Marriott Marquis: New GRB Convention Center Hotel And Retail

[TheNiche]

I don't think it will be that big of a stretch. Having condos adds to the bottom line of a hotel. The four seasons have residents inside and a variety of Hotels around town act as such to a variety of people.

Don't forget that until everybody went ga-ga over condos, those Four Seasons units were apartments.

[KinkaidAlum]

Don't forget that until everybody went ga-ga over condos, those Four Seasons units were apartments.

Some of them are still apartments. The conversion to condos didn't include all of the old apartment floors. In fact, the Four Seasons just spent a few million upgrading the furniture and interior design in the largely corporate units.

I think that if The Finger Cos can achieve a high occupancy level at the rates they plan on charging, that a residential component on the top of a new convention hotel would likely be a sure thing.

[TxDave]

As long as the condos will sell, they make an easy way to fund the accompanying hotel construction. Given recent shakeouts in the housing markets, these condos are harder to move, but not impossible in the right project

[wernicke]

I'm suprised no one has posted on this Chron article from today:

DT Hilton Officially For Sale

Houston Convention Center Hotel Corp. has hired real estate firm CB Richard Ellis to sell the property through a process that also will seek development proposals for a second convention hotel.

"The ideal buyer will buy the existing hotel and build the new one," said Richard Campo, chairman of the city-chartered group that owns the property and contracts with Hilton Hotels Corp. to manage it.

At the end of the article, though, some real estate people seem skeptical this deal will get done with the current problems in the financial market.

[lockmat]

"Carolan says the marketing period will run for four to six weeks." (from globest.com article)

So what does that mean exactly? That they'll market it before they start taking bids? Or that they'll only market it for that long?

Edited April 16, 2008 by lockmat

[TxDave]

Houston is under-represented by the major hotel chain downtown. If the 1000+ rooms at Hilton Americas are not enough, it would be good to have another large alternative (e.g. Marriott, Starwood, etc.). However if this is truly the case, the citizens of Houston should not need to provide any funds for the development - this is their opportunity to collect on the investement in GRB & the Hilton

[ricco67]

Houston is under-represented by the major hotel chain downtown. If the 1000+ rooms at Hilton Americas are not enough, it would be good to have another large alternative (e.g. Marriott, Starwood, etc.). However if this is truly the case, the citizens of Houston should not need to provide any funds for the development - this is their opportunity to collect on the investement in GRB & the Hilton

To skip my blathering, read the last paragraph. You

Edited April 21, 2008 by ricco67

[houstonmacbro]

So do you think any of this planned development will jump east of 59?

[TheNiche]

So do you think any of this planned development will jump east of 59?

Possibly in the way of a few more bars or a limited-service hotel or two. Nothing earth-shattering at this point.

[desirous]

There's still plenty of room west of 59. I'd rather they refurbish the post-apocalyptic city blocks west of Toyota Center first.

[Trae]

Is there any way the GRB could expand even more?

[ricco67]

The only way it can expand is for it to cross polk and Walker and I don't see that happening because that would cut off the few streets to/from the east side.

[Trae]

Those street could dip and go under right? They don't even have to dip. The center can be built over them.

[ricco67]

Those street could dip and go under right? They don't even have to dip. The center can be built over them.

I totally agree, they could. But this would present a security risk, though.

[Trae]

Yeah, I see what you are saying.

The GRB just seems undersized to me, with no room to expand.

[ricco67]

Yeah, I see what you are saying.

The GRB just seems undersized to me, with no room to expand.

Not bad for someone typing who is seeing little dancing buildings running around the place...

hmm...vodka or vicodin? WHY must they make awesome mild altering drugs that start with the letter "V"?

[Trae]

I see where I went wrong...

I saw this article that said the GRB is totaled at 933,000 square feet. A quick look at Wikipedia, and it says 1.8 million square feet. This is really trippin me out.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Trae

[houstonmacbro]

Is there any way the GRB could expand even more?

Have some kinda tunnel under the freeway and finally jump 59. That would be kinda cool to have it on both sides of 59.

[Trae]

That's how Kansas City's is.

[rsb320]

I see where I went wrong...

I saw this article that said the GRB is totaled at 933,000 square feet. A quick look at Wikipedia, and it says 1.8 million square feet. This is really trippin me out.

