Sunstar

On 8/1/2018 at 7:41 PM, Purdueenginerd said:

 

There is a portion of the building towards the front that was designed and constructed in the 1930's. If you look at the curved drive-in ramp of the structure, you'll see the original 1930's portion of the structure. Ive attached a screen shot of the site from 1944 to 2017. You'll see the original 1930's building in both images. 

 

 

Found this old aerial of Grand Central. I can't make out that old post office building in this photo. If it was built back in the 30s, it should be visible in this picture, slightly to the east and right behind that other building. 

17 hours ago, bobruss said:

I'm sorry they can't save this building,  but this is one of the buildings I've suggested needed to be removed due to the fact it slowed the flow of water through the bottleneck the building created in Buffalo Bayou, by being built down into the waters edge. This and any other buildings that also curtail the flow should be removed. I'm a very big fan of re purposing old buildings but when they are causing serious flooding in the downtown district and theater district get rid of them.

If it's contributing to flooding downtown then I agree it needs to be removed. The building had some unique character to it, but I also think turning that whole section along the Bayou from Fannin to Elysian into green space would be quite nice. I'm guessing they were never able to purchase the Centerpoint property on McKee since I don't see it incorporated into their plan. 

On 10/28/2019 at 3:50 PM, Houston19514 said:

 

I believe the City, BBP, Harris County Flood Control District and Harris County now own essentially all of this land. I believe 1119 Commerce is slated for demolition soon for flood control projects.  I think that will leave only the two Harris County buildings (the functions of one of which recently moved across the Bayou).  So maybe the Commerce Street plan (or at least the parkland concept), still has life.

I was hoping they could somehow incorporate 1119 Commerce into the design, it's a cool old building they way if backs right up to the Bayou. 

12 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

I can think of a few renovations that are underway or just completed, the C. Baldwin, the Cambria and Hyatt on Texas Avenue, and a potential Marriott concept in the old State National Building. C. Baldwin is basically a redo of the old Doubletree to stay competitive. Similar to Brookfield's office renovations downtown, they are investing for the long term as they know the market will come back at some point. The other renovations are "low hanging fruit," not very expensive since you already have an empty building sitting there. There will always be a certain amount of development when you are in the trough of a market cycle as people anticipate the market coming back and want to be ready when it does.

 

But the main point in this thread is that downtown's hotels are still primarily driven by business, not tourism. I spent a weekend at the Magnolia last year for $68/night (before taxes). That must be the best deal in the world. $68/night in San Antonio would maybe get you a La Quinta out on Loop 410 on the southwest side of town. The takeaway being (a) we are lacking in weekend tourism, and (b) there's no good reason why we should be at this point. People just aren't aware.

 

 

The renovations of older buildings for new hotels has been a huge boon for downtown IMO, and I hope the trend continues. I agree revenues are mainly business driven, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I suspect there has been an incremental increase in our tourism numbers over the past 10 years or so, and that will likely continue, but I don't know of anything we can add above what we already have that will suddenly catapult us into the ranks of Austin/San Antonio, let alone NYC or SF. It kind of is what it is. The further densification (not sure that's a word) of downtown and other neighborhoods will help. I also think projects like the next phases of the Buffalo Bayou and the Memorial Park Master Plans will also help from a beautification standpoint. But several of our major attractions like Nasa and the San Jacinto Battlefield, which in most cities would be huge tourist attractions, are hindered by being too far outside the city with no reliable means of getting to other than rental car or Uber/Taxi. 

36 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Point taken. But the context of the discussion was our poor hotel performance since the oil bust. Also I believe I read in the past year or so that the highest revenue night for downtown hotels is still Wednesday rather than Friday or Saturday, indicating primarily business clientele. So while we may have some tourism, it is not enough to fill our hotels, and we lag significantly behind Austin, San Antonio, and DFW.

 

If it's not revenues, something must be driving new hotel developments downtown. It seems like a new one opens every new week, with more being announced all the time. Perhaps the revenues aren't enough to entice some of the higher end brands to to open up here,  but they will soon be in a tiny minority. 

On 9/17/2019 at 1:15 AM, Urbannizer said:

 

Motion carries. Comments removed.

Oh nuts, I missed them! 😃

I totally forgot this was a thing. Thanks for the post.

I can’t wait to see this sucker lit up. It’s going to look great!

3 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

From Bisnow Houston:

Mia Bella’s leased a 3,800 SF space in The Star at 1111 Rusk in Downtown Houston. EDGE Realty Partners' Debbie Adams represented the landlord. Waterman Steel's Emily Durham represented the tenant.

https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/deal-sheet/this-weeks-houston-deal-sheet-98912

I wish someone would lease out their old space on Main Street, it’s a nice location and it’s sad to see it all boarded up.

