seemingly taking advantage of the clientele that frequent the arts district, when alot of HAIF'ers might have thought it was obvious. With the Jones plaza reno, you'll have two greener spaces where they used to be none back in the early 2000's, and an incredible amount of food options with the newly opened food halls. If you're someone moving to Houston with a good amount of disposable income and a preference for urban living, this development and some of the others around it would probably be near the top of the list. You have the Met nearby for exercise, the parks/green spaces, the food, and new HEB that opens tomorrow on Washington. You could...actually live in, and enjoy, that area without having to travel too far for day-to-day needs, which is something I don''t think I could have said in 2005.
  8. X.R.
    Hmm, they had previously stated Q1 2020, I wonder why they moved the opening date up. Pressure from the HEB opening on MacGregor, maybe? Regardless, this is great news, just in time for the holidays!
  9. X.R.
    https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-philanthropist-to-fund-Jones-Plaza-remake-14498074.php "Lynn Wyatt, the famed Houston socialite and philanthropist, on Monday announced a donation of $10 million to the city to transform Jones Plaza, a long-empty space in the Theater District." Its going to be called the Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts. Seems like this project got the kick in the butt it needed to kinda get some movement on it. edit: I'm sitting here and comparing the old jones plaza to the new drawings, and it really shows how much Houston has changed in terms of the direction the city is going. The facelift in 2001 cost 6.5 million and added a little greenery while modernizing the space, but added more concrete. Now you have 10 million to do the opposite, which is get rid of quite a bit of the concrete and add much more green space. Funny how that happens.
  10. X.R.
    Yeah, I don't see them ever getting that full unless some major stuff moves in afterwards on westheimer. Maybe a good comparison is that Shake Shake. It has a large lot for its size (it seems) especially when compared to the lot shared by blacksmith and hay merchant. The Shack's lot is like half full at most on busy days. Went last night at 7 and it was a quarter full but a ton of people eating, so obviously they all did not get there by car. Its actually pretty forward thinking, because now they have all this parking just in case the area explodes in terms of development (it already is, but just more) instead of having a bunch of surface lots. Lol that is a ridiculous statement. "people care about the housing of the concrete they park on"
  11. X.R.
    This morning they came through and wrapped the fence in a green sheath, so you can't really see whats going anymore. And there is a huge pile of junk on the property now, in the corner. Seems like something is afoot.
  12. X.R.
    Would have to agree with this. An industry friend worked on/is working on a building that will/does contain a whole foods and he said including them in a build is a massive headache. They need all these advance metrics to judge whether the business will be successful. Just having a certain amount of people in the area is like the lowest hurdle. They look at traffic patterns, street traffic, rent growth, current rents, 5 year outs for a bunch of metrics on the type of resident currently in the area, debt in the area, etc. If they built there, it means they've vetted the area for a loooong time. I'm sure HEB does the same. If either builds, they will be successful, it just a question of how successful. His exact words about this project was that the WF is "transformative" for the area, because the clientele and inevitable foot traffic will attract other businesses. But also expressed surprise that Pearl convinced them of the build.
  13. X.R.
    The Macy's in the Galleria and the one in Baybrook, back when my sister worked there two years ago, were routinely in the top 10 for revenue in the Nation. So unless Macy's is super duper F'ed, then I'm assuming they'll be around for a while to come. Sucks about Forever 21, but their clothes really sucked in terms of quality. You guys gotta hope for a Target, that would solve all the problems (their clothes are better than Forevs 21, in my opinion). But I hear Target prefers to own the property of the building so theres that.
  14. X.R.
    Is this related to this building?
  15. X.R.
    Well, keeping it "mid-rise" is the desire of the Museum Park Neighborhood Association (do they even cover that part of the neighborhood?) and prolly got them out from under their whining. If its 8-9 story, with no retail/cafe I feel like thats going to be out-dated, just in terms of useage of the land, in like 10 years. They have access to so much traffic that anything they put in would at least get a good amount of eyeballs. Boone Manor, which is in the middle of townhomes, is gonna be 12-13 and have an on-site cafe. Shenanigans.
  16. X.R.
    If you've toured any medium/big startup HQ in Austin, Boston, SF, or Seattle this basically what you're greeted with upon entering the door. That is Square, btw. I think its actually a cool, ingenious use of the space.
