Jump to content

ArchFan

Full Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    563

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Everything posted by ArchFan

  1. ArchFan
    The list I saw on their web site (not sure if its the same one you guys saw) just mentioned some tenants that their leasing agent had brought to other OliverMcMillan developments. Looking closely at the updated site plan, I noticed several generic-sounding names that were repeated in different spots. So, I guess those are just notional labels. That said, I'm excited about this development. It looks like it will have a sizable collection (80 or so) of retail and restaurant tenants. I wish they had kept the high-end hotel that was in the earlier plan, though. I think the developer and investors will do well, if they live up to their mission statement. It would be a nice change from the conservative, bland developments we've mostly been getting for a while here in Houston. "Everything we do at OliverMcMillan is viewed as an opportunity to mold the unexpected into an art form. We create memorable destinations and our creations are a unique blend of glamour, sophistication, charm and intimacy that activates the senses and delivers an experience that defines the spirit of contemporary place. The essence of OliverMcMillan and our projects is reflected in our belief in design and its power to defy what can be planned, plotted and programmed, where the combination of strategy and visual artistry creates memorable experiences. OliverMcMillan’s philosophy is guided by strategy, market intelligence, rigorous planning and rational thinking. We partner with like-minded visionaries who have the courage, will and creativity to redefine the categories in which they compete."
  2. ArchFan
    That's good news. I've been to the iPic theatre in Austin and it was nice. I wonder if they will charge for parking like at the Edwards Greenway.
  3. ArchFan
    I'm also disappointed with the scaling-back of this project. But (forgive me for not digging up the historical records) wasn't there originally supposed to be a 2nd phase of this project that would extend farther north towards San Felipe? If so, is it still possible that the 2nd phase could be more interesting than this rather "ho-hum" set of renderings?
  4. ArchFan
    Ah, I see that you are right, I did say that! Mea culpa. If I were to try to wiggle out of this, I would amend that sentence to say "...because of the ordinance and the political pressure that led up to it." :-)
  5. ArchFan
    In contrast, I understand that in Dallas, they've restored the 35x40-foot rotating neon Pegasus atop the old Magnolia Petroleum Bldg. there. I haven't seen the new one, but the original was pretty cool.
  6. ArchFan
    I am not certain about the timing and sequence of events. However, please note that I just said that there were big lighted signs prior to the ordinance, not that they all came down when it went into effect. For years before the ordinance, there had been an ongoing public discussion about whether the giant signage downtown was too ugly, too crassly commercial, or just bad for Houston's image. It's easy to imagine (tho' I admit I don't know) that some corporate execs and/or building owners saw advantages to removing the signs even w/o the ordinance. As a side note: there were articles in the local papers when the rotating Gulf disk came down. Also, when they removed the giant letters that spelled "Tenneco" the top of that building (now called the Kinder Morgan Tower). I don't know about the former, but I think it was stated that the latter was removed explicitly because of the ordinance. Those were big letters! That building occupies a square block, and the name "Tenneco" spanned each of the four sides of the building, across the top floor.
  7. ArchFan
    I have mixed feelings about the issue of decorative lighting on big buildings. Frankly, that photo of the Dallas Omni makes my eyes hurt. But ... I'm not opposed to the idea of night-lighting in general. Prior to restrictions the City of Houston imposed, we had a number of large night-lighted signs on large buildings downtown. The top of what was the Gulf building (the art-deco 1929 Chase building, not the 75-story Chase Tower) was crowned with a glowing, rotating version of Gulf's orange-disk logo, which was said to be the largest such sign in the world. Conoco's building had a rotating version of their red inverted-triangle logo, with a lighted sphere on top that glowed red or green, depending on the weather forecast. Buildings occupied by other oil companies were branded by lighted signs also (I can recall the Tenneco and old Shell buildings had their company names in neon). Among bank buildings, I recall that Bank of the Southwest had similar night-lighted branding. All of this signage was taken down because of the city ordinance. This was seen as a victory for aesthetic-minded people who wanted to keep downtown Houston from having a tacky, commercial look. I don't know whether the ordinance set limits on ornamental lighting, as opposed to explicit commericality but, perhaps it set a conservative tone. Admittedly, there weren't any eye-catching light shows of the type that we're discussing here. But, at that time, I don't recall Dallas having much in that dept., either, except maybe for the white-glowing vertical bars that ran up the side of the then LTV (I think) Building.
