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

[Luminare]

On 2/16/2022 at 12:52 PM, KirbyDriveKid said:

Loving how this building is turning out, but this... this will haunt my OCD dreams.

Why is this and only this corner not symmetrical?

 

Probably a coordination hiccup. It happens.

[hindesky]

14 minutes ago, KinkaidAlum said:

Not sure how I got on their list but I just received a text with several things;

1) Link to article for topping out ceremony

2) 55% of units "sold"

3) Several floor plans are down to 1-2 units left

They sent it to me too. Somebody connected to the project reached out to see if they could use my pics I post on here for marketing material, I said sure use them. I've been invited for events twice.

[Specwriter]

26 minutes ago, Luminare said:

Probably a coordination hiccup. It happens.

I believe it is a balcony for the corner units on the two floors in the red ellipse. Look at the opposite end of the building on the next two floors up and you will see plywood covering an opening to the balconies on those two floors.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

Have people started calling this the "Buffalo Bayou Skyline" yet? 

[KinkaidAlum]

Modera Waugh, Fairfield Waugh, Hanover Autry Park II, and possible Icon M will add to that skyline soon. Is Houston getting a "gold coast?"

[MidCenturyMoldy]

Another one...

Edited April 3, 2022 by MidCenturyMoldy

[hindesky]

[Brooklyn173]

From Glenwood Cemetery

 

[BlindTiger]

Any word on when subsequent phases will begin?

[samagon]

I noticed this yesterday when driving in the morning. if you are in the east end, or downtown you can check it out too.

head over to Leeland, if you are in downtown headed east, look in your rearview mirror. if you are just east of 59 headed west, when you are at the intersection for 59 look straight ahead and up slightly.

this building slots right in the sightline between the downtown buildings on Leeland.

Edited February 28, 2022 by samagon

[hindesky]

[West Timer]

Bonerific!

[samagon]

headed through downtown this morning...

 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

Houston Mural Artist Nicky Davis.

[shasta]

40 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Houston Mural Artist Nicky Davis.

Wouldn't a Cougar Paw or a Whooty Who have been more appropriate than a Hook-em IN Houston?

[hindesky]

4 minutes ago, shasta said:

Wouldn't a Cougar Paw or a Whooty Who have been more appropriate than a Hook-em IN Houston?

He states it's for a private collector, I'm guessing they might be a Texas alumni.

[Amlaham]

Thats the H-town hand, its pretty big in hip-hop culture

[monarch]

8 hours ago, shasta said:

Wouldn't a Cougar Paw or a Whooty Who have been more appropriate than a Hook-em IN Houston?

^^^ as a proud houstonian, and as a super proud TEXAS LONGHORN 4 LIFER, i can honestly assure you @shasta that the TEXAS HOOK'EM hand sign is something to behold.  (how on earth, could it not be?) astronauts, jedi, aliens, darth vaders, and all of the other extraterrestrials and extracurriculars of this huge world... already know this.  therefore, it's ok.  it's all good.  it's gravy.  it's the chizzle on the drizzle.  just raise your arm up... place your fingers into the shape of horns... and loudly yell HOOK'EM!   

[samagon]

I am so glad UT is moving to SEC before UH is in Big12. I'd have to go on vacation for the weekend when UT comes to play UH. 😀

[shasta]

15 hours ago, monarch said:

^^^ as a proud houstonian, and as a super proud TEXAS LONGHORN 4 LIFER, i can honestly assure you @shasta that the TEXAS HOOK'EM hand sign is something to behold.  (how on earth, could it not be?) astronauts, jedi, aliens, darth vaders, and all of the other extraterrestrials and extracurriculars of this huge world... already know this.  therefore, it's ok.  it's all good.  it's gravy.  it's the chizzle on the drizzle.  just raise your arm up... place your fingers into the shape of horns... and loudly yell HOOK'EM!   

No thanks, this PROUD Houstonian reps the University of Houston and not the University of Austin (UT-A).

