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'Stonian

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Everything posted by 'Stonian

  1. 'Stonian
    wow... absolutely WOW. (& not a good "wow"). Clearing that natural land/man made lake is a travesty (& I'm a pro-development guy). Bad Skanska
  2. 'Stonian
    Apache was my immediate guess as well..., looks like BLVD Place phase one behind the base. The design shown may just be a place holder but it is very similar to their project in Chicago - http://www.pickardchilton.com/mobile/300_north_lasalle.html
  3. 'Stonian
    Hilarious - get's my vote for "Post of the Year"!
  4. 'Stonian
    My bad, that's why I inserted the disclaimer - I just knew there was no building in Houston above 2 million sqft and just a few over 1.5 million so figured this would be one of the largest ever. Thanks for correcting me.., absolutely no ego here - just enjoying Houston's renaissance!
  5. 'Stonian
    I see Nancy has updated her article with the statement from the Governors office: UPDATE – The tower project is set to reap a nice financial boost from state. Gov. Rick Perry said the Texas Enterprise Fund will contribute $12 million to the Chevron project. The development, he said, will create 1,752 jobs. Those new jobs, according to Chevron spokesman Russell Johnson, will be new hires to support the company’s growth in Houston over the next several years. The public incentive deal requires Chevron to receive a “local incentive,” as well, the state said. Chevron is in discussions with the city of Houston about the availability of economic development programs for the property, Johnson said, adding: “There are no details to share at this time.” Still, Chevron is being very careful not to ruffle any feathers in the San Ramon, CA headquarters. In the letter to their employees they state: "There are no plans to move Chevron Corporation’s headquarters to Houston. Also, there are no plans to sell or vacate our Bellaire or Briarpark properties at this time, though Chevron intends to consolidate its leased spaces into the downtown campus by the time of its completion in 2017. I clearly expect a headquarters move to Houston sometime in 2017!
  6. 'Stonian
    Strange that the HBJ got the scoop on how many additional employees will be hired for this expansion but Nancy Sarnoff from the Chronicle only posted the press release stating: "Chevron U.S.A. is planning to build a new downtown skyscraper for its growing Houston workforce" FROM THE HBJ ARTICLE: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/07/03/chevron-plans-new-houston-building.html "Chevron Corp., which already has a presence of about 9,000 employees and contractors in Houston, is planning a new downtown office tower to accommodate its expansion in the city, which includes hiring another 1,752 workers."
  7. 'Stonian
    The design is kinda plain, but I clearly expected something sleek and very similar to 1400 and 1500 Smith, so I guess that's why I'm not really disappointed. "50-Stories", now when was the last time we could say that in Houston!?
  8. 'Stonian
    1.7 million sqft would make it the largest office building in Houston if that's only including rentable office space (and not parking garage, common space, etc)
  9. 'Stonian
    Barracuda beat me by seconds LOL.., & only because I kept getting an error while trying to post. (Maybe others were attempting to post as well) Houston's officially in boomtown mode!
  10. 'Stonian
    Extremely Confident!! http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/07/chevron-to-build-downtown-tower/#comment-26927 BAM!!
  11. 'Stonian
    Thanks Fate! Looking good.
  12. 'Stonian
    I don't doubt that they would get faster as they build each new building which is basically the same plan, however the first Skyhouse here in Atlanta went up just as fast (broke ground Feb. '12, had tenants moving in by December '12). It looks like they're able to form up half floors at a time and complete concrete pours every few days. I'd like to remind everyone here on HAIF that the architecture is nothing to write home about. The forum folks here in ATL derided this building after the final product became apparent - http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=166320&page=268 - particularly the mammoth adjacent parking garage and AC units sitting on each patio covered by BBVA Compass Soccer Stadium styled gauged-wire sheathing. (Not exactly sure what they were expecting, because the renderings weren't all that - but the AC units are admittedly just hideous). Basically it will remove a parking lot, add density and residents downtown..., but not much more than that. You've been forewarned!
