City Centre Developments

[Fortune]

Wow Midway is doing an amazing job with City Centre. They just keep on delivering building after building. The architecture and design looks great,very cohesive. Other developers definitely need to take note, this is how mixed use properties should be done.

According to Business Journal the new buildings will go directly north of the 15 story building it is currently constructing. So it has to be the parcel with the 3 older office buildings surrounded by Town & country Blvd, Town & Country Way, and I-10.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2014/09/massive-citycentre-expansion-to-include-new-office.html

[swtsig]

it is.

[Luminare]

I see a traffic circle! A traffic circle!!!

[citykid09]

so Midway beat the developers of Memorial City out at getting the first(?) residential high-rise out west? if i were the Memorial City developers i would be clamoring at Novare to come build a SkyHouse Buckhead replica in MC, pronto.

 

I thought Memorial City was getting a Hotel ZaZa with residential and a Whole Foods all in the same building? What ever happened to that?

[cloud713]

I thought Memorial City was getting a Hotel ZaZa with residential and a Whole Foods all in the same building? What ever happened to that?

Oh yeah! Hard to keep track of everything.. We haven't had an update on that one in a few months I don't think.

[Houston?]

I wonder when CC and MC are going to finally connect...

[BigFootsSocks]

I see a traffic circle! A traffic circle!!!

The rare sighting is uncommon anywhere in the States...the species none as a traffic circle, genus roundabout , is an endangered one that struggles to make a presence in its journey overseas...

[KinkaidAlum]

Oh cool, thanks for the info! I guess at 13 stories it doesn't really stand out from the freeway?

 

You might not see it because of the forest.

 

Wait, what? That's not a forest? That's just a mural on a garage wall?

 

It's so beautiful!

[cloud713]

I wonder when CC and MC are going to finally connect...

seriously.. they should work out a streetcar/trolley service between the two at some point.. might be a little tricky, i think there is a strip of residential between the two.

 

The rare sighting is uncommon anywhere in the States...the species none as a traffic circle, genus roundabout , is an endangered one that struggles to make a presence in its journey overseas...

You might not see it because of the forest.

 

Wait, what? That's not a forest? That's just a mural on a garage wall?

 

It's so beautiful!

LMFAO to both of the above!!

i actually dont mind the mural. its better than just looking at a garage. i just never noticed a residential building with balconies.. ill have to look harder next time.

Edited September 30, 2014 by cloud713

[por favor gracias]

Oh cool, thanks for the info! I guess at 13 stories it doesn't really stand out from the freeway?

 

It stands out even less now that the newer buildings near Bunker Hill largely block its view from I-10. 

[toxtethogrady]

You might not see it because of the forest.

And you won't be able to see the forest for the trees?

 

I also remember the ZaZa was supposed to be the big attraction. At this point, I think the Alessandra downtown will get built first.

[nate4l1f3]

If someone could build a sidewalk from the Barnes and Nobles shopping center area to CityCentre on Town and Country blvd that would be great. Has anyone noticed this and been annoyed by it?

[swtsig]

If someone could build a sidewalk from the Barnes and Nobles shopping center area to CityCentre on Town and Country blvd that would be great. Has anyone noticed this and been annoyed by it?

That's bc Houston's idea of pedestrian oriented development usually means building self-contained islands that do a poor job of interacting with the surrounding neighborhood.

[jgriff]

If someone could build a sidewalk from the Barnes and Nobles shopping center area to CityCentre on Town and Country blvd that would be great. Has anyone noticed this and been annoyed by it?

 

If you park at Barnes and Noble and walk to City Centre you have a good chance of getting your car towed. These two shopping centers compete with each other. Town & Country Village doesn't want you using their parking to spend money at City Centre.

[Texasota]

If you park at Barnes and Noble and walk to City Centre you have a good chance of getting your car towed. These two shopping centers compete with each other. Town & Country Village doesn't want you using their parking to spend money at City Centre.