  17. X.R.
    I think thats a valid point and question, and Hanover Montrose is tempting, but when comparing the two its the lack of needing a car to do shit that really pops out. I think Hanover montrose needs a Bcycle station, tbh, to get you to the bars down Westheimer. You can walk to Disco Krogers and back, which is great. But when that Whole Foods at Pearl opens, the Caydon peeps will be 7 blocks/streets away, and there's already that (crappy) Randalls. If you enjoy going to any sports games, Midtown on the rail is better than Montrose. The bars are an easy walk to in midtown, but more importantly, you have better day-to-day, cheap food in Midtown than you have closer to the Hanover. Cali sandwhiches, Les Girval, Luna y Sol, etc. Downtown is a distant third cause it has the food and bars, but no grocery store, and at night you don't see nearly as many people walking around as you do in Midtown. I dunno, I'd move somewhere on the rail line in Midtown. There are more homeless as you get towards the greyhound station on Main, but they're existence doesn't bother me, so 🤷‍♂️. If you're a luxury developer and anywhere near bikeable areas (I think Midtown is pretty bikeable) I would think its pretty poor form not to offer rentable bikes to your people. Easiest thing to do is put in a Bcycle station. The Boone Manor people in Museum District during their presentation said they already secured a rentable bike situation for their lessors because their development is on the eventual La Branch/Austin bike lanes.
  18. X.R.
    That area of Midtown is starting to get some sorely needed love. I love cycling in that area because of the general lack of fast cars and residentialness of it (makes for easy riding) but damn does it have a lot of empty building/lots. I think its a good sign for Midtown that small, seemingly forgotten buildings are getting in line for quick-ish refurbs, instead of getting torn down completely and thus taking a years to fill that space, to get the space back on the market.
  19. X.R.
    Uhhh, that looks really great. And its pretty cool that they are using that concrete area. And yes, I believe from the designs that its that lower area. That pic does draw a bit of attention to the place right in front of it though...😂.
  20. X.R.
    I know they told the museum district people 20 months or so, but still yeesh, thats a painfully long construction timeline. They had people out there this morning with yellow tripods and cameras doing work. Dunno what it was, but there were two crews out there. I guess this is beginning to move.
  21. X.R.
    October 2020 is pretty far out, and a little disappointing to be honest. Its been fairly dry the last couple of months, so I thought they would be flying through that building. I assume that they are doing all of the landscaping and gardens for the museum too because there's no way just that building alone needs 1 year and a month to be completed.
  22. X.R.
    "As of December, the submarket that encompasses Montrose, the Museum District and Midtown had seven apartment projects under construction, according to Houston-based ApartmentData.com. That area was second only to the Katy-Cinco Ranch-Waterside submarket, with 10 projects. As of May, there were 3,974 residential units proposed for the Montrose-Museum-Midtown submarket, the most of any submarket in the Houston area, per ApartmentData.com." Holy crap. That is craaazy amount of residential units for what seems like a small part of town. And Katy-Cinco Ranch-Waterside would make sense with all the development over there. And that comparison is nice, cause it really shows that this portion of town is competing, in part, with the growth seen in what I think is widely known to be one of the fastest growing parts of the H. I would cross post this to Downtown Apartment thread because while we're like "man, 400 units!" midtown/montrose/museum district is like "man, 4000 units!"
  23. X.R.
    The roof is now gone, baby gone. They really going after it. The endowment must have finally paid the subcontractors. 😂
  24. X.R.
    "Only going to be a bbq restaurant"?!?!?!?! Are you from Texas? BBQ is the most holy, this should be pinned to the top of the forum.
  25. X.R.
    Now that @Houston19514 mentioned congestion pricing, I am sorta sad that so much of 288 is going to involve a toll. If we're being honest, the 288 expansion was needed (it was a parking lot going from the Land of Pears to...anywhere in the city using 288). It is truly congestion traffic, as opposed to shitty freeway design. Its kind of shitty to those people since house prices aren't really crazy in new Pearland (can still get a house for 200k or so, but only with a decent downpayment) so I dunno if paying 3 dollars every day (going and coming) is going to make those people very happy. Plus you got sunnyside and orem and stella link over there, and those lower income peeps use 288 too. Living in the land of pears/sunnyside and workin in Med Center/downtown is going to be a good more expensive. I say all that just to mention that we're about to have a massive highway improvement project finish up by end of the year (and dont forget the beltway 8 expansion in that area too). There is a loooot of land just south of 610 and north of the belt in that area, so we can see if all that finally gets infilled or not with this massive expansion down south. Potentially a perfect test case.
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