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University Breaks Ground on $3M Arts Center By Jennifer D. Duell HOUSTON-Cultural art lovers today will celebrate the groundbreaking of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, a $3-million undertaking tied into the $4.5-million expansion and renovation of the Wortham Theater Complex. An official groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. today in the Fine Arts Quadrangle at entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard. The center, which will be housed in the Wortham Theater Complex, will include exterior and interior work to enhance the lobby space of the existing facility, provide office area for the Mitchell Center and add new rehearsal space. "It will be a nice addition to the campus," says John Dennis, project manager for Dallas-based Cadence McShane Corp., which is in charge of the expansion and renovation. San Antonio, TX-based Lake/Flato Architects Inc. is providing architectural services for the center's demolition, renovation and construction. Dennis tells GlobeSt.com that the project will take about nine months to finish and will require 35 to 50 construction professionals to complete. Cadence McShane will initially demolish the interior of the existing performing arts center and reconstruct 15,000 sf on two floors. The area will house classrooms plus ballet practice and rehearsal rooms. "There's a lot of wood paneling, acoustical plasters, stainless steel window frames, metal panels and cut stone," Dennis describes. "[The renovations] really complement the existing building." While the theater itself will retain the name Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre, the building as a whole will be renamed to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts. The project was funded primarily by a $20-million gift from George and Cynthia Mitchell, along with a grant from the Wortham Foundation and Allen Becker. The center will create a collaborative alliance of the university's premier academic and arts departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The alliance weds the art department, Blaffer Gallery, creative writing program, Moores School of Music and the theater school.

MD Anderson to demolish MacKie & Kamrath dental school. MD Anderson Cancer Center has informed Texas Historical Commission of its plans to demolish the former University of Texas Dental Branch, 6516 MD Anderson Boulevard in the Texas Medical Center. MacKie & Kamrath were the architects for the original five-story building, completed in 1955, as well as later additions constructed through the 1980s. Neither Houston’s historic preservation ordinance nor the Texas Antiquities Code apply to the property because the building is not located in a historic district and is not a designated landmark. Preservation Houston is encouraging MD Anderson to document the building before it is demolished. The historic building has been vacant since the UT Dental Branch (now UT School of Dentistry) opened its new facility at 7500 Cambridge earlier this year. The dental school was founded as the Texas Dental College in 1905 and became part of the UT System in 1943.

I noticed last night and yesterday how peaceful and beautiful the bayou is right now. Emerald and dark green waters sparkling from the lighting .... the people who put this together .... including mother nature .... my congratulations. Houston .... we have a great downtown venue. Let's use it.

Does anyone on HAIF work in, or regularly visit 1001 McKinney? I'm trying to find out how many floors it has. I've seen both 22 and 24. It would be nice to hear from someone who can actually go into an elevator and look at the buttons (and note if there's a 13 or not).

https://retailtxok.cbre.us/property/former-sams-club-1615-s-loop-w/ https://retailtxok.cbre.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1615-S-Loop-W-Former-Sams-Club-property-flyer-061418.pdf Hard corner location with freeway frontage with designated exit ramp. Within 1 mile of the Texas Medical Center – the largest medical complex in the world – encompassing 50 million developed square feet with over 106,000 employees and 8 million patient visits per year. Adjacent to NRG Park & Stadium (hosts 500+ events each year) Access to public transit via the METRORail line. https://www.loopnet.com/xNet/Looplink/TmplEngine/ListingProfilePage.aspx?LID=15272430&siteid=3349&LL=true

I saw the construction from TMC Commons today, and it looks pretty good. Anybody got any better photos? http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7687/img0575c.jpg

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2016/11/01/nonprofit-secures-land-in-texas-medical-center.html

Spec's is coming to Montrose!! Montrose and Westheimer next to Half Price Books in the shopping center on the corner to be exact. The space has stood empty for a while. Recently I walked past the unoccupied location and noticed a wall of coolers had been installed, my first thought was grocery store, but today on my way home, a sign company had plastered a paper layout on the wall so that they could install the electrical part of a new sign, I drove by slowly and barely made out the name of the infamous Rabbit's home!! Spec's Liquor Warehouse. Let's get our drinks on Montrose!

3201 Allen Parkway is the reimagining of the former Star Engraving Company Building into a modern retail, creative office and restaurant project in the heart of Inner Loop Houston. Formally home to the Houston Children’s Museum, the Anza Falco Museum of Art and Design, and the Stages Theatre. The redevelopment was designed by Perkins + Will. The landscape architect is SWA Group, and Perrin Projects handled the interior design. I just received a gallery invitation to view the architect's drawings for this new Houston museum. It's slated to open in 2010, first in some sort of temporary building and later in a permanent structure. This is the first I've heard about it. There's virtually nothing on the internet as to location or funding and very little about its purpose. Information, anyone?

