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This week I discovered, what looks to be a Maurice Sullivan sketch of a proposed Houston Tuberculosis Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. This was in the year 1948 or 1949. Isn't that the Baylor College of Medicine Cullen building? I also see a small building in front of the larger building. Would the smaller building the proposed TB hospital? Or maybe that isn't the BCM Cullen Building. Very cool find.

I've always wondered about Shell Oil Company's 540 acre master plan called Plaza del Oro. The proposed development started in the 1970s and went into the early 1980s before collapsing. Architect was Welton Becket, and his sibling MacDonald Becket. This would have been near the Texas Medical Center, TMC. There would have been high-rises (or skyscrapers) towards Highway 288 and the South Loop! The master plan is amazing.

I found the "original" Hermann Hospital! It was indeed planned to be on Fannin Street in the Texas Medical Center, but something changed and G.H. Hermann bought some land on Bagby & Rusk in Downtown and a proposal by Alfred C. Finn was drawn. From the newspaper The Houston Post dated July 22, 1917. Work to Begin Ninety Days on Hermann Hospital The dreams of Houston's benefactor, the late George Hermann, are about to be realized. Within a short period of time the Hermann Charity Hospital is to be built. After about seven months of consideration, the plans have been finally completed and further delay in building the structure will be unnecessary. It was the fulfillment of this dream, above all other hopes and aspirations, in which the late philanthropist was wrapped up and upon which he had set his heart. Years before his death, which occurred almost three years ago, the though uppermost in his mind was to provide an institution for the indigent sick. And finally, the piot has been designated, the plans have been approved an according to the architect, Afred C. Finn, bids will soon be advertisement for construction. The delay in the building of the hospital has been caused by the other of the executors and trustees to convert a large portion of the Hermann estate. Which was unproductive into income-bearing property. This has occasioned considerable time and effort but has resulted in creating an endowment sufficiently large to proceed with the project. Some of the property which has been disposed of to secure additional funds is the land in the oil fields at Humble. Hospital Grounds South of Hermann Park. The plot constituting the hospital grounds is just south of Hermann Park, it has a frontage of 72 feet on Main street and runs back o the park for a distance of 1278 feet, containing a total of 20-1/2 acres. It was this plot which Mr. Hermann set aside in his will “for the purpose of a hospital to be erected thereon to be known as the Hermann hospital.” The plans call for an institution comprising several structures or units, all of which will erected from a central structure or administration building. It is this building which will be built first. According to the present plans, work on the administration building will be started in 90 days. This building will be erected at a point 360 feet back from Main street. Midway between Main street and the building will be the Hermann monument. Administration Building Three Stories and Basement The administration building will be of three stories and a basement. The basement will, in realty, be a first floor. This building will accommodate 82 ward patients. It will have 18 private rooms and two children's wards that will care for be free. However, persons who are able to pay for treatment will inevitable wish take advantage of the accommodations of the hospital and will want to pay for them. The 18 private rooms are for the persons and for such cases as will demand isolation for reasons other than possible contagion. The building will be 160 feet long. In the part of the plat near Hermann park, well separated from the other buildings will be the contagious group. The six other units will be connected to the administration building by covered corridors. These will be erected as the patronage of the hospital requires them. Other buildings will be such as the superintendent's home, buildings for the nurses, the power house, the laundry building and the others indicated by numbers in the accompany picture. The trustees, T.J. Ewing, J.J. Settegast, Jr., and John S. Stewart, with the architect, Alfred C. Finn, all of Houston are being congratulated upon the result of the months of study. Operating Rooms On The Top Floor. On the top floor of the building a twin set of rooms for the care of patients who are to be operated upon; Two operating rooms will make it possible for two operations to be performed at the same time. A feature of this floor and all other-- Birdseye view of the proposed George H. Hermann Charity hospital buildings and grounds. The shows the grounds will look after all of the buildings of the hospital group are completed. The first unit or administration building is shown in the center of the picture. Work on it will start in ninety days. First unit or administration bundling of the George H. Hermann Charity Hospital group. From this building the other units of the group will be constructed as they are needed. Because of the difficult details in construction of hospital buildings it may require from eight to twelve months to complete the work on this first building of the group.

