M Square: Mixed-Use At 3200 Post Oak Blvd.

[Trae]

out of towners will be confusing it for downtown

They already do.

Edited August 8, 2008 by Trae

[NewMND]

They already do.

And then some people think we have the whole Minneapolis/St.Paul thing going on, and that they're both downtowns.

[TheNiche]

And then some people think we have the whole Minneapolis/St.Paul thing going on, and that they're both downtowns.

Never mind what you call them, they're both just very big employment subcenters.

[Jeebus]

They already do.

Who exactly?

[Trae]

Who exactly?

Are you serious? Look at what I quoted.

[Jeebus]

Are you serious? Look at what I quoted.

You're right, my mistake. I'm gonna disagree with that however - unless we're limiting this to only people traveling from the southwest on US59 south, northbound.

FWIW... This is starting to look a lot like the Shamrock thread. And we all know how that ended.

Edited August 8, 2008 by Jeebus

[Trae]

Driving both ways on 610, too. That is where my relatives from Louisiana and Georgia asked if it was Downtown.

[swtsig]

You're right, my mistake. I'm gonna disagree with that however - unless we're limiting this to only people traveling from the southwest on US59 south, northbound.

FWIW... This is starting to look a lot like the Shamrock thread. And we all know how that ended.

i'll remind my guests who travel in from i-10 and 610 that they're wrong.

[ricco67]

i'll remind my guests who travel in from i-10 and 610 that they're wrong.

Hell, I've had people that thought the medical center was "downtown". I've had to correct quite a few people on that one as well.

I kinda' wonder what people think downtown was when they pass it by.

[desirous]

Hell, I've had people that thought the medical center was "downtown". I've had to correct quite a few people on that one as well.

I kinda' wonder what people think downtown was when they pass it by.

The converse happens too. This one lady was wondering when she was going to be in the city, when she was already in the city. She said most of Houston looks like "countryside."

[Jeebus]

Hell, I've had people that thought the medical center was "downtown". I've had to correct quite a few people on that one as well.

I kinda' wonder what people think downtown was when they pass it by.

This was exactly my point.

[Drerx8]

I was flying into Hobby and this father/son behind me were saying "I think that must be San Antonio" referring to the Galleria area...they were serious.

[Trae]

I was flying into Hobby and this father/son behind me were saying "I think that must be San Antonio" referring to the Galleria area...they were serious.

Did you tell them it wasn't?

[marc]

out of towners will be confusing it for downtown

They already do!! Well, fellow H-towners. i have put in for a transfer BACK to my beloved Houston. LA was good for what i need it for, but it is time to come back home, AND all the development around town is just the homecoming i need. i will know in about a month if my request was granted. Wish me luck!

m.

[Drerx8]

Did you tell them it wasn't?

Naw...I just listened and chuckled to myself

[Trae]

How could they think it was SA? Planes don't move that fast.

[PuroAztlan]

How could they think it was SA? Planes don't move that fast.

People are dumb.

[houstonfella]

They already do!! Well, fellow H-towners. i have put in for a transfer BACK to my beloved Houston. LA was good for what i need it for, but it is time to come back home, AND all the development around town is just the homecoming i need. i will know in about a month if my request was granted. Wish me luck!

m.

Good luck to you Marc. I'm sure you miss barbeque and Tex-Mex. I know I did when I lived in S.F. for a while.

[jgriff]

People are dumb.

Someone visiting from England asked me if this was the astrodome.

[livincinco]

Someone visiting from England asked me if this was the astrodome.

Did you tell them - Yes, we liked it so much - we built a whole bunch of them!

[CoolBuddy06]

If this ever get built can they put a rotating beacon in sync with Williams' like someone suggested? I saw the beacon tonight after a long time and imagined two in sync, it will be an instant attraction.

[fewellman]

Any updates on this? I have not heard any thing about this project for a while.........

[strickn]

Well, the latest news on deyaar.ae is the unveiling of their new development direction: "...What makes this new [28 Aug] corporate identity truly special is that it reflects the strategic shift in our focus from single-tower projects to master-planned communities..."

[maceo9903]

So...has there been ANY news on this thing or has it been decided that this was a pipe dream?

[treblelino]

So...has there been ANY news on this thing or has it been decided that this was a pipe dream?

I am sure it was a pipe dream. You know Houston does not do anything that tall. 30 stories and beige is what Houston loves.

[ENGcons]

Right now any major project that does not have financing in place is pretty much dead.

[Trae]

I am sure it was a pipe dream. You know Houston does not do anything that tall. 30 stories and beige is what Houston loves.

You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

[JJVilla]

Did you tell them - Yes, we liked it so much - we built a whole bunch of them!

