The Allen: Mixed-Use Development At Allen Parkway & Gillette St.

[por favor gracias]

Skylin' and profilin'

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

Trippy

[Highrise Tower]

My friend asked me to post her pictures.

[hindesky]

When I left downtown and got on Allen Pkwy I could see the climber at the top. Found 5 sections on the ground and a Heede crane crew getting ready to jump the tower crane, probably for the last time.

Edited October 22, 2021 by hindesky

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

The 5 section taller tower crane from 2100 Memorial.

[Luminare]

On 10/12/2021 at 9:20 AM, freundb said:

True, but "this building sucks cuz its blocking the view of the other buildings" is one of the more ridiculous things on that sub.

That is probably the most Bourgeois thing I've heard...since yesterday, but definitely at the top of cringe. 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Luminare

[EllenOlenska]

I've heard some bougie things on here too, I'll tell y'all. That "building blocking my view of other building" is the season 2 episode 8 of Fraiser-est thing I've heard. 

[midtowndweller]

[rechlin]

[Brooklyn173]

From POST HTX

[mfastx]

This building really has an impact on the skyline looking west from downtown! 

[ChannelTwoNews]

Liked this shot this morning from Ch. 13's camera - I think at Memorial at Windsor. Love those shadows.

[toxtethogrady]

That building's a whole lot taller than I thought it was going to be.

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[MidCenturyMoldy]

On 10/11/2021 at 10:21 AM, freundb said:

There are two reddit posts from this bridge, and the amount of hate this building is getting is remarkable. 

From at least one view its being there is an incredible improvement. (Because I really dislike Three Allen Center.)

Edited November 25, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[mollusk]

Never much cared for 3 Allen either - although its color seems to fit its theme.

[urbanize713]

Last floor? Seems significantly taller than the ones below. 

[toxtethogrady]

The only problem with it being called the Allen is that there is Allen Center downtown...

[samagon]

kind of like...

Chase Tower

Chase Center

Chase Building

thankfully, they're all on the same corner, but it can be confusing.

[hindesky]

[KirbyDriveKid]

Is that the final exterior (between window) material going up on the west side of the bottom seven-or-so floors in the photos?

[freundb]

16 hours ago, KirbyDriveKid said:

Is that the final exterior (between window) material going up on the west side of the bottom seven-or-so floors in the photos?

Doesn't look like it. Here's what it looks like zoomed in.

[samagon]

it looks like the answer is yes and no.

the strips that are horizontal look to be final cladding, but the vertical strips look to be underlayment?

[KinkaidAlum]

I find looking at pictures of this fascinating. I have zero clue what the final product might look like even though it's pretty much topped out.

[jmitch94]

It looks like a protective film that is over the cladding to protect it during install. 

[tangledwoods]

Yellow is your sheathing (exterior wall)

Brown is the fluid applied air barrier (aka keep the water out)

White is ??? either insulation or like jmitch94 said it could be a protective film on metal panels.

[Luminare]

Note to self in my future designs...apparently when spec'ing cool wavy/curvy metal panel wall systems expect a lead time of 8 months to a year. Yikes.

[Amlaham]

🥲 what happened to those trees that were on the median in front of this project 

[freundb]

14 hours ago, Luminare said:

Note to self in my future designs...apparently when spec'ing cool wavy/curvy metal panel wall systems expect a lead time of 8 months to a year. Yikes.

How likely is it that those were made out of country and sitting on a boat for months?

[hindesky]

[monarch]

^^^ is it just me, or is the smaller auxiliary edifice MUCH LARGER than what the original renderings/concepts exhibited?  heck, i didn't even realize that it was actually (4x floors).  it just seems like it's going to become HUGE and spectacular once fully completed...

[freundb]

I think it matches the renderings. Link to Urbannizer's post from 2019:

[BEES?!]

That condo/hotel tower is really trippy to look at. 

[hindesky]

50 minutes ago, BEES?! said:

That condo/hotel tower is really trippy to look at. 

Someone else agrees with you or you tagged this.🤪🤣

[editor]

On 12/15/2021 at 12:40 PM, freundb said:

How likely is it that those were made out of country and sitting on a boat for months?

Can't say whether that's the case with this project, but I did see that happen with a building in Seattle. 

Then again, shipping facade panels from China to Seattle is significantly cheaper than sending them all the way to Houston. 

