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Bank Of America Tower At 800 Capitol St.


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Downtown's Houston Club Building may be facing the wrecking ball. The 63-year-old building, which fell into foreclosure last fall, is under contract to be sold to Swedish construction giant Skanska.

According to the Chronicle, several tenants are already clearing out of the building even though Skanska has not confirmed anything.

Latest renderings & info:

 

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/06/developer-to-pour-foundation-for-downtown-office-tower/#23198101=0

 

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http://capitoltowerhouston.com/img/renderings/lobby-capitol.jpg

 

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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.

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Well, it hasn't come down yet, and the YMCA took away a parking lot before giving one back. Additionally, downtown has given up far more parking lots than it gained in the last few years...including 2 blocks east of this building...so, I wouldn't go committing hari kari over this one, if it happens.

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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.

Relax.

The Former YMCA will be a green space.

The former Sheraton will be a park and main entry way for Total Plaza w/ parking underground.

This is just an article saying they are doing feasibility studies. We do them all the time at my firm and most of the time nothing substantial happens except more studies are exacted.

Edited by infinite_jim
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Relax.

The Former YMCA will be a green space.

The former Sheraton will be a park and main entry way for Total Plaza w/ parking underground.

This is just an article saying they are doing feasibility studies. We do them all the time at my firm and most of the time nothing substantial happens except more studies are exacted.

The former Y will be a temporary green space, but Chevron plans to build another building there, still better than a parking lot.

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  • 1 month later...

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.

same skanska and i've heard they've ditched their plans for their galleria building in favor of this one.

i had an engineering firm tell me they bid out on two downtown towers recently, both in the 600-700K SF range. i'd assume one was hines and the other skanksa.

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There are like 8-10 people crawling all over the roof of the Houston Club building at this moment. It's too far to tell exactly what they are doing, but hopefully it means that things are moving along

I wish/hope that they are looking at rehabbing the building rather than tearing it down. Looks to me like it could be converted into a nice apartment building, maybe? It's great that Skanska plans a new building, but it drives me crazy that they apparently plan to tear this decent, substantial building down for it, rather than fill in one of the still-far-too-numerous surface lots.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...

I'd love to move to a downtown condo, except for the outrageous $/sf cost and maintenance fees compared to a townhouse a mile away. I'd probably have to downsize by about 50%. Also, I'd have to sell my current house and unlikely that is going to happen in this shitty market.

But yeah. At least, for others, it would make great residential rentals :)

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From an architectural standpoint, it would be nice if the skyline were not so lopsided by the height/shape/color of the Chase tower, a high rise in this location would address it's context in a way that could "smooth" out the height and material discrepancies (see for example the Chevron bldg by Pelli in it's synthesis of 1400 Smith and the Exxon tower).

But your right in the sense that the Houston Club bldg does provide an urban pedestrian scaled bldg, but that alone can be replicated and improved upon.

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From an architectural standpoint, it would be nice if the skyline were not so lopsided by the height/shape/color of the Chase tower, a high rise in this location would address it's context in a way that could "smooth" out the height and material discrepancies (see for example the Chevron bldg by Pelli in it's synthesis of 1400 Smith and the Exxon tower).

Sometimes a little asymmetry can be a good thing. Remember Manhattan before 2001. After the Twin Towers came down it took a while for me to be able to recognize the New York skyline at a glance because I was used to looking for one out-of-scale landmark.

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  • 2 months later...

Skanska has put up nifty wallpaper down in the tunnels with pictures of a bunch of their projects and other trade-showy looking graphics.

I also noticed guys with surveying equipment taking measurements down there earlier this week and there are cross hatches with number markings on the floor that are new. Are there any tenants in there other than the Skyline deli in the tunnels and Brown Bag at street level? Hunan, BK, a salon and a shoe repair shop all left. They must have some plan for a major renovation going on.

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Houston Club will be moving out:

The Houston Club and the Plaza Club, which is part of ClubCorp, have signed an agreement to combine operations. The Houston Club will relocate to the 49th floor of One Shell Plaza from 811 Rusk.

Plans for the merger at the Plaza Club location include a $3.5 million renovation and expansion, "preserving the rich traditions and prominence of both clubs in a spectacular venue that is planned to have a fresh, new look with expanded dining and social features," according to a statement from the Houston Club. It said more details about membership and the renovations should be completed and announced in August.

The combined group will take the Houston Club name, which dates to 1894.

http://www.chron.com/business/article/Houston-Club-and-Plaza-club-are-merging-3674861.php

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And the building will be coming down. Very sorry to read this from Sarnoff.

Downtown's Houston Club Building could be gone by the end of this year as the new owner moves forward with plans to redevelop the property.

Skanska USA Commercial Development has hired the Gensler architecture firm to design something new for the site.

Spokeswoman Jessica Murray confirmed plans to raze the 18-story tower and said the company will release more details in about a month. The demolition could happen this year, Murray said, but that timing was not final.

In the meantime, Skanska is doing more to get its name out to the downtown market.

The company, a unit of Swedish construction conglomerate Skanska, has covered the walls in the tunnel beneath the Houston Club Building with images of its other real estate projects.

Last fall, the company purchased the 64-year-old Houston Club Building, which had previously been in foreclosure.

At that time, Skanska USA executive Michael Mair said it would be difficult to keep the property

http://www.chron.com/business/sarnoff/article/Sarnoff-Wrecking-ball-will-come-for-downtown-3674764.php

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