I thought you were all talking about the old (out of business) Astrodome-like muffler/mechanic shop on Chimney Rock (between Richmond & 59).

This project is pretty much dead - Dubia Inc is in crisis mitigation mode these days. Everybody there (especially long-time, non-citizens) wondered how long they could keep the bubble going.

Edited November 26, 2008 by JJVilla

[LTAWACS]

You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

He's right. It what we love and it's all we will ever have.

[swtsig]

I am sure it was a pipe dream. You know Houston does not do anything that tall. 30 stories and beige is what Houston loves.

signed,

mainplace

discovery tower

one park place

mosaic

2727 kirby

cosmopolitan

[banking214]

Hopefully in time it will be built, however I can't see it moving forward for at least another year or so.

[Geoff8201]

If this did get off the ground (literally) I can see two things that will remain constant...

1. The decision to do this wont even remotely begin until the economy is better... maybe 2010 hopefully. Don't expect a building this size to be complete till, oh say 2013 at the earliest (estimating a speedy year to get it approved and 2 years to get the space ready, and the structure topped off).

2. The decision to put this in the Galleria has been a debated one, and my vote goes to putting it in Downtown, NOT the Galleria. Especially if it ends up being taller than the Chase Tower. There are still many surface lots in the downtown area that this can be built on. Downtown has exploded from just an area to work, to an area to work, play and live. Houston is a city with 3 downtowns... its bad when visitors have to ask which one is the official Downtown Houston... it'll be even worse if the people who live here have to ask that very same question.

[LTAWACS]

signed,

mainplace

discovery tower

one park place

mosaic

2727 kirby

cosmopolitan

All picayune.

[ChannelTwoNews]

All picayune.

Thanking you & trebelino for my daily lulz.

[TheNiche]

its bad when visitors have to ask which one is the official Downtown Houston...

Why?

[Geoff8201]

Why?

Here comes TheNiche to try to bust a hole in my logic. jk, love your posts and logical input, even if I don't agree with it sometimes.

It's not bad that we have many tall buildings spread out in different urban centers. Actually its great and makes us unique... the reason why I feel it is bad that this would be in the Galleria instead of downtown is for one, the city's sense of symmetry (the aesthetics of it if you will) on a more minor level and the historic value on a larger level.

Explaining on the minor level, which is entirely based on my shared opinion, yes... Is that an 80+ story in the Galleria just wouldn't look right. The unofficial centerpiece is the Williams Tower. To me downtown is downtown, and should have the tallest structure, marking it, making the postcard image, the image everyone thinks of when they think Houston. Also the question is where to build this? The latest I heard (and correct me if I'm wrong) is the corner of NW side of Richmond and Post Oak, which I don't think would look right on the south end of the Galleria / Uptown skyline. It would dwarf the Williams Tower to the north of it, while having little to the south of it. And consider the traffic it'd create on top of what's already there... an 80 story office building, and don't forget part of this originally was having a 40-50 story connecting residential tower along side it.

The key reason I feel though is that The Galleria is more or less based on the Galleria Mall... Downtown is where Houston started. A little over a hundred years ago space outside the inner-inner loop (where I-10, US-59 and I-45 surround downtown) was considered the "outskirts" of Houston. I simply feel that if Houston is slated for our first super-tall in more than 2 decades, it should go up in downtown, the heart of the city.

On an ironic note... I need to head off to the Galleria now...

Edited November 26, 2008 by Geoff8201

[memebag]

Here comes TheNiche to try to bust a hole in my logic. jk, love your posts and logical input, even if I don't agree with it sometimes.

It's not bad that we have many tall buildings spread out in different urban centers. Actually its great and makes us unique... the reason why I feel it is bad that this would be in the Galleria instead of downtown is for one, the city's sense of symmetry (the aesthetics of it if you will) on a more minor level and the historic value on a larger level.

Explaining on the minor level, which is entirely based on my shared opinion, yes... Is that an 80+ story in the Galleria just wouldn't look right. The unofficial centerpiece is the Williams Tower. To me downtown is downtown, and should have the tallest structure, marking it, making the postcard image, the image everyone thinks of when they think Houston. Also the question is where to build this? The latest I heard (and correct me if I'm wrong) is the corner of NW side of Richmond and Post Oak, which I don't think would look right on the south end of the Galleria / Uptown skyline. It would dwarf the Williams Tower to the north of it, while having little to the south of it. And consider the traffic it'd create on top of what's already there... an 80 story office building, and don't forget part of this originally was having a 40-50 story connecting residential tower along side it.

The key reason I feel though is that The Galleria is more or less based on the Galleria Mall... Downtown is where Houston started. A little over a hundred years ago space outside the inner-inner loop (where I-10, US-59 and I-45 surround downtown) was considered the "outskirts" of Houston. I simply feel that if Houston is slated for our first super-tall in more than 2 decades, it should go up in downtown, the heart of the city.

