South Main Innovation District in Midtown

[Brooklyn173 818]

As long as it's Craftsman Weatherbeater paint 😁

[rechlin 2994]

The green fabric is really taking a beating, if you compare each of the photos.  Now one large section is completely gone:

 

[cloud713 4038]

13 hours ago, rechlin said:

The green fabric is really taking a beating, if you compare each of the photos.  Now one large section is completely gone:

 

 

It did look rough, but maybe they’re removing each section as they finish punching out the holes behind them?

[Highrise Tower 33186]

Green fabric is all gone. Looks like it's all punched through.

 

[H-Town Man 4989]

12 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Green fabric is all gone. Looks like it's all punched through.

 

 

They definitely did better on some of them than on others. Looks like somebody cut brisket with a butter knife on a couple. Guess it will turn out okay though.

 

[por favor gracias 626]

18 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Green fabric is all gone. Looks like it's all punched through.

 

 

 

[midtowndweller 278]

This is the former Sears Auto Shop lot. I spy “Garage with Retail”!!! 👀👀

[Texasota 2933]

Rad. Get rid of those surface lots!

[X.R. 1117]

Treated as a transit corridor? That sounds unusual, no? I don't imagine there will be anyone there to fight the variance request 😂.

 

They blow out holes in the Ion building and now needing the variance for the lot, do we know the timeline for this entire thing? I thought it was like 2021 or something. I would imagine building a garage wouldn't take very long, and the retail, depending on what it is, would benefit those apartments that are next door to that lot.

 

 

[dbigtex56 1211]

"To allow part of the building in the visibility triangle at the corner of Fannin and Cleburne"
Does this mean the parking garage will be situated towards the northern portion of the block, or will it cover the entire block?
Wouldn't having the garage as close to the Wheeler Transit Center as possible make sense?

[Highrise Tower 33186]

Starting on the next building.

 

[Highrise Tower 33186]

Pictures from the last few days.

 

 

 

[rechlin 2994]

They're really chipping away at the roof, and have made room for some nice big windows.  From last night:

 

[X.R. 1117]

The roof is now gone, baby gone. They really going after it. The endowment must have finally paid the subcontractors. 😂

Edited September 12, 2019 by X.R.

[Highrise Tower 33186]

[bobruss 4986]

On 9/9/2019 at 12:38 PM, dbigtex56 said:

"To allow part of the building in the visibility triangle at the corner of Fannin and Cleburne"
Does this mean the parking garage will be situated towards the northern portion of the block, or will it cover the entire block?
Wouldn't having the garage as close to the Wheeler Transit Center as possible make sense?

It would if you didn't want people using the rail. I'm sure the parking will be for others who drive to work.

[dbigtex56 1211]

3 minutes ago, bobruss said:

It would if you didn't want people using the rail. I'm sure the parking will be for others who drive to work.

 

I was thinking it would have the opposite effect.
For those who are driving in from the suburbs, it would offer a convenient, centrally located place to park. They could then use the rail for in-town destinations, an increasing number of which are adjacent to the Red Line.
Wasn't that one of the selling points of the parking garage at MidMain (HCC/Ensemble Theater stop)?

 

[rechlin 2994]

10 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

For those who are driving in from the suburbs, it would offer a convenient, centrally located place to park. They could then use the rail for in-town destinations, an increasing number of which are adjacent to the Red Line.

 

One problem with that is the southbound freeway exit to Fannin from IH-69 is being eliminated as part of the freeway rebuild, so parking in this area becomes a lot less attractive for people driving in from the suburbs.

[MarathonMan 1157]

On 9/9/2019 at 12:38 PM, dbigtex56 said:

Wouldn't having the garage as close to the Wheeler Transit Center as possible make sense?

In my opinion, putting a parking garage between Fannin and San Jacinto (i.e. where it’s planned) makes the most sense. Those are the two major thoroughfares serving this area and provide the most efficient traffic flow into a parking structure.  As for proximity to the transit center, I don’t think that it is important.   The parking garage and the light rail transit center serve totally different segments of the population with different needs.  The garage, in particular, will be to serve people driving in to work at the Ion, not for people using it as a park-and-ride facility to access downtown or the TMC by train.  That said, if someone WOULD choose to use the garage as a park-and-ride, the site where they plan to construct it is only two blocks from the Red Line.  Not very far at all.

