Ion District In Midtown

[Luminare]

29 minutes ago, cspwal said:

What is that green?  The facade is starting to look good

 

My guess is it came from the metal cladding. Not sure either.

[Highrise Tower]

[bobruss]

On 6/17/2019 at 9:39 AM, cspwal said:

What is that green?  The facade is starting to look good

 

 

Looks like weathered Tyvek, at first glance.

[Timoric]

-

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[Highrise Tower]

 

[UtterlyUrban]

I hope that they re-open all the  “bricked-in retail display windows”.   I would be terrific to visually open the building to the sidewalk in that manner.  

[danielsonr]

On 1/30/2019 at 12:33 PM, Urbannizer said:

https://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/article/Rice-University-unveils-plans-for-former-Sears-13573960.php#item-85307-tbla-10

 

 

 

 

[corbs315]

some Debbie Downers here... https://www.houstonchronicle.com/techburger/article/Innovation-1-14021608.php

 

Edit: Maybe not completely. Didn't finish reading the article before posting

And there's a part 2 coming!

Edited June 21, 2019 by corbs315

[rechlin]

Awnings completely gone from the Wheeler-facing side:

 

[Luminare]

13 hours ago, corbs315 said:

some Debbie Downers here... https://www.houstonchronicle.com/techburger/article/Innovation-1-14021608.php

 

Edit: Maybe not completely. Didn't finish reading the article before posting

And there's a part 2 coming!

 

Again. Another article written by someone who instead of trying to get the facts instead begins with a faulty premise to back up what they view should happen. I already have an idea of what part 2 is going to be. All you have to do is read part 1, walk this woman's approach to its logic conclusion, and then infer what direction per the sources she used and people she feels are the authority figures on the subject. Part 1 read like this; Houston is once again going its own way in doing what it wants to do instead of doing what other progressive cities in the West and East have done, oh and of course Austin. Can't forget them because they are hip and cool. How dare Houston try to be different and not listen to Silicon Valley elites in how this ought to be done. How dare Houston try to revitalize a deadzone between two of its major hubs. No those fancy things belong in Montrose and Uptown. Look at these select amount of people that hold my same view point and not the opposite view. Let me bring up this extreme example of a development in Virginia that was overly massive and crashed during the dot.com bust of the late 90's because thats exactly comparable to this. Oh and we can't develop on this land too because...climate change.

Part 2 is going to be this author browbeating us to death with what she believes should be done, and how we should take cues from the East and West, and Austin.

 

To this person, there are zero redeeming qualities about all of this. I'm not saying this is perfect, and I'm certainly going to hold judgement on whether its a success or failure till they get more of this built, but in this woman's worldview this is automatically a failure in the making because in her worldview this is impossible to achieve. It violates the "silicon valley" orthodoxy on how to do things as if they are the leaders of some religion. There is reason to be skeptical, but this is ridiculous.

Edited June 21, 2019 by Luminare

[HoustonIsHome]

I am kinda disappointed that the new building looks like it's going to be strikingly different from the original, however I do like that rendering and I'm very happy that this was at least an upgrade rather than a complete tear down.

 

It has me wondering what the completely new buildings will look like. If the bottoms of all the buildings are similarly matched then this is going to be an excellent area for pedestrian activity. Bring on the blue line.

Edited June 21, 2019 by HoustonIsHome

[X.R.]

I agree with Luminare, you can be skeptical about this project.

 

But I think you would need to temper that skepticism with this thought: Rice and its endowment wouldn't pour 100 million down the drain. They are jumping at the chance to be the first ones to really take control of Houston's tech scene. If you go to their campus, and just walk around, you realize they sit right next to parts of TMC, which I know allowed my friends, who were rice students, direct access to these medical institutions/research facilities for opportunities like summer jobs/internships, and potentially employment/residency after they graduated from Rice. Rice is now seemingly doing the same thing with Houston's tech scene. They get to control the two blocks around the burgeoning tech scene at their ion? Imagine the opportunities for their students. Its a calculated risk.

 

At worst, it becomes a glorified WeWorks for Tech companies. Which is still waaaaay better than anything else Houston has right now.

 

The writer of that article, as Luminare points out, thinks this should be in Montrose or Uptown. She believes the "build it and they will come" mantra is invalid because that area of Midtown is not dense enough. The writer, and the people interviewed keep pointing out that the Ion is next to a jack in the box, in an attempt to say that there aren't viable dining options or a gym or bars around it. Yes, there is a jack in the box. But two blocks down there will be a Whole Foods (coming Q1 2020!). And one train stop down you have: 5 bars, a great sushi place with a conveyor belt (4+ stars on yelp!), an actually pretty traditional chinese restuarant, and a vietnamese restaurant. Then if you walk a block or two past that the vietnamese place you hit 24 hour fitness, and that whole block of places like Jinya Ramen, and Piola Pizza. The Ion has the things the writer believes should be around it, but she fails to give Midtown, and the Ion, a chance. I hope Pt. II of that article is the argument for it succeeding!

