The Langley: Residential High-Rise At 1717 Bissonnet St.

[JBTX]

1 hour ago, DotCom said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2023/04/27/the-langley-approved-neighbors-consider-options.html

With controversial The Langley high-rise approved, neighbors consider legal options

[aachor]

12 hours ago, DotCom said:

“We are not against development,” Patterson said.

L O L

[Big E]

16 hours ago, DotCom said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2023/04/27/the-langley-approved-neighbors-consider-options.html

With controversial The Langley high-rise approved, neighbors consider legal options

Apr 27, 2023, 1:47pm CDT

Houston officials’ decision late last week to approve plans for vertical construction of a 20-story apartment complex in the historic Boulevard Oaks neighborhood marked the latest twist in the long-running saga of the so-called Ashby high-rise.

But an attorney representing a group of neighbors opposed to the project said their fight might not be over just yet.

Peter Patterson, whose practice focuses on business litigation, told the Houston Business Journal that his clients are considering a lawsuit to keep Dallas-based StreetLights Residential’s The Langley project from moving forward as currently designed.

The neighbors’ opposition centers on the outcome of a lawsuit filed in opposition of an earlier plan to build an apartment tower at 1717 Bissonnet St. Under a restrictive covenant approved by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal in 2012, any apartment tower built on the site had to adhere to nine limitations before the project could move forward.

An appeals court eventually sided with the developers in 2016. But the project has yet to be developed, and the site has sat vacant for years.

Patterson said his clients believe StreetLights Residential’s revamped design does not strictly comply with the restrictive covenant and, therefore, is not grandfathered in under permits issued to the project’s original developers, Houston-based Buckhead Investments. Their primary concern is a pedestrian plaza that the neighbors claim is “substantively modified” from the previous plan, as well as alleged encroachments on a city right of way, according to a March 24 letter to city attorneys.

“We are not against development,” Patterson said. “We have spent a significant amount of time working to provide options to the developers, but the developers have said they are not changing the plan.”

Case Kilgore, StreetLights Residential’s president of development, said in an interview that his company believes its revised plan for The Langley does comply with the restrictive covenant, as evidenced by the project gaining city approval.

A spokeswoman for Houston Public Works confirmed that the project has been approved for construction, but StreetLights Residential still needs to purchase some additional permits.

Kilgore said the company also made significant changes to the original plan, including reducing its height and cutting a retail element, to bring it in line with the restrictive covenant.

“We think that the design and the context of this building and the impact on the neighborhood compared to the prior building is a huge improvement,” Kilgore said. “We look forward to working with the neighborhood groups and are proactively taking some steps to prepare to keep them updated and to handle communication on the site as we look to break ground.”

As currently designed, The Langley would offer 134 two- and three-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 2,600 to 3,300 square feet. The goal is to provide a property that caters to empty-nesters looking to downsize their living accommodations, Kilgore said.

In all, the building will be 20 stories tall, down from the 23-story original plan.

Kilgore said the exterior of the building will take its design from the local architecture and from Rice University’s campus.

StreetLights Residential has partnered with property owner El Paso-based Hunt Companies Inc. on the property and will serve as both general contractor and primary architect on the project. Kilgore said Houston-based EDI International also assisted in designing the building.

Kilgore said StreetLights Residential wants to be good neighbors with the Boulevard Oaks community and will take steps to reduce the impact of construction on the neighborhood. The company has already designated a separate area for staging trucks to limit the impact on traffic in the area, he said.

StreetLights Residential plans to break ground on the project in May with an estimated delivery date of 2025.

With the scheduled groundbreaking coming up next month, Patterson said his clients are already discussing their legal options.

“I think you will see a decision made in the short term — not weeks or months but days or weeks,” Patterson said.

Jeff Jeffrey
Senior reporter - Houston Business Journal

Honestly, I think these people need to stop wasting time and money and pack it in at this point.

[Texasota]

They can waste their own money all they want. The problem is they're wasting other people's money.

