Hess Tower: Office Skyscraper At 1501 McKinney St.

[ricco67]

after seeing the work being done over this past week, it seems that columns are now at street level, so it's highly possible that the structure will be above ground within the next month easily.

[woolie]

maybe it will be one of those nailbiter projects where the renderings are announced on the day they break ground.

[wxman]

yeah, I'd say expect something along the lines of Anadarko Tower or 5 Houston center. I find it hard to believe that Discovery Tower will make it much past 35 or 40 stories. It won't even compare to the trophy towers of the 70s and 80s. As a side note, if the space DT is so tight anyway, why not take the chance and build one big building instead of having plans in the works for an expansion?

[TheNiche]

As a side note, if the space DT is so tight anyway, why not take the chance and build one big building instead of having plans in the works for an expansion?

Space downtown is getting tighter and is doing so very quickly, but it isn't what I'd consider all that 'tight' just yet. If it is all part of one building, then every office tenant gets the same amenities. There is no accounting for tenants that want really high-quality product as opposed to those that don't need as many frills, and without being able to segment the market, the huge buildings run a equally-huge risk on the demand side if they've got too much spec space. Makes financing very difficult.

[Subdude]

Sounds like Disco Tower could be a go. According to the current HBJ (not online yet) the sale of the lot to Trammel Crow has been finalized. The plan is for 21 floors on top of 10 floors of parking, with Gensler as the architects.

[Trae]

Good news.

[strickn]

In that case, it will stand between the heights of the Finger building (500') and 5 Houston Center (400').

[Montrose1100]

Sounds like Disco Tower could be a go. According to the current HBJ (not online yet) the sale of the lot to Trammel Crow has been finalized. The plan is for 21 floors on top of 10 floors of parking, with Gensler as the architects.

Looking at their website it seems they have designed very beautiful buildings, mostly all class facades, and very interesting designs... some with crowns, and amazing interior designs. I hope they make a beautiful tower. It says they did that Law Library in Downtown.

I like that little building, but you should really look at their high-rises, they're beautiful!

[Montrose1100]

LEED isn't a style. Certainly not a native Houston style.

No, but a goverment building code could make a new style.... kind of how when New York City way back when had that law, that buildings had to set back, in order to allow sunlight into the streets... Look at all those beautiful buildings, and tell me thats not a New York thing?

[marc]

Tallest only for a little while longer...

Yes, i can hardly wait to see DT Austin transformed! In fact i am already planning an extended 2 month stay in Austin during summer of 2008; partly to see all the construction....and of course, partly, because Austin is a TX jewel.

[H-Town Man]

Sounds like Disco Tower could be a go. According to the current HBJ (not online yet) the sale of the lot to Trammel Crow has been finalized. The plan is for 21 floors on top of 10 floors of parking, with Gensler as the architects.

Wow, slightly more office space than parking! Way to go, Trammel Crow!

[strickn]

Downtown only has so many blocks. The fewer taken up solely with parking garages adjacent to their towers, the better. In fact, having a tower atop the garage makes it likely that the ground floor will have streetfront retail, whereas with the tower-and-separate-garage model, you get more of downtown being dead walls where people can't enjoy much of anything memorable.

[Trae]

I hope you are right.

[Subdude]

Wow, slightly more office space than parking! Way to go, Trammel Crow!

Cars take up a lot more space than people do, so even with ten stories of parking the tenants will still probably still feel there isn't enough.

[H-Town Man]

Perhaps they can avail themselves of the giant underground parking garage being built across the street. Or would that be asking too much?

[wxman]

wow, 21 stories of office space? What an anti-climax. Oh well, beats a poke in the eye. What's the deal with Houston anyhow? Atlanta is poping up towers left and right. Houston is putting up a midrise. ewww ahhhh.

[H-Town Man]

wow, 21 stories of office space? What an anti-climax. Oh well, beats a poke in the eye. What's the deal with Houston anyhow? Atlanta is poping up towers left and right. Houston is putting up a midrise. ewww ahhhh.

We're in the middle of a huge oil boom, dontcha know? Apparently 21 floors is all we can handle.

Heck, Austin has built more ambitious skyscrapers than this the last few years.

[wxman]

We're in the middle of a huge oil boom, dontcha know? Apparently 21 floors is all we can handle.