[brijonmang]

16 hours ago, monarch said:

^^^ as a proud houstonian, and as a super proud TEXAS LONGHORN 4 LIFER, i can honestly assure you @shasta that the TEXAS HOOK'EM hand sign is something to behold.  (how on earth, could it not be?) astronauts, jedi, aliens, darth vaders, and all of the other extraterrestrials and extracurriculars of this huge world... already know this.  therefore, it's ok.  it's all good.  it's gravy.  it's the chizzle on the drizzle.  just raise your arm up... place your fingers into the shape of horns... and loudly yell HOOK'EM!   

[monarch]

4 hours ago, brijonmang said:

[hindesky]

Several fires in counties southwest of Fort Worth are the cause.

[hindesky]

Health and Fitness Club city permit.

 

[monarch]

^^^ this is going to be one MAGNIFICENT structure.  also, there should be an exterior lighting detail.  can't wait...

^^^ please click on illustration for a larger reference

Edited March 29, 2022 by monarch

[hindesky]

Looks yellow due to all the Oak tree pollen, I washed my car at the Mr. Car Wash on Washington Ave and 30 minutes later and it's all over it again. Second pic notice the part of the building that juts out a little, I wonder if that is where the Thompson hotel floors end?

 

 

[BEES?!]

That would make sense, yeah. 
 

Sorta unrelated, but not- how do condos situated in the same building as a hotel work in practice? What are some of the pros/cons versus an all-condo highrise project, or all-hotel rooms? Condo fees tend to be pretty steep, just from my glancings at HAR (and personal experience when we were trying to get our first home.)- is that different when the condo shares the building with a hotel? (Or really, any other use. I’m guessing a lot of HOA fees in a highrise is structural maintenance/keeping the reserve fund in case of emergency maintenance. I’m imagining if you’re splitting the building with something like a grocery store, they eat some of that cost, right?)

Just curious!

[monarch]

1 hour ago, BEES?! said:

That would make sense, yeah. 
 

Sorta unrelated, but not- how do condos situated in the same building as a hotel work in practice? What are some of the pros/cons versus an all-condo highrise project, or all-hotel rooms? Condo fees tend to be pretty steep, just from my glancings at HAR (and personal experience when we were trying to get our first home.)- is that different when the condo shares the building with a hotel? (Or really, any other use. I’m guessing a lot of HOA fees in a highrise is structural maintenance/keeping the reserve fund in case of emergency maintenance. I’m imagining if you’re splitting the building with something like a grocery store, they eat some of that cost, right?)

Just curious!

^^^ @BEES?! dude?

[cityliving]

[gene]

man that lower building still looks like a stack of tupperware but from Urban Outfitters...  everytime i pass by it on my bike i can't help but stare at it...🤔

[thedistrict84]

Taken during the Houston Art Car Parade.

[astrohip]

Another from the Art Car Parade...

 

 

[cityliving]

[tangledwoods]

There is something special about having the postmodernist Michael Graves "masterpiece" Federal Reserve building next to a curvey metal clad blob thing, next to a high rise $$$$ condo tower, next to low income housing.  

[Twinsanity02]

Houston's "eccentricities" can stack up easily against any other city in the U.S.

[cityliving]

[freundb]

Man, the panel gaps on that roof are worse than a Tesla!

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, freundb said:

Man, the panel gaps on that roof are worse than a Tesla!

Those panels aren't supposed to be air tight. Aesthetic you don't want panels to be air tight either. Aesthetically its about gaps relative to the scale of the building. Those are massive panels and to get the definition of the edge that you want the gaps need to be pretty decently sized. As far as the assembly of the wall itself you need gaps between the panels 1) because metal will expand and contract, warp, etc... and you need room/tolerance for that 2) on the wall sides this is likely what is called a "rain-screen" system. In other words, the exterior we see is mostly aesthetic (though some metal panels systems do have insulation within them) then underneath you have a water barrier layer which keeps water out and air in as well as insulation (most likely rigid insulation) underneath that. If you look at prior photos before the metal was attached you saw the building as pretty boxy right? This is what I mean by the metal is mostly aesthetics. Its not performative on the building or its systems. 3) on the roof its sort of the same system of the roof, but instead whatever rain that gets through will fall onto a TPO Membrane, and then will slope toward internal drains.

If you don't like the gaps between the metal aesthetically then I can understand, to each his own, but you really aren't going to be able to achieve gaps smaller than what is shown unless you go with an entirely different system with different materials, and because tolerances for gaps/spacing would be smaller you are also looking balooning the costs of labor and materials.

