Proposal At 1500 Smith St.

[ricco67]

Just found out there's currently a hi-rise that is being considered for a plot near the continental building. The plans are for an office building at 30+ floors but are thinking of 40+ plus. I briefly saw the drawings and they look awesome.

They are also thinking of putting an urban element on the first 3 or 4 floors.

It's currently in the conceptial stage, so if everything goes well, it will start to go up in a couple of years.

[Pumapayam]

Just found out there's currently a hi-rise that is being considered for a plot near the continental building. The plans are for an office building at 30+ floors but are thinking of 40+ plus. I briefly saw the drawings and they look awesome.

They are also thinking of putting an urban element on the first 3 or 4 floors.

It's currently in the conceptial stage, so if everything goes well, it will start to go up in a couple of years.

So many teasers not enough content, what was architecturally striking about it?

[lockmat]

Just found out there's currently a hi-rise that is being considered for a plot near the continental building. The plans are for an office building at 30+ floors but are thinking of 40+ plus. I briefly saw the drawings and they look awesome.

They are also thinking of putting an urban element on the first 3 or 4 floors.

It's currently in the conceptial stage, so if everything goes well, it will start to go up in a couple of years.

Can you interpret "an urban element" for me?

[Houston19514]

Sounds awesome! Thanks for the info Ricco. I'm curious about the site. There isn't really much land available near the Continental Building. I hope wherever it is it will replace a surface parking lot rather than replacing another building.

[ricco67]

Can you interpret "an urban element" for me?

they want to take advantage of the lack of retail and services in the area. the potential clientele from the surrounding hotels and office buildings.

i can't give many details on the matter because few people outside of the respective firms know about it.

only thing that i can say is that they're looking at the plot of land between chevron and continental buildings/

[Pumapayam]

only thing that i can say is that they're looking at the plot of land between chevron and continental buildings/

I want a rendering dammit, what does the timeline look like for a confirmation and announcement of the project to the public?

[Houston19514]

they want to take advantage of the lack of retail and services in the area. the potential clientele from the surrounding hotels and office buildings.

i can't give many details on the matter because few people outside of the respective firms know about it.

only thing that i can say is that they're looking at the plot of land between chevron and continental buildings/

Wow, that seems like a small piece of land. . . and unfortunately, it's currently green space :-(

[sevfiv]

Wow, that seems like a small piece of land. . . and unfortunately, it's currently green space :-(

is this the location (above the arrow)? or am i totally off?:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1600+smith+7...m=1&layer=t

[WesternGulf]

I'm confused as to where it is also since there are zero parking lots on Smith Street except pass Wortham Theater.

[Houston19514]

is this the location (above the arrow)? or am i totally off?:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1600+smith+7...m=1&layer=t

That's the only parcel of land between the Continental Building and Chevron, so that's what I'm presuming...

[lockmat]

they want to take advantage of the lack of retail and services in the area. the potential clientele from the surrounding hotels and office buildings.

i can't give many details on the matter because few people outside of the respective firms know about it.

only thing that i can say is that they're looking at the plot of land between chevron and continental buildings/

I was actually wondering what you meant in general. But I guess you kind of explained what an urban element is anyway...retail, entertainment, etc????

[bach]

is this the location (above the arrow)? or am i totally off?:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1600+smith+7...m=1&layer=t

That's the location.

There's almost an acre of space there, between 1400 Smith, Smith Street, Continental Center and the parking garage. The complex was designed for a tower to go there -- at a different angle than Continental Center I. Would use the existing parking structure. The building would be 700,000 sf+ and could include a 40,000 sf trading floor if they needed to include it in the design. Would be 2.5-3 years to completion, assuming they build it.

[GovernorAggie]

Must be the same one rumored to be contemplated by Brookfield. Regarding the drawings, what was awesome about them? Is it another flat-top? Does it have some sort of crown?

At 40+ floors, how visible would it be from the west, since that might the clearest angle to see it.

Edited February 28, 2007 by GovernorAggie

[Houston19514]

That's the location.

There's almost an acre of space there, between 1400 Smith, Smith Street, Continental Center and the parking garage. The complex was designed for a tower to go there -- at a different angle than Continental Center I. Would use the existing parking structure. The building would be 700,000 sf+ and could include a 40,000 sf trading floor if they needed to include it in the design. Would be 2.5-3 years to completion, assuming they build it.

