Bank Of America Tower At 800 Capitol St.

[Triton]

Downtown Htown by Marc longoria, on Flickr

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

the things that catch my eye....

 

or

 

 

 

 oooo...Shiny!

[lockmat]

are those chromosomes?

[Montrose1100]

Whine Alert! It's such a shame having an empty hole in the heart of our city.

I mean how cool would it be if the Ritz was going up on the chronicle site...

Edited June 12, 2016 by Montrose1100

[adr]

Quote

Skanska USA has placed its proposed Capitol Tower on hold until the Houston office market rebounds, says Richard Cavallaro, CEO of Skanska USA.

 

http://realtynewsreport.com/2016/06/15/skanska-ceo-it-may-be-a-while-before-skanskas-office-tower-breaks-ground/

[KinkaidAlum]

On June 21, 2011 at 4:47 PM, KinkaidAlum said:

Isn't this the same Skanska that claimed that they didn't need financing or a pre-lease figure in order to break ground on their Galleria area tower? That one hasn't broken ground yet and the rumors are that it wont.

I'd absolutely HATE to see another historic, even if it isn't that great, building come down with the promise of something going up in its place only for nothing to be built. Downtown already has enough scars.

If this is true, we'll be adding vacant/surface lots at the old YMCA, the old Sheraton, and now the Houston Club all in just one year. Ughhh.

 

Five years later... we get a really ugly garage that looks so barren. Also, since they've dropped millions into the site with demolition and a garage, there's no way they'd sell the lot with the hopes a hotel/residential project might pop up instead. Crossing my fingers that this thing goes mixed use. Would be a nice spot for retail, hotel, office, and residential. 

[samagon]

kinkaidalum: resident soothsayer.

[htownboy]

we mustn't be complaining

we now have an amazing garage (albeit unfinished)
BUT STILL a fabulous addition to this GREAT city

i say we strut with pride

as we have been endowed with such a grandiloquent garage as this

 

[AREJAY]

2 hours ago, htownboy said:

we mustn't be complaining

we now have an amazing garage (albeit unfinished)
BUT STILL a fabulous addition to this GREAT city

i say we strut with pride

as we have been endowed with such a grandiloquent garage as this

 

Did we know @monarch had a son?

Edited June 20, 2016 by AREJAY

[monarch]

^^^ @AREJAY and no kids... just the way that i LOVE it!

not that there is anything wrong with this.... just saying....

[samagon]

the tunnel connection will be completed though.

 

I'm actually kind of curious about how this works. they don't build a tower, but they've built all the foundation for it, and presumably, with tunnel connection, they'll have some first floor built out, when the building is indeed built, what happens?

 

do they tear down what's already built? do they add on to it? will be interesting to watch?

[Montrose1100]

2 hours ago, samagon said:

the tunnel connection will be completed though.

 

I'm actually kind of curious about how this works. they don't build a tower, but they've built all the foundation for it, and presumably, with tunnel connection, they'll have some first floor built out, when the building is indeed built, what happens?

 

do they tear down what's already built? do they add on to it? will be interesting to watch?

Completely foolish of me, I thought the garage would be wrapped up with the lobby/tunnel connecting in the rendered facade. They could at least have had retail income but maybe not enough to justify a Class A atrium.

 

Perhaps an opportunity for more floor count if a big enough tenant come around.

[Montrose1100]

Another angle of sadness.

[HoustonIsHome]

Looks totally ridiculous next to chase. 

What is it? A step stool?

[KinkaidAlum]

Between our city's tallest and arguably our best historic high-rise (Gulf is nice too). Thanks, Skanska. 

[Montrose1100]

15 minutes ago, KinkaidAlum said:

Between our city's tallest and arguably our best historic high-rise (Gulf is nice too). Thanks, Skanska. 

Canyoned by the Gulf block and our most awarded tower, Pennzoil Place.

[HoustonIsHome]

Yep

 

On a block between 4 icons

Our tallest- Chase

Our most ornate- Esperson

Our most awarded- Pennzoil

One of the most iconic- Gulf

You would we would have gotten something spectacular. 

 

Then again, I guess you can can it a spectacular disappointment

[htownboy]

hopefully our newest skyscraper can fit in between those 4 icons

one day very soon

[Urbannizer]

houston by star trek avatar, on Flickr

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

the chromosomes were back the other day, maybe the building is trying to grow on it's own.... lol

[H-Town Man]

On June 24, 2016 at 7:05 PM, HoustonIsHome said:

Yep

 

On a block between 4 icons

Our tallest- Chase

Our most ornate- Esperson

Our most awarded- Pennzoil

One of the most iconic- Gulf

You would we would have gotten something spectacular. 