[hindesky]

So this may finally be starting. Spotted a Bobcat skid steer. I can't remember if the silt screen netting has always been here but there is some now.

[phillip_white]

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

So this may finally be starting. Spotted a Bobcat skid steer. I can't remember if the silt screen netting has always been here but there is some now.

Google Streetview shows it wasn't there 7 months ago.

[hindesky]

Nextdoor is up in arms over it. They also show the silt screen netting around the culvert drains.

https://nextdoor.com/p/4LPdrWmj4xJW?utm_source=share&extras=MzAwNjkxMQ%3D%3D

[august948]

I'm still hoping for a ground floor washateria and liquor store here...😜

[hindesky]

It's definitely starting. Truck dropping off an excavator and several workers. Looks like the old catering business La Villette is going to be the construction offices. 

[mkultra25]

On 5/7/2023 at 4:09 PM, august948 said:

I'm still hoping for a ground floor washateria and liquor store here...😜

Not entirely without precedent, as Bayou Liquor used to be smack-dab in the middle of Rice Blvd. in the 80s (where Sweet Paris Creperie is now).  They catered more to the brown-bag crowd than the deep-pocketed imbiber, as well.   

So this hypothetical new place could be marketed as a return to the area's historical roots. 

[Ross]

On 5/7/2023 at 4:09 PM, august948 said:

I'm still hoping for a ground floor washateria and liquor store here...😜

Along with a nail place, a vape place, a CBD place, and a taco place. That would give it the Houston vibe we all know and love

Edited May 8 by Ross

[EllenOlenska]

A place that is like behind the washateria that has has really kick ass shawarma

 

[phillip_white]

I wonder if we can squeeze the Greyhound station into the ground floor 🤣 

[august948]

Now that we have a plan...can someone print up some annoying yellow signs with our demands that we can put up and down Bissonnet for the next 10 years?

[hindesky]

Permit to hook up electrical at La Villette. Construction offices for the construction company building the Langley.

[JBTX]

11 hours ago, august948 said:

Now that we have a plan...can someone print up some annoying yellow signs with our demands that we can put up and down Bissonnet for the next 10 years?

Oh, you haven't seen the new/updated ones yet?

I was visiting a buddy in the area when I saw this sign in a yard. It "accidentally" blew over and found its way to my garage where it now sits for my amusement.

[august948]

1 hour ago, JBTX said:

Oh, you haven't seen the new/updated ones yet?

I was visiting a buddy in the area when I saw this sign in a yard. It "accidentally" blew over and found its way to my garage where it now sits for my amusement.

They should build it just like the picture, with a washateria/liquor store/cbd/vape/greyhound station on the ground floor.

[mkultra25]

1 hour ago, august948 said:

They should build it just like the picture, with a washateria/liquor store/cbd/vape/greyhound station on the ground floor.

Remember, it's not really a CBD/vape shop unless there are a couple dozen feather flags around the perimeter of the property.

[august948]

37 minutes ago, mkultra25 said:

Remember, it's not really a CBD/vape shop unless there are a couple dozen feather flags around the perimeter of the property.

Nice, but this is so much better...

[hindesky]

Construction drive way and a sweeper. Right now they are concentrating on the construction offices across the street and creating a parking area in the back of it. Worker flagging cars didn't know who the construction company is going to be.

[toxtethogrady]

On 5/7/2023 at 4:07 PM, hindesky said:

Nextdoor is up in arms over it. They also show the silt screen netting around the culvert drains.

https://nextdoor.com/p/4LPdrWmj4xJW?utm_source=share&extras=MzAwNjkxMQ%3D%3D

Anything that gets Nextdoor in a lather is okay be me. They deserve the tsuris...

[Luminare]

[hindesky]

Saw a worker wearing a "Hunt" shirt so I assume Aecom/Hunt is the builder. Aecom bought out Hunt back in 2014. I recall them building the Travis apartments in Midtown.