[pm91]

It looks like it topped out

[BlindTiger]

On 12/15/2021 at 1:40 PM, freundb said:

How likely is it that those were made out of country and sitting on a boat for months?

This is correct. The silver cladding is all fabricated in Australia.  Or at least that is the info I got when talking with someone involved in the project ages ago after they had constructed the little condo showroom. 

[Specwriter]

On 12/23/2021 at 1:38 PM, BlindTiger said:

This is correct. The silver cladding is all fabricated in Australia.  Or at least that is the info I got when talking with someone involved in the project ages ago after they had constructed the little condo showroom. 

I also heard Australia from a reliable source who also told me the panels are not metal but a composite material with metal pieces embedded for attachment to the building.

[brijonmang]

 

[talltexan83]

I know it is a politically sensitive subject (and I won't pretend to know the right answer), but with the public housing parcel adjacent to this site quickly becoming some of the most valuable land in the city, is there a path forward that would benefit all involved?  So the city sells all or part of the land for a fortune, then uses the proceeds to build more units/housing that existed before?  

[Avossos]

25 minutes ago, talltexan83 said:

I know it is a politically sensitive subject (and I won't pretend to know the right answer), but with the public housing parcel adjacent to this site quickly becoming some of the most valuable land in the city, is there a path forward that would benefit all involved?  So the city sells all or part of the land for a fortune, then uses the proceeds to build more units/housing that existed before?  

I would like them to sell all of the land with a reserve of multiple parcels for a combination of mid rise and high-rise towers that can be offered are equal cost to the residents. My thought is if this is integrated seamlessly into a multiple phased development by one or more trustworthy developers, it would produce the highest results (equity / function / beauty). The city could get involved and make this really great.

I think it is possible to triple to unit offerings and make money that can be used to provide modern options at a greater quantity at the same location.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Avossos

[thatguysly]

Good luck with all that. The COH is already looking bad for it's shortage and new cycles over affordable housing and bidding for new affordable housing. Tearing down a bunch of units while you wait for new ones is just going to be bad optics, even if the end outcome is better. Look at The Ion and multiple it by a ton. Second, that area is so historical, Freedoms Town, that it is nearly untouchable.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

4 hours ago, thatguysly said:

 Second, that area is so historical, Freedoms Town, that it is nearly untouchable.

I don't know, maybe it's just a typo or an autocorrection, but if not, it's Freedmen's Town.

[phillip_white]

5 hours ago, thatguysly said:

Good luck with all that. The COH is already looking bad for it's shortage and new cycles over affordable housing and bidding for new affordable housing. Tearing down a bunch of units while you wait for new ones is just going to be bad optics, even if the end outcome is better. Look at The Ion and multiple it by a ton. Second, that area is so historical, Freedoms Town, that it is nearly untouchable.

The entire site is the size of City Centre, so I don't see why you would have to raze everything to redevelop it. And it would actually be nice to preserve the community feel of the neighborhood. So why not tear down one building at a time and rebuild denser with a parking garage or two on each end and place community amenities/stores on the ground floor? Plus you could create a mix of housing stock so you would have low income renters mixed with upper middle class condo owners. It doesn't have to be highrises either, just an entire neighborhood of buildings similar to the Baldwin & Gray section of Midtown.

I know this will never happen, but it seems really simple in front of a keyboard.

[freundb]

East of The Allen and north of Dallas isn't part of Freedmen's Town is it? That could be prime area for development.

[phillip_white]

16 hours ago, freundb said:

East of The Allen and north of Dallas isn't part of Freedmen's Town is it? That could be prime area for development.

Even if it was originally, everything of historical value has been destroyed.

[Amlaham]

I think one day, it's going to have to get redeveloped. The fact that it's practically in downtown, off buffalo bayou, and suburban style strongly suggests it won't sit for too long. Not saying its going to happen soon, but eventually, it's inevitable. Also, there isn't much land left to develop on this side of town, so land value is skyrocketing. That lot fits about 20 apartment buildings the size of the "Pearl" apartment buildings, and you can fit everyone in this block into 1 building lol.

[Texasota]

That's not exactly true.

It's not the same thing, but there are still 18 buildings of WPA-era public housing. You can see them pretty clearly in an aerial view because they have flat roofs.