The Allen: Allen Parkway/Gillette Mixed-Use 6-Acres

[kbates2 1350]

2 hours ago, htownbro said:

Heard from who?  Sources please.

 

swtsig doesn't really post sources but is rarely, if ever, wrong about these things.  

[LBC2HTX 516]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Hopefully more of an Alessandra-type downgrade and not a Randall Davis, wish-it-hadn't-been-built type job.

 

Edit: Remembering some pages back, it looks like they're getting their funding from the same place as Randall Davis does.

 

 

The "D" in DC Partners literally refers to Randall Davis. 

[H-Town Man 5007]

1 minute ago, LBC2HTX said:

The "D" in DC Partners literally refers to Randall Davis. 

 

Ah. What does the C refer to?

 

[Luminare 6046]

I'm going to withhold judgement until they show updated renders or we get more when they actually start building.

[swtsig 2929]

2 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Hopefully more of an Alessandra-type downgrade and not a Randall Davis, wish-it-hadn't-been-built type job.

 

Edit: Remembering some pages back, it looks like they're getting their funding from the same place as Randall Davis does.

 

 

 

from what i can tell updated renderings haven't been produced yet but the distinctive staggered/offset design is being done away with. knowing that, it's probably safe to assume that additional exterior design elements will also be value-engineered.

 

 

there's a pervasive attitude amongst many houston developers (particularly this one) that the exterior of a building matters little, at least relative to the interior. certainly there's some merit to that, especially in residential buildings, but that attitude seems to get amplified here compared to other major cities.

 

[Vy65 87]

Keep Houston Ugly

[CaptainJilliams 1148]

56 minutes ago, swtsig said:

 

from what i can tell updated renderings haven't been produced yet but the distinctive staggered/offset design is being done away with. knowing that, it's probably safe to assume that additional exterior design elements will also be value-engineered.

 

 

there's a pervasive attitude amongst many houston developers (particularly this one) that the exterior of a building matters little, at least relative to the interior. certainly there's some merit to that, especially in residential buildings, but that attitude seems to get amplified here compared to other major cities.

 

 

That's a shame. That plot of land will still benefit from infill and it's good news to hear things seem to be moving forward, but I'm definitely concerned with how it will look now. Hopefully, they provide updated renderings come the time that leasing office opens.

[nate4l1f3 1122]

So the whole wanting to build a “landmark” tower was B.S. from the start?

[Luminare 6046]

2 hours ago, swtsig said:

 

from what i can tell updated renderings haven't been produced yet but the distinctive staggered/offset design is being done away with. knowing that, it's probably safe to assume that additional exterior design elements will also be value-engineered.

 

 

there's a pervasive attitude amongst many houston developers (particularly this one) that the exterior of a building matters little, at least relative to the interior. certainly there's some merit to that, especially in residential buildings, but that attitude seems to get amplified here compared to other major cities.

 

 

From my short time in this industry thus far, this simply comes to the architect either designing something they don't know how to pull off, or not having a backbone to back up their design. On the flip side, I've been getting really pissed with just how lazy contractors have come across or the fact that they are obsessed with looking good to the client by creating fictitious "budget savings" by value engineering where it doesn't need to simply to look good to the client. In many instances a project doesn't need to be value engineered, and instead they are doing to avoid costs put onto them, or simply pocket the money as profit. Its ludicrous. This all starts, however, with architects designing with a spine, and standing up for what they want to see. 

[EllenOlenska 1180]

I'm wondering, all engineers, architects, industry, and engineer-adjacent people. 

How the hell do you "value" engineer something that's 800 feet tall? It seems like whatever materials you chose you're going to have to engineer the hell out of them. 

(Unpopular opinion: I wasn't all that crazy about the offset sections.) 

[MarathonMan 1158]

I hope The District I and II don’t get “value engineered”.  Those and the Hines projects downtown are my favorite buildings on the drawing board for Houston right now.  I have full faith that Hines will deliver.  Hopefully Caydon doesn’t go the way of Randall Davis.

[CREguy13 1887]

17 hours ago, swtsig said:

 

from what i can tell updated renderings haven't been produced yet but the distinctive staggered/offset design is being done away with. knowing that, it's probably safe to assume that additional exterior design elements will also be value-engineered.

 

 

there's a pervasive attitude amongst many houston developers (particularly this one) that the exterior of a building matters little, at least relative to the interior. certainly there's some merit to that, especially in residential buildings, but that attitude seems to get amplified here compared to other major cities.