Heck, Austin has built more ambitious skyscrapers than this the last few years.

Not to mention it's Austin. (no offense). It's not like they have dozens of Fortune 500 companies. If 21 floors of office space is all we can handle, then I'm affraid the other towers that are being proposed may not make it off the drawing board.

[RedScare]

We're in the middle of a huge oil boom, dontcha know? Apparently 21 floors is all we can handle.

Heck, Austin has built more ambitious skyscrapers than this the last few years.

Considering downtown Austin is one-fifth the size of downtown Houston, they need to get moving. Hell, even the Galleria is 4 times the size of downtown Austin.

BTW, downtown Austin currently has ONE office building under construction, and it is a piddling 137,000 sf.

http://www.grubb-ellis.com/PDF/metro_off_mkttrnd/Austin.pdf

[lockmat]

We're in the middle of a huge oil boom, dontcha know? Apparently 21 floors is all we can handle.

Heck, Austin has built more ambitious skyscrapers than this the last few years.

Since when did people here actually start caring how many floors of office space our towers have anyway?

I thought it was all about feet/height and perception?

[feufoma]

Isn't this a spec project? If so, I can see why Trammel Crow would be cautious. Moreover, just because this project isn't slated to be that large doesn't mean that other possible projects (Brookfield in particular) won't be more 'ambitious.'

Hey, it's a good thing to be somewhat conservative when adding Class A office space to Houston's DT. My opinion is we need more 15-30 floor buildings with a mixture of residential, office, and retail (including parking) amidst green space rather than two or three 40-60 floor buildings that just serve the office market.

One thing I would like to see however, is something akin to the Oriental Pearl TV/ observation tower to be built DT or near DT that would create a higher focal point. Then in fill the rest of the deserted blocks and parking lots.

[KinkaidAlum]

It is a spec building and Trammell Crow announced that depending on how well it is received (i.e., if anybody signs a major pre-lease), the tower could easily grow larger and the parking be moved to a lot across the street they secured specifically for that purpose.

People are already jumping the gun on this one and a rendering hasn't even been released.

In a similar fashion, Brookfield announced that 1500 Smith Street would be a 35 to 42 story tower. They are simply testing the market before announcing really specific plans.

AND, as for comparisons to Austin, if you think we're falling behind, you don't know reality...

Here is what downtown Houston has seen go up or is currently going up and how it would rank in Austin;

1500 LOUISIANA STREET (600 feet, 40 floors) would be Austin's tallest building

RELIANT ENERGY PLAZA (518 feet, 36 floors) would be Austin's third tallest building

ONE PARK PLACE (501 feet, 37 floors) would be Austin's fifth tallest

717 TEXAS AVENUE (453 feet, 34 floors) would be Austin's sixth tallest

CIVIL JUSTICE CENTER (378 feet, 18 floors) would be Austin's ninth tallest

FIVE HOUSTON CENTER (376 feet, 27 floors) would be Austin's eleventh tallest

CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER (325 feet, 21 floors) would be Austin's 14th tallest

HILTOM AMERICAS HOTEL (324 feet, 24 floors) would be Austin's 17th tallest

Hell, you could take just the buildings built downtown since 2000 or currently underconstruction and make a skyline that matches up quite well with Austin. Think about it (1500 Louisiana, Reliant Energy Plaza, One Park Place, 717 Texas Avenue, Civil Justice Center, 5 Houston Center, Criminal Justice Center, Hilton Americas, McKinney Place, Houston Pavilions, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Toyota Center, Minute Maid Park, McKinney Place, UH Downtown's 2 buildings, The Rise at Post Midtown, The Edge, Christ Church's Dunn Center, Main at Walker Garage, Camden's project, Hobby Center for the Arts, Courthouse Garage expansion)

[strickn]

Rather a creative idea, feufoma.

wow, 21 stories of office space? What an anti-climax. Oh well, beats a poke in the eye. What's the deal with Houston anyhow? Atlanta is poping up towers left and right. Houston is putting up a midrise. ewww ahhhh.