Edited April 15, 2022 by Luminare

[editor]

On 4/3/2022 at 2:29 PM, BEES?! said:

That would make sense, yeah. 
 

Sorta unrelated, but not- how do condos situated in the same building as a hotel work in practice? What are some of the pros/cons versus an all-condo highrise project, or all-hotel rooms? Condo fees tend to be pretty steep, just from my glancings at HAR (and personal experience when we were trying to get our first home.)- is that different when the condo shares the building with a hotel? (Or really, any other use. I’m guessing a lot of HOA fees in a highrise is structural maintenance/keeping the reserve fund in case of emergency maintenance. I’m imagining if you’re splitting the building with something like a grocery store, they eat some of that cost, right?)

Just curious!

I've lived in a few mixed-use buildings. One was offices (floors 10 to 40) and condos (42 to 94).  One was hotel (2 to 16), apartments (16 to 50), and condos (50 to 81).  One was retail (1 to 5) and apartments (6 to 12). 
 

The key is that each segment has its own elevators. These days, with virtual elevator banks, some developers have tried to mix the groups, but it doesn't seem to work very well in my experience. 
 

As for HOA fees, in the building with the hotel, i was told that the hotel picked up all the cost of the amenities and mixed spaces, so I imagine the fees were lower than in an all residential building. 

[freundb]

3 hours ago, Luminare said:

Those panels aren't supposed to be air tight. Aesthetic you don't want panels to be air tight either. Aesthetically its about gaps relative to the scale of the building. Those are massive panels and to get the definition of the edge that you want the gaps need to be pretty decently sized. As far as the assembly of the wall itself you need gaps between the panels 1) because metal will expand and contract, warp, etc... and you need room/tolerance for that 2) on the wall sides this is likely what is called a "rain-screen" system. In other words, the exterior we see is mostly aesthetic (though some metal panels systems do have insulation within them) then underneath you have a water barrier layer which keeps water out and air in as well as insulation (most likely rigid insulation) underneath that. If you look at prior photos before the metal was attached you saw the building as pretty boxy right? This is what I mean by the metal is mostly aesthetics. Its not performative on the building or its systems. 3) on the roof its sort of the same system of the roof, but instead whatever rain that gets through will fall onto a TPO Membrane, and then will slope toward internal drains.

If you don't like the gaps between the metal aesthetically then I can understand, to each his own, but you really aren't going to be able to achieve gaps smaller than what is shown unless you go with an entirely different system with different materials, and because tolerances for gaps/spacing would be smaller you are also looking balooning the costs of labor and materials.

I understand gaps are necessary, but uniformity is key. Most of the lower ones look fine, and those will be the ones most people see, so I guess its ok. The top is a little sketchy. Not many people are gonna see it but this would drive me nuts.

[Luminare]

5 minutes ago, freundb said:

I understand gaps are necessary, but uniformity is key. Most of the lower ones look fine, and those will be the ones most people see, so I guess its ok. The top is a little sketchy. Not many people are gonna see it but this would drive me nuts.

Definitely. I'm sure the roof design had a lot of back and forth between the Architect and Contractor. I'd imagine this will be a punch list item. Depending on the drawings (of which I don't have access too) if the architect doesn't believe that the contractor has built what is specified in the drawings then the contractor will have to fix any errors or deficiencies without additional compensation. At least this is what is typically stated in most contracts. Maybe this will be something addressed near or after Substantial Completion.

Edited April 15, 2022 by Luminare

[MidCenturyMoldy]

1 hour ago, freundb said:

I understand gaps are necessary, but uniformity is key. Most of the lower ones look fine, and those will be the ones most people see, so I guess its ok. The top is a little sketchy. Not many people are gonna see it but this would drive me nuts.

Looks to me like that upper right corner is sagging below the rest of the panels. Like it just needs to be pushed up and properly affixed. 

[hindesky]

[cityliving]

[ChannelTwoNews]

Snapped this from Ch. 11's news this evening. 

[cityliving]

[Brooklyn173]

Off in the distance...

[thatguysly]

What does the final façade on the tower look like? I thought I remember it was cover with a film in previous photos but wasn't sure if it was visible in parts now?