 

Then again, I guess you can can it a spectacular disappointment

 

If the Gulf and Esperson were facing in, it would make an ideal plaza.

[Montrose1100]

10 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

If the Gulf and Esperson were facing in, it would make an ideal plaza.

Considering they're neighbors, they are.

 

edit: Chase has a big enough plaza, and Jones is a couple blocks away.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Montrose1100

[H-Town Man]

12 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

Considering they're neighbors, they are.

 

edit: Chase has a big enough plaza, and Jones is a couple blocks away.

 

What? Gulf and Esperson are not facing into the vacant block. The point of having a plaza (if they were facing in) would not be because there aren't enough plazas in the area, it would be because of the ideal architectural experience there. You would have the city's two grand historic highrises, its tallest building, and its most architecturally acclaimed highrise all facing in on the same block. It would be the closest Houston is ever going to get to something like the cathedral squares of cities past.

 

[Montrose1100]

17 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

What? Gulf and Esperson are not facing into the vacant block. The point of having a plaza (if they were facing in) would not be because there aren't enough plazas in the area, it would be because of the ideal architectural experience there. You would have the city's two grand historic highrises, its tallest building, and its most architecturally acclaimed highrise all facing in on the same block. It would be the closest Houston is ever going to get to something like the cathedral squares of cities past.

 

Yeah but you can see them. Wasn't trying to be sassy. What would you have in mind? 

[H-Town Man]

2 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

Yeah but you can see them. Wasn't trying to be sassy. What would you have in mind? 

 

I just don't think it works if the two historic buildings are facing away from the plaza. A better plaza would be 601 Travis (the parking garage). If all the hype about self-driving cars is true (doubt it) and someday we don't need parking garages or they can be greatly reduced, this block would make a great plaza. Put what's left of the parking underground. Would be expensive, but Hines could then charge higher rents at 609 Main and 600 Travis. Sell it to the city, lease back the garage for 50 years, and let them design the plaza.

 

The Rice would be the biggest winner - could be converted to a 5 star luxury hotel.

 

Edited July 11, 2016 by H-Town Man

[htownboy]

aww but i like 601 travis

and its also an office building, not just a parking garage

plus, the famed architect I.M Pei designed it 

[H-Town Man]

1 minute ago, htownboy said:

aww but i like 601 travis

and its also an office building, not just a parking garage

plus, the famed architect I.M Pei designed it 

 

Think about the upside. Visualize a plaza right there - corner of Texas and Main, the heart of the city. Pei did the garage out of necessity and dressed it up as nicely as he could.

[houstontexasjack]

I saw a sign in the Travis Downtown Tunnel stating it would re-open below this site on September 1, 2016.

[mollusk]

30 minutes ago, houstontexasjack said:

I saw a sign in the Travis Downtown Tunnel stating it would re-open below this site on September 1, 2016.

 

And so free access is re established, allowing those who were once isolated, cut off on the Very Tall Island, to once again join their fellow Mole People in the main colony without having to risk being in the sunlight, and expanding their dietary choices to once again be able to savor the full assortment of Tunnel Trash...

 

[Nate99]

13 hours ago, mollusk said:

 

And so free access is re established, allowing those who were once isolated, cut off on the Very Tall Island, to once again join their fellow Mole People in the main colony without having to risk being in the sunlight, and expanding their dietary choices to once again be able to savor the full assortment of Tunnel Trash...

 

 

Well, they still had an Alonti and some iteration of a Ninfa's, that's roughly 50% of tunnel lunch option variety covered off.

[mollusk]

On 8/24/2016 at 6:20 AM, Nate99 said:

 

Well, they still had an Alonti and some iteration of a Ninfa's, that's roughly 50% of tunnel lunch option variety covered off.

(***cue up background music from Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom***)

 

And so the Mole People scurry forth, in search of their nearly forgotten foraging grounds of shawarma, Thai, dumplings, banh mi, and mediocre Chinese, sniffing in wonder at the unfamiliar new smells of dosas and curries and kim chee... but wait, where's Jim???  Oh, no!!! He's back there, caught in a cluster of Chattering Slow Walkers who are even more confused than usual by their return to the narrow passageways they once obstructed...

[mollusk]

Update:  The south half of the block is no longer surrounded by construction fencing.  Between that, the upcoming tunnel reopening, and Esperson's escalators to the tunnel getting fixed last week,* access in that corner of downtown is suddenly much more convenient.

 

 

*After they were flooded by a massive water leak, parts had to be ordered from a vendor that apparently handcrafts them in a tiny factory in an enchanted forest far from any road, beginning with smelting the metal from its ore.

[tigereye]

 

[Nate99]

Moles rejoice!

 

[Sunstar]

Just watch out for the CHUDs

[samagon]

they poured some concrete yesterday for something.