  8. ArchFan
    Yes, I was watching the dig from my office yesterday. They were excavating on the north side, about where Eatzi's was, and trucking the dirt over and dumping it in the south part of the hole where the Pavilion's underground parking was. It made me wonder if this was an indication that Apache's tower would not be directly adjacent (and north) of Phillippe. OTOH, I guess they could always move the dirt again later. Also, they seem to have mostly cleared the Pavilion site, except for the concrete walls that were part of the underground Lowe's Cinema. Not sure what's going on there, but they seemed to be moving dirt around there too. In any case, its nice to see that there is activity over all of the BLVD Place site east of Post Oak Lane.
  9. ArchFan
    I remember that when One Shell Plaza was completed, it was described as being the tallest reinforced-concrete structure in the world. Recently, I read that, while the inclusion of steel rebars increases the tensile strength of concrete, it also (potentially, at least) can decrease the lifetime of a structure. Apparently, the problem is corrosion of the rebars. According to wiki.answers.com, the ACI (American Concrete Institute) says the typical design life for reinforced concrete is an average of 75 years. The normal range given in between 50-100 years. One Shell Plaza was completed (I think) in 1971, so the reinforced concrete in it is 41+ years old. I've been wondering if the 50-100-year figure is applicable to the way high-rise office buildings are constructed ...
  10. ArchFan
    OK, this stimulated some fun memories, so I have to jump in, too. James Coney Island on Walker ─ I also miss this. Was that in the old Texaco building or next door? In any case, the original opened in 1923, not too long after Nathan’s opened in Coney Island in 1916. I always wondered if the founding Papadakis brothers were inspired by seeing Nathan’s upon arriving from Greece to NYC. From the 60s, I recall accompanying my neighbor on a mission all the way downtown from west Houston to pick up chili-cheese dogs for all. The seating consisted of individual wooden chairs with attached mini-desktops, like 50s-era kids used in school ─ not so convenient for eating. I remember being disappointed when they stopped using solid cheese and started using liquefied cheese squirted from a gun. For many years, they sold their chili in frozen-brick form. Sakowitz, both the downtown store and the Post Oak one ─ visited both often, but I don’t recall eating there. I do have many memories of eating at the snack bar in the basement of Foley’s. Hot dogs, as I recall … good, but not as good as JCI. The Shamrock Hotel, including Trader Vic's ─ I think we took visiting relatives to TV, but was too little to remember much. Later, the same relatives took us to the TV in Hollywood, which was great fun. The Magic Pan ─ this was a national chain, kind of a novelty at the time, but I guess crepes were a passing fad. I remember eating at the one in The Galleria and also in Aspen CO in the 70s. The Music Hall ─ I remember it having roof leaks and equipment failures. My earliest memory is being sent with my sister (an opera fan) to see Faust and falling asleep. Later, I saw a pop singer (Ronstadt, I think) whose performance was interrupted when the sound went out. Sharpstown Mall ─ anyone remember the diorama of Texas history? Another cool thing I remember seeing there was Chrysler’s turbine-powered “car of the future” … which when starting, sounded like a jet preparing for take-off.
  11. ArchFan
    I remember being excited when the Farmer's Market was announced, which I expected to be like the one in LA by CBS Television City. The one here was a big disappointment, tho' ... i remember the one here as mostly a collection of made-on-a-shoestring-budget curio shops. It was pretty much customer-free all the time, except for the adjacent ice rink. (I wish the COH and developers of the later, ill-fated Mercado del Sol -- east of downtown -- had taken a lesson from it. Seemed like it had the same pathetic junk shops and little else.) To the west of that, there was a development called "The Mall of Fountains" connected to the Joske's store. I remember it having mostly stores selling shoes and handbags, plus maybe an Orange Julius. It was pretty dead. Later, we were again excited when the Town & Country Mall was announced to replace it. That mall was completed just in time for the big recession in 1983; also, Hurricane Alicia blew off the canvas-domed roof and drenched the interior. After that ill-starred beginning, it never really seemed to be able to draw much of a crowd. The mall was replaced by City Centre, which apparently has been a big success (despite the ugly brownstones). So, I'm happy that the apparent jinx on that plot of ground appears to have been finally killed off.