The South is the most populous, most industrialized and fastest growing part of America; the East is where most of the country's concentrated, stratified wealth, power and learnin' were still comfortable when the people who needed economic opportunity began to look elsewhere. Cities of the Southeast have some of the advantages of the Sunbelt and South while providing East Coasters, whether college grad or midlife, not just retiree, with some feelings of safe familiarity and nearness to friends and relations back North. Many who feel like Florida is too far end up being "half-backs" and move up to the Carolinas. North Carolina and urban Northern Georgia presently have an economic turbocharge from the Midatlantic and Southern New England population just as Phoenix, Denver, Portland et al. got and get from overpriced Californian urbanized regions. The South Central states, for all their wonderful characters and the down-to-earth unselfishness they sometimes instill in people brought up in their way of life, don't build in any such advantage for Texas.

Texas is still Texas, not any national confluence of proximity and whatnot. There are heavy flows of people, talent, and money between East and South, so the short answer, for Atlanta, to all this is the same simple reason Hartsfield is such a trafficked airport. The long answer, for Texas, is that it's not even clear yet that urbanism is compatible in a positive way with the Texan ethos; so we shouldn't bawl too many tears over towers foregone, but instead wonder and work - informed by the growing pains and excesses the Twentieth Century put across the bodies of Dallas and Houston and San Antonio - on whether there are new types of built environment, buildings and landscape, that maintain what is good about the impressions Texanness makes on a person without distending it through interminable expanses of horizontal boxes *or* vertical anonymous window cells [for Atlanta, in the long view, it cannot even be said that it is making great strides amid all these projects unless they contribute to creating something much greater than a generic hybrid of L.A. and Eastern city - if that's the "New South" which Atlantans like to forget Houston and claim capitalcy of, then please *do* count us out]. And maybe spend some more time in the site's busy (and typically much more informatively thick than Going Up! threads) 'historic Houston' forums, learning and fixing more explicitly in our heads what it is that we ought to map all this thought onto.

Edited May 13, 2007 by strickn

[editor]

Although I completely disagree with Wxman's assessment of Houston's architecture, I do agree with you Trae that Houston's nightime illumination is dismal. It amazes me that no one on the city council takes a more proactive stance in this regards.

As great as the DT Houston skyline is, it's embarrassing at night.

It's my understanding that one of the reasons that Houston doesn't twinkle like other cities, especially ones in cooler climates, is because of the heat-reflective windows the skyscrapers use. It keep the light in. So if you want Houston to sparkle, you have to do it with external illumination ala Dallas and Vegas. Of course, that's an extra expense.

I remember one day when I lived in Cincinnati the mayor put out a memo to all of the skyscraper managers and downtown businesses asking them to leave their lights at night on because Monday Night Football was going to be in Cincinnati and they wanted it to light up for the blimp shots.

If the same situation were to arise in Houston, it wouldn't be the same -- you can't just leave the lights on to light up the skyline. It has to be deliberate.

[Gary]

It's my understanding that one of the reasons that Houston doesn't twinkle like other cities, especially ones in cooler climates, is because of the heat-reflective windows the skyscrapers use. It keep the light in. So if you want Houston to sparkle, you have to do it with external illumination ala Dallas and Vegas. Of course, that's an extra expense.

I remember one day when I lived in Cincinnati the mayor put out a memo to all of the skyscraper managers and downtown businesses asking them to leave their lights at night on because Monday Night Football was going to be in Cincinnati and they wanted it to light up for the blimp shots.

If the same situation were to arise in Houston, it wouldn't be the same -- you can't just leave the lights on to light up the skyline. It has to be deliberate.

I'm not a big neon light fan, but I would love a simple illumination or flood of the face of downtown. I can't imagine it would be that expensive.

I deal with lighting almost weekly for shows, and I could purchase a simple par 54 lighting can for less than 200.00. I can't imagine that creating a nice weatherproof flood for a 40 story building could cost more than 25,000.00. That doesn't seem like a very big cost to incure considering all of the expenses of a downtown highrise.

[Trae]

It's my understanding that one of the reasons that Houston doesn't twinkle like other cities, especially ones in cooler climates, is because of the heat-reflective windows the skyscrapers use. It keep the light in. So if you want Houston to sparkle, you have to do it with external illumination ala Dallas and Vegas. Of course, that's an extra expense.

I remember one day when I lived in Cincinnati the mayor put out a memo to all of the skyscraper managers and downtown businesses asking them to leave their lights at night on because Monday Night Football was going to be in Cincinnati and they wanted it to light up for the blimp shots.