The first number is probably prior to the expansion that was done a few years back.

[ricco67]

I see where I went wrong...

I saw this article that said the GRB is totaled at 933,000 square feet. A quick look at Wikipedia, and it says 1.8 million square feet. This is really trippin me out.

Chill.Take a pill.

[The Great Hizzy!]

The Dallas Convention Center expands over S. Lamar St. and, as has been pointed out already, the KC convention center does something similar. So there's plenty of precedent.

If the GRB really needed to expand, I think they'd do one of two things if not both: build another level and/or extend a portion over Polk to the south or I guess Walker/Rusk to the north.

[wernicke]

My question would be: Is there any way to make GRB less ugly? The whole ship motif with the red steam vents on top is horrible in my opinion.

[Trae]

I like it.

[Jax]

Here's a photo I took of it...

[TheNiche]

Here's a photo I took of it...

That angle is very forgiving. Everything else is unattractive and kitchy.

[NewMND]

They could re-facade (<---is that the word I'm looking for?) the GRB, and add another level on top, removing the smokestacks. Then it would be less ugly.

[Subdude]

I totally agree, they could. But this would present a security risk, though.

I'm not sure I see how it would be a big security risk. Houston Center and the Pavilions both pass over streets.

My question would be: Is there any way to make GRB less ugly? The whole ship motif with the red steam vents on top is horrible in my opinion.

It practically screams "1986!" at you. I'm not a big fan of it myself, but it is getting dated enough to start coming into its own as a legitimate 1980s period piece. Re-facading buildings seems like a good idea at first, but however it is redone, it is just going to start looking dated again in a few years, and all you have accomplished is to destroy whatever architectural integrity the structure once had. Just think of all the old buildings downtown that were ruined by changing the facades during the "modernization" binge of the 1960s.

[musicman]

The city of Houston has put its downtown convention center hotel, the Hilton Americas-Houston, up for sale, officials announced this morning.

"We do believe there can be significant interest in this property at a very good price," said Mayor Bill White.

An offering memorandum placing the hotel on the market was issued today by CBRE/Concordis Real Estate. Hilton is the operator of the hotel, located across the street from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

White told City Council he personally would be involved in sale negotiations and that he had a "reserve price" in mind that he would not share with anyone.

"If we don't think there is adequate interest, we're not going to sell it," White said.

full article

[TexasVines]

I see where I went wrong...

I saw this article that said the GRB is totaled at 933,000 square feet. A quick look at Wikipedia, and it says 1.8 million square feet. This is really trippin me out.

I believe the 933,000 sqft is the total available contiguous space on the first floor and the 1.8 million is the total sqft of the building including the second and third floor meeting, ballrooms, check in areas, and convocation areas

there is no reason that GRB should not be able to expand to the north because there would still be two more streets to the north one going in each direction.....I doubt there would be any serious traffic concerns with taking out one more street

Edited September 10, 2008 by TexasVines

[swtsig]

i've heard $350M-$375M sale price.

[roadrunner]

Hasn't this been up for sale for a few months now?

[lockmat]

from channeltwonews... http://docs.newquest.com/brochures/onepark.pdf

Did we know before that the potential new convention hotel would be another Hilton? The initial article didn't mention so... link

[Houston19514]

from channeltwonews... http://docs.newquest.com/brochures/onepark.pdf

Did we know before that the potential new convention hotel would be another Hilton? The initial article didn't mention so... link

I can't get your newquest link to open, but the envisioned new convention center hotel is only in the conceptual stage right now. I doubt that anyone has given much serious attention to what flag it might fly. In any event, I think it is HIGHLY unlikely that it would be another Hilton.

[lockmat]

I can't get your newquest link to open, but the envisioned new convention center hotel is only in the conceptual stage right now. I doubt that anyone has given much serious attention to what flag it might fly. In any event, I think it is HIGHLY unlikely that it would be another Hilton.

It's a brochure from NewQuest advertising the OPP retail space. It gives a couple of aerial shots with labels on places of destination. In one, it has "Hilton" over the proposed convention spot. Just an observation.

[Houston19514]

It's a brochure from NewQuest advertising the OPP retail space. It gives a couple of aerial shots with labels on places of destination. In one, it has "Hilton" over the proposed convention spot. Just an observation.