On an ironic note... I need to head off to the Galleria now...

So you want it downtown because that would be simpler for people to grasp? Don't fear complexity.

Some animals have more than one heart, and cities aren't animals.

[TheNiche]

It's not bad that we have many tall buildings spread out in different urban centers. Actually its great and makes us unique... the reason why I feel it is bad that this would be in the Galleria instead of downtown is for one, the city's sense of symmetry (the aesthetics of it if you will) on a more minor level and the historic value on a larger level.

Symmetry? Our traditional CBD is situated on the eastern precipice of nowhere, if you start looking at concentrations of office space in our region. ...no, really! I'm not kidding. There's nothing really very symmetrical about Houston other than its freeway system.

Explaining on the minor level, which is entirely based on my shared opinion, yes... Is that an 80+ story in the Galleria just wouldn't look right. The unofficial centerpiece is the Williams Tower. To me downtown is downtown, and should have the tallest structure, marking it, making the postcard image, the image everyone thinks of when they think Houston. Also the question is where to build this? The latest I heard (and correct me if I'm wrong) is the corner of NW side of Richmond and Post Oak, which I don't think would look right on the south end of the Galleria / Uptown skyline. It would dwarf the Williams Tower to the north of it, while having little to the south of it. And consider the traffic it'd create on top of what's already there... an 80 story office building, and don't forget part of this originally was having a 40-50 story connecting residential tower along side it.

Williams Tower is the unofficial centerpiece now, just as the Niels Esperson Building was once the unofficial centerpiece of downtown Houston. Look at downtown Austin; the Frost Building there towers over everything else, having the aesthetic presence of a monarch. But the Austonian condos are under construction and will be taller still. In another couple decades, surely there will be buildings that trump even the Austonian. The point is, things change. And old triumphs should be revered but not held in such high reverence that new triumphs are discouraged.

Seems like that would be a preferable site to one further from Williams Tower. It'd make a nice tight cluster of tall buildings all in one spot. But that's besides the point from the CBD vs. Galleria debate.

The key reason I feel though is that The Galleria is more or less based on the Galleria Mall... Downtown is where Houston started. A little over a hundred years ago space outside the inner-inner loop (where I-10, US-59 and I-45 surround downtown) was considered the "outskirts" of Houston. I simply feel that if Houston is slated for our first super-tall in more than 2 decades, it should go up in downtown, the heart of the city.

On an ironic note... I need to head off to the Galleria now...

Downtown was based on an wharf that presently serves no commercial function and attracts fractions of a percent fewer visitors than the Galleria. How is that relevant to a highrise office building in the 21st century?

Edited November 26, 2008 by TheNiche

[Geoff8201]

So you want it downtown because that would be simpler for people to grasp? Don't fear complexity.

Williams Tower is the unofficial centerpiece now, just as the Niels Esperson Building was once the unofficial centerpiece of downtown Houston. Look at downtown Austin; the Frost Building there towers over everything else, having the aesthetic presence of a monarch. But the Austonian condos are under construction and will be taller still. In another couple decades, surely there will be buildings that trump even the Austonian. The point is, things change. And old triumphs should be revered but not held in such high reverence that new triumphs are discouraged.

Seems like that would be a preferable site to one further from Williams Tower. It'd make a nice tight cluster of tall buildings all in one spot. But that's besides the point from the CBD vs. Galleria debate.

Good points, however don't get me wrong. If this thing were approved tomorrow to go up in the Galleria, I'd be thrilled... tracking its progress, and out taking pictures of the construction to post so all Haif'ers can see the progress... it'd be even more exciting since I live closer to the Galleria than I do to downtown.

My only preference is, while its still up in the air whether it happens or not, if it were and the location for it were still open, Galleria or downtown, I'd chose downtown for the reasons I gave.

Although if it were built in the Galleria it would be one recognized as one of the tallest in the world outside of a central downtown region... something influencing the developers to want to put it in the Galleria, perhaps?

Downtown was based on an wharf that presently serves no commercial function and attracts fractions of a percent fewer visitors than the Galleria. How is that relevant to a highrise office building in the 21st century?

The preference to put this building in Downtown has nothing to do with why downtown is where it is. The fact is, downtown is there, and it is the home to all our 50+ floor super-talls with exception to Williams Tower. Yes, The Williams Tower will not be the tallest and most iconic building in the Galleria area forever, but nor will the Chase Tower be in Downtown (which is tall, but not so much iconic). DT is an area that has come really far in recent years, on top of being the oldest part of established Houston, I think it deserves first glance at building a new super-tall. And if downtown is an unfeasible location for the developers for whatever reason, and Galleria works out better then so be it.

