Ion District In Midtown

[j_cuevas713]

It's really exciting to see more retail space develop on this side of Midtown. I've walked the area a few times coming from Tacos A Go Go and it continues to feel more urban the more I pass through. Plus a lot of the newer development in this area is repurposing older buildings which is also really nice and showcases a bit of older Houston.

Edited October 21, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[cityliving]

[hindesky]

Crawler crane is gone. Brick going up on the south side. Planter boxes.

 

[hindesky]

[trymahjong]

If I was charmed when native wildflowers were planted.....it just keeps getting better.

[hindesky]

[phillip_white]

There's a huge pile of dirt and at least one piece of digging equipment on the block planned for the food truck park.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

Looks like the south side will be for the GFR.

[kennyc05]

58 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Looks like the south side will be for the GFR.

I've been thinking that too when I drive by.

[004n063]

4 hours ago, kennyc05 said:

I've been thinking that too when I drive by.

I hope so. Makes so much more sense to have GFR frontage on the pedestrian-friendly side than the highway-lite sides. Montrose Collective definitely got that part right.

[kennyc05]

56 minutes ago, 004n063 said:

I hope so. Makes so much more sense to have GFR frontage on the pedestrian-friendly side than the highway-lite sides. Montrose Collective definitely got that part right.

I do know they plan to have gfr on Eagle as well.

[004n063]

10 hours ago, kennyc05 said:

I do know they plan to have gfr on Eagle as well.

Good to hear! This is something the city generally lacks. Side street businesses are the best.

[j_cuevas713]

On 11/20/2022 at 8:22 AM, 004n063 said:

Good to hear! This is something the city generally lacks. Side street businesses are the best.

Yep, in all the cities I've visited all of them felt like villages with big buildings. Houston seems to finally be trending towards a more intimate, urban landscape that feels more tightly knit and cohesive. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[MidCenturyMoldy]

46 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yep, in all the cities I've visited all of them felt like villages with big buildings. Houston seems to finally be trending towards a more intimate, urban landscape that feels more tightly knit and cohesive. 

What's interesting is, when I first starting going back to Houston (as often as I possibly could) after (unwillingly) moving to Alamo Town, it struck me how much denser and "tighter" Houston feels than SA. Not just downtown, but all over the Inner Loop. It first really struck me on Waugh, driving from Memorial to my friends' place in Montrose.

 

ETA:Let me add that Downtown San Antonio is a totally different story. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by MidCenturyMoldy

[j_cuevas713]

15 minutes ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

What's interesting is, when I first starting going back to Houston (as often as I possibly could) after (unwillingly) moving to Alamo Town, it struck me how much denser and "tighter" Houston feels than SA. Not just downtown, but all over the Inner Loop. It first really struck me on Waugh, driving from Memorial to my friends' place in Montrose.

 

ETA:Let me add that Downtown San Antonio is a totally different story. 

Heck yeah for sure! A buddy from Miami came to visit and he said the same thing. He was like "Man you guys really pack it in here." And when he said that I guess I just didn't realize how dense we actually are. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[kennyc05]

3 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Heck yeah for sure! A buddy from Miami came to visit and he said the same thing. He was like "Man you guys really pack it in here." And when he said that I guess I just didn't realize how dense we actually are. 

We just need a little more organization and we'll be good!

[MidCenturyMoldy]

7 minutes ago, kennyc05 said:

We just need a little more organization and we'll be good!

And maybe a few sidewalks... without parked cars blocking them... that continue without just disappearing. And no ditches along the street like Rice Military would be an improvement. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by MidCenturyMoldy

[hindesky]

[j_cuevas713]

On 11/21/2022 at 3:10 PM, MidCenturyMoldy said:

And maybe a few sidewalks... without parked cars blocking them... that continue without just disappearing. And no ditches along the street like Rice Military would be an improvement. 

Yeah eventually we'll see those areas connected with proper drainage, etc. The city wants to put a bond proposal in front of voters to take care of issues like that and all city infrastructure so we don't have to wait for funding before another street is rebuilt. City Council talked about it at the last Sidewalk Summit. Good things are happening and continuing to happen. 