In the interim, I got the link open. I see what you are talking about. I would put zero faith in that. I think the brochure designer just got a little carried away with the Hilton logo. You'll notice on the arial shot later in the brochure, they did not slap the Hilton logo, but just have "proposed 1,100 room hotel" on the site.

[KinkaidAlum]

Or, it would be in the Hilton Brand of hotels... there's more than just the Hilton.

Embassy Suites is a Hilton brand hotel... so is Doubletree.

That said, my guess is the city will try and get a more upscale brand. My money would be on it being a Westin. Westin already has the Galleria market covered and Starwood has ZERO presence downtown (Starwood being Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels, aloft, LeMeridien, St Regis, and others...). Westin is also no stranger to large convention hotels. I could also see them trying to market some condos up top for the park views...

[lockmat]

In the interim, I got the link open. I see what you are talking about. I would put zero faith in that. I think the brochure designer just got a little carried away with the Hilton logo. You'll notice on the arial shot later in the brochure, they did not slap the Hilton logo, but just have "proposed 1,100 room hotel" on the site.

Yeah, I don't think we should put much faith into it either. And I did notice it's only in one of the pictures. But I would think that at the least it was a semi-legitimate rumor. I'm sure NewQuest has some integrity and wouldn't have put it there unless it was a possibility. But yeah...not holding my breath.

[Houston19514]

Or, it would be in the Hilton Brand of hotels... there's more than just the Hilton.

Embassy Suites is a Hilton brand hotel... so is Doubletree.

That said, my guess is the city will try and get a more upscale brand. My money would be on it being a Westin. Westin already has the Galleria market covered and Starwood has ZERO presence downtown (Starwood being Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels, aloft, LeMeridien, St Regis, and others...). Westin is also no stranger to large convention hotels. I could also see them trying to market some condos up top for the park views...

I don't think they do convention hotels with either the Embassy Suites or the Doubletree brands (and of course, an Embassy Suites is already scheduled to start construction right there by the current Hilton).

I would think Starwood would be all over the opportunity. It's amazing to me that they have not downtown presence whatsoever. If it's Starwood, it would be either Sheraton or Westin.

Other strong possibilities are Marriott and Omni (especially if their Sheraton re-hab ends up not happening).

[lockmat]

This just happened the other day (Downtown Developer Walking Tour by ULI) and I saw this picture. You can see plans for another convention hotel. (Also, this blog seems like a nice little news source)

http://www.bisnow.com/houston_commercial_real_estate_news_story.php?p=7251

[LTAWACS]

Ah... thanks

[Nole23]

This looks to be back on the drawing board.

"A 2008 proposal to bring another major convention center hotel to downtown is back on the drawing board.

The details of the plan are a little different this time around, but the goal is the same: at least 1,000 rooms in a high-rise hotel on a parcel that mirrors the Hilton Americas across Discovery Green park.

Houston First, an independent corporation that runs the George R. Brown Convention Center, Hilton Americas and other city-owned buildings, has hired Georgia-based Strategic Advisory Group to help craft a formal request to developers who design, build, own and finance the new hotel.

The hotel would be part of a larger mixed-use development that could include commercial, residential and retail space."

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2011/12/3268/

[wxman]

Also in the news today is the revival of a 1,000 room high-rise hotel opposite DG from Hilton. This is great news indeed!

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2011/12/3268/

[Montrose1100]

I was wondering when the second Hotel would come along... How many years have we seen renderings and maps showing this? Great new indeed! I hope it will be tall & beautiful.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Montrose1100

[Talbot]

Let's hope for a great design!

[Jax]

I hope it won't look like the Embassy Suites!

[totheskies]

So what main line hotel chains are not in downtown yet? Maybe a Conrad??

[Montrose1100]

Maybe Trump will build some gaudy tower since the NOLA one is on hold?

[Houston19514]

So what main line hotel chains are not in downtown yet? Maybe a Conrad??

Starwood has nothing downtown... Westin perhaps.

Omni is going big in convention center hotels these days, especially in Texas.

There is no main line Marriott.

[lockmat]

not sure if this means much, but Ralph said they officially started looking for a developer

http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/03-08-12-its-full-speed-ahead-for-new-convention-center-hotel-in-houston-and-its-going-to-be-one-of-the-biggest-hotels-in-texas/