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MyEvilTwin

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Everything posted by MyEvilTwin

  1. What makes you think this building isn't already designed with a mirrored facade? The renderings we've been seeing are dusk/night shots, when the lights are on inside. Dark outside, light inside makes the glass transparent, mirrored finish or not. No?
  2. For those of us who measure downtown progress in terms of surface parking lot shrinkage, 3 blocks is by no means puny!
  3. It would only be appropriate for the world's energy capital to have a power plant in its central business district. And right next door to its new urban park, to boot!
  4. I'm not sure this release is anything more than spin on the part of the Commissioners Court to appear like they support a future for the Dome that doesn't involve demolition. It doesn't sound like there's any good news in it for the hotel, as it says "and all other interested parties." In other words... To the Hotel developers: "Get your act together, or we'll consider other options," and to the voters of Houston, "PLEASE don't take this to mean we support the politically suicidal notion of razing the Dome!!" There's nothing new in it at all, is there? Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. still loses its exclusivity rights, but the Court hopes progress will be made.
  5. If by "retailers across the street" you mean retailers at Post Oak Plaza -- haven't the owners of that location been trying to compete with BLVD Place for some time now? I think I remember something in the Chronicle a while back about competing for tenants. Could this be a deliberate misinformation effort? If a prospective tenant was choosing between signing a lease now in Post Oak Plaza and waiting a year or two for BLVD place, they might swing towards Post Oak Plaza if they heard the anchor was about to pull out of BLVD Place. (I'm not suggesting that the rumor is right or wrong -- I'm utterly clueless -- just thinking about the source though)
  6. Interesting... but that building is not in the BLVD Place footprint. Is there something else going on?
  7. I was with you until you got to this point. Of course Westcreek isn't in River Oaks, but it's not far from it (The southwest corner of River Oaks is what, maybe two blocks up the road across San Felipe?), and Westcreek at River Oaks is a much more marketable name than, say, Westcreek at Afton Oaks, or just plain Westcreek. Picking a name is as much about marketing as it is about technical accuracy or geography. So while "Westcreek at River Oaks" isn't technically correct, I think you're kind of nitpicking. But I'm with you on Regent Square. It does nothing for me.
  8. I received the following e-mail regarding the Bistro Moderne, the restaurant in the first floor of the Hotel Derek. It says that the hotel has been sold and the hotel concept will change (and as a result they're closing the Bistro Moderne). Anybody know what the hotel's new plans are?
  9. I'm watching the crane swivel from my downtown office window right now (yeah, I'm really busy). Either they're still working, or they've left it to twist in the wind!
  10. I just noticed this article on the Collaborative Research Center in the Summer edition of the Sallyport (Rice Alumni magazine). It has a much clearer rendering of the building (the print copy is even better than the online one). When I saw the first renderings posted above, I was completely unimpressed -- but this one actually makes me feel quite a bit better than the originals. Note the screen in front of the glass-walled side -- not being an architect, I have no idea what to call this, but I assume it has something to do with LEED certification. The screen is completely missing in the original renderings. Also, it's clear from this rendering that what appeared to be 2 more floors on top of the original building is actually just a facade of fake windows (I assume that's to dress up the air conditioners and/or other utilities on top?). I still wish it would have been more in line with other architecture around Rice's campus, but I like it a little better than before.
  11. Looks like pre-A/C days to me. Just as hot inside as outside!! (Egads, did people really live here back then?)
  12. Two different projects. They seem to confuse more people than the two City Centres! A portion of the Westcreek apartments (the side formerly known as "Audobon Park" that fronts Westheimer across from Kettering) is planned to be replaced with the River Oaks District. This side of Westcreek is still occupied, though I think they're no longer doing new leases...? The other side of Westcreek is slated for Phase II, which is even further down the road, so they're still occupied & leasing. Right next door, the site where the old Central Ford dealership was located is where the planned High Street development is supposed to go. The dealership was torn down several months ago.
  13. The entrance to the tunnels from the Continental Center I is at the end of a long hallway that juts out from the building, along the parking garage (but sticking out at the end by itself, way beyond the parking garage). It's kind of an odd arrangement, really, and I've always assumed it had something to do with the original plans to add a second tower to the property that never came to fruition (but if Brookshire goes ahead with its proposed new building...). As it is, it's like they built a hallway from the building to the tunnel entrance -- so while you could argue otherwise, I'd say this might qualify as a tunnel entrance that's not inside of a building.