Edited November 24, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

"The wait is over. The Lymbar, tucked in a prime spot in The Ion development in Midtown at 4201 Main, is now open. A love letter to his childhood (Cordúa grew up on Lymbar Drive in Meyerland) heavily influenced by his Nicaraguan family, The Lymbar is Cordúa’s first solo restaurant."

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-culture/restaurants-bars/article/David-Cord-a-s-new-The-Lymbar-restaurant-now-17648345.php#photo-23263529

[monarch]

^^^ the BEEF KOFTA BURGER/WEDGE FRIES and the TRUFFLE TWINKIES at the LYMBAR look AMAZING.  my goodness...

[Texasota]

I read that as TRUFFLE TWINKS the first like 5 times...

[texan]

3 hours ago, Texasota said:

I read that as TRUFFLE TWINKS the first like 5 times...

That menu item would have a better audience a neighborhood over... 😂

[hindesky]

Planter boxes going up on the southern side of the building and the brick on the western side.

[hindesky]

Fannin St.

 

Eagle St.

[hindesky]

Plumbing demo permit. Is this about to come down?

 

[BEES?!]

Is that the plot for F1, the residential building with the plaza?

[Houston19514]

2 hours ago, BEES?! said:

Is that the plot for F1, the residential building with the plaza?

I can find master plans that designate it as F1 (and perhaps partly the plaza).  I cannot find anything that designates it as residential.

[BEES?!]

4 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

I can find master plans that designate it as F1 (and perhaps partly the plaza).  I cannot find anything that designates it as residential.

I was looking at IntheKnowHouston’s post of the retail brochure here:

On 9/8/2022 at 6:32 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

In the most recent Ion District retail brochure (updated in July), there are building models for future phases. 


The Ion District is a 16-acre, multi-phase district. It will consist of 3-5 million square feet of retail, commercial office, multi-family residential and hospitality  to be built in partnership with best in class developers over the next 10 years. 
 

• Phase 1 (2021/2022) 
• Phase 2 (2023/2024) 
• Phase 3 (2027)
• Phase 4 (2030)

Phase 3 (2027) 
Phase 4 (2030) 

[Smacgregor]

4 hours ago, hindesky said:

Plumbing demo permit. Is this about to come down?

I work in the district and they had a crew doing asbestos remediation a week or so back, I assume in preparation for demo. Hopefully this is a prelude to a redo of Eagle st, and a sidewalk upgrade to link 4201 Main with the Ion garage.

[hindesky]

The outside and inside has been stripped down to the bare walls.

[IntheKnowHouston]

On 8/30/2022 at 10:35 PM, houstontexasjack said:

Also, Norcity has a primitive website for this food park:

https://www.norcity.io

Norcity is in the process of redesigning its website. Majority of the site is set to private; however, some of the menus offers a peek at may be in store.

There categories for food and drink, retail, and fitness / wellness vendors.

Company of Nomads (or Nomadic Hospitality) is the team behind Norcity. This is a container hall / food hall and market. It's part of the Ion campus, possibly located at 4001 Main St.


https://www.norcity.io

[IntheKnowHouston]

5 minutes ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

Norcity is in the process of redesigning its website. Majority of the site is set to private; however, some of the menus offers a peek at may be in store.

There categories for food and drink, retail, and fitness / wellness vendors.

Company of Nomads (or Nomadic Hospitality) is the team behind Norcity. This is a container hall / food hall and market. It's part of the Ion campus, possibly located at 4001 Main St.


https://www.norcity.io

There is a promo video for Norcity. It's on Norcity's home page.

The video gives an overview of the project and the owners' goals. Below are select screenshots from the video.


https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/630919fafd3522f4568db44e/63d04beba80091d4020e4da8_Norcity Promo-transcode.mp4

 

 

[IntheKnowHouston]

Below is a conceptual rendering of Norcity.

Company of Nomads (or Nomadic Hospitality) is the team behind Norcity. This is a container hall / food hall and market planned for 4001 Main St. It's part of the Ion campus / Ion Innovation District.  