Does anyone recall this awesome mixed-use project? It's from a Gensler employee named Jorge A. Tiscareno. Looks like he's now a director at PBK. I haven't seen this particular project posted on HAIF, but his other renderings in his portfolio has been posted used for years. Very cool find!! The portfolio is dated 2013, so any proposed projects at that time probably never made it. I believe I know exactly where this is located! Either one of two areas. Houston Methodist's surface lot and the cluster of old buildings on South Braeswood & Bertner. Or the vacant parcel on South Braeswood & Fannin Let's get it built!! Medical Center Hotel and Mixed Use Development Houston TX, USA 270,000 sf Senior Designer @ Gensler Client: Midway Companies 18 level 250 Key Hotel, 3 Level Retail Shopping, Ballroom, Meeting Rooms, Roof Plaza and Roof Pool, Integrated Parking Garage. Status: Feasibility Study, ongoing Possible areas:

Found an awesome magazine called Modern Hospital, released 1952-11: Vol 79 Iss 5. You can read the publication on archive.org. Great website for historical items! As with any library, you can "check out" any book/magazine and "return it" an hour later. The magazine shows an in-depth look at the Texas Medical Center portfolio (in the ~1950s) including floor plans of old hospitals! I might create new threads with the information I found, but I wanted to focus on the Jefferson Davis Hospital In The Texas Medical Center. A proposal in 1950 included a Jefferson Davis Hospital to the west of Baylor College of Medicine's Cullen Building. Looks like this would be located near the present-day DeBakey Library and Museum located at 6450 East Cullen Street. Actually, it looks to be the whole area west, so all the space before Memorial Hermann's Robertson Pavilion. Proposed New Jefferson Davis Hospital Architects: Alfred C. Finn, Maddox & Johnson, Houston. Prime consideration in planning Jefferson Davis Hospital was given to the operation of the hospital in order to conserve personnel, time in providing patient care, and to reduce to a minimum the possibility of cross infection. The entire project has been so planned that all phases of the plant can be expanded without undue inconvenience to operation. Simplicity of design and economy of constriction are also important in planning for a minimum of maintenance. The nursing unit is the major theme in setting the pattern of the structure. Four nursing units are arranged on a floor in the “double pavilion” plan. Each wing contains two regular wards of five units providing beds for 31 acutely ill patients. Between the two wards is a central core that provides space for utilities, baths, treatment and examination rooms and other facilities in common. Number 8:

Found this rendering of the Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital Campus. I don't think it was built as proposed. The tower definitely did not get built. June 16, 1971. An $80 million medical complex will be constructed at Beechnut and the Southwest Freeway it was announced Friday, by a spokesman for Memorial Baptist Hospital System.

BioHouston engineers footprint for new biotech business park By Mary Ann Azevedo - Houston Business Journal - Aug 13, 2006 https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2006/08/14/story6.html Despite the underlying notion of dueling biotech parks, the planners behind a new biotech resource center and business park that was announced this week insist the venture will not compete with the nearby UT Research Park. BioHouston outlined plans this week for the new BioHouston Resource Center and Genesis Biotechnology Park, a conglomeration of office and lab space designed to assist start-up life science companies on the road to commercialization. The Houston-based organization plans to move its headquarters from the Houston Technology Center in Midtown to the new biotech park at 2555 Holly Hall near the intersection of El Rio, which is about a mile south of the Texas Medical Center. Sixteen life science companies already lease space in the six-building area, which will now be known as the Genesis Biotechnology Park, according to BioHouston President and CEO Jacqueline Northcut Waugh. Those companies include Introgen Therapeutics Inc., PLx Pharma Inc., Nanospectra Biosciences Inc. and ThromboVision Inc. Waugh says Genesis Biotechnology Park will not compete -- and will collaborate -- with the much-ballyhooed UT Research Park, a joint venture between The University of Texas M.D. Anderson and the UT Health Science Center at Houston that is also located in the Med Center. Waugh says the Genesis Park is more about creating a conglomeration of life science firms than building real estate from the ground up. The landlord of the six buildings that make up the park, Western General Holding Co., "gets the concept of biotechnology," says Waugh, and as such, has created a welcoming environment for life science start-ups.