 

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[houstontexasjack]

I don't think the author was suggesting the Ion was inherently a bad project.  In reading the 2nd part of the series today, the point being made was that "one building isn't enough."  The 2nd part largely focused on the need to attract more venture capital into the Houston area, as well as development of those with the technology skills required for tech startups out of our universities.  In essence, the "chicken and egg" problem of becoming a hub for tech start-ups.

 

The points about density the author raised about the Ion are not invalid.  In fact, Rice's land acquisitions around the Ion suggest they too understand the value of having housing, coffee shops, etc. for a tech hub.  By way of example, Rice owns the land under the Jack-in-the-Box mentioned in the article, having acquired that land last year (aside: not sure if that restaurant has a ground lease or if Rice acquired it as well).  Future phases of development would help fill in the density required.

 

Of course, Rice's acquisitions have spawned interest in areas nearby.  Consider the recently-platted "Transrise" along San Jacinto by Rosedale.  That project is certainly going to use Rice's presence north in their presentation to get financing for development (alas, we have few details on that as of yet).

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by houstontexasjack

[HoustonIsHome]

In relation to the article, I think she is looking at it in terms of the past and present and not what The project can do for the area in the future. Yes there is only a Jack in the Box note but what options would the district bring in the future? 

 

Yes there is loads of stuff right now in uptown but pound for pound how much effect would this have in uptown compared to the effect on this area? 

 

In Houston terms uptown is getting kinda overbuilt. This area is a prime location in no man's land. Uptown right now could probably supply all the food needs of the entire district without having to solicit new options. Building in this area would definitely attract new options.

 

The way I see it markets attract markets; jobs attract jobs; services attract services. 

 

Another thing, when I was at UH I participated in programs that were a collaboration with Rice and Baylor. This thing is close to all three. In fact it is close to all major colleges except Houston Baptist. Uptown isn't as well located in relation to the universities. 

 

In terms of location I think this is the best in the state. The only two locations that come close are Southeastern downtown and east downtown.

 

Midtown is on its way up while uptown is already up. I just down see opportunities in uptown with as much land in an area that convenient. There are sure to be more ROD type developments in Uptown, but shopping districts are self sustaining. This project will be deeply integrated with the schools, TMC and Downtown.

 

One final thought. Houston has never been one to cluster all dense developments in one area. Houston builds in an area and then the market reacts. We build in pockets and over time the pockets connect. Rice knows what they are doing. They do not need to overpay for amenities when the amenities are converging in that direction already. This project will only speed the merging treck of Downtown and TMC to each other. That's not even considering UH's new medical center development on Wheeler. 

 

[houstontexasjack]

35 minutes ago, HoustonIsHome said:

One final thought. Houston has never been one to cluster all dense developments in one area. Houston builds in an area and then the market reacts. We build in pockets and over time the pockets connect. Rice knows what they are doing. They do not need to overpay for amenities when the amenities are converging in that direction already. This project will only speed the merging treck of Downtown and TMC to each other. That's not even considering UH's new medical center development on Wheeler. 

 

Or the proposed University Line BRT down Wheeler as well. 🙂 

[clutchcity94]

2 hours ago, X.R. said:

I agree with Luminare, you can be skeptical about this project.

 

But I think you would need to temper that skepticism with this thought: Rice and its endowment wouldn't pour 100 million down the drain. They are jumping at the chance to be the first ones to really take control of Houston's tech scene. If you go to their campus, and just walk around, you realize they sit right next to parts of TMC, which I know allowed my friends, who were rice students, direct access to these medical institutions/research facilities for opportunities like summer jobs/internships, and potentially employment/residency after they graduated from Rice. Rice is now seemingly doing the same thing with Houston's tech scene. They get to control the two blocks around the burgeoning tech scene at their ion? Imagine the opportunities for their students. Its a calculated risk.

 

At worst, it becomes a glorified WeWorks for Tech companies. Which is still waaaaay better than anything else Houston has right now.

 

The writer of that article, as Luminare points out, thinks this should be in Montrose or Uptown. She believes the "build it and they will come" mantra is invalid because that area of Midtown is not dense enough. The writer, and the people interviewed keep pointing out that the Ion is next to a jack in the box, in an attempt to say that there aren't viable dining options or a gym or bars around it. Yes, there is a jack in the box. But two blocks down there will be a Whole Foods (coming Q1 2020!). And one train stop down you have: 5 bars, a great sushi place with a conveyor belt (4+ stars on yelp!), an actually pretty traditional chinese restuarant, and a vietnamese restaurant. Then if you walk a block or two past that the vietnamese place you hit 24 hour fitness, and that whole block of places like Jinya Ramen, and Piola Pizza. The Ion has the things the writer believes should be around it, but she fails to give Midtown, and the Ion, a chance. I hope Pt. II of that article is the argument for it succeeding!