 

While, I am a huge fan of this project.  I lean optimistic that the sentiment of Houston developers you've detailed, is changing.  The amount of product put out by Hanover, Hines and others that have enhanced the skyline over these past few years has been great.  Point being, I am hopeful that financing will continue to get smarter with the spotlight on Houston investment becoming brighter, which is happening ie more investors coming to town. Flash renderings that inevitably become redrawn completely is getting old and DC/RD is starting to get a reputation for this.  I'll withhold opinion until I see the renderings, but I'm confident that this stereotype is changing as Houston becomes more attractive to global investors.

[arbpro 77]

17 hours ago, Vy65 said:

Keep Houston Ugly

If I thought my surroundings were ugly I would move. But that's just me!

[H-Town Man 5007]

10 hours ago, MarathonMan said:

I hope The District I and II don’t get “value engineered”.  Those and the Hines projects downtown are my favorite buildings on the drawing board for Houston right now.  I have full faith that Hines will deliver.  Hopefully Caydon doesn’t go the way of Randall Davis.

 

The renderings we saw of The District I and II looked to me like splash renderings, concept sketches to generate interest. I had the same thought when I saw renderings for the Allen. I imagine we'll get a quality product out of Caydon (not so sure about The Allen, even the name just seems weird) but the renderings we saw were beyond belief.

 

[C List 67]

You also need to understand how a project gets financed. The initial renderings are nothing more than marketing especially for a project like this. I'm almost 100% positive this is an EB-5 equity financed project, meaning the initial renderings are shown to thousands of wealthy Asian/African investors to draw them in. Under this program, the foreign national must invest $500,000 or $1 million in exchange for an expedited green card process, depending on where the project is located. So you are showing these renderings to nonprofessional real estate investors whose primary focus is not on their money but being allowed into the US. Now, this first phase is probably a 100-200-million-dollar project if not more, which means you have to find a LOT of foreign investors to put up money before a construction loan even becomes a possibility. 

 

Once the developer gets close to putting shovels in the ground he is 100% not going to build the marketing renderings; he has no incentive too. The great thing about EB-5 is the cost of equity is almost nothing, like a 2% return to the foreign investors with no definitive timeline on when that money will get returned. A developer like Hines or Hanover will have a cost of equity around 14-20%, a huge difference!  So you over promise and under deliver, because if you can get anything built that looks halfway decent and leases up, you as the developer, will be swimming in money once you sell.

 

[H-Town Man 5007]

1 hour ago, C List said:

You also need to understand how a project gets financed. The initial renderings are nothing more than marketing especially for a project like this. I'm almost 100% positive this is an EB-5 equity financed project, meaning the initial renderings are shown to thousands of wealthy Asian/African investors to draw them in. Under this program, the foreign national must invest $500,000 or $1 million in exchange for an expedited green card process, depending on where the project is located. So you are showing these renderings to nonprofessional real estate investors whose primary focus is not on their money but being allowed into the US. Now, this first phase is probably a 100-200-million-dollar project if not more, which means you have to find a LOT of foreign investors to put up money before a construction loan even becomes a possibility. 

 

Once the developer gets close to putting shovels in the ground he is 100% not going to build the marketing renderings; he has no incentive too. The great thing about EB-5 is the cost of equity is almost nothing, like a 2% return to the foreign investors with no definitive timeline on when that money will get returned. A developer like Hines or Hanover will have a cost of equity around 14-20%, a huge difference!  So you over promise and under deliver, because if you can get anything built that looks halfway decent and leases up, you as the developer, will be swimming in money once you sell.

 

 

Thanks for this.

 

[j_cuevas713 3061]

http://swamplot.com/the-allens-latest-mixed-use-map-nixes-the-pedestrian-bridge-across-allen-pkwy/2018-12-18/

[Vy65 87]

7 hours ago, arbpro said:

If I thought my surroundings were ugly I would move. But that's just me!

Not a luxury everyone can afford unfortunately. 

[West Timer 412]

^ Hey don't blame Houston if you're too poor to buy a bus ticket back to whatever shithole you came from.

Edited December 19, 2018 by West Timer

[j_cuevas713 3061]

Yeah never get that whole Houston is ugly thing. IMO Houston is actually a pretty nice city. 

[wilcal 1704]

1 hour ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah never get that whole Houston is ugly thing. IMO Houston is actually a pretty nice city. 

 

I don't think Houston is a particularly naturally beautiful place. I think we've done a good job with what we have.

 

Our defining water feature being Buffalo Bayou and effectively zero discernible elevation change doesn't create much drama in our terrain. 

[j_cuevas713 3061]

7 hours ago, wilcal said:

 

I don't think Houston is a particularly naturally beautiful place. I think we've done a good job with what we have.