If the same situation were to arise in Houston, it wouldn't be the same -- you can't just leave the lights on to light up the skyline. It has to be deliberate.

Wasn't Houston lite up for the Super Bowl?

[largeTEXAS]

Rather a creative idea, feufoma.

The South is the most populous, most industrialized and fastest growing part of America; the East is where most of the country's concentrated, stratified wealth, power and learnin' were still comfortable when the people who needed economic opportunity began to look elsewhere. Cities of the Southeast have some of the advantages of the Sunbelt and South while providing East Coasters, whether college grad or midlife, not just retiree, with some feelings of safe familiarity and nearness to friends and relations back North. Many who feel like Florida is too far end up being "half-backs" and move up to the Carolinas. North Carolina and urban Northern Georgia presently have an economic turbocharge from the Midatlantic and Southern New England population just as Phoenix, Denver, Portland et al. got and get from overpriced Californian urbanized regions. The South Central states, for all their wonderful characters and the down-to-earth unselfishness they sometimes instill in people brought up in their way of life, don't build in any such advantage for Texas.

Texas is still Texas, not any national confluence of proximity and whatnot. There are heavy flows of people, talent, and money between East and South, so the short answer, for Atlanta, to all this is the same simple reason Hartsfield is such a trafficked airport. The long answer, for Texas, is that it's not even clear yet that urbanism is compatible in a positive way with the Texan ethos; so we shouldn't bawl too many tears over towers foregone, but instead wonder and work - informed by the growing pains and excesses the Twentieth Century put across the bodies of Dallas and Houston and San Antonio - on whether there are new types of built environment, buildings and landscape, that maintain what is good about the impressions Texanness makes on a person without distending it through interminable expanses of horizontal boxes *or* vertical anonymous window cells [for Atlanta, in the long view, it cannot even be said that it is making great strides amid all these projects unless they contribute to creating something much greater than a generic hybrid of L.A. and Eastern city - if that's the "New South" which Atlantans like to forget Houston and claim capitalcy of, then please *do* count us out]. And maybe spend some more time in the site's busy (and typically much more informatively thick than Going Up! threads) 'historic Houston' forums, learning and fixing more explicitly in our heads what it is that we ought to map all this thought onto.

This is my favorite post in a LONG time! Thanks strickn! You put forth a very fresh and informed perspective....one of which we should all take note.

[musicman]

I thought it was all about feet/height and perception?

finish school

[Houston19514]

Wow, slightly more office space than parking! Way to go, Trammel Crow!

"SLIGHTLY more"???? That's a rather odd characterization of a ratio of more than 2 to 1.

Perhaps they can avail themselves of the giant underground parking garage being built across the street. Or would that be asking too much?

By "giant underground parking garage", I presume you are referring to the 600 car garage being built under Discovery Green? Sheesh. That is being built to serve the park and convention center and replace the surface parking that has been removed. They are not building space there to handle the parking needs of 21 floors of office space. In other words, others have already availed themselves of that parking garage.

[H-Town Man]

"SLIGHTLY more"???? That's a rather odd characterization of a ratio of more than 2 to 1.

Houston 19514, for some reason I knew that you, and no one else, would point that out. Alright, fine. Moderately more.

By "giant underground parking garage", I presume you are referring to the 600 car garage being built under Discovery Green? Sheesh. That is being built to serve the park and convention center and replace the surface parking that has been removed. They are not building space there to handle the parking needs of 21 floors of office space. In other words, others have already availed themselves of that parking garage.

I never suggested that the Discovery Green garage was being built to handle the needs of 21 floors of office space. Sheesh. Subdude commented that despite the ten floors of parking already being supplied, the tenants would still probably complain for more. And I suggested that they could just go park in the garage. [sidenote: Do you really expect 600 park users and convention goers to avail themselves of those spaces during business hours?]

The Discovery Green garage, as I understand it, was built to alleviate the demand for parking in blocks adjacent to the park so that development could fill them up. If every office building that gets built there has to have its own private ten story parking garage, then it kind of defeats that intent. It would be nice if the buildings that fronted directly on the park did not have any parking built into them, or if it at least were underground, but knowing how most development downtown has gone in recent years, that is not likely to happen.