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Big Tex Storage At 4503 Montrose Blvd.


lockmat

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I went back and reviewed the original proposal; the design was actually not the greatest even back then. But the nifty sleight of hand with the garage on the first few floors appears to have shrunk the leasable space.

And the name change sucks. :huh:

Exactly. This isn't all that different from the original proposal and people liked it then. I think the mood perhaps has just changed since we are now accustomed to a lot of projects going up and expect a lot more from the design. Back then, we were just happy to see something happening early post-recession.

And yes, the name is terrible.

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Freeway architecture at its worst.

 

The glass/prettier side with the garage hidden faces the highway. The concrete/stucco blank walled garage and boring 1970s institutional hospital side faces the Montrose neighborhood behind it.

 

Total a$$hole move

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Freeway architecture at its worst.

 

The glass/prettier side with the garage hidden faces the highway. The concrete/stucco blank walled garage and boring 1970s institutional hospital side faces the Montrose neighborhood behind it.

 

Total a$$hole move

let me preface this by saying i hate the garage and stucco side of the building, and no one should be forced to look at that side.  that said, people drive both ways on Montrose, so an equal number of drivers on Montrose will see the nice and ugly sides of the building regardless of orientation.  So it makes some sense to have the nicer side to the freeway where exponentially more people will see the building (and where the view of the building will be unobstructed).  can you imagine what an ugly welcome mat this would be to downtown for folks coming from 59 South if the orientation was reversed?

 

of course, a strong argument can be made that the people that live nearby matter most.  so i'm not advocating one way or the other, but there is at least an argument that this orientation is the best.  

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Will any of these homes survive another 100 years? Even just 25 years more? Everywhere between downtown and uptown is like a serious of exploding streetscapes bleeding into the original neighborhoods... Until they are all choked out. Churches, museum campuses, apartments, all expanding and eating up homes as they go.

I'm not sure how u feel about it to be honest. I'd like to keep the neighborhoods in tact in some way shape or form

Edited by Avossos
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What I like least in the new design is the big plain vertical slab facing Montrose, covering what appears to be a stairwell.  The original design had windows facing the street, and what looked like a cool red lobby.

 

I guess I didn't notice that in my first "once over" of the new proposal.  Agreed that is a bad architectural feature.

 

This building - for those who've missed it elsewhere in town - is the typical representation of Houston speculative (and even specific use) architecture.  In that we have a featured design which turns out too expensive, or badly timed, or sold to a different developer who has a lesser eye for design, so the original design gets revamped into something similar yet far less architecturally fulfilling.

 

The name is abhorrent!  Like Subdude (I think) said above: the name sounds like a residential enclave on a suburban cul-de-sac.

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15230720128_6d93dce43b_b.jpg

 

Talk about a schizophrenic design--this one is all over the place. Why an attempt to conceal the parking levels on the freeway side (as poor as the treatment is), but no attempt whatsoever on the neighborhood side? No attempt whatsoever to integrate the parking levels into the overall design. Not even an attempt to use the bridge characteristics as a model for the building design--if there going to name it after something they might as well incorporate said model into the design.

 

 One of the worst designs around these parts in a while.

 

Maybe a large mural can improve the large Montrose facing wall??? A great piece of public art would keep everyone from looking at the building itself.

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Will any of these homes survive another 100 years? Even just 25 years more? Everywhere between downtown and uptown is like a serious of exploding streetscapes bleeding into the original neighborhoods... Until they are all chocked out. Churches, museum campuses, apartments, all expanding and eating up homes as they go.

I'm not sure how u feel about it to be honest. I'd like to keep the neighborhoods in tact in some way shape or form

I would like to keep as many trees as possible. If the main streets get filled with high rises like Westheimer and Montrose I'd be ok with it, preserving the smaller streets. Which is slowly but surely happening. Edited by Montrose1100
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I would like to keep as many trees as possible. If the main streets get filled with high rises like Westheimer and Montrose I'd be ok with it, preserving the smaller streets. Which is slowly but surely happening.

 

Yes the main streets are first to get dense. Hopefully some more districts pop up, preserving some homes on the smaller streets. I think it would be very cool if the main streets (Montrose, Westhiemer, Richmond, Dallas, Kirby, Washington / and to a lesser extent: Fairview, W Alabama, Waugh, Shepard) get filled up and the neighborhoods inside of them remain genuine. To me, that would be an awesome urban phenomenon! It is possible we could get that... but it is a slippery slope...

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Freeway architecture at its worst.

 

The glass/prettier side with the garage hidden faces the highway. The concrete/stucco blank walled garage and boring 1970s institutional hospital side faces the Montrose neighborhood behind it.

 

Maybe they'll great creative and cover the Montrose facing side with murals, a la Mexico City. B)  

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^Its not that this is a terrible building, just rather uninspired in the quality of its design.  The worst part about this particular building is that what was first proposed was a really nice building, and this current proposal is not in the same realm as that first one.

 

Which happens.  Seems it happens all too often in this city.

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The worst part is there is a vibrant, healthy, interesting neighborhood that faces this uninspired POS. 

 

I love tall buildings. I love increasing density. But I also know when something sucks. THIS project is when I wish we had even just the most basic of regulatory standards for design. A blank, multi-level garage wall should never be inflicted upon a neighborhood street.

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  • 5 weeks later...

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