 

Our defining water feature being Buffalo Bayou and effectively zero discernible elevation change doesn't create much drama in our terrain. 

I guess as far as terrain then yeah we're a giant marsh/swamp. I mean I've been to LA and they have gorgeous mountains but the city itself is moo

[Timoric 1557]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[Twinsanity02 1289]

I agree regarding the terrain. Nevertheless as a professor in one of the biological sciences I find the Houston area and the Big Thicket amazing for its plant and animal variety. I've never seen  a metro area with what appear to be  three ecological zones: Prairie like west Houston, The Jungle like thickets of North Houston, and the marshy wetlands of Southeast Houston. Eye candy for folks in biology.

[Vy65 87]

10 hours ago, West Timer said:

^ Hey don't blame Houston if you're too poor to buy a bus ticket back to whatever shithole you came from.

 

What a enlightened, hospitable, and welcoming attitude.

 

Guess we should build a wall around Houston to keep people from crawling out of their shitholes and coming here for work.

[skooljunkie 651]

Thank you, next...

[ChannelTwoNews 2924]

19 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

http://swamplot.com/the-allens-latest-mixed-use-map-nixes-the-pedestrian-bridge-across-allen-pkwy/2018-12-18/

 

The bridge hasn't been in the renderings and maps for a little while. I think it was even discussed here as well in the past few months.

Edited December 19, 2018 by ChannelTwoNews

[thatguysly 1173]

11 hours ago, West Timer said:

^ Hey don't blame Houston if you're too poor to buy a bus ticket back to whatever shithole you came from.

 

I will gladly buy a bus ticket for you to go somewhere else so we can keep people like you out of Houston and make it a better city.

[West Timer 412]

Give it to the Vy troll. She's the one that can't stop the pointless bitching about Houston. Unlike her, I can afford to live anywhere I want and I think Houston is fabulous and getting more fabulous by the day.

 

But I guess I'm probably being too insensitive. Really, I have nothing but pity for those poor pathetic losers who are handcuffed to places they would rather not be and aren't smart enough to be able to figure out how to do anything about it except whine about it on the internet and then proceed to blame our great city for their own personal issues and shortcomings.

 

[West Timer 412]

On 12/17/2018 at 1:30 PM, swtsig said:

 

from what i can tell updated renderings haven't been produced yet but the distinctive staggered/offset design is being done away with. knowing that, it's probably safe to assume that additional exterior design elements will also be value-engineered.

 

 

there's a pervasive attitude amongst many houston developers (particularly this one) that the exterior of a building matters little, at least relative to the interior. certainly there's some merit to that, especially in residential buildings, but that attitude seems to get amplified here compared to other major cities.

 

Never ASSume.

[CaptainJilliams 1148]

33 minutes ago, thatguysly said:

 

I will gladly buy a bus ticket for you to go somewhere else so we can keep people like you out of Houston and make it a better city.

 

Exactly. There's no problem with expressing your opinion, but constant negativity and little to no constructive conversation becomes annoying very quickly. 

 

No city is perfect, anywhere you go there will always be good and bad things about the place you call home. One of the worst things you can do is complain about the bad and remain inactive, whether in action or ideas.

 

But in saying all this, the best way to deal with these people is to just ignore them. Don't feed stupidity. 

[Vy65 87]

30 minutes ago, West Timer said:

Give it to the Vy troll. She's the one that can't stop the pointless bitching about Houston. Unlike her, I can afford to live anywhere I want and I think Houston is fabulous and getting more fabulous by the day.

 

But I guess I'm probably being too insensitive. Really, I have nothing but pity for those poor pathetic losers who are handcuffed to places they would rather not be and aren't smart enough to be able to figure out how to do anything about it except whine about it on the internet and then proceed to blame our great city for their own personal issues and shortcomings.

 

 

Such great people we have in our fair city of ours. Open-minded, slow to make assumptions, and modest. Just the best.

[swtsig 2929]

42 minutes ago, West Timer said:

Never ASSume.

 

it's not really an assumption...

 

15 minutes ago, Vy65 said:

 

Such great people we have in our fair city of ours. Open-minded, slow to make assumptions, and modest. Just the best.

 

perhaps if you did anything other than complain people would be a little more "open minded and modest"... if you simply wanted a place to b!tch maybe yelp would be more your speed.

Edited December 19, 2018 by swtsig

[j_cuevas713 3061]

1 hour ago, ChannelTwoNews said:

 

The bridge hasn't been in the renderings and maps for a little while. I think it was even discussed here as well in the past few months.