Interesting! Would love to see the original development plans. Your post got me interested in the owner of 1600 Smith (Continental Center 1). I discovered it is owned by Trizec Hahn / Brookfield Properties. Found some very interesting stuff on the "Development" page of the Brookfield Properties website:

-- "1500 Smith Street, 800,000 square feet. The last prime developable site on Smith Street in Houston's CBD core, 1500 Smith Street is strategically located between two premier Brookfield properties, Continental Center 1 and 4 Allen Center (1400 Smith). The site could accommodate a 800,000 - one million square foot office tower with 25,000-30,000 square foot floor plates; sky bridges would link 1500 Smith to both adjoining centers. In-place infrastructure exists, including parking and loading dock."

-- "Gateway Site, 700,000 square feet. A 2.5 acre parcel, the Gateway site would have a sky bridge connection to the Allen Center and unobstructed views to the west. The Gateway site is surrounded by historical parkland to the north, low-rise residential to the west and the Metropolitan Racquet Club garage to the south."

-- "Allen Center Garage, 700,000 square feet. Located in the heart of the Allen Center/Cullen Center complex, the Allen Center Garage could accommodate an office building above it. The site fronts on historic Antioch Park and would have unobstructed views to the west."

[ricco67]

Goodness! I'm gone for a few hours and you guys are really speculating!

Honest guys, I want to find out more before he leaves town and I'm hoping to get as much info as I can during his stay. Needless to say, I'm NOT supposed to be privy to this information, so I'm sure it can be easily traced if too much info came out.

The google map is the exact spot he was referring to. Give me a couple of days and see what else I can sniff out.

Who knows, maybe Houston Development might be able to sniff more out than I can.

[UrbaNerd]

Quick pic of all three sites:

And on a slightly different note....

http://www.krjda.com/text/projectDetail.cfm?id=141

Edited March 1, 2007 by UrbaNerd

[brijonmang]

Quick pic of all three sites:

http://www.krjda.com/text/projectDetail.cfm?id=141

Hey look, it's Pennzoil Place II!! When was this proposed? I had never heard or seen anything about that one.

[H-Town Man]

Maybe UrbaNerd's post deserves its own thread. Different project, but equally and perhaps more significant.

Roche Dinkeloo & Assoc. is one of the greatest firms of the past thirty years. Philip Johnson level.

[Trae]

Is this it?

[ricco67]

Is this it?

close, but no. i hope to get another peek today.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Well, aren't we filled with double-naught spies lately.

As for the project that Ricco is talking about... it seems that lot is awful small and cramped, given its potential position against the existing highrises and potential issues with parking and so forth.

But then again, it's really hard to gauge such things without seeing at least a computer image of the building at completion.

[Houston19514]

Quick pic of all three sites:

And on a slightly different note....

http://www.krjda.com/text/projectDetail.cfm?id=141

Two of your three sites are in the wrong locations. Your blue marking should be on the parking garage just to the north (the one that is attached to 1400 Smith via skywalk). Your orange marking should be even further north and a little west, just to the north of the parking garage that has the racquet club on top (the black-ish rectangle at the upper left area of your image. I would mark an image for you, but I don't know how to do that. :-(

Judging from the descriptive language on the Roche Dinkeloo website, that design appears to be a for a past project that is not happening. ("The design was for two buildings on a single block, with the entrances to the central atrium lobby marked by monumental columns. The buildings, of varying heights, would have produced a strong identity on the Houston skyline. The exterior was to have been a graphically delineated skin of glass and smooth stone with the structure tapering upward to the stepped pyramidal tops.

[bach]

Two of your three sites are in the wrong locations. Your blue marking should be on the parking garage just to the north (the one that is attached to 1400 Smith via skywalk). Your orange marking should be even further north and a little west, just to the north of the parking garage that has the racquet club on top (the black-ish rectangle at the upper left area of your image. I would mark an image for you, but I don't know how to do that. :-(

Judging from the descriptive language on the Roche Dinkeloo website, that design appears to be a for a past project that is not happening. ("The design was for two buildings on a single block, with the entrances to the central atrium lobby marked by monumental columns. The buildings, of varying heights, would have produced a strong identity on the Houston skyline. The exterior was to have been a graphically delineated skin of glass and smooth stone with the structure tapering upward to the stepped pyramidal tops.