On 3/7/2016 at 1:48 PM, Sunstar said:

 

The original building that burned down is picture on that Wikipedia page. I found this picture of the one torn down in the 70s:

 

It’s this one 

6 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

Downtown Houston, 1929

 

Photo was taken where the Buffalo  Bayou hike and bike trail exist today, near 45. The Bayou looked pretty rough back then.

 

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504919/m1/1/high_res_d/

Wow, so much stuff gone now. The foreground across the Bayou appears to be what is now the Wortham Center and Sesquicentennial Park. That would be Preston street bridge. Possibly taken from the roof of the Tennison Hotel? The Bayou was seriously concreted back then. Guess they got tired of all the flooding. 

45 minutes ago, Ross said:

Most of the references I've found to Quality Hill show it between Franklin and Commerce, so the houses in the photo might be a block or two South. I think the building might actually be the Ben Milam Hotel. The Anderson Clayton building is 16 stories tall, the Ben Milam was 10.

43 minutes ago, KinkaidAlum said:

Wow. Great find! I don't think that's the Anderson Clayton Bldg. I think that's the old Penn Hotel? Looks like the sign might say Will Penn, no? But that could easily be it on Texas Avenue putting the photographer to the northwest of the Church.

Good call, I never thought of it being a no longer existent building.

44 minutes ago, EllenOlenska said:

What is that First Order Star Wars ship looming over Hogg Palace? 

It's the Ballet center made transparent. 

2 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

Connecting it to the NW transit center is certainly a start.

That appears to be the third option. But what's the purpose of the structure at 610 and Hempstead?

On 12/11/2017 at 8:00 PM, tigereye said:

 

I believe Crane’s end game is similar to the deal the Rockies just got. As part of a deal to extend their Coors Field lease for 30 years, they’ll get to develop a block across the street with a team HOF, restaurant, retail, entertainment & residential components. It’s similar to what the Cardinals have done with Ballpark Village, the Braves with The Battery, and what the Rangers will be doing with Texas Live. 

 

The Rockies have a team HOF and need a new building for it? They've only been around for 15 years. 

On 11/17/2017 at 9:37 AM, Houston19514 said:

There is no lockup facility that would have to be relocated for this project.  I don't know what Sunstar could be talking about.

It wouldn't have to be relocated to dig the North Channel specifically, but what's the point of doing all this development right next to the Harris County Jail?

On 11/15/2017 at 1:28 PM, Subdude said:

Remember the North Canal project?  It's still included in the new master plan.  https://archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Plan_Downtown_Perspective_North_Cana

 

 

If I'm not mistaken the North Canal was first proposed for flood control in the 1930s.  You have to wonder what it would take to ever get it going.

 

 

 

Is this the 'Alcatraz' project? They would have to relocate the Harris County lockup facility, which I think is the bigger project compared to digging a new connector canal. 

On 8/26/2017 at 1:25 PM, hindesky said:

Any possibility for some retail there?

2 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/08/17/texas-central-partners-inks-deal-with-city-of.html

 

 

 

Why so vague on the location? I thought it was going to be built at the Northwest Mall site.

On 8/6/2017 at 11:08 AM, Texasota said:

It looks like you can actually get into Skyhouse for cheaper, albeit with a smaller unit.

 

The thing is, today's affordable housing is yesterday's luxury housing. It is very difficult to make new housing that's genuinely affordable to people. I actually think the DLI is great because it incentivized new housing in an area where it was unlikely to result in the replacement of existing affordable housing with new luxury stock. It just created more housing overall.

 

It will be interesting to see how these buildings age. I kinda think the Skyhouses are the best overall - they're actually borderline affordable now, and, since they're not just stick construction, are likely to still be going strong well after their initial construction costs have been absorbed. 

One approach to cheaper housing downtown would be to cut back on amenities like pools, gyms, dedicated parking garages, etc. If someone is looking to live downtown cheaply, they would probably be willing to forgo some of these. Downtown is a central transit hub between rail and bus, so I can't imagine a car is a necessity. 

22 hours ago, Twinsanity02 said:

What are the rents for the Hamilton, block 334 or the other non-highrise apartments? Anyone know? 

Looks like the cheapest floor plan at the Hamilton is $1455 for 760 sq feet.

2 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Welcome to Houston. I've never heard much talk of affordable housing here, I think because the City is so affordable in general. We lack in the image department, not the cost of living department, hence taxpayer subsidies for high dollar highrise residences.

i guess the idea was to get someone living downtown, anyone really. They've succeeded in that they've tapped into a demand for downtown living. I'm not saying they need section 8 housing, but something affordable to working class families would be nice. Especially since there are still so many undeveloped lots downtown, especially north of the ball park and south of the GRB. 

How is it the downtown living initiative managed to avoid providing affordable housing? Isn't this tax payer supported?