totheskies

Posted to Facebook today from a realtor:

Ivy Lofts (conveniently located in the EaDo area) is officially on the market and currently taking reservations for Phase I!!! It's the first micro style condo to hit the city of Houston and it is going to be a major game changer to the housing community. This opportunity is a perfect investment for anyone wanting to live downtown including (but not limited to) college students, working professionals and empty nesters looking to downsize.

Actually, for some college students or college student groups, this could be very appealing.  Were a school like TSU to jump in on a development like this and buy up some units, that could get the project moving pretty quickly.  

On a personal note, I would love to live in a space like this.  

Hey you win some (Marriott Marquis, hopefully) and you lose some.  

Or i guess in Houston's case, you win one or two, and just assume everything else is going to SUCK.  

Regarding the PUF, UH may have some leverage after all get its Medical School... in part b/c of UT not playing by the rules.  

http://texasleftist.com/2015/11/the-university-of-texas-at-houston/ 

Dallas and Houston both... why are all of the new designs so boxy??  UGH someone needs to be more dramatic with our shapes!!  

It's easy to forget how massive Dallas is when you're not there.  I drove DTD on my way back to Houston last week, and was taken aback by all the construction in Victory/Uptown/Downtown/whatever it's called.  

Dallas has also been more aggressive about building residential towers than Downtown Houston... until recently.  Now we've got several going at once, which is a first for Houston.  

BTW JasonDTX thanks for snapping that EPIC pic!!!  

The restrooms would probably be a boon for the homeless.

Haha yeah you'd definitely have to pay the bathroom attendant above their normal wage.  

It really needs to be some sort of anchor store like Target.  That would be a big draw, and grab shoppers from Midtown and Montrose.  

And DOWNTOWN HOUSTON NEEDS A BUC-EE'S!!!  It doesn't even have to sell gas... just have the deli and the knick knacks.  Tourists would eat it UP!!!!  

Just passed by and dang they mean business. Crazy/ awesome to see MATCH and Mid Main playing construction wars now.

Though I feel for Trinity Episcopal church congregants... They suddenly have nowhere to park. It's like living in New York!!

I don't understand why they are building this first before the renovation of Hofheinz.  That seems like the much more severe need than this.  

St. Paul's UMC is a beautiful church, and right by the Museum of Fine Arts.  

UH students get in free to all UH sporting events. Season Tickets packages for the 2014 football season start at $140.

And as for if building "The DEC" was a good thing? As a UH alum I see both sides. Keep in mind that current students are paying fees not only for the new stadium, but also the UC construction, and pretty soon the Hofheinz Pavilion. The average price per 3 hour course is nearly $1500. At my undergrad institution, that was $400 over the price of my ENTIRE semester's tuition, and I only finished undergrad 9 years ago!!

On the plus side, the value of a UH degree has increased rapidly over the last few years. Students (especially ones that pick a good major and work hard while in school) are seeing that money paid back in substantial dividends. Plus a strong UH brings strength to Houston.

The new stadium is a net positive here.

Why are Houston builders so incredibly afraid of mixed-use?!?! 

I don't think there was ever an official start date given, but it's still a little concerning that they still don't have one because a lot of Downtown projects have been pushed back already. Right now, Downtown has a lot of proposed projects, but not much under construction. I fear that if Downtown can't build during these boom years, that it may never develop into the urban environment a lot of us want.

What do you mean by this?  Downtown has more simultaneous construction underway now than its seen since the 80s.  Cranes are going up as we speak. 

Another factor is that residential towers might tend to climb higher if they have a shot at being the tallest or second tallest building in town. If the Austonian were built in Houston, it would not soar above the buildings around it like it does in Austin. If you can't make a huge skyline impact, you're more apt to go with the economical height of 30-40 stories.

Am I the only person that is perfectly ok with "median" height residential towers?  They still fill out downtown and increase residences, and right now that is the goal.  The DT residential market needs to prove it's viability in comparison to other nearby alternatives, and that's what the current projects are going to do.  Can't re-invent the wheel until you've spun it several thousand times. 

Once we get a more people actually living in downtown, the next big leap is to do more mixed-use partnerships, a la OPP/Phoenicia.  Hopefully that will provide more opportunity for "signature" towers. 