 

 

Don't forget that Montrose is only a short walk away. For example, the area near Ono Poke, the new Lotti Dotti bar (formerly known as Brooklyn Athletic Club), and the Timberline Fitness under construction on Jack St & Richmond are all only a short 5-10 minute walk from The Ion (AND they're in Montrose).

[Luminare]

3 hours ago, X.R. said:

I agree with Luminare, you can be skeptical about this project.

 

But I think you would need to temper that skepticism with this thought: Rice and its endowment wouldn't pour 100 million down the drain. They are jumping at the chance to be the first ones to really take control of Houston's tech scene. If you go to their campus, and just walk around, you realize they sit right next to parts of TMC, which I know allowed my friends, who were rice students, direct access to these medical institutions/research facilities for opportunities like summer jobs/internships, and potentially employment/residency after they graduated from Rice. Rice is now seemingly doing the same thing with Houston's tech scene. They get to control the two blocks around the burgeoning tech scene at their ion? Imagine the opportunities for their students. Its a calculated risk.

 

At worst, it becomes a glorified WeWorks for Tech companies. Which is still waaaaay better than anything else Houston has right now.

 

The writer of that article, as Luminare points out, thinks this should be in Montrose or Uptown. She believes the "build it and they will come" mantra is invalid because that area of Midtown is not dense enough. The writer, and the people interviewed keep pointing out that the Ion is next to a jack in the box, in an attempt to say that there aren't viable dining options or a gym or bars around it. Yes, there is a jack in the box. But two blocks down there will be a Whole Foods (coming Q1 2020!). And one train stop down you have: 5 bars, a great sushi place with a conveyor belt (4+ stars on yelp!), an actually pretty traditional chinese restuarant, and a vietnamese restaurant. Then if you walk a block or two past that the vietnamese place you hit 24 hour fitness, and that whole block of places like Jinya Ramen, and Piola Pizza. The Ion has the things the writer believes should be around it, but she fails to give Midtown, and the Ion, a chance. I hope Pt. II of that article is the argument for it succeeding!

 

 

1 hour ago, clutchcity94 said:

 

Don't forget that Montrose is only a short walk away. For example, the area near Ono Poke, the new Lotti Dotti bar (formerly known as Brooklyn Athletic Club), and the Timberline Fitness under construction on Jack St & Richmond are all only a short 5-10 minute walk from The Ion (AND they're in Montrose).

 

All this would require actual investigative journalism and going out into the field. Unfortunately, thats to much to ask for these days.

[Houston19514]

19 minutes ago, Luminare said:

 

 

All this would require actual investigative journalism and going out into the field. Unfortunately, thats to much to ask for these days.

 

Some basic familiarity with the city would go a long way...

[HoustonIsHome]

3 hours ago, houstontexasjack said:

Or the proposed University Line BRT down Wheeler as well. 🙂 

I am still holding out hope for a light rail line. 

I take the bus on Bellaire a couple times a year and the quickline to me doesn't make that much of a difference and I only usually see one or two other people on there.

 

Granted I don't think I have ever gotten on during rush hour so I might be underestimating it.

 

Any idea where the stops will be? There used to be a Westheimer bus that got unto 59 and got off at Greenway and went down Richmond. That was a little bit quicker than the Richmond bus regularly but during rush hour there wasn't much of a difference. 

 

The volume of traffic on our east - west streets and on 59 warrants something more. 

 

I don't want to focus on public transportation in this thread, but this development just adds to the wealth of amenities and the number of people that will be traversing Richmond/wheeler so I'm hoping that light rail on this corridor is revisited

[ZRFkris]

I hope they consider the project for light rail on Richmond and through Uptown by the time the bicentennial rolls around. Maybe throw in a line in Washington corridor to connect to the high speed rail and have a fully interconnected inner city.

[ZRFkris]

4 hours ago, ZRFkris said:

I hope they consider the project for light rail on Richmond and through Uptown by the time the bicentennial rolls around. Maybe throw in a line in Washington corridor to connect to the high speed rail and have a fully interconnected inner city.

This is my dream

[j_cuevas713]

4 hours ago, ZRFkris said:

I hope they consider the project for light rail on Richmond and through Uptown by the time the bicentennial rolls around. Maybe throw in a line in Washington corridor to connect to the high speed rail and have a fully interconnected inner city.

Well I do know that the idea of a line down Washington is being talked about. Aside from that we can expect BRT down Richmond for the meantime. 

