lockmat

3 hours ago, Luminare said:

I keep on reading the title as "Latest Plot for Astroworld Redevelopment" instead of "Latest Astroworld Plot Redevelopment".

It's a conspiracy by the Illuminati.

6 hours ago, htownbro said:

 

A waste of space.  This area could have used a mixed used development.  

In my opinion, this land is overrated. Class B land, B+ at best.

“All plans are entirely conceptual at this point, but discussions have included building an event space that would enhance our annual show and provide a year-round presence that could serve multiple purposes, including educational exhibits, committee meeting space, fundraisers and event locations,” Cowley said.

Mister McKinney is in the business of promoting Houston history. He believes an educational component is critical because it’s something that will connect with families, giving a whole new generation a chance to make new memories.

“To be able to redevelop it into something the public can enjoy would actually be a good thing, beyond just a parking lot,” McKinney, of Historic Houston, said. “And with the new dome experience that's going to be happening in that space, the re-purposing of the Astrodome, the 8th wonder of the world, to be able house different things in there, too. Hopefully the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo puts something here that complements that.”

12 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

You have to think though that there's a reason why Hines or Midway didn't buy it. They must have studied it, and they could have outbid anyone else if they had wanted it. There may be significant challenges or problems we don't know about.

14 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

I am concerned about this property.  To me it represents a “once in a lifetime” development opportunity for a firm with vision.  I am not really seeing the vision.   Had a firm like Hines bought it, the vision would likely be clear and it would be spectacular.  Unfortunately, this feels “GreenStreet-ish” to me right now.  I really hope that I am wrong.

Its a lot of space, buts all by itself and barely connected to downtown. Hopefully there’s more synergy they can create than seems to be there. If it can a kind of “bookend” to downtown that the GRB is becoming that’d be great. 

On 2/14/2018 at 8:35 AM, CrockpotandGravel said:

Construction has begun on the AC Marriott in downtown Houston.

From a press release:
 

NewcrestImage has begun transforming a 104-year-old building in downtown Houston into a 195-room, 10-floor AC Hotel by Marriott, with Houston-based Arch-Con Construction serving as general contractor.  Opening is expected during the summer of 2019.   

The property, located at 723 Main Street, will feature a large fitness center; business center; cocktail lounge; and dining area, which will be integrated with the Zoe Theatre, originally opened in 1914 as a silent movie theatre on the building’s ground floor.  There will also be approximately 4,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space with the latest technology for large screen presentations and interactive video calls.

“We are creating bold, modern grandeur in the heart of the city’s business district, while respecting the rich historic pedigree of this building,” explained Mehul Patel, Chairman and CEO of NewcrestImage.  “Our hotel will symbolize everything the AC brand stands for – vibrant artwork, upscale furnishings, and the latest high-tech amenities all coming together to give guests an elegant, contemporary experience in an urban location.”   

The AC Hotel’s customized interior design and furnishings will reflect minimalistic European-style such as guest rooms with “floating” furniture and public space featuring wood and stone finishes accented by chrome.  Local commissioned artwork throughout the property will complete the sophisticated signature look.     
 

http://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/newcrestimage-begins-construction-of-adaptive-reuse-property-in-downtown-ho

 

Kinda funny they’re marketing this as a historic building.

1 hour ago, cspwal said:

Oh wow

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

BREATHTAKING!

 

1 hour ago, LBC2HTX said:

Wowww

1 hour ago, Sellanious Caesar said:

Wow

1 hour ago, kennyc05 said:

Wow

1 hour ago, urbanize713 said:

Wow

2 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

wow

Dido. 

This definitely changes my opinion.

2 hours ago, htownbro said:

Now the east end of DT needs to be filled in more with residential and hotels.

I agree, some 30-40 story towers to kinda cover up those 80s office towers. 

2 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

I assume your getting the ok means that it has reached some critical "moving forward" point?

 

That's good news, thanks.

I wonder which property adjacent to the park is most likely to go next. Chase bank site? 

The bend and tapered north side is nice but the glass curtain is giving me an office-feel so I'm hoping a colored rendering or different angle will make it feel more residential.

On 7/19/2018 at 11:47 AM, blakevirgilio said:

Here are more images:

 

 

 

48 minutes ago, brijonmang said:

Just got sent a picture of a rendering for block 42 and unfortunately I can’t post it yet but I can say with confidence I think you all will like it. It matches the massing of the top down view blakevirgilio posted a few pages back. The wall facing market square is all glass with a little angle setback at the base of the glass. I’ll post it when I’m given the ok. 

 

 

Besides the massing it is a good representation of what it looks like? Thanks for the description. 

I think it's a really good idea they found a way to have one of the main sides facing the park.

So is the intent of this garage to double up as parking for employees by day and diners by night?

Why don't residential towers do this (have extra parking for non-residents/shoppers)? To me, and clearly I'm not a savvy developer, but it could give more justification to include GFR if they wanted to add it, essentially increasing the amount of potential customers.

nice

2 hours ago, texas911 said:

moo. Missed opportunity here. I look at what's happening in the rest of the world and wonder why Houston can't come up with a signature skyscraper for its skyline.