I think Midtown is great, but the areas around the Wheeler station and Greyhound are horrible. And there is not a single new, completed building along the rail line between the museum district and downtown other than a CVS (and only one new building in the museum district). This is especially curious because so much of the land along the rail is open lots and dilapidated buildings. If the rail wasn't built, I don't think this would be the case based on the outstanding growth elsewhere inside the loop.

So the 5 new apt complexes don't count as new buildings?  I'm confused by your comments here.  Venue Museum District is still quite new, the complex going up across from The Breakfast Klub is obviously new and obviously on the rail line.  And there are several structures within one block of Main street. 

By way of comparison, here is a good shot of the original ground-level facade.  With elephants.  You can see the degree of simplification in the new version.

 

 

link to picture:

http://www.tanasreminisce.com/background.html

WOW this picture!!  How many elephants are in here?????

Whether the physical tracks are, the ROW still exists, correct? Or has part of it been used for the bike trail?

It's not expensive to build track... The massive expense comes from acquiring hundreds of land parcels before you can build the track. In this case those land parcels only have 1 owner.

I will try to ride through the area in a few weeks and find out how much track was ripped out.

As the BRT is moving forward, if wonder if METRO would consider opening the commuter rail line (Old Katy) between Bunett TC and the Northwest TC. That would at least provide a connection between Downtown and The Galleria. If METRO were to purchase the ROW to build a parallel track, that line could potentially be quite inexpensive. If the BRT goes down to Hillcroft TC, it would at least hit one major population area.

And of course BRT can always be converted to rail later.

My only comment...

  SAYONARA surface parking lots!! 

There is a reason drycleaners, nail/hair salons, coffee shops, sandwich shops, donut places make it in suburban strip centers... they have relatively cheap leases.  The trouble is getting these needed, though low operating cost (and low value) businesses to take a risk on more expensive leases in the core.  They will also need enough foot traffic to survive.  And while the demand is I'm sure high for a dry cleaner (for example), most Downtown workers who need dry cleaning probably just wait till they get home to use the local cleaners.

 

There will be a time when enough residents live Downtown that they will demand that kind of retail and that they will get that kind of retail, but I do not think we've reached that level yet.  With the build out of the proposed and now underconstruction residential properties in Downtown we will reach that peak where there are enough people living within a walking distance that these sort of stores will start to pop-up.  That will help fuel more retail and further exploration into the Downtown market by private retail.

I agree with your sentiment here that pushing residential is key to developing a proper retail base for Downtown.  But Houston has done an exceptional job with that, and I believe now is the time to broaden the focus.  As the new apartments are getting constructed, we also need t plan on keeping new residents in Downtown. 

There's one other consumer base that no one is bringing up... transit riders.  As Metro busses continue to feed into the rail lines, more and more people are going to be passing through Downtown, because it is the central hub of the city's transit network.  More retail options (mainly thinking grocers here) will be needed as the share of bus and train passengers continues to grow. 

But the key here?  It has to be the right kind of retail.  So many iterations (Houston Pavilions, Houston Center) have failed because they're just building stuff without considering what the Downtown target populations actually need.  Phoenicia has been so successful IMO because of the multi-use nature of the store.  It's a specialty grocer, a wine bar, an eatery and a music venue all rolled into one... which is why they never lack for customers. This is the kind of retail that Downtown needs right now or in the near future so that residents won't feel like they're shut down after 5pm. 

Yes, this re-innovation (not sure we can call it a restoration anymore) is looking very nice!!

I eat here regularly... never seen the place "packed" but it's far from struggling from what I can tell.  I'm surprised the owner hasn't expanded yet. 

Juan Mon's has even been featured on the Travel channel...

I agree one hundred percent that this is better than surface lots... if we must have parking, we may as well put the cars in a garage.  But it would be a shame to waste the opportunity for some additional street-level retail.  I hope they don't. 

That Sears... OMG. 

I'm so conflicted.  Glad to have a Sears in Midtown, but it's in such bad condition.  They need to either take care of it or tear it down! 

Looks like a nice project... exactly the kind of thing this area needs. 

It is not the Red Line's first TOD project... Venue Museum District holds that claim.  But I really like that the majority of the apartments will be studios.  Having more affordable housing for young professionals is a very smart move, and I hope future developments follow suit.