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it is currently under contract to morgan, tcr, and pru (its a jv). they have up a sizeable letter of credit which is considered hard and have already completed their feasibility. hisd will vacate in approximately 1 to 1 1/2 years and relocate to their new building at 290 and 610.

the entire site will be demoed and be replaced with apartments, retail, some office components, and possibily a hotel.

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it is currently under contract to morgan, tcr, and pru (its a jv).  they have up a sizeable letter of credit which is considered hard and have already completed their feasibility.  hisd will vacate in approximately 1 to 1 1/2 years and relocate to their new building at 290 and 610.

the entire site will be demoed and be replaced with apartments, retail, some office components, and possibily a hotel.

Makes me kind of nostalgic. My dad worked for HISD for 30+ years and was in that building for a good portion of it as deputy superintindent. I remember as a really little kid thinking the "Taj Mahal" was a pretty cool place.

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Well, that's the thing: it is a shame they cannot reuse this unique building for the new mixed-use development. Just imagine, if they turn this "Taj Mahal" into an office, a hotel, or maybe an open-air market, then Houston's going to have its own Quincy Market that we can be proud of. The nature of urbanism is about its richness and diversity developed through time, you will never be able to reach that level of authenticity if we keep repeating this demo-rebuilt approach, no matter how funcy those new 'town centers' or 'urban villages' are designed.

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No way, I've been inside, and the interior is great. There is a huge interior atrium with natural lighting from skylights. Generally I'm not a big fan of brutalist architecture, but the HISD building (and the Alley Theater) are about as good as it gets for the style. It would be nice if all the mid-century office buildings along thata strip of Richmond could be preserved.

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fyi - the site totals 24 acres. it includes the following:

hattie mae white admin building

weslayan building

hr building

will rogers

central plant

the site goes from richmond up weslayan to the sbc building, then runs along the parking lot up to the carlton (the stucco apartments), and then down cummings to richmond. it looks like a rectangle with a slight protrusion.

the frontage is as follows (+/-):

richmond 900'

weslayan 1037'

cummins 1328'

additional information can still be found at hisd for sale website

edited to add the deal has not closed. if it were to, then you would lose hisd's tax exempt status and that tax bill would be a doozy ;)

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Hmm..that's really close to Highland Village. Maybe a nice, upscale, mixed use development could kickstart some nice development in this area, and if tied in properly with HV, this could be the start of another nice retail district.

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  • 1 month later...
Any news on this subject?

The HISD headquarters site is really a prime location, but given the building's unique architectural design, I think it is a shame to see it go.  Oh well, I guess that is progress...

still no changes from what i posted earlier:

it is currently under contract to morgan, tcr, and pru (its a jv).  they have up a sizeable letter of credit which is considered hard and have already completed their feasibility.  hisd will vacate in approximately 1 to 1 1/2 years and relocate to their new building at 290 and 610.

the entire site will be demoed and be replaced with apartments, retail, some office components, and possibily a hotel.

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if the east-west light rail uses this part of Richmond through Greenway Plaza, I can see this acreage really develop.

Although no definite path for the east-west line has been set, many feel it will leave the existing old rail path and head over to Richmond from Greenway to Uptown. Some people seem to think i'll be all along Richmond.

The existing HISD building would have been better used as a Museum instead of an adminstrative building.

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  • 1 month later...

Dallas Business Journal - 5:23 PM CDT Monday

Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

"Trammell Crow, The Morgan Group planning Houston development

Trammell Crow Co. and multifamily developer The Morgan Group Inc. are teaming up to build Houston's first "New Urbanism Lifestyle Center" that will allow residents of the development to live, shop and dine in a walkable urban environment.....The estimated $180 million mixed-use development will consist of 600 residential units and 400,000 square feet of retail space......"

"....The proposed site of the development houses the Houston Independent School District headquarters, which is selling the property to Trammell Crow and is using proceeds from the sale to build a new headquarters. The development site is within walking distance of Greenway Plaza. There will be a number of specialty stores, restaurants and a health club. The area also has access to Southwest Freeway, Loop 610 and the Westpark Toll Road -- all major arteries in Houston....."

"...."We're introducing a grand-scale retail/residential concept to Houston at a time when people are rethinking their commuter-driven lifestyles and how they can optimize their time and resources," said Matt Khourie, Trammell Crow's president of Development and Investments, Central U.S.

Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2006.

International architectural firm M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc., based in San Francisco, has been selected as the project's master planning and design architect........."

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From the article:

The proposed site of the development houses the Houston Independent School District headquarters, which is selling the property to Trammell Crow and is using proceeds from the sale to build a new headquarters. The development site is within walking distance of Greenway Plaza.

So, why not use this money to make HISD a better educator? Or to get rid of mold? Huh? Huh? ;)

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i saw that a duplicate thread was started, so just in case it gets closed:

Municipal Site Morphing Into $180M Urban Center

HOUSTON-The Morgan Group and Trammell Crow Co. have combined forces to acquire a 24-acre infill property that will be built out as an urban lifestyle center with up to 600 residential units and 400,000 sf of retail space. The estimated $180-million project is expected to deliver in 2008...

...The property, which is under contract following a competitive bidding, takes up the corner of Richmond Avenue and Weslayan Street, now home to the Houston Independent School District's headquarters building and an elementary school. The Morgan Group-TCC JV is backed by a behind-the-scenes institutional investor that's part of a deal valued at "north of $35 million," according to Carleton Riser, vice president of development with the locally based Morgan Group.

...Riser says the JV plans to gain access to the site in the summer 2006. "We'll then begin demolishing existing structures and start construction from the ground up," he says.

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go to trammell and crow's website and click on retail under market research (should be on the left side of the page). They have there reports for retail office and industrial real estate markets. The retail one reports on many of the large scale mixed use lifestyle centers proposed like in Pearland and Memorial City.

The add one that i didn't know about. It supposed to be by SH 249 and Louetta and its by Interfin (uptown park area developer).

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  • 2 months later...

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