I was looking for the two renderings of this proposed development by Lyme Properties. Does anyone have this in their archives? Thanks- Lyme launches large life sciences project By Jennifer Dawson – Houston Business Journal Nov 14, 2004 A national developer of life sciences properties plans to construct a 500,000-square-foot building near the expanding Texas Medical Center. This will be the first Houston project for Lyme Properties, which is based in Hanover, N.H., and calls itself the third-largest life sciences property developer in the country. Lyme has acquired two acres for the project at 1911 Holcombe Blvd., between the Ronald McDonald House and The Spires high-rise condominiums. Preliminary plans call for 350,000 square feet of medical office space, with the remaining 125,000 square feet earmarked for research and lab operations. The building will also include parking, and have roughly 25,000 square feet for a restaurant. The Lyme building is currently in the design phase, so the final concept may be tweaked a bit over the next six to nine months. The firm has been interviewing architects and contractors for the local development. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2004/11/15/story3.html

I was browsing the newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated December 3, 1986 and came across an article about a proposed replacement for the aging Memorial Hermann Robertson Pavilion. A replacement for RP has been known for nearly 20 years. I wonder the hold up? I'm guessing the MH board of directors/foundation does not want to demolish the historic building. Bernard Johnson, Inc. was the architect who designed the hospital. Very cool find! I love old TMC proposals.

I was browsing the newspaper The Texan dated December 31, 1986 and came across a Shamrock Hotel demolition story. There was a proposed development by the TMC called "South Main Addition of the Texas Medical Center" located on South Main & Holcombe. Despite public outcry and organized protests, the historic Shamrock Hilton Hotel will soon go down in dust. Texas Medical Center (TMC) officials announced Monday, December 29 the 37-year-old landmark hotel will be demolished to make way for as many as eight high-rise buildings designed for medical research, education, and patient care. TMC officials said later extensive study their only option is to remove the former hotel structure and start from scratch. The total project, as currently planned, would probably cost between $300 and $500 million officials estimated, providing thousands of construction job within the next few years and adding thousands of permanent jobs upon completion. A planning model of the 22.6-acre site, now called South Main Addition to the Texas Medical Center, was recently unveiled. Four towers are planned for the west side of Main Street, along with a possible main building for the 546.8-acre TMC campus. Two or three additional high-rise buildings would be located on the land across South Main along Gales Street. Two large areas are contemplated for fountains and gardens.

McGovern Historical Center posted a make a gift statement. In that image there is a never seen before tower next to the Texas Medical Center Library at 1133 John Freeman Blvd. Very cool! Anyone have more information on the proposal?

McGovern Historical Center posted this proposed building by Pond and Bellamy. I can see the original St. Lukes Hospital in the background. This places this building about where the TMC Commons is at 6550 Bertner Ave. Very cool development! https://www.instagram.com/mcgovernhrc/

Found this cool concept building for the Texas Medical Center the other day.

Anyone remember details about this? I was trying to see if there were any concept renderings. This was going to be located to where the (now) the UT Research Park Complex is. All the TMC players were involved. This was the original TMC3 if you will. This project was proposed in 2001. I'll post a few articles for reference.

So recently I've picked up an interest in the late Shamrock Hotel, but this especially caught my eye: Glenn McCarthy. I'm curious as to whether there are any renderings of this--an indoor shopping complex seems very forward thinking and probably would be the first true indoor regional mall if built. Anyone have more details on this? Wyatt C. Hedrick (often misspelled as Wyatt C. Hendrick)

