The Woodlands Towers At The Waterway

[boounce]

Gorgeous day today. A lot of people out. Shot with my cell phone.

[wxman]

Would somebody be nice enough to snap updated shots of this project? I can't see it from my place in....FLORIDA. lol. If not, I'll be back at the end of the month anyway. I can take some then.

[bachanon]

[Triton]

Wow!

[swtsig]

pretty damn impressive.

[wxman]

It's pretty cool to see major highrises being built in the suburbs. It's funny, you drive into Dallas on 45, you don't even know you're in a major metro area until you get downtown. In Houston, the freeway opens up in Conroe (40 miles out) and the density really begins to pick up in ernest when you get into The Woodlands (25 miles out). 

[bachanon]

coming into dallas from the north or west is a completely different experience, however...........

[SkylineView]

True statement... as is coming into Houston from the East.

[feufoma]

True statement... as is coming into Houston from the East.

The birthplace of Texas and arguably the most economically important. All that so called ugly is critical to everyone in the state (or country).

[SkylineView]

I'm not saying I don't love it, I'm just saying it's not an office park 40 miles out.  It has a very Ayn Rand feel to it... 

[fatesdisastr]

I'm not saying I don't love it, I'm just saying it's not an office park 40 miles out.  It has a very Ayn Rand feel to it... 

 

Had to give you a like and give you props for mentioning Ayn Rand.

[SpringTX]

First of all, I agree that the The Woodlands will not see a "death spiral" within most of our lifetimes.  And it's not because Exxon just moved 10,000 jobs to the area.  And it has nothing to do with location near the airport.  And it has nothing to do with The Woodlands Development Corporation and what they may have done right or wrong.  And it has nothing to do with housing values or household incomes.

 

It has everything to do with all those f*cking trees we have here.  Those trees!  There has to be a 100-to-1 ratio of trees-to-people The Woodlands.  Even after living here 7 years, it's just so much more damned beautiful than everywhere else.  I've been looking for 7 years for the next place I might someday move to.  I've looked all over the country.  And I can't find anything that looks prettier.

 

In the last few years, all the rage in architecture and interior design seems to be greenery.  I see green roofs, green walls, skyscrapers with greenery growing all over them, moss-covered bathroom mats, you-name-it.  But The Woodlands has been there for nearly 50 years.  In a zoning-less city like Houston where billboards line early every foot of I-45 and strip malls have eradicated nearly every last tree on FM-1960, The Woodlands stands out.  It's a fairy tale land.  It's a bubble.  It's a Disney World.  Even after all these years.  I'd love to hate it.  But I can't.  It's like trying to hate New York's Central Park.  You can't do it.  It connects with us on a primal level.

 

Looking at the new Anadarko Tower, I'm underwhelmed.  No green stuff growing on the exterior?  No balconies with covered with trees like the Bosco Verticale in Italy or the Flower Tower in France?  Do we live in a damned backwater?  We're the 4th largest city in the richest country on earth!  Why the heck aren't we blazing the trail in these new green buildings?  Why are we looking at cheap glass boxes going up around town that look like they could have been built in 1980?  And why in The Woodlands of all places?

 

And just when will more communities follow The Woodlands lead?  Never?  There will never be any more communities planned like The Woodlands?  We can't preserve a natural greenbelt along our roads?  We can't force home builders to keep trees before they lay foundations?  We can't have parking lots with protected strips of trees?  Why is The Woodlands the only place in America that seems to have its head screwed on properly?  After 50 years no less?  In the midst of a vibrant ecological revolution going on worldwide?

 

P.S. And how the heck has HAIF survived all these years?  I thought Facebook killed all sites like this.  And sorry I haven't dropped in lately.  I guess it has been about 5 years since I posted last.

[bachanon]

 

 

anadarko I & II

[wxman]

Can somebody update this with pics? This is my very favorite project right now because it hits close to home. Unfortunately, I'm living in Florida or else I'd do it myself. Thanks in advance!

[lockmat]

It's looking pretty good. It might be up to almost 20 stories now with glass on a good part of it

[bachanon]

 

i was taking a picture of the sears demo (yay nordie's).  anadarko I & II are in the background.  this was taken earlier this week.

[wxman]

Holy crap! I had no idea they were tearing down Sears!!!! I thought they were just renovating it. Wow, big news!! Thanks for doing that, man!