Goddard/Heritage Plaza is planning a parking garage on the property between Bagby, Dallas and Clay, across from the Doubletree.

Brookfield's Gateway Site is across the street, between I-45, Bagby, and Clay?

[Houston19514]

Goddard/Heritage Plaza is planning a parking garage on the property between Bagby, Dallas and Clay, across from the Doubletree.

Brookfield's Gateway Site is across the street, between I-45, Bagby, and Clay?

I would describe it as I-45, Clay, and Dallas (directly across Dallas from the Allen Center Parking garage and the Metropolitan Racquet Club parking garage, and directly across Clay from the Goddard/Heritage site you speak of, and man, what a waste of property it would be to build just a parking garage on that site... but I digress.)

Edited March 1, 2007 by Houston19514

[UrbaNerd]

Two of your three sites are in the wrong locations. Your blue marking should be on the parking garage just to the north (the one that is attached to 1400 Smith via skywalk). Your orange marking should be even further north and a little west, just to the north of the parking garage that has the racquet club on top (the black-ish rectangle at the upper left area of your image. I would mark an image for you, but I don't know how to do that. :-(

Judging from the descriptive language on the Roche Dinkeloo website, that design appears to be a for a past project that is not happening. ("The design was for two buildings on a single block, with the entrances to the central atrium lobby marked by monumental columns. The buildings, of varying heights, would have produced a strong identity on the Houston skyline. The exterior was to have been a graphically delineated skin of glass and smooth stone with the structure tapering upward to the stepped pyramidal tops.

Ah, oops. And yeah, I just wanted to post that link to something I found interesting.

[Houston19514]

Ah, oops. And yeah, I just wanted to post that link to something I found interesting.

And it was very interesting indeed. I wish they had a little more info about it on their website. Like, when it was proposed, by whom, etc.

Roche Dinkeloo has done some great work, including the Conoco HQ. I just read an article from Cite magazine about the Conoco HQ. Very interesting and I had really not previously been aware of how great the architecture was out there. The article is included in the RDA book "Ephemeral City" (I think that's the name)

Edited March 1, 2007 by Houston19514

[Pumapayam]

Is this it?

It says Main street project, so it can't be on the west side of downtown.

[H-Town Man]

Kevin Roche did the United Nations Plaza Hotel in New York.

Disregard previous versions of this post; H-Town Man was confused.

Edited March 1, 2007 by H-Town Man

[bach]

I would describe it as I-45, Clay, and Dallas (directly across Dallas from the Allen Center Parking garage and the Metropolitan Racquet Club parking garage, and directly across Clay from the Goddard/Heritage site you speak of, and man, what a waste of property it would be to build just a parking garage on that site... but I digress; I guess they may not want to build a tower that would obstruct the views from Heritage Plaza.)

I hope this .jpg works (haven't posted a pic before). If not, let me know. It shows where definitely the Heritage lot is, and where Goddard/Heritage is planning a garage.

Next to it with the ?? -- that's the Brookfield office location #2/the Gateway Site?

[Houston19514]

I would describe it as I-45, Clay, and Dallas (directly across Dallas from the Allen Center Parking garage and the Metropolitan Racquet Club parking garage, and directly across Clay from the Goddard/Heritage site you speak of, and man, what a waste of property it would be to build just a parking garage on that site... but I digress; I guess they may not want to build a tower that would obstruct the views from Heritage Plaza.)

I hope this .jpg works (haven't posted a pic before). If not, let me know. It shows where definitely the Heritage lot is, and where Goddard/Heritage is planning a garage.

Next to it with the ?? -- that's the Brookfield office location #2/the Gateway Site?

Yea, I think you got it. The proportions don't look quite right on that particular map. You can get a better idea of the size if you use live search, yahoomaps or mapquest and look at the satellite view. And the building marked "Allen Center Garage" is the parking building that can have an office building built on top of it.

Edited March 1, 2007 by Houston19514