  12. ArchFan
    Another amusing anecdote I remember about the Four Leaf Towers: someone quoted Pelli or his staff as saying the pink panels were intended to resonate (or something) with the colors of the southwest. As if Houston was somewhere in northern New Mexico or Arizona! :-)
  13. ArchFan
    You are right, there have been other complexes since Four Leaf Towers that have had some element of underground parking, although the scale seems to have been shrinking since Greenway Plaza, which was started earlier. (The quote I remembererd might have referred to GP, not Four Leaf Towers.) I think Montebello and Villa d'Est have a much lesser amount than FLT (I was in the latter a couple of times and don't recall the underground; one doesn't see much evidence from the street, which is good in any case.) I think Borlenghi and Interfin did hold up the flag in that area, while other developers had already given up due to the expense. The last tract that he/they developed thereabouts, Uptown Park, is an all-surface-lot development, which they sold off to TIAA/CREF, along with the Four Oaks office towers.
  14. ArchFan
    I agree. In the 15 years up to 1983, it seemed like outside investors considered Houston to be irresistable. Then came the 83 crash and we lost 100s of thousands of jobs. 15 years later, it finally seemed to be recovering, until Enron collapsed, the dot-com bubble burst, and 9/11. I think the experience of Houston in the 80s has not been forgotten by developers and investors. That doesn't mean they won't come back, but they will be more cautious. Out local economy is more diverse than most outsiders think, but its still true that if the oil biz coughs, Houston gets a cold. Regarding the Four-Leaf Towers, I do think they look a bit dated. However, as far as I'm aware, it's also the last major project here that put their parking completely underground and capped it with a parklike setting. It might have been this project, but I remember a developer saying that would never be done again, due to the cost.
  15. ArchFan
    Houston Center:
  16. ArchFan
    Well, the pics didn't include for some reason.
  17. ArchFan
    I can't believe no one has posted renderings for the most over-the-top planned project here in the last 50 years: Houston Center. Here's the sketch for Phase 1: ... and here's an overview of the entire 33-block area:
  18. ArchFan
    Yeah, I also noticed the strip parking along Westheimer and didn't like it. Unfortunately, BLVD Place feels obligated to do the same thing. But, as someone noted in a thread here recently, it seems that in Houston this serves the purpose of sending the message "COME ON IN!" to Houstonians. Maybe they're right?
  19. ArchFan
    Oliver McMillan, out of San Diego.
  20. ArchFan
    It is quite a severe pullback from the earlier plans. I can't recall a more drastic downgrade by a developer who also floated the original knock-your-socks-off proposal. (I'm hopeful that BLVD Place won't ultimately fall into this category.) My expectation was that, if the property were redeveloped at all in the next 10 years, it would be more along the lines of CityCentre. I.e., a taller residential profile around a high-end hotel, plus retail. I am glad they kept the ground-level retail in the plan, at least. That would distinguish it from the other high-end rental complexes currently under construction in the area. It will also be a nice amentity for those of us who live in the area and like to walk places, w/o having to risk one's life walking to the other side of 610.
  21. ArchFan
    It's been awhile, but I think the psychic was located on what is now the east side of Skylark (in the area colored green in Woolies pic). I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that the property taken by the city using eminent domain is the parking lot contiguous with the red area in the pic. Media reports said it was owned by 2 older guys, brothers, who said it was an investment they were counting on for a comfortable retirement. I had a sense of deja vu when I read that. In buying up the land for Greenway Plaza, Ken Schnitzer (Century Development), had to deal with a homeowner who held out to the bitter end. In that case, the homeowner made out pretty good in the end. (Wikipedia cites him getting $350K, but from my recollection it was more like $450K. In any case, considering this was in the 70s, he did really well!)
  22. ArchFan
    Thanks a bunch for the pics! I walked by last week and the progress wasn't as evident, so I kinda despaired about whether it would happen or not. I think highly of Mr. Wulfe. Hope he hits a home run with this next phase ...
  23. ArchFan
    I've heard that 24-Hour Fitness will not be a tenant in the new building (contrary to the 2008 buzz for the earlier incarnation of the project). However, there is a rumor that the big oil co across the street is considering leasing space there for an employee health-club facility.
  24. ArchFan
    Whenever I pass by there, I still laugh when I recall the comment of someone here -- before the posters finally went up -- describing the faux-pedestals as "urinals of the gods". They do kinda look like bathroom fixtures. Wish they had gone instead with the waterwall-like feature depicted in the earlier promo sketches!
  25. ArchFan
    IIRC, the Aon sign on 1330 Post Oak Blvd. was removed not long after part of it fell 30 stories to the ground (during Ike, I think). I'm guessing that construction at the 1550 location might start fairly soon. Demo of the health club could start soon after it closes (on Jan. 27, according to Nancy S.'s blog). Also, there won't be any pre-leasing requirements that could delay financing, since TIAA-CREF plans to self-finance (assuming that the info in the 2008 HBJ article on this project is still valid).
×
×
  • Create New...