[trymahjong]

 

The next Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood meeting ( 6/25/19 at Cherryhurst Community center) might be of interest to you.  Neartown represents the 18 Neighborhood Associations that make up the greater Montrose area.  A short article from the Houston Business Journal on the ION Project: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/01/30/midtown-sears-building-s-transformation-into.html

 

Greg Marshall of Rice University will speak on ION progress —7 pm.    Open meeting

 

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by trymahjong

[Triton]

2 hours ago, trymahjong said:

 

The next Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood meeting ( 6/25/19 at Cherryhurst Community center) might be of interest to you.  Neartown represents the 18 Neighborhood Associations that make up the greater Montrose area.  A short article from the Houston Business Journal on the ION Project: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/01/30/midtown-sears-building-s-transformation-into.html

 

Greg Marshall of Rice University will speak on ION progress —7 pm.    Open meeting

 

 

Why not post this in the Ion thread?

[trymahjong]

Hmmmm. Guess I was thinking to post in Montrose since Neartown business ( stuff that benefits Montrose residents to be made aware of)is also a big part of the agenda.

[hindesky]

The Ion, Houston's future innovation hub in the former Midtown Sears, to break ground in July 

COMPANIES 
IN THIS ARTICLE

Rice University

Houston, TX

$1BRevenue

2,221Employees

Hines Interests Limited Partnership

Houston, TX

See full profile 

Houston Baptist University

Houston, TX

Education

428Employees

See full profile 

Houston Community College

Houston, TX

Education

$487.5MRevenue

6,650Employees

James Carpenter Design Associates Inc.

New York, NY

San Jacinto College District

Pasadena, TX

Higher Education

$252.8MRevenue

3,044Employees

 

By Olivia Pulsinelli  – Senior web editor, Houston Business Journal 

5 hours ago

 

A project to transform the former Midtown Sears building into an innovation hub is set to break ground July 19. 

Plans for the facility, dubbed The Ion, were unveiled in January. At the time, the project was expected to be complete in late 2020. When the project was first announced in 2018, Rice University said it would spend up to $100 million on the 270,000-square-foot project.

Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) had a storefront at 4201 Main St. for 73 years before it closed in January 2018. Rice Management Co. bought out the remaining 28 years of Sears’ 99-year ground lease on a 6-acre site and acquired another 3.4 acres from Sears for development, the university announced in October 2017.

Houston-based Hines is developing The Ion on behalf of Rice Management Co. New York-based SHoP Architects, James Carpenter Design Associates and James Corner Field Operations, along with the Houston office of San Francisco-based Gensler, are working on the design. 

The transformation of the former Midtown Sears building into The Ion will incorporate some of the signature art deco architecture elements of the original 1939 building and will add large windows and a central light-well.

COURTESY RICE UNIVERSITY

 

The transformation will incorporate some of the signature art deco architecture elements of the original 1939 building, such as historic corners, glass block windows, decorative tilework and a three-sided storefront with architectural canopies, per the release. It also will add large windows and a central light-well.

Once The Ion is complete, Station Houston will oversee public programming, including entrepreneurial workshops, thought-leadership conferences, industry lectures, job training, educational classes and networking opportunities. Rice, the University of Houston, UH-Downtown, the University of St. Thomas, Houston Community College, Texas Southern University, Houston Baptist University, San Jacinto College and the South Texas College of Law are among the higher education institutions that will provide academic programming. 

The Ion will be the first phase of the planned innovation district in Midtown. The 16-acre district is expected to incorporate commercial development, housing, public spaces and infrastructure. The innovation district is modeled after similar developments across the U.S. such as 1871, a digital startup incubator in Chicago.

[MarathonMan]

12 hours ago, gclass said:

^^^ they have been hard at work on this facility for months and months.  right?  therefore, how is it that the OFFICIAL GROUNDBREAKING is due to commence on 19 july 2019?  isn't this a bit strange...?

I’ll take it one step further. . . How can they have a groundbreaking ceremony at all?  There is no ground to break.  The building already exists.  This is a renovation.

 

[trymahjong]

 

I think most of what Greg Marshall presented to Neartown has been posted above.

with the exception of parking.

I hadn’ t Realized it was a slippery subject as opposed to sticky subject; which most close by homeowners view it.

When asked about parking in general and

a potential parking garage 

Mr Marshall talked a lot about Market based parking

when asked what would happen if developers didn’t feel need to provide parking Mr Marshall

cited all the surface lots available

but when pushed to have an alternative if developers didn’t provide enough parking.....He changed the subject.

[Angostura]

AFAIK, this site is still subject to parking minimums, since city council hasn't approved the expansion of the exempt area yet (unless I missed it).

 

That said, within a 2-block radius of this site, there are about 9 full blocks that are either vacant or already dedicated to surface parking. If there's a demand for parking, I'm sure it will be provided (at some price greater than zero).