  13. 'Stonian
    I live in Atlanta right across the street from Novare's 2nd SkyHouse building here (still under construction). I work in the construction industry and can confirm that this 23-story tower is, without a doubt, the absolute fastest construction project I've ever seen. Mid February '13 the building site looked exactly like the downtown Houston Skyhouse site does now (with rebar/columns sticking out of the ground) and now they're working on the 22nd floor in mid June with glass windows installed up to the 13-14th floors. I swear they work 24/7. That's 22 floors in 16 weeks and it's been raining cats and dogs here this spring!! http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=166320&page=375 (scroll half way down page 375 to see construction updates) My hope for Houston is that this building will lease up quickly and they'll start another nearby downtown tower soon thereafter.
  14. 'Stonian
    It a looks like Downtown's master plan is taking shape. I'm getting excited! http://downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2012-01-24/111212-GRBCC-2025_Master_Plan.pdf Side note - The Embassy Suites downtown does not look awful, it was just a downgrade from the original rendering they put out. Lets hope the developer releases an accurate rendering this time - don't get our hopes up to let us down again.
  15. 'Stonian
    I decided not to pick a fight. ;-)
  16. 'Stonian
    My bad.., chill out bruh. I guess stone looks a lot like stucco to some. But I agree most of the newer stuff is a step down from older buildings like Four Leaf Towers.
  17. 'Stonian
    This building puts me more in the mind of the nicer buildings in Miami and the two condo buildings in Uptown Park (same developer - Interfin - a class act IMO). I've always loved those buildings and for the record they're not stucco! From the rendering it looks like this one will be cast stone with glass balcony railings and not cheapish painted stucco, so No Complaints Here. Houston could certainly use more buildings with sloped "roofs" rather than flat tops but I kinda like the interesting roof line on this one with the day-lighted penthouse patios. Every new building doesn't have to be all glass with a spire on top. Atlanta's skyline has too many Spires for me - but the night time lighting is AWESOME!
  18. 'Stonian
    Awesome Pic!
  19. 'Stonian
    I was in Houston over the Memorial Day weekend and saw this building. Even at only 12-13 stories it has a dramatic effect on the Med Center skyline from the east.., it just stands out and appears significantly taller.
  20. 'Stonian
    Latest updates from HBJ http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/05/20/exxon-mobil-campus-construction.html Slideshow http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/05/20/exxon-mobil-campus-construction.html?s=image_gallery
  21. 'Stonian
    Remember it's in Toronto and NOT Houston. $300 million doesn't go quite as far there. I would also think the total includes the cost of the museum's collection of artifacts and not just building costs. Who knows, one painting could be world millions.
  22. 'Stonian
    No renderings yet for the Houston Aga Khan Ismaili Centre but here is a rendering of the (under construction) $300 million Toronto version to be completed later this year (scroll down for detailed renderings): http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2010/05/prime-minister-harper-and-aga-khan-aga-khan-museum-ismaili-centre Maybe we can expect something similar - Toronto's version appears to sit on similar acreage (15 acres), the site here is 11 acres. More of an Islamic Arts/Cultural Center and Museum..., This thing could be huge. Facebook page with good pics: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=571658612858938&
  23. 'Stonian
    Expect this one to go up extremely fast! I wouldn't surprise me to see it topped out by Thanksgiving and open around March 2014. I live directly across the street from the second Skyhouse building going up in Atlanta and I'm amazed they're on the 9th floor already after just starting in February. After spending the 1st month setting up the crane and setting columns in the ground, that's 9 floors in 2 months or about 1 floor/week.
  24. 'Stonian
    Oliver Mcmillan's Buckead project in Atlanta should really have no bearing on what's going on with Houston's River Oaks District. His project here in ATL has been a slow go since they acquired the 10% completed property a couple of years ago (the former "Streets of Buckhead" project started in 2008 and sat idle for 4 years with 4-5 cranes just sitting there). FOUR YEARS! Although limited construction has resumed in 2013, they still have not secured a full construction loan from Wells Fargo (or any other bank) and have been financing recent construction with their own capital, however the current progress is minimal at best.
  25. 'Stonian
    Actually this one looks more like Energy Center III that broke ground in the Energy Corridor this January rather than the new BBVA building near the Galleria. Almost an exact copy (with slight modifications) so probably the same architect. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2013/01/keep-an-eye-on-energy-center-three.html?s=image_gallery
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