And also I'm basing my entire debate on this building being an 80+ floor icon, being declared the tallest in Houston. If in the end it turns out to be only 60 or 70 floors, and significantly shorter in meter/feet height, than by all means, build it in the Galleria where it will be mighty impressive against the skyline it is in.

[TheNiche]

Good points, however don't get me wrong. If this thing were approved tomorrow to go up in the Galleria, I'd be thrilled... tracking its progress, and out taking pictures of the construction to post so all Haif'ers can see the progress... it'd be even more exciting since I live closer to the Galleria than I do to downtown.

My only preference is, while its still up in the air whether it happens or not, if it were and the location for it were still open, Galleria or downtown, I'd chose downtown for the reasons I gave.

Although if it were built in the Galleria it would be one recognized as one of the tallest in the world outside of a central downtown region... something influencing the developers to want to put it in the Galleria, perhaps?

The preference to put this building in Downtown has nothing to do with why downtown is where it is. The fact is, downtown is there, and it is the home to all our 50+ floor super-talls with exception to Williams Tower. Yes, The Williams Tower will not be the tallest and most iconic building in the Galleria area forever, but nor will the Chase Tower be in Downtown (which is tall, but not so much iconic). DT is an area that has come really far in recent years, on top of being the oldest part of established Houston, I think it deserves first glance at building a new super-tall. And if downtown is an unfeasible location for the developers for whatever reason, and Galleria works out better then so be it.

And also I'm basing my entire debate on this building being an 80+ floor icon, being declared the tallest in Houston. If in the end it turns out to be only 60 or 70 floors, and significantly shorter in meter/feet height, than by all means, build it in the Galleria where it will be mighty impressive against the skyline it is in.

Soooo...it should go downtown because that's where the tallest buildings are. Ipse dixit.

Fortunately, developers do not just decide that they want to build a tall building in some particular city and then start looking for sites in different office submarkets. They determine which submarkets have the greatest leasing potential, look at various sites, run different categories of building through the financial model, and build whichever happens to pencil out the best. Usually it is not an 80-story building. When it is, it is not on account of the whim of a developer.

Edited November 27, 2008 by TheNiche

[wxman]

Just curious if this thing ever went anywhere. I was plundering around on HBJ and came across the article from 2008. Is there any hope alive of this project?

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/02/18/story1.html

What is the status of all the other proposed projects? It seems that MANY new highrises have been proposed over the past year or two and few have gone anywhere. Some that come to mind are 'the Titan', Deyaar, the W, Ritz, High Street, the 40 story condo tower in the med center, City-Centre downtown, Turnberry, and others.

[mfastx]

Just curious if this thing ever went anywhere. I was plundering around on HBJ and came across the article from 2008. Is there any hope alive of this project?

http://www.bizjourna.../18/story1.html

What is the status of all the other proposed projects? It seems that MANY new highrises have been proposed over the past year or two and few have gone anywhere. Some that come to mind are 'the Titan', Deyaar, the W, Ritz, High Street, the 40 story condo tower in the med center, City-Centre downtown, Turnberry, and others.

Many of those projects have been canceled, and I would assume that Deyaar Post Oak is also canceled, or at least won't happen anytime soon.

[Triton]

Just curious if this thing ever went anywhere. I was plundering around on HBJ and came across the article from 2008. Is there any hope alive of this project?

http://www.bizjourna.../18/story1.html

What is the status of all the other proposed projects? It seems that MANY new highrises have been proposed over the past year or two and few have gone anywhere. Some that come to mind are 'the Titan', Deyaar, the W, Ritz, High Street, the 40 story condo tower in the med center, City-Centre downtown, Turnberry, and others.

That's a good question. Like mfastx said, most have probably been cancelled. But as for Titan, the website is still there so perhaps Titan is still a project that will come later? Not sure

[JJxvi]

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2014/06/galleria-area-development-site-trades-hand/

[Triton]

But as for Titan, the website is still there so perhaps Titan is still a project that will come later? Not sure

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I wonder who the anonymous buyer is.   That makes it all too interesting... 

[lockmat]

Woohoo!

[cloud713]

interesting.. this site would of made for the ultimate location for a mixed use development had the University Line been built down Richmond past Afton Oaks.

should we expect another tower? idk that i would want a supertall at this location/so close to william, but i definitely would rather see a high-rise than a low/midrise apartment complex.

[houstontexasjack]

Nifty. Hopefully we hear an announcement for development soon.

[JJxvi]

Seems like a West Ave style mixed use apt complex would do well in this area on a parcel of this size.

[Avossos]

I would not be surprised if Hines bought this peice of land. They once owned it, as well as other lands around Williams, which they have re-purchased over the past few years.