I know. Just giving the latest article on Swamplot.

3 minutes ago, swtsig said:

 

it's not really an assumption...

 

 

perhaps if you did anything other than complain people would be a little more "open minded and modest"... if you simply wanted a place to delicate flower maybe yelp would be more your speed.

I couldn’t agree more. Vy never has good input, just complaints lol

[Vy65 87]

10 hours ago, swtsig said:

 

it's not really an assumption... perhaps if you did anything other than complain people would be a little more "open minded and modest"... if you simply wanted a place to b!tch maybe yelp would be more your speed.

 

This is a really ignorant post.

 

10 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I know. Just giving the latest article on Swamplot.

I couldn’t agree more. Vy never has good input, just complaints lol

 

See above

Edited December 20, 2018 by Vy65

[BlindTiger 27]

Maybe we could go back to talking about real estate? I remember when this board talked about real estate. It was nice. 

[j_cuevas713 3061]

11 hours ago, Vy65 said:

 

This is a really ignorant post.

 

 

See above

My post is ignorant too? Lol Nah just facts. 

[H-Town Man 5007]

5 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

What's going on with Swamplot? The site doesn't post all up-to-date intel as it used to, reporting on projects months after it's been discussed here. Never posting updates or sharing new articles on Facebook or Twitter. And sometimes there are 3 posts a day (one really if you don't include the demo report or headlines). And the meaty posts are almost always published late. Posts were published on the hour before. The site is a shell of itself. 

Count me not surprised Swamplot shared the bridge update on the renderings weeks and months after it's been known.

 

They rely to a large extent on tips sent by readers. So, feel free to fill their inbox with tips. I am sad that they seem to have gotten rid of the Swampys, which normally bring holiday cheer this time of year.

 

[hindesky 46643]

Can't wait to see the final product of the sales office.

[cspwal 3906]

That is looking like a very fancy sales office

[AREJAY 1306]

Surprise! it's a Mattress Firm 

[Luminare 6046]

1 hour ago, AREJAY said:

Surprise! it's a Mattress Firm 

 

Game-changer.

[Houston? 139]

Are y’all playing?

[Twinsanity02 1289]

52 minutes ago, Houston? said:

Are y’all playing?

Ben Oui.

[Highrise Tower 33354]

Is that facade metal?

[Highrise Tower 33354]

 

[phillip_white 1913]

6 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Is that facade metal?

Looks like fiberglass.

[Luminare 6046]

16 hours ago, phillip_white said:

Looks like fiberglass.

 

Looks more like a custom fabricated metal panel. I know one said that they were doing some value engineering on the first phase, but if they are putting this much effort to make this lease office look fancy....I just don't see them doing that much value engineering.

[Luminare 6046]

Upon further examination. You can notice that the look and style of this paneling is similar to the look that they are going to do for the one commercial component. Might be a good first look at what that smaller building will look like once they start it.

[Luminare 6046]

On 12/18/2018 at 9:10 AM, C List said:

You also need to understand how a project gets financed. The initial renderings are nothing more than marketing especially for a project like this. I'm almost 100% positive this is an EB-5 equity financed project, meaning the initial renderings are shown to thousands of wealthy Asian/African investors to draw them in. Under this program, the foreign national must invest $500,000 or $1 million in exchange for an expedited green card process, depending on where the project is located. So you are showing these renderings to nonprofessional real estate investors whose primary focus is not on their money but being allowed into the US. Now, this first phase is probably a 100-200-million-dollar project if not more, which means you have to find a LOT of foreign investors to put up money before a construction loan even becomes a possibility. 

 

Once the developer gets close to putting shovels in the ground he is 100% not going to build the marketing renderings; he has no incentive too. The great thing about EB-5 is the cost of equity is almost nothing, like a 2% return to the foreign investors with no definitive timeline on when that money will get returned. A developer like Hines or Hanover will have a cost of equity around 14-20%, a huge difference!  So you over promise and under deliver, because if you can get anything built that looks halfway decent and leases up, you as the developer, will be swimming in money once you sell.

 

 

I'm not able to read through this because its locked behind a paywall. Warning! This is not for this development, but since what happened with another developer involves foreign investment that means its on topic and will probably on topic with other developments with similar financing. With that being said....holy cow! I was a bit skeptical of this persons comment about foreign investment until I found this headline this morning...

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/foreigners-funded-houston-development-to-get-green-cards-they-were-duped-sec-says-11546956000

 

If anyone has a wsj sub and is willing to provide the transcript I would definitely appreciate it. Interested in reading the rest and not just the headline.