[Nate99]

8 minutes ago, samagon said:

they poured some concrete yesterday for something.

 

They may be trying to open up more of the sidewalk over to Capitol. It looked like they were sealing off some of the holes inside the fence too.

[JoninATX]

This maybe a long shot for right now, but maybe just maybe there is some signs of life. I'm hoping like everyone else that this project gets on track very soon. Rise oil rise!!!

Edited September 30, 2016 by JoninATX

[samagon]

they're doing jack-hammer work on the sidewalk at the corner of capitol and travis today.

 

I think someone mentioned they were just going to build a floor level lobby and tunnel connections. I was assuming once the garage was done it would be a pretty quick endeavor. They are doing something, but it's going very slow. and whatever it is, they aren't close to done, there's still rebar sticking out of concrete, there's holes in the ground, there's a swimming pool from all the rain.

 

and worst of all, I still can't get from chase tower to penzoil without going on the street (shudder).

 

so I don't think the activity is a long-shot at signs of life for the tower, it's signs of life for completing whatever it was they started when they decided not to go full tower just yet.

 

at the current pace, I'm betting every other currently active downtown project is complete before this one.

Edited September 30, 2016 by samagon

[mollusk]

On 9/30/2016 at 11:29 AM, samagon said:

and worst of all, I still can't get from chase tower to penzoil without going on the street (shudder).

 

 

It is possible, but annoying... you have to go to the street level and the Chase lobby, and then go back down to the tunnel level.  It's out of the way, but it's at least out of the rain.

[Triton]

CBRE is looking at more space since it's growing quite aggressively. We'll most likely move into this tower.

 

Edit: still in the beginning stages.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Triton

[Houston19514]

Houston Business Journal reports that Skanska is hiring CBRE to do pre-leasing for this tower.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Houston19514

[BUfan13]

can we get the text?

[cloud713]

1 hour ago, BUfan13 said:

can we get the text?

 

New York-based Skanska USA Commercial Development has retained CBRE's Houston office to begin preleasing an ambitious downtown office tower, according to multiple sources close to the situation.

...

The 35-story, 750,000-square-foot tower, which hasn't broken ground yet aside from its foundation being poured, has been on hold. In June, a company spokesperson told the Houston Business Journal that the company wouldn't move forward on vertical construction until market conditions improve.

"Since we self finance our (projects), we do not have set preleasing requirements," said Elizabeth Miller, director of communications for Skanska's northeast division. "Rather, we evaluate each potential leasing deal and the market conditions to determine the construction start of our projects."

The final contract between CBRE and Skanska is still being finalized, sources said. Skanska declined to comment, and CBRE couldn't be reached for comment.

...

[Nate99]

Was Skanska previously just trying to find a tenant on their own?  Hopefully this works to get the thing built.

 

They are putting up wooden walls to cordon off the open construction on the Capitol side to open up the sidewalks.  Hopefully they have to close them down again.  This thing is just odd.

[wxman]

This is an exciting tower. It'll be a subtle addition to the skyline but will stick up just high enough to be seen as you round the western side of downtown on the Pierce. Hopefully we get some nice lighting features on the top or down the sides.

Edited October 15, 2016 by wxman

[H-Town Man]

They're just now hiring a broker to prelease? What were they doing a year ago? I don't understand.

[Montrose1100]

20 hours ago, Triton said:

CBRE is looking at more space since it's growing quite aggressively. We'll most likely move into this tower.

 

Edit: still in the beginning stages.

[JoninATX]

I hoping next year will be more willing for to get this project back on track. Lets hope Oil prices continue to rise, right now O&G companies are back to hiring.

[Abracobabra]

I worked as a Telephoneman in the Houston Club from 1973 to 1986.  I also worked in the two Esperson Bldgs across the street.  Underwood Newhouse was on the first floor,

Santa Fe had a small office on one of the floors. 

One day I had a call to repair a phone in a room where a lot of fat cats had a high stakes poker game going on at the Houston Club.  I was escorted to the room full of cigar smoke and wildcatters were playing poker.  Those were the good old days.  Wish I would have had the money to join them.  The Esperson Bldg is a beautifully built Bldg across the street.  It had the Houston Shoe Hospital on the first floor and  many law offices.  If I remember right Fred Hofheinz had his office there and Maybe Butler Binion.  I was fortunate to have work in a 52 square block area in a walking crew that included historic Bldg like Franklin Bank, Southern Pacific, the Old and New Cotton Exchange,  Market Square,  The Crispin Bldg.

I hope my memory serves me correct on the spelling of some of these.  Oh yes the Texas State Hotel where I once worked on a room that was rented by Percy Foreman.  That was the good old days for me.  I hate to see these buildings being destroyed.  They had so much class and were built so sound.

 

Harry Meyers