[hindesky]

"Neighbors of the proposed high-rise at 1717 Bissonnet filed a lawsuit in Harris County District Court on Friday asking a judge to stop further construction and declare that the project isn't following rules set in a 2012 agreement between the city of Houston and the developer of what was then known as the Ashby. If the judge sides with neighbors, that could send current developer, Dallas-based StreetLights Residential, back to the drawing board and delay further construction of the high-rise, now named the Langley."

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/ashby-angley-high-rise-sue-lawsuit-houston-tower-18128859.php

[J Money]

Sore losers

[Twinsanity02]

1 hour ago, J Money said:

Sore losers

Not the lawyers. 

[thatguysly]

What's ironic is you know at least one of those neighbors has invested in, works for a company that builds these types of structures, or owns a condo as a second home and doesn't give a single thought to the neighbors yet suddenly get very NIMBY about it when it affects them.

[hindesky]

[astrohip]

22 hours ago, thatguysly said:

suddenly get very NIMBY about it when it affects them.

Literally the definition of NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard

[houstontexasjack]

The temporary injunction hearing on this one should be fun. TI hearings are the closest thing we lawyers get to “TV trial” where there are surprise witnesses and revelations on the stand. 🍿

[DotCom]

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2023/06/06/the-langley-neighbors-lawsuit.html

Neighbors of The Langley high-rise continue its long-running saga with new lawsuit
Jun 6, 2023, 3:02pm CDT

The long-running saga of the so-called Ashby high-rise — which is now known as The Langley — continues with a new lawsuit, marking the latest twist in the battle.

The lawsuit, filed by neighbors of the proposed 20-story apartment tower in district court on June 2, asked a judge to determine the legitimacy of the project, Pete Patterson, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in an interview.

If a judge sides with the plaintiffs, Dallas-based StreetLights Residential, the developer behind the project, would have to go back to the drawing board, revising site plans once again.

“We're not asking for money,” said Patterson, whose practice focuses on business litigation. “We're asking the court up or down whether this development should be happening or not.”

The neighbors’ opposition centers on the outcome of a lawsuit filed in opposition of an earlier plan to build an apartment tower at 1717 Bissonnet St. Under a restrictive covenant approved by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal in 2012, any apartment tower built on the site had to adhere to nine limitations before the project could move forward. An appeals court eventually sided with the developers in 2016, overturning another part of the original decision related to monetary damages.

Patterson said his clients believe StreetLights Residential’s revamped design does not strictly comply with the restrictive covenant. The clients’ primary concern is a pedestrian plaza that the neighbors claim is “substantively modified” from the previous plan, as well as alleged encroachments on a city right of way, he said.

Patterson said according to his experts’ opinions, there are about 8 feet encroaching in the city’s right of way on the north boundary line, or the Bissonnet Street side. In order to comply, the developers would have to push the site plan south, but then the site would be within 5 feet of the property of a plaintiff who lives on Wroxton Court.

The site is not allowed to be closer than 11 feet of the plaintiffs' property lines — which his clients feel is still too small. Patterson said the site plan, as is, is too big and does not fit on the property.

Under the current city codes, new high-rise structures that are 75 feet or taller need to have a buffer of 30 to 40 feet from single-family home lots that are greater than 3,500 square feet or that are adjacent to or taking access from either a collector street or local street.

However, the Langley site could be grandfathered in to take advantage of the old setback ordinance under the project’s original developers, Houston-based Buckhead Investments. According to the lawsuit, if StreetLights Residential does not comply with the restrictive covenant, then it will need to comply with the 30-foot setback from the plaintiffs’ north property line on the south and east property line.

Other concerns the lawsuit cites about the plaza include a raised terrace “separated with railings and a retaining wall that separates the terrace from the street sidewalk and the relocated driveway.” The current plan places the driveway in the middle of the development on Bissonnet bisecting the pedestrian plaza. The separation creates inconsistent elevation that doesn’t comply with the covenant, the lawsuit claims.