 

Yes but what if you live in City Centre and want to walk to Barnes & Noble? 

[jgriff]

Yes but what if you live in City Centre and want to walk to Barnes & Noble? 

It's actually not much of a problem. I walk from my house that's a mile away through Town & Country to City Centre quite often.

[citykid09]

That's bc Houston's idea of pedestrian oriented development usually means building self-contained islands that do a poor job of interacting with the surrounding neighborhood.

 

What I have been saying all along. Houston's pedestrian friendly areas are just shopping centers made to look urban. They are surrounded by parking lots with no interaction with the surrounding neighborhoods. BLVD Place, River Oaks District are two examples that come to mind. This is a serious problem but is it the fault of the developers or the backwards city of Houston requirements? The ONLY true urban development in Houston that has been announced (don't know if it will ever happen) is Regent Square. This is the only development that is built up to the sidewalk on existing streets (not fake streets that the developer adds in).

[Texasota]

Well, except for Post Midtown, if you don't think too hard about the social/moral implications of displacing what and who used to be there.

 

But really any number of individual project built on the original street grid, taken together: Mid Main, the Match, the downtown Skyhouses, Hines Market Square, the Superblock, etc

Grow up. Builder's build what the people want. Nobody cares about the google crowd.

 

...the Google crowd? What?

[luciaphile]

Grow up. Builder's build what the people want. Nobody cares about what webtards want.

 

I guess Town-and-Country's previous incarnation was just a mulligan then.

[Metro West]

Sorry, I meant to say 'webtard'. I corrected it. Thank you.

 

BTW, individual stuff going up in midtown and downtown apparently doesn't count. If one's passion is Houston bashing, it doesn't further one's argument to acknowledge areas that are already urban and adding more urban cohesion. No, it's much better crying about faux urban projects going up in suburbs 12 miles west of downtown that were never high density urban cores to begin with and compare them with urban megalopolises built on the east coast in the 19th century.

 

 

Here. Check out this. 

 

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2014/09/mid-main-mixed-use-development-announces-groundbreaking-ceremony-date/

 

Maybe it will make you feel a little better. After this is built, Houston will look like New York in no time.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Metro West

[Texasota]

Builders do not build what people want. They build whatever will earn them the most money. That's not always the same thing.

[Metro West]

O.K. have it your way. Builders build the opposite of what people want. All those cars in the parking lot are just figments of my imagination. And the dilapidated abandoned buildings built up to the pedestrian friendly sidewalks of EADO are just filled to capacity with happy invisible shoppers.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Metro West

[citykid09]

Builders do not build what people want. They build whatever will earn them the most money. That's not always the same thing.

 

Exactly, and with Houston's anything goes no zoning or restrictions attitude it will continue. 

[Texasota]

O.K. have it your way. Builders build the opposite of what people want. All those cars in the parking lot are just figments of my imagination. And the dilapidated abandoned buildings built up to the pedestrian friendly sidewalks of EADO are just filled to capacity with happy invisible shoppers.

 

Excellent job of completely missing what I said.

 

Builders build what makes them the most profit, because that's the definition of capitalism. Generally they DO follow "what people want", or at least what some subset of people want, but they tend to take a very short term view of things.

 

Builders do not like risk, so if they've been doing something that's made them money in the past, then they're pretty likely to continue doing it until it stops making them money, regardless of what people "want". 

[Mab]

 

A general contractor has yet to be named, but the other players are in place for a major new office project in the Energy Corridor, which is slated to break ground in the fall of 2015.

In a joint venture, Houston-based Midway Cos. and Chicago-based LaSalle Investment Management will develop 6.41 acres in CityCentre that will include 740,000 square feet of additional office space built to LEED Gold standards. The two new office towers will be located north of CityCentre Five, a 15-story project under constructionat 825 Town & Country Way. Both towers will be 16 stories with nine levels of parking, as well as a roof-top terrace on the fourth floor of both buildings.