Edited September 13, 2019 by MarathonMan

[clutchcity94 379]

1 hour ago, rechlin said:

 

One problem with that is the southbound freeway exit to Fannin from IH-69 is being eliminated as part of the freeway rebuild, so parking in this area becomes a lot less attractive for people driving in from the suburbs.

 

Will there be a new exit on the southbound portion of IH-69 after the rebuild if Fannin is no longer there? Or will the next available exit be all the way at Shepherd?

[cspwal 3903]

Looking at the current segment 3 schematics, there will be a new exit from southbound 59/69 to Almeda; that should replace the Fannin exit for going to Midtown from 59/69.  Now if you're coming from 288 NB, you will no longer be able to exit 59-S -> Fannin to get to Midtown, and I can't tell what the exit strategy for 288 is going to be http://www.ih45northandmore.com/docs11/08_NHHIP_Seg3_SH288_RollPlot_FEIS_1-1.pdf

[bobruss 4986]

My question is if they do go with the continuation of the below ground 59/69 how do they go under the rail lines without causing timely delays for the rail during this construction.

I can't imagine how they will structurally support the rail lines and trains, while digging underneath.

[Highrise Tower 33186]

[H-Town Man 4989]

13 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

 

So... they're making it shorter? Or perhaps will build a different structure on top.

Edited September 14, 2019 by H-Town Man

[clutchcity94 379]

So excited to see what this building will become! This pocket of Midtown is going to be unrecognizable in a few years.

[Ross 1476]

3 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

So excited to see what this building will become! This pocket of Midtown is going to be unrecognizable in a few years.

 

And not in a 1945 Berlin sort of way...

[Tumbleweed_Tx 1789]

Perhaps the 1945 Berlin method might have been cheaper...

[cloud713 4038]

12 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

So... they're making it shorter? Or perhaps will build a different structure on top.

 

I was wondering this too, once I realized they weren’t just punching holes for windows, but starting to chip away the roof of that portion. Had to revert back to the renderings.. looks like that floor will be removed, for a flat roof across the whole building.

Could have been a cool indoor/outdoor type rooftop terrace.

[Brooklyn173 818]

Just a reminder of what they are aiming for:

 

https://ionhouston.com/

[hindesky 46417]

North side.

 

 

 

 

 

East side.

 

 

 

 

 

Southeast corner.

[Urbannizer 44116]

11-story parking garage, retail along Eagle St.

 

 

[Naviguessor 2184]

Wow.  That's a lot of Parking.  Good Sign for the size and scope of the overall development plan. 

[gene 3038]

23 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said:

Just a reminder of what they are aiming for:

 

https://ionhouston.com/

 

looks amazing! that area is going to be 🏆

[Highrise Tower 33186]

 

[Highrise Tower 33186]

3 minutes ago, Toopicky said:

Is this along Main Street ??????

Yup. 

[hindesky 46417]

[Highrise Tower 33186]

[BeerNut 2568]

[jmitch94 2020]

6 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

 

 

Our very own mock up of Berlin circa 1945. 

[Specwriter 399]

Looks like "how not to demolish, but renovate, a building Houston style.

[Highrise Tower 33186]

 

[phillip_white 1910]

From above:

 

 

[Highrise Tower 33186]

Sears was defaced in 3 places. 

Edited September 27, 2019 by ekdrm2d1

[houstontexasjack 2340]

2 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Sears was defaced in 3 places. 

I saw that Rowdy tagged it on the east side.

[hindesky 46417]

Why not just start from ground zero? Seems like they're tearing everything down, what's going to be left of the old building?

[clutchcity94 379]

57 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Why not just start from ground zero? Seems like they're tearing everything down, what's going to be left of the old building?

 

The bones !!!

[EllenOlenska 1180]

The humorous counter-factual would be if they knocked the thing, dug a pit and built something that looked like a gutted version of the original building. 

[Luminare 6042]

On 9/29/2019 at 4:24 PM, hindesky said:

Why not just start from ground zero? Seems like they're tearing everything down, what's going to be left of the old building?

 

I thought the same with the Grigg's Boat Store in Montrose. They gutted the hell out of it, but then completely transformed it back to what it would have looked like before Grigg's. That's the same thing here. Sears stripped this building down so much that the original shell is the only thing worthy of saving. Use it as a base frame, and then bring back the ornament on top of that.

[bobruss 4986]

The photos are all taken from the southern view. If you view from the east west or north you realize they have saved the most modern aspects of the building. I would also imagine that hideous brick will with get taken down or covered.

[Highrise Tower 33186]