Patterson notes his clients are also concerned about the debris, dirt, gasoline and construction trucks during the construction phase as well as traffic once the development is completed.

Case Kilgore, StreetLights Residential’s president of development, said in a previous interview that his company believes its revised plan for The Langley does comply with the restrictive covenant, as evidenced by the project gaining city approval in April.

In a new statement emailed to the Houston Business Journal, StreetLights Residential said it is disappointed but not surprised by the lawsuit.

“The owner, developer, and their contractor have worked with the city of Houston and the neighboring homeowners’ associations, as well as the homeowners, for many months to listen and respond to their concerns,” the statement said. “We are trying to make the construction process as unobtrusive as possible and know that when we’re done there will be a beautiful building. We will continue to make these efforts, despite the lawsuit.”

As currently designed, The Langley would offer 134 two- and three-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 2,600 to 3,300 square feet. The goal is to provide a property that caters to empty-nesters looking to downsize their living accommodations, Kilgore said.

The design of the building's exterior is inspired by the local architecture and Rice University’s campus, Kilgore said.

StreetLights Residential has partnered with property owner El Paso, Texas-based Hunt Companies Inc. on the property and will serve as both general contractor and primary architect on the project. Kilgore said Houston-based EDI International also assisted in designing the building.

The lawsuit notes that “the city has granted a site permit for wherein SLR may begin site preparation for the development of the tower.” The city is not currently commenting on this issue, a spokesperson with Houston Public Works said.

Dirt is now moving on the property, and the developers aim to bring The Langley to fruition by 2025.

Sofia Gonzalez
Reporter - Houston Business Journal

[toxtethogrady]

17 hours ago, hindesky said:

That's gonna be a tall crane. More reasons for the neighbors to get upset...

[hindesky]

2 minutes ago, toxtethogrady said:

That's gonna be a tall crane. More reasons for the neighbors to get upset...

I'm guessing that at height it's going to be a luffing tower crane so the boom isn't over people's houses.

[MrFubbles]

At 540 feet, would make it the 29th tallest building in Houston and 7th tallest outside Downtown

[hindesky]

540' is the height of the boom on the tower crane (likely a luffing tower crane like the one building the Fairmont Museum III building), the building is going to be 228 feet high.

[MrFubbles]

oh whoops - got excited. false alarm

[hindesky]

They are putting up a fence and taking away the sidewalk, I would have thought they would have done this first to keep the prying neighbors eyes off the project. 🙈🙉🙊

[Houston19514]

12 hours ago, hindesky said:

They are putting up a fence and taking away the sidewalk, I would have thought they would have done this first to keep the prying neighbors eyes off the project. 🙈🙉🙊

 

I thought it had been fenced for years.

[phillip_white]

4 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

I thought it had been fenced for years.

They're installing a fence at the curb. The other fence will come down to allow access for construction.

[thatguysly]

On 6/7/2023 at 7:58 AM, astrohip said:

Literally the definition of NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard

Well yeah that's the point. Just different this time. It is one thing if I love seeing high rises get built then whine when one affects me but worse when someone whines when they literally fund, profit, or own a high rise or condo and not care at all how that affects that area. 

[hindesky]

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[hindesky]

[aachor]

On 5/9/2023 at 12:32 PM, august948 said:

They should build it just like the picture, with a washateria/liquor store/cbd/vape/greyhound station on the ground floor.

I wouldn't wish a Greyhound station on anyone. But given all of these stupid lawsuits, I think it's time for Midtown to get a reprieve.

The owners of 2016 Main have suffered under stupidly low property values long enough. I'm sure the new neighbors of the Langley can carry the burden for a while.

Edited June 15 by aachor

[Twinsanity02]

15 hours ago, aachor said:

I wouldn't wish a Greyhound station on anyone. But given all of these stupid lawsuits, I think it's time for Midtown to get a reprieve.

The owners of 2016 Main have suffered under stupidly low property values long enough. I'm sure the new neighbors of the Langley can carry the burden for a while.

