ChannelTwoNews

Building 6 has topped out. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/12/04/new-office-building-tops-out-in-the-woodlands.html

Still thought it was Del Lago after apparently a couple of name changes... Apparently it's to become a Margaritaville Resort now. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/12/03/first-look-see-what-the-houston-areas-first-jimmy.html

I'm consistently impressed at how quickly this project is coming out of the ground. It's the one I'm looking forward to most, for somewhat personal reasons, when I get back in town in a month. It was actually the last project I wanted to shoot before leaving last January - the last time I was in the area. A blowout on one of my tires put those plans on hold as my family needed to get back on the road and were already running late. Needless to say, I am eager to see how this and everything else is panning out. Already looking forward to a couple of days of just shooting around town, mixed in with time with relatives. Soon enough!

Larger version of the above rendering now on the Mathis Group website...

Thank you! Apologies for the reply so many months later. I had that feeling you mentioned about the set/background Channel 2 had from the late 80s into the early 90s which featured a sweeping view of the western side of the skyline, shot from a few hundred feet up around what I would guess was the intersection of Washington Ave & Studemont. I, as a kid anyway, thought it would be neat to have that as the view out an actual window (or oversized bay window as theirs would seem). Perhaps one day, a developer can make that happen. Some of the higher-level views at Memorial by Windsor I'd guess are pretty close though. I know there was a comment about Greenway Plaza not being featured by @Blue Dogs, and it's true. Very rarely has anything outside of downtown shown up as a backdrop. I think Channel 11 had Uptown as part of the backdrop they were using in the mid 80s, while I recall 26 using Uptown as well... and even an aerial view of Galveston during the 90s for some reason at that time. Don't quote me on that latter one though.

https://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/article/Kimpton-Hotels-to-open-first-Houston-property-in-14488855.php

Royal Oaks? Isn't that the area around the country club in Westchase? Then again, the same person wrote that garage at Fannin & Rusk was being built in a "Federal District", downtown.

May want to merge with this thread...

Wonder if it might have any connection with this '109 parking garage planned for the TWH campus... https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=413723078&row=0

I've kinda kept tabs on what's going on in the Basin over the years, even before that 53-story tower was announced - then cancelled. The boom/bust cycle tends to be more extreme there as the reliance on the energy industry is far more palpable in just about everything that happens and, in a way, it's fascinating to be on the ground in a place like that. I think the bulk of the construction out there has primarily been new hotels - but there have been some O&G campus build-outs that have taken place. The majority have been 4-6 story structures that make an impact of sorts. Most of the action in general is on the north and west sides of town, in spots along Loop 250. Pioneer and Chevron have completed new office buildings (and in Chevron's case, campus) in the past few years. Construction is wrapping up on Anadarko's pair of office buildings as well. I haven't been there in about a decade, but during the previous boom a few years back - the lack of supply really drove up the costs per night. On my last visit, a lot of the professional crews out in that part of the world were not doing O&G work, but rather assembling the wind turbines for the numerous wind farms along and near I-20. The Super 8 on Wall Street near Downtown that I enjoyed as a bachelor at that time specifically because it was cheap and not horrible at the cost of about $70 would, during the boom, have rooms going for $150-$250 per night. At the same time what is arguably the nicest hotel, the Doubletree downtown, had rooms going for $500+. Needless to say things have changed. All of that said, Downtown hasn't missed out on the action. While there are still a number of vacant spaces present some have found new lives. Two have become part of the campus for Concho Resources. Another has become residential with retail and a secondary tv studio for the CBS station at street level. When the old courthouse was demolished across the street from that building, county government took over a nearly vacant 11-story building and filled it. Others have been imploded for surface level parking lots. At least one midrise apartment complex emerged nearby, with retail in the base. The site of the old courthouse is interesting though. This is where that 53-story tower was planned. When it died, a proposal for an 18 story or so hotel emerged then also fizzled when the principals couldn't provide financial information to the city for their backing. Between that spot on the west side of the block and the convention center on the east lay Centennial Plaza - a nice, if underused public space in the heart of the city. The small convention center is being expanded a bit and now, just west of it, will lie an expanded urban park to be called Centennial Park. This one is actually under construction at the moment, it seems. It's also probably the best thing that could have happened to the block as well, as there are a few surrounding older highrises that look like they could be given a new life... for the right person and at the right price. A final thought, one that probably has nothing to do with anything posted so far. Midland has, for it's size, one of the best skylines in the state (IMHO) - primarily in how it tends to appear on the horizon from far away. I've always liked driving through the country and when going out there, I'd get off I-10 onto Hwy 349 to Iraan then Rankin. The land transforms from scrub land to a number of mesas that continue on for miles before coming to flat and featureless scrub land again. Still, just about 25 miles or so just south of town, that skyline starts to come into view and you know that you're close to your destination. Well, it made an impact on me as someone in my 20s at the time anyway.

Also worth noting: Liebherr cranes tend to be distributed by Morrow Equipment, similar to how Heede provides the Linden ones. Liebherr/Morrow tend to show up a ton down here, especially on the highrise and larger scale projects. I know that Morrow has a yard down Cullen near Almeda-Genoa. Only reason I know that is because years ago I saw the tops of three or four tower cranes rising above that area and I wasn't aware of a specific project there - just found the yard in the process. I guess they are the demo models that could be used.

You mean like this?: https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/nicknaming-the-inner-loop-kroger-stores-6418519

We still have the Weather Channel on in our workplace, but I've noticed another camera in use that they tend to pull from as of late. It is located Uptown, I think on the Sonesta at 610 near Westheimer. While I like seeing the Williams Tower at times as a reminder of home, there are definitely better vantage points of the city than toward that stretch of Post Oak.

I do some television production work out of the area, so this topic piqued my interest. Each time I come back to town - this is something I do happen to catch when I see what changes have occurred on local tv. To your point- this generally has been the case over the past number of decades, since the backdrops were actually physical - something on a curtain that could be changed out for day/night shots or shifted on a duratrans background based on what the situation called for. Over the past decade, and especially the past five years, this has changed a fair amount with more sets in the round - ones that are more friendly to HDTV cameras and televisions, and ones that have large wall-sized screens serving as a backdrop. From what I recall, most of KPRC's shots of the skyline are actually from the northeast (with Catalyst and I think Aris among others, frozen under construction circa 2016 or so). I think KHOU has used more of the views from the southeast, as if you launched a drone from around Discovery Green or the Toyota Center for most of their background shots in the evening, but more of the traditional views earlier in the day - though 609 Main is visible if you know where to look. It may have been mixed up since they've moved into their new digs, but that's just what I recall. KTRK is the only only one that I recall that actually tries to use a live camera on occasion - an aerial view from Memorial Parkway at Waugh, I think atop Memorial by Windsor. They tend to get some good sunrise & sunset views from that vantage and it looks well when they don't use the static views for the different dayparts. KRIV has static shots of the skyline from the traditional view for all timeslots, but they are up to date with 609 visible as well as the most recent lighting changes to 1600 Smith. Again I don't live in the area at the moment, and I don't watch streams unless there's a big event happening - so that's just generally what I recall as of a couple of months ago. Of course as you said old photos not being updated aren't a new phenomena. Even when technology was used way back, there were a few faux pas moments that could be seen - if the viewer paid attention. KTRK is a good example of this with Heritage Plaza prominently displayed, prior to topping out from 1986 or so all the way up to 1992.

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/02/06/dollar-tree-planning-130m-distribution-center-in.html