Edited March 23, 2013 by wxman

[bachanon]

i'm imagining a twenty story tower to the right of anadarko II (10 waterway) and a 40ish story tower (rumored to be on the east super block) in between anadarko I & II from this perspective.  not to get off topic, but with that view i thought it worth mentioning.

[wxman]

It's the Fort Worth of Houston---or looks like it anyway.

[bachanon]

It's the Fort Worth of Houston---or looks like it anyway.

 

after a quick check: ft. worth's CBD contains 9.9 million square feet of office space; the woodlands development contains 7.9 million square feet of office space.  although not an apples to apples comparison, the whole of the woodlands' office space will come close to the size of downtown ft. worth in the near future.

[Trae]

It's the Fort Worth of Houston---or looks like it anyway.

Nah, that would be Galveston. The Woodlands is more like Plano or Irving.

[Pleak]

Nah, that would be Galveston. The Woodlands is more like Plano or Irving.

 

Plano & Irving are both 2-3 times as big as the Woodlands.

 

Actually per Wikipedia,  The Woodlands is right behind San Angelo.

 

 

 

So that could be their slogan.   "We're the San Angelo of Houston!"

[bachanon]

yep.  plano is huge.  almost 300,000 people.  i found a 150,000,000 office building with hotel about to be built......way out of the woodlands' league (for now )

 

there are two other locations near anadarko on the south side of the waterway that do not appear to be owned by the woodlands development company.  office building are planned to go their, but i do not know who owns them.  it would not be a surprise to find that anadarko does.

[Fortune]

yep.  plano is huge.  almost 300,000 people.  i found a 150,000,000 office building with hotel about to be built......way out of the woodlands' league (for now )

 

there are two other locations near anadarko on the south side of the waterway that do not appear to be owned by the woodlands development company.  office building are planned to go their, but i do not know who owns them.  it would not be a surprise to find that anadarko does.

 

A 150,000,000 dollar office/hotel project for Plano?

[bachanon]

A 150,000,000 dollar office/hotel project for Plano?

 

http://www.graniteprop.com/wp-content/themes/granite/images/property/pdf_files/news/DBJ%2012_4_12.PDF

[Fortune]

http://www.graniteprop.com/wp-content/themes/granite/images/property/pdf_files/news/DBJ%2012_4_12.PDF

Thanks

[wxman]

Would somebody be kind enough to snap a few photos of the progress on this as well as the Waterway building across the street.....and if there's time, the Nordstroms location at the mall? I'm sad that nobody cares about a 32-story building going up in The Woodlands

[boounce]

I care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wxman]

Boounce, I'd say you do! Thanks a trillion! It's looking GOOD! Looks like anothe 10 floors or so to go.

[drecey]

WOW!!!! I love those last two pictures! Where is the location of that courtyard looking area in the last photo?

[bachanon]

Excellent pictures!!!  I hate to follow those, but I snapped a couple for wxman today too.

 

 

 

 

 

......the last one is from the new nordstrom's construction site.  you can see a remaining wall from sears on the lower left.

[wxman]

Bachanon! Thanks so much! Anadarko's building is more ''ho hum'' than I thought it would be. I guess I expected it to be ''broad shouldered'' like the first tower. This one looks frumpy compared to the first tower. Thoughts?

[bachanon]

Bachanon! Thanks so much! Anadarko's building is more ''ho hum'' than I thought it would be. I guess I expected it to be ''broad shouldered'' like the first tower. This one looks frumpy compared to the first tower. Thoughts?

 

i think the finished product will be attractive, at least on the waterway side.  it has a notch towards the top that we do not see in the construction yet.  it does look thinner than some of the renderings appear, but i think that makes it look sleek.  the woodlands needs a tall tower closer to lake woodlands as a bookend to the forming downtown area.  of course, nothing 30 stories or so are planned, that we know of, on that side of town center.

 

i heard that a second type of water taxis are in the works to connect hughes landing on the north end of the lake with the waterway.  because the waterway with the current water taxis is at a higher level, the new "thing" will have to be completely separate from the existing waterway taxis.  hughes landing is about to break ground on tower number two.  kona grill is going in on the first floor of 4 waterway square, right across the street from anadarko II.  