It may not be super tall, but grading on the uniqueness and sleekness of the design, I'll give it a B+.

On 7/18/2018 at 2:30 PM, Urbannizer said:

 

 

 

2 hours ago, bobruss said:

Also if you look at your numbered rendering you'll see that the crown is nothing like all of the renderings of the Hines tower so I don't know where you found that rendering but something is not right plus it seems from that view you would see the Republic bank bldg. 

I cropped it from this rendering.

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

Lockmat, your illustration with the numbers 1 & 2 drawn on it are of the San Franciso tower that Pelli has just designed. They have nothing to do with our skyline.

In the aerial view above with the red lines it depicts the 1/2 block that is adjacent to the Hogg Palace, which is not coming down.

This is the site for  proposed high rise tower that we have no illustrations for yet. The new Pelli tower is on the old Chronicle block which 

is a full sized block. The new tower by Pelli, is turned 45 degrees on the lot so that it has more interesting views. It will sit on a base that will be configured on the block like a normal podium

My rendering is cropped from the Hines office rendering, which is part of our skyline. Are you saying they used a building from San Francisco?

1 hour ago, blakevirgilio said:

Here are more image

 

 

 

29 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

Clever how the buildings are angled. If the International Tower is ever built it will not block the view of 58 or 42. 

1 hour ago, cloud713 said:

 

I think the walls with different materials/depths are tricking people’s eyes. I think it’s basically a rectangle following the existing garage footprint, but with the southwest corner “sliced off”, for a pool area/amenity deck I’m sure.

Problem solved. That was some major mind tricks the rendering pulled off.

Also, I wonder if they also angled the building to protect the view of Chase? It's a Hines building, right? Covering Chase up would only lessen it's value and asking price.

8 minutes ago, PAC said:

Why would Hines render someone else's project - I promise you its the Block 42 development only.  

20 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

 

 

 

 

 

Then I'm voting it the worst scaled rendering of all time. Because the office tower is only showing to be about 13 stories shorter than Chase and it's right across the street so there is no distance distortion.

18 hours ago, lockmat said:

 

As you can see, Calpine and the garage are about the same width.

Portion #1 in the top rendering is about the same width as Calpine. #1 & #2 combined are without a doubt wider than Calpine. What this concludes, I don't know. Could just be the worst scaled rendering of all time.

3 minutes ago, Triton said:

Hogg Palace Lofts is 100% staying. Hines doesn't even own that portion of the property.

Then something is wrong with that rendering. There's no way that building is fitting on the garage footprint.

12 hours ago, PAC said:

1) the building is 735’ tall.

 

2) the rendering on the left is Block 42 residential (it’s one building not two).  

2 hours ago, pm91 said:

Really hope they're not demolishing Hogg Palace on Block 42

1 hour ago, Naviguessor said:

^^ No Plans to do that.  The Hines Residential Building will take the place of the Parking Garage on the other half of the block. 

If that's one building, there's no way Hogg Place survives. It's way too wide to only fit on the garage footprint.

It looks to be L-shaped.

59 minutes ago, Triton said:

Might just be one tower with different design elements but it's definitely not one market square. They're not going to market a competitor. 

Good point that they're not going to market for a competitor.

But it seems to me that it's two buildings because if that's one building it wouldn't fit on the footprint they're building it on, it's too wide to be just one building.

58 minutes ago, Avossos said:

 

#2 is One Market Square... if it ever gets built....

There's no way. It's too far away from this new Hines office tower, it's too short and doesn't look anything like it.

Edit: You could be right. I think the spacing of the two Hines buildings is way off. They're diagonally across the street from one another but based on the rendering it looks like at least two blocks separates them. And unless the Hines resi building is super tall, One Market Square is much taller than what it's showing, and there is no slanted roof.

Finally got our GFR...fronting a parking lot. Outstanding.

18 hours ago, wxman said:

Wow, i like it. It sort of remind me of of one of the high rises in Pittsburgh. 

 

This will be a a great addition to the skyline but what’s with the ceiling of 47-48 stories? 

I thought the same thing.

9 hours ago, PAC said:

The ceiling is that 36-37 office floors (on top of 10-11 parking levels) is the maximum you can build with 3 elevator banks without going to a sky lobby setup (which no tenant wants).  Hence ~50 stories is the maximum you’ll see for a long time.

Darn elevator companies, they need to update their technology. 

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- The first floor of the office tower looks surprisingly to scale and welcoming.

- And that residential tower looks a lot like the new PM Realty building by 59 south. Also, it looks like there are two residential towers, doesn't it?

Looks like it might be triangular or trapezoidal.

13 minutes ago, pablog said:

We don’t have to tear down and rebuild... look at Fenway and Wrigley. I’m hoping Minute Maid becomes like those historic stadiums one day. 

I hope you’re right. Primarily because I don’t want tax payers paying for another one.