Austin (Travis County) — Plans regarding the construction of a 50-story office tower in downtown with the working name Fourth & Brazos continue to develop. The Design Commission was expected to vote on a density bonus for the project, but their Oct. 25 meeting was postponed due to a lack of quorum. VBX first reported on the project in January of 2020 when Cielo Property Group closed on a deal to acquire the Brazos Lofts at the southeast corner of Brazos and East 5th streets in hopes of redeveloping the site with a tower development. The project is located at 216 East 4th Street which is currently home to the 35,000-square-foot Brazos Hall and a small office building. According to a memorandum submitted to the commission last month, the proposed 50-story tower would have a project area of 813,000 square feet on a lot area of 35,371 square feet. The building height, (705 feet), would include 18 levels of above grade parking. The tower would have 765,000 square feet of office space and 48,000 square feet of retail space. Cielo is requesting a Floor-to-Area ratio (FAR) of 23:1. The maximum allowed under the current zoning is 8:1. This is an increase in FAR of 15:1 (530,565 SF). A ground floor site plan shows four retail/restaurant areas near the tower’s entrance lobbies. A pedestrian paseo would split the building from East Fourth Street north to the alley between the southern and northern half of the block. The project will also include outdoor plaza space at the ground level in hopes of enticing the public to visit and adding open space to downtown, according to the application. The outdoor space will employ “pedestrian-friendly natural materials as well as greenery at the street level to promote Austin’s unique character and build a strong connection between the built environment and the outdoors.” The Fourth & Brazos tower would also benefit from Capital Metro’s plan to construct the 8.2-mile Blue Line, a light rail transit corridor that will be routed down 4th Street directly in front of the building. The project team consists of the local design studio Perkins & Will, Austin-based Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, Austin-based civil engineers Garza EMC and landscape architects at Ten Eyck, also out of Austin. Richard T. Suttle, Jr. with the law firm Armbrust & Brown, PLLC is representing the project to the commission. https://www.virtualbx.com/construction-preview/austin-cielo-properties-proposing-to-develop-downtown-50-story-office-tower/

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/01/09/state-approves-initial-funding-for-uthealth.html Site is just outside the TMC: https://www.google.com/maps/place/2800+S+MacGregor+Way,+Houston,+TX+77021/@29.7115275,-95.3746963,3a,75y,279.77h,93.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sU2JfaN4iiyYPnKes4n3MAQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x8640bf97b4082a43:0xd01096f0aebe7d01!8m2!3d29.7122117!4d-95.3743252

Good news, first Carnegie Vanguard High School and now this... "To update you on the plans for the creation of The Marthannie School: A Public Hearing was held on Wednesday, January 19th at 6:30 PM at the First Presbyterian Church, 5300 Main Street, Museum District, Room FH 259, Houston, Texas, to discuss plans for a proposed Charter School in the Houston area for grades kindergarten through 12. The school will offer a curriculum that focuses on creative approaches to teaching and learning. The founding group and those who support the school envision students who are leaders in the 21st century, who dare to imagine the impossible and who set out to accomplish it. This college preparatory school will venture into realms of education previously unavailable to students in Texas. The Marthannie School addresses parents’ requests for pre-collegiate academic preparation of the highest quality in math, the sciences, history, literature and foreign language, as well as the simultaneous accomplishment of superb visual and performing arts education for their children. We will be meeting the needs of students who may not under ordinary circumstances have the accessibility or opportunity for these benefits. The first year will commence with Grades K-1 and each successive year, we’ll add at least one higher grade until all twelve grades become a reality. With this strategy, we will prove our strength and ability to produce pre-collegiate students who are equipped for success in the 21st century. We will also inspire the Marthannie student to develop a life philosophy that includes a humanitarian spirit, productive habits, higher aspirations, the excitement of a lifelong insatiable curiosity, and respect and enthusiasm for a challenge. These traits will define the Marthannie graduate. Our plan is to locate in close proximity to the theater district in order to ensure accessibility for students, teachers, and our performing arts organization partners. The school site will be one that inspires the children and the community we serve and lures the world’s finest academic scholars, artists, and musicians to our city and to our campus. We have determined that our charter application will name Midtown as the chosen location for the school. This decision was based on the interest shown by the Midtown residents and the proximity of the area to the resources we need to support the school, i.e. rail system, museum district, theater district, etc. We are presently looking at options to either lease or purchase property. Perkins + Will Architectural Firm are working with us on facility acquisition."