 

the hotel at waterway square is supposed to break ground this year and as soon as a tenant is signed for 10 waterway ave, that's going up too.  there's so much going and many people are being "mum" on coming announcements.  i see a lot of zipped lips and half smiles lately when new things "that aren't ready for publc consumption" are mentioned.

 

i hope that the developers do not get over-confident and continue to use restraint as the woodlands has managed to do in the past.  i digress.......anadarko II, i think, will be a better finished product than it appears at this time.

[boounce]

Thanks for the kind comments all. 

 

wxman-- When I saw your post, it gave me an excuse to get out of the house make a wine run.

 

I shot all those photos in about 20 minutes.  From Research Forest, I went South and took a couple shots from the car.  Next, I U-turned at Rayford and went North over the Woodlands Parkway overpass (don't try this at home kids).  Next, I took a right on Woodloch forest and got out of my car on Waterway square to get the fourth shot.  This is my favorite.  It's hard to believe this is The Woodlands.  Got back in my car, parked in the Hubble and Hudson parking garage, got out, and walked to Crush wine bar.  The last shot was from their rooftop patio.

 

What's not so obvious, is the energy around Waterway.  The entire area is alive with people of all ages and different cultures.  The square had an outdoor band.  It feels like a mix of San Francisco and Barcelona.  I love The Woodlands.

 

 

 

[TowerSpotter]

Can't wait to see this building done.

[pablog]

From today! 5/12/13

Edited May 12, 2013 by pablog

[lockmat]

From today

Edited May 13, 2013 by lockmat

[bachanon]

[mfastx]

Almost looks like the medical center, lol. 

[TowerSpotter]

^^^ So true

[Urbannizer]

5/24 by JohnMe

 

 

 

[lockmat]

nice pics. Here are some renderings never seen on HAIF 

 

http://www.harvey-cleary.com/projects/office-buildings/?alttemplate=project&pid=4649#!prettyPhoto

[Triton]

My friend's father actually works for KinderMorgan and the clients he works with are from Anadarko. He told me that the multi-level glass section that is between the two towers and on top of the parking garage is actually a gigantic gym for the employees. Everything from basketball to tennis... Not 100% but I believe he said there is even a large pool in there. You can see the section clearly in the renderings provided by lockmat.

[Urbannizer]

The tower has now topped out. Video of the building by abc13:

Link: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/html5/video?id=9146304&pid=null&section=null

[Urbannizer]

6/20 by HBJ:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2013/06/anadarko-tops-out-second-woodlands.html

[wxman]

I'm not sure why this building is referred to as the tallest of the two. It is clear driving up 45 this afternoon that Allison Tower (Tower 1) stands taller than Hackett Tower (new Tower 2). I mean it's not even close. If it's now officially topped out, then Hackett Tower is a solid second place. Anybody else agree?

[boounce]

I'm not sure why this building is referred to as the tallest of the two. It is clear driving up 45 this afternoon that Allison Tower (Tower 1) stands taller than Hackett Tower (new Tower 2). I mean it's not even close. If it's now officially topped out, then Hackett Tower is a solid second place. Anybody else agree?

 

It does appear that way. I thought it was just me.

[bachanon]

the first tower is supposed to be 30 and the second 31; however, the second tower is built over a garage.  the garage levels must be shorter than a normal floor maybe?

[Specwriter]

the first tower is supposed to be 30 and the second 31; however, the second tower is built over a garage.  the garage levels must be shorter than a normal floor maybe?

Almost definitely the garage levels have less floor-to-floor height than a normal high-rise building. Also, the ground floor of the building without the garage may be "taller" than the floors above. Imagine "grand" lobbies with 20 foot ceilings.

It is practically a standard in this area for office buildings with 9-foot ceiling heights on the upper floors to have about a 13-1/2 foot floor-to-floor height to allow for structural beams and electrical and mechanical equipment above the ceiling. There is a lot stuff above the ceiling in a modern office building: air ducts, electrical conduit, plumbing both for domestic water and sprinkler systems as well as duct dampers, reheating coils, and wiring for data etc.

[wxman]

Got to chatting with a lady tonight at the bowling alley who works for Anadarko. We were chatting about the new tower and what not and how the Anadarko corp. just dominates the Woodlands skyline. She mentioned that the talk of a 3rd highrise across from Lake Robbins is in serious discussion. She didn't have specifics but she said to be looking for it in the next few years. Interesting eh?