Colvill Office Properties is marketing the space.

Munoz + Albin Architecture is the project architect, and Kirksey is the architect of record. Both are based in Houston. No financing was taken for the project, which will debt free. Colvill Office Properties is marketing the space.

“We have had tremendous success. Our current office products are almost 100 percent leased. We think the success is the prime location and the lifestyle they offer here at CityCentre, which has restaurants, hotels, conference space and retail. People want to live their day-to-day lives amongst great amenities,” said Shon Link, executive vice president of development for Midway Cos.

CityCentre Four became fully leased over the summer when Laredo Energy, a Houston-based natural gas company, signed on for the remaining 11,574 square feet of space in the building.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2014/09/more-details-revealed-on-major-citycentre-office.html?ana=twt

[jgriff]

More Details.....

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2014/09/30/new-details-emerge-in-citycentre-apartment-project.html

 

[fernz]

Excellent job of completely missing what I said.

Builders build what makes them the most profit, because that's the definition of capitalism. Generally they DO follow "what people want", or at least what some subset of people want, but they tend to take a very short term view of things.

Builders do not like risk, so if they've been doing something that's made them money in the past, then they're pretty likely to continue doing it until it stops making them money, regardless of what people "want".

This doesn't make sense. If people don't want it, then it won't make money for the developer.

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 8, 2019 by Timoric

[toxtethogrady]

***

Edited October 10, 2014 by toxtethogrady

[Mab]

http://midwaycompanies.com/img/leasing/leasing-packages/CITYCENTRE_TOWERS_1__2.pdf

[fernz]

Love this development, but would be surprised if it moves forward in current oil environment.

[Houston?]

Love this development, but would be surprised if it moves forward in current oil environment.

Ugh. Y'all make this condition sound so bad. 

Edited December 3, 2014 by Houston?

[Fortune]

Love this development, but would be surprised if it moves forward in current oil environment.

I'm so tired of comments like this popping up in every thread with a proposal. Everyone one knows the current oil market. We don't have to be reminded in every thread.

[fernz]

Like others have said, not every current proposal will suffer, but office projects in the energy corridor are probably more vulnerable.

[toxtethogrady]

I think the residential units will be needed. There is no shortage of people looking for housing in Houston.

[Triton]

I don't mean to bring up oil in every thread but Jonathan Brinsden did bring it up. I wonder how this will affect the expansion:

 

 

Nosediving oil prices will affect commercial developers more quickly than residential developers, said Jonathan Brinsden, CEO of Houston-based Midway Cos., which developed the CityCentre mixed-use project.

"The office side is where we're going to feel it first," Brinsden said. "There's a lot of sensitivities at $60 a barrel."

As energy companies scale back their budgets, they will likely consolidate their operations and look for smaller offices. Brinsden predicts a lot of renegotiated contracts as well as mergers and acquisitions as the middle energy market is squeezed.

In addition, office projects — both underway and proposed — may be mothballed if oil prices continue to plummet.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2014/12/12/houston-developers-keep-wary-eye-on-falling-oil.html?page=2

[Urbannizer]

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Deal-of-the-Week-Tech-companies-on-move-6053082.php

 

[kdog08]

Hopefully it will forward with it's next hotel phase (a renovation of an existing hotel), if it hasn't already started. Otherwise, there are quite a few apartments under construction here. Pretty amazing how big this development has gotten. 

[toxtethogrady]

Love this development, but would be surprised if it moves forward in current oil environment.

The current oil environment as of yesterday was $52 a barrel for WTI.

 

I think the real estate developers are way behind the power curve, compared to the developers of that Legacy complex in Plano. Seems to me a lot of their tenants could have been attracted to the Woodlands or the Energy Corridor (okay, they're insurance companies, but who knows?) 