EXCLUSIVE REPORTS From the January 28, 2005 print edition First effort calls for mixed-use project over transit center Jennifer Dawson Houston Business Journal The Metropolitan Transit Authority's first venture into stimulating real estate development along light rail is geared toward putting a mixed-use project on an existing transit center. Todd Mason's initial mission as a recently appointed Metro vice president is to identify private developers who might be interested in constructing a high-rise project for possible retail, restaurant, condo or medical office tenants over the TMC Transit Center at Fannin and Pressler. The Texas Medical Center site doubles as a combination light rail stop and terminal where buses pick up and drop off passengers. Mason plans on sending a request for qualifications to hundreds of developers within the next two months. His goal is to find a list of prospects with the capability and experience to handle such a significant project on the 4.5-acre site. Metro gained full-time access to Mason's services by signing a five-year, $2 million contract with McDade Smith Gould Johnston Mason + Co. The real estate firm's name principal and chief financial officer occupies an office in Metro's new downtown headquarters, where his duties include promoting commercial development on or near Metro properties and handling all of Metro's real estate holdings. Mason's description of his job would apply more to a for-hire contractor than a full-time employee. "Metro has outsourced their real estate department to me," Mason says. "The primary goal is to take their transit centers and park-and-ride lots that have real estate value beyond a parking lot, and get them into the private sector for joint venture-type deals." Open for ideas The inaugural effort to put a mixed-use project on a Medical Center transit hub could determine the feasibility and direction of future Metro real estate development. While hundreds will receive requests for qualifications, Mason expects to be dealing with a select few. "What I hope is we can narrow it down to six or less truly qualified developers," he says. Metro would then conduct one-on-one negotiations to see what sort of deals could be structured with various developers. Mason hopes to make a final selection for the project by June. The TMC Transit Center project is wide open for development ideas at this point. Metro may do a ground lease or sell air rights to a developer, Mason says. Or the transit agency could enter into a joint venture with a developer on the project. One likely prospect is the Morgan Group Inc., a Houston-based apartment builder with experience in developing transit-related projects in California. Company CEO Michael Morgan says the Metro project sounds interesting, but unless incentives are offered it might be difficult to turn a profit. "The Med Center is a good market, but everything is rent-sensitive," Morgan explains. "Land prices have gotten so high that it's very hard to make apartment numbers work any more." Mason points out that Metro may be able to help make the numbers work because the transit authority has other revenue potential from the deal. In addition to receiving lease payments, the development would funnel money to Metro through increased ridership and an expanded tax base, Mason says. "I don't have to get nearly as high of a return on real estate as a traditional land owner," Mason says. "In many ways, it could save on what the cost of land is." Rising demand in one of the city's hottest sub-markets also could affect financial arrangements. Paul Layne of Trizec Properties says he is not familiar with Metro's plan, but suggests a high-rise project makes sense because the Med Center area has nowhere to go but up. "I think the idea of going vertical in the Texas Medical Center has proven to be a logical element of life because of the incredible density they have there," Layne says. "That's smart business." Fee sharing Commercial developer David Wolff came up with the idea of retaining private real estate professionals following his appointment as Metro board chairman in 2004. Wolff and Metro President Frank Wilson interviewed several firms before hiring McDade Smith, Mason says. "We'll make Metro a very business-friendly, forward-thinking entity," says Mason. "I think I can create value for them." For $400,000 a year, Metro gets Mason on a full-time basis, as well as McDade Smith broker Jeff Lindenberger and an administrative person. "We had to have the base fee if I was going to devote all of my time to the account," Mason says. "We worked out a compensation package that incentified me." As Metro properties are bought and sold, McDade Smith will attach regular brokerage fees to the transactions. Metro will receive 75 percent of the commission revenue until the agency's $400,000 investment is recovered in any given year. If brisk real estate activity pushes the amount past the $400,000 mark, the brokerage fee revenue will be split 50-50 between Metro and the real estate firm, Mason says. The transit authority also gains access to the experienced McDade Smith team as part of the contract. "Two heads are better than one. Fifteen heads are better than two," Mason says. Estimating income from development deals along rail lines may be difficult at this point, but Mason's status as Metro's real estate czar provides access to other revenue streams. A big share of the brokerage team's earnings could come in divesting Metro properties, an activity that has received little attention in the past. Metro owns some 1,500 sites around Houston, and it's Mason's job to help determine the worth of each one. Looking ahead Market demand and Metro's ownership of the property made the TMC Transit Center a logical place to test the real estate development waters. But existing design factors also attracted Mason. The center consists of a series of bus platforms and stairs that climb to a skybridge and link to the light rail stop on Fannin. The skybridge one day will connect to a University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center building scheduled for construction. Instead of building upon an existing base structure, a developer would have to design a project that could be constructed above the platforms and moored to the ground. "It's already designed to be able to build a high-rise on that site with the transit center below it," explains Mason. "They put the footings into the ground to be able to build a high-rise above the transit center." Mason envisions more than one tower being constructed, possibly a high-rise and a midrise. With the wheels set in motion, Mason already is looking at a second possible development site -- the 6.7-acre Wheeler-Blodgett station. Mason says he won't move forward until the Federal Transportation Administration makes a recommendation as to whether another rail line could eventually intersect and increase the site's value. Somewhere down the road, other development possibilities may include strip retail centers at various park-and-ride lots or multifamily developments on or near them, he says. Switching to his sales agent hat, Mason says one site that may soon be declared surplus Metro property could attract quite a bit of attention from buyers. The 12-acre tract occupied by an underutilized park-and-ride is located next to a Wal-Mart north of Interstate 10 and west of the Beltway. Mason's goals over the next five years are to maximize Metro's real estate holdings and capitalize on transit center land values. "It's an opportunity to do something really neat for the city of Houston," Mason says. "If we're successful, I think we can put some things on the map."