  14. Two words explain why a lot of Houston doesn't look so pretty from the interstates: Feeder roads. They're super-convenient, but nothing obscures blight like a tree-lined buffer along a freeway.
  15. You might remember they tried a neon outline of the temple on top of the Heritage plaza facing wast a few years back, but it ended up just looking like some strange blob of a shape to me. Somebody must have agreed, because it didn't last long. Sure seems like they could do better than that. Putting some subtle neon where the red & white christmas lights have been in the past (parallel lines on either side of the temple, stepping up the side) might look nice. I think you have to be careful with this stuff though. I always hated the Green neon on the Wedge International Tower. Knowing that building was owned by the same company that owns the larger and more interesting Green-neon building in Dallas always made the Wedge seem like a knock-off to me. I don't want Houston's skyline -- which is worlds better than Dallas' in the daytime (IMHO) -- looking like a Dallas wannabe at night. I'd rather Houston simply be known for its awesome daytime skyline than have it go Vegas at night just for the sake of lighting it up like other cities. (By the way, I know that the term "subtle neon" may be an oxymoron -- I mean it in the relative sense, of course. )
  16. They're just using it as a storage site for building materials for all the other imaginary projects around town.
  17. Yikes! Methinks that just might be the comment that makes this thread that's been teetering on the edge go careening down into full-blown hijack mode. City Centre... yes, uh, nice-looking project!
  18. They should have built the South tower first, not the North tower. Then they could have hooked a few more lessees on the basis of the spectacular skyline views. "Second tower? Er, no, of course we're not building a second tower between this one and downtown! Sign here, please."
  19. Actually, isn't this one of the blocks of Main Street that's part of the "Main Event" where they block it off to pedestrian-only traffic on weekend nights? Does that still exist? If so, there's your place for congregation. ...Or did they stop doing that?
  20. I read this article this morning, and was most amused. The "top official" who comments that the county may pick up the tab is the chairman of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. Now, am I mistaken, or is this not an entity that basically manages the money it's given by the county -- not one that actually has much say over what money is spent? Relegated to the very bottom of the article is the note that Radack is completely opposed to any county money funding this project. Doesn't that pretty much mean that the idea of county financial support is basically DOA? Or am I mistaken on who the real money-brokers are around here?
  21. To me it was unclear whether the possible expansion meant more floors on the same building -- or building a second building on the other block. So if the demand comes in strong, I'm not sure if this one grows, or this one stays at 31 and they build another. (My guess is there are enough firms looking at building towers now that this one stays at 31 stories on one block, at best...) I'm wondering just how "prime" this block is. If you're a company looking for space, what's more attractive? A building by the park, the convention center, Minute Maid, Houston Pavillions, etc...? Or one more centrally located in downtown? Either way, I'm beginning to think Brookfield's proposed building on the Continental Center I front lawn doesn't stand a chance -- it's in a far corner of downtown, and it's not close to any attractions. (Unless, of course, Chevron needs yet more space, but they're still getting the old Enron HQ ready for move-in)
  22. As someone who is often as hyper-sensitive as you seem to be on this issue, I should point out that there have been 2 separate stabbing incidents and one shooting incident (the latter resulting in death) in the Drink Houston parking lot at the Marquee over the last couple of years (http://www.click2houston.com/news/7396237/detail.html). Maybe that shouldn't be enough to label a place as "rough" or maybe it should, but it doesn't seem fair to chalk the comment up to cultural insensitivity given that background.
  23. Judging by the reception the recently-published AIA 150 list got on this board -- architectural consumer research wouldn't produce any designs that would get rave reviews around here anyhow...
  24. IIRC, when the Central Market site was first razed, it was supposed to make room for Central Market plus a lot of smaller retail spots -- much smaller scale than the BLVD Place plan, but not entirely dissimilar (maybe more like Uptown Park). In the end, it turned into a Central Market with an enormous parking lot. Now, I'm optimistic about BLVD Place as a comprehensive mixed-use project -- BUT while this flagship Whole Foods may be a little more upscale than Central Market, it sounds more like Saks vs. Nordstroms than Saks vs. Sears. Why should we be more confident that a flagship Whole Foods can be a much more successful lure for upscale retail than Central Market? (Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a complete skeptic like What. I think and hope that the slightly better location, better name recognition, better planning will help. I want to believe in this place, but I don't want to get my hopes up too high.)
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