[lockmat]

Tapatalk doesn't work and iPads produce images too large, so maybe someone else can provide a screenshot of page six of this file show all three phases

http://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/HOUSTON_citycenter_jan2015_F.pdf

[rechlin]

Here you go (it gets a little sharper if you click on it):

 

[Montrose1100]

So Phase II is the beautification of the 4 Points? What is the big building in between Phase II & III? The Three smaller office buildings are going bye bye.

 

Edit: Does anyone know or presume that City Centre will eventually take over the retail centers, Mac Haik, and other smaller office buildings to eventually connect with the Memorial Hermann?

Edited February 16, 2015 by Montrose1100

[Fortune]

So Phase II is the beautification of the 4 Points? What is the big building in between Phase II & III? The Three smaller office buildings are going bye bye.

Edit: Does anyone know or presume that City Centre will eventually take over the retail centers, Mac Haik, and other smaller office buildings to eventually connect with the Memorial Hermann?

That is the Alexan City Centre which is under construction will be 7 stories.

I do believe they will expand further east as those properties become available. I remember reading in a article when they released the renderings for phase 3 that they are always actively looking for room for expansion.

[Houston?]

That is the Alexan City Centre which is under construction will be 7 stories.

I do believe they will expand further east as those properties become available. I remember reading in a article when they released the renderings for phase 3 that they are always actively looking for room for expansion.

 

Yaaaaaaaas! I love CityCentre! An expansion east would be something to write about. I would include some of the existing restaurants and retailers like Pappadeax, Pappasitos, and Bed Bath & Beyond from the current shopping centers in the newly expanded areas. I think having more popular mainstream stores and restaurants will give CityCentre even more life.

[DNAguy]

City Centre is such a great success story that I can only hope is replicated many times over in Houston.

 

If I have one knock, it's that Bendwood Park is completely isolated from City Centre.

 

I guess it can be rectified in the future, but that would require Creme de la Creme to move and the elementary school to give up some of its land.

 

In addition, I imagine the neighborhood would resist this as it would effectively end their exclusive hold on the park.

 

The fact is, that patch of fake green space isn't enough to support the growth of this development for long.

[The Ozone Files]

City Centre is such a great success story that I can only hope is replicated many times over in Houston.

 

If I have one knock, it's that Bendwood Park is completely isolated from City Centre.

 

I guess it can be rectified in the future, but that would require Creme de la Creme to move and the elementary school to give up some of its land.

 

In addition, I imagine the neighborhood would resist this as it would effectively end their exclusive hold on the park.

 

The fact is, that patch of fake green space isn't enough to support the growth of this development for long.

 

I live in the neighborhood and I've had similar thoughts about Bendwood's future. However, I believe the park will definitely remain isolated from the development, even if its use increases as the local population grows.

 

Bendwood Park is surrounded by expensive single family homes on three sides and Bendwood Elementary on the fourth. Creme de la Creme and Town & Country Village to City Centre's south are owned by another firm. Town & Country has already made the leap from retail-only to a mid-rise office building and could feasibly venture into residential. However, even they do not have land directly adjacent to Bendwood Park.

 

Development spurred by City Centre has plenty of room to expand to the south and east before intruding into the neighborhoods. I can even imagine City Center and Memorial City merging into a contiguous district along Katy Freeway before a single home in Fonn Villas is torn down by developers.

 

You are absolutely right, though. Midway needs another plot of green space. That patch of astroturf is so crowded on weekends!

Edited February 17, 2015 by The Ozone Files

[Fortune]

A acre of green space will be included in phase 3.

[toxtethogrady]

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Deal-of-the-Week-Tech-companies-on-move-6053082.php

 

 

Two new tenants are moving in - Microsoft and Altus.

 

Oil prices have hit an interesting dichotomy; WTI is at $52 a barrel, while Brent is at $61. One of the trades said fracking is keeping US prices depressed relative to Europe.

[Mab]

[jmitch94]

Wow that's going to be one hell of a development, considering it is already very nice.