Other details regarding Norcity:
 

• 5 food vendors
• 2 full bars
• Completely off grid energy solutions and sustainable
• Atmospheric water generator making water out of air

Close-up

 

[Montrose1100]

51 minutes ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

Below is a conceptual rendering of Norcity.

Company of Nomads (or Nomadic Hospitality) is the team behind Norcity. This is a container hall / food hall and market planned for 4001 Main St. It's part of the Ion campus / Ion Innovation District.  

Other details regarding Norcity:
 

• 5 food vendors
• 2 full bars
• Completely off grid energy solutions and sustainable
• Atmospheric water generator making water out of air

Close-up

 

Green Cities DLC for Cities Skylines.

[hindesky]

The building is coming down.

[tangledwoods]

Bold move classifying that existing structure as a "single family dwelling".

[toxtethogrady]

That's a pretty nifty food court concept. Is the rest of the Louvre under the pyramid?

[Houston19514]

13 hours ago, hindesky said:

The building is coming down.

Is it coming completely down?  I walked by it a few days ago and it had been completely gutted; had the appearance that perhaps the structure was remaining.  It could make for a nice restaurant/retail structure.

[CREguy13]

20 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Is it coming completely down?  I walked by it a few days ago and it had been completely gutted; had the appearance that perhaps the structure was remaining.  It could make for a nice restaurant/retail structure.

Coming down as of this morning

[cityliving]

[X.R.]

They gotta do better with the crosswalk from the Ion to the parking lot. I have seen a lot of frustrated drivers either blow the blinking red light if the person isn't moving fast enough or they aggressively edge into the crosswalk. People can be such assholes.

It seems like their solution so far is to put cones in the crosswalk area and that has helped. I'm hoping there is a more permanent solution coming because that crosswalk is tough.

[Houston19514]

23 minutes ago, X.R. said:

They gotta do better with the crosswalk from the Ion to the parking lot. I have seen a lot of frustrated drivers either blow the blinking red light if the person isn't moving fast enough or they aggressively edge into the crosswalk. People can be such assholes.

It seems like their solution so far is to put cones in the crosswalk area and that has helped. I'm hoping there is a more permanent solution coming because that crosswalk is tough.

I'm surprised they didn't install the flashing lights embedded in the roadbed.  (FWIW, you are being far too kind when you refer to drivers blowing through the red light as "frustrated".)

[Amlaham]

1 hour ago, cityliving said:

I love this project so much, but wow this area has a long way to go 😅 

I can't believe how long this area sat untouched, especially being in the dead center of the city. 

If you didn't know the Houston skyline, one would think this area is outside the city and downtown is in the distance (Uptown)

[NB_Brendan]

2 minutes ago, Amlaham said:

I love this project so much, but wow this area has a long way to go 😅 

I can't believe how long this area sat untouched, especially being in the dead center of the city. 

If you didn't know the Houston skyline, one would think this area is outside the city and downtown is in the distance (Uptown)

Jeez, you aren't wrong. Hopefully this is just the beginning of lots of midtown investment! 

[004n063]

5 hours ago, X.R. said:

They gotta do better with the crosswalk from the Ion to the parking lot. I have seen a lot of frustrated drivers either blow the blinking red light if the person isn't moving fast enough or they aggressively edge into the crosswalk. People can be such assholes.

It seems like their solution so far is to put cones in the crosswalk area and that has helped. I'm hoping there is a more permanent solution coming because that crosswalk is tough.

Raised/continuous sidewalks bebe

[august948]

8 hours ago, Amlaham said:

I love this project so much, but wow this area has a long way to go 😅 

I can't believe how long this area sat untouched, especially being in the dead center of the city. 

If you didn't know the Houston skyline, one would think this area is outside the city and downtown is in the distance (Uptown)

Large pockets of less developed areas are fairly normal here.  And, if you like to see new development you should be glad it's that way.  Much easier to do something on this type of brownfield vs tearing down denser/higher/more valuable buildings to get something new going.  We live in a golden age for Houston.