I do not care one way or the other whether this goes up or not. I have no money involved.  I don't understand why several of the posts are so hostile toward the neighbors who do not like this project. Why care unless you have a stake in this? It is not like Houston suffers from insufficient high rise apartments. I like high rises and hope we get many more including a few supertalls. But one or two make no difference to me. More will come along.

[Ross]

47 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

I do not care one way or the other whether this goes up or not. I have no money involved.  I don't understand why several of the posts are so hostile toward the neighbors who do not like this project. Why care unless you have a stake in this? It is not like Houston suffers from insufficient high rise apartments. I like high rises and hope we get many more including a few supertalls. But one or two make no difference to me. More will come along.

The hostility is because the neighbors are entitled dweebs who think they can control property they do not own. The neighbors are not special, they don't get special privileges for living there. Anyone who lives in Houston should know that just about anything can be built near you, whether you like it or not. I might respect the neighbors a little if they also fought bad developments in poor areas, but they don't, so they can deal with all of the Houstony stuff too.

[004n063]

17 minutes ago, Ross said:

The hostility is because the neighbors are entitled dweebs who think they can control property they do not own. The neighbors are not special, they don't get special privileges for living there. Anyone who lives in Houston should know that just about anything can be built near you, whether you like it or not. I might respect the neighbors a little if they also fought bad developments in poor areas, but they don't, so they can deal with all of the Houstony stuff too.

For me it's just the faux-progressive "big bad apartments vs. sweet little helpless houses" framing they (well, the signs at least) use to make it seem like anything other than NIMBYism. 

[samagon]

41 minutes ago, 004n063 said:

For me it's just the faux-progressive "big bad apartments vs. sweet little helpless houses" framing they (well, the signs at least) use to make it seem like anything other than NIMBYism. 

this is a big factor for me.

another, bigger factor for me, I am a resident of this city. the ramifications of this will reverberate throughout all of Houston. we already have enough quazi zoning, and we don't need more regulations pushing even more zoning like rules on our city, specifically, we need more density, not less.

sure, it may suck to see a Zone 'D Erotica next to the Galleria (RIP), but the future needs to be more cohesive, interwoven, and density needs to be a part of that future.

so no, I don't live in the immediate area, nor do I have money invested in this project, but I live in the city, and care how the future of our city develops, and if such a small contingent of people had been able to succeed, they would have shifted the future of the entire city scape thanks to their selfish desires. I'm glad they lost, and I wish they would have lost sooner.

and even if you don't care about that, on a impact per acre towards city taxes, a big residential tower is going to have a much higher valuation, and thus tax per acre than those single family homes in the area, which means, if there's property taxes collected from more dense places, that means more potholes filled, all of our infrastructure able to be fixed much quicker, and maybe even before it fails. maybe they can hire more police officers to help keep us safer. better schools. the list goes on. this is a win for whole city.

Edited June 15 by samagon

[thatguysly]

1 hour ago, Twinsanity02 said:

I do not care one way or the other whether this goes up or not. I have no money involved.  I don't understand why several of the posts are so hostile toward the neighbors who do not like this project. Why care unless you have a stake in this? It is not like Houston suffers from insufficient high rise apartments. I like high rises and hope we get many more including a few supertalls. But one or two make no difference to me. More will come along.

And they happen to have money to tie this up in lawsuits that others who have had something built by them cannot. Don't feel bad for the mega rich when suddenly something affects them that has affected the whole city.

[Twinsanity02]

1 hour ago, thatguysly said:

And they happen to have money to tie this up in lawsuits that others who have had something built by them cannot. Don't feel bad for the mega rich when suddenly something affects them that has affected the whole city.

I don't feel bad for the "meag-rich". I don't love or hate them. I cannot imagine them trying to stop one highrise, which appears as if they will not succeed, will have such a cataclysmic effect on Houston. Just do not understand this heat, anger and hatred toward these folks.