East River: Mixed-Use Development By Midway

[Mr.Clean19]

Its not a matter of common sense... Its a matter of political environment. This is a multi-billion dollar development in 5th Ward... That is going to require some amount of political capital to pull off and the only way you will do that is with some % of work force housing. 

[htownbro]

55 minutes ago, Mr.Clean19 said:

Its not a matter of common sense... Its a matter of political environment. This is a multi-billion dollar development in 5th Ward... That is going to require some amount of political capital to pull off and the only way you will do that is with some % of work force housing. 

Yes, as this location is considered an opportunity zone by the govt.

[Montrose1100]

I really think they need to make Hirsch/Waco an underpass at the railroad. I know Gregg & Jensen are a work around. The trains have to slow down significantly for that right turn when the tracks turn North. Unless the city redoes Jensen and Gregg, Waco is the only road leading to this from I-10 & the east end that’s not suspension damaging. 

[Urbannizer]

[Naviguessor]

Urb...where'd you find that? 

[htownbro]

Houston has so many pockets of entertainment with more coming.  Now if they can get some mixed used development near NRG...sorry about going off topic. 😁

[Texasota]

Talk to the Rodeo about doing something with that endless sea of surface parking.

[cspwal]

That's a really good rendering

[Brandon55]

The thing that intrigues me is the potential it could open down the line... what if one day we had boat that's  ran from DT to this project.. and back 

[Texasota]

I wonder if a ferry between downtown and Galveston would work...

[Eric.kelly]

This isn’t East River information but it is good for the area and close. Has anyone heard about this yet?

[Urbannizer]

1 hour ago, Eric.kelly said:

This isn’t East River information but it is good for the area and close. Has anyone heard about this yet?

 

 

Please see:

 

 

 

 

[Urbannizer]

https://realtynewsreport.com/2019/08/29/massive-east-river-development-8-9-million-sf-of-office-plus-residential-is-set-for-a-year-end-groundbreaking/

 

At a panel discussion Wednesday, Midway CEO Jonathan Brinsden said

East River is set to break ground by year-end.

 

By the numbers, East River will be ensconced on more than 150 acres, with more than a mile of waterfront on Buffalo Bayou and plans for 8.9 million SF of office space, 1,400 multi-family units, 390 hotel rooms, and 475 single-family residences. Brinsden provided a fresh update of the project Wednesday at an Greater Houston Partnership event at the historic DeLuxe Theater on Lyons Avenue.

 

East River will be the site of the new Houston Maritime Museum, still in fundraising mode, and will face Buffalo Bayou near East River’s entrance. “It’s only fitting that the Houston Maritime Museum be right on the bayou,” says Brinsden.

 

The north side of the East River project fronts Clinton Drive, once the home of Brown & Root, founded in 1919 and celebrated its 100thanniversary this year. The engineering and construction firm evolved from its blue-collar roots, building naval bases and Mansfield Dam off the Colorado River, with more than two million tons of concrete in 1936. After building much of the Johnson Space Center and NASA as well as many other government facilities, they merged with M.W. Kellogg in 1998, forming KBR.

 

Midway’s team is working closely with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the City of Houston and neighborhood partners like Kathy Flanagan-Payton, President and CEO of the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation and Ann Taylor, Midway’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, serves on the Fifth Ward CRC’s board. “It will take a massive infrastructure project to deliver an environment that is a truly first-class urban experiences,” says Brinsden. “To do this, we are re-stitching the urban grid – connecting main thoroughfares like Gregg, Bayou and Bringhurst. Hirsch Street follows the eastern border of the project, with Jensen Drive on the west.

[bobruss]

In many ways Midway is similar to Hanover in that they do their due diligence and move to action. This will not come to fruition over night but will grow organically over several years.

I am so pleased to know that they will be working with Buffalo Bayou Partnership to insure a healthy and viable greenbelt along the Bayou which will continue the growth of one of Houston's most visible and undeniably best assets. I look forward with anticipation to seeing this stretch of the bayou becoming an even more valuable asset to the community and give the east side of town  the impetus to become the next great hotbed of community activity, and dynamic and thoughtful growth.

[j_cuevas713]

PLAYING ZERO GAMES! 😀

[iah77]

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

In many ways Midway is similar to Hanover in that they do their due diligence and move to action. This will not come to fruition over night but will grow organically over several years.

I am so pleased to know that they will be working with Buffalo Bayou Partnership to insure a healthy and viable greenbelt along the Bayou which will continue the growth of one of Houston's most visible and undeniably best assets. I look forward with anticipation to seeing this stretch of the bayou becoming an even more valuable asset to the community and give the east side of town  the impetus to become the next great hotbed of community activity, and dynamic and thoughtful growth.

 

Working with? A better description would be that they knew about the Partnership's plans for the bayou before they were even released to the public over 5 years ago. To most this would be more akin to insider trading lol.  

[bobruss]

3 minutes ago, iah77 said:

 

Working with? A better description would be that they knew about the Partnership's plans for the bayou before they were even released to the public over 5 years ago. To most this would be more akin to insider trading lol.  

Sure they knew about it but they are willing to design with this in mind. Believe me there are many a developer in this city that still don't pay attention to their surroundings or even care about 

what effects their project will have on the environment or public realm unfortunately.

[Luminare]

16 minutes ago, iah77 said:

 

Working with? A better description would be that they knew about the Partnership's plans for the bayou before they were even released to the public over 5 years ago. To most this would be more akin to insider trading lol.  

 

No it isn't. This is clearly a collaboration. Insider Trading would be if multiple entities were planning on building on this KBR site (if it were split up into multiple parts and Midway only had one part), and Midway locked up an exclusive deal that would lock up the waterfront preventing others from doing so. This is not what is going on here. Midway is highly attuned to their surroundings with this project or they wouldn't have reached out to other entities and not just the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. You are literally trying to make up a conspiracy in your own mind.

 

9 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Sure they knew about it but they are willing to design with this in mind. Believe me there are many a developer in this city that still don't pay attention to their surroundings or even care about 

what effects their project will have on the environment or public realm unfortunately.

 

I agree with this 100%. Synergies is a bit cliche and has turned into a marketing buzzword at this point, but thats partly because its a truism. These big developments do work with and against one another, but the better synergies between them means a win-win for all parties involved. They would be idiots to not explore opportunities by touching base with these various entities. Its just smart business. Aside from it being a smart business tactic if we can get a better bayou environment and public realm then thats just the cherry on top.

Edited August 30, 2019 by Luminare

[TOMIKA!]

11 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

No it isn't. This is clearly a collaboration. Insider Trading would be if multiple entities were planning on building on this KBR site (if it were split up into multiple parts and Midway only had one part), and Midway locked up an exclusive deal that would lock up the waterfront preventing others from doing so. This is not what is going on here. Midway is highly attuned to their surroundings with this project or they wouldn't have reached out to other entities and not just the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. You are literally trying to make up a conspiracy in your own mind.

 

 

I agree with this 100%. Synergies is a bit cliche and has turned into a marketing buzzword at this point, but thats partly because its a truism. These big developments do work with and against one another, but the better synergies between them means a win-win for all parties involved. They would be idiots to not explore opportunities by touching base with these various entities. Its just smart business. Aside from it being a smart business tactic if we can get a better bayou environment and public realm then thats just the cherry on top.

Well, except for the fact that Midway’s CEO was chair of real estate at Buffalo Bayou Partnership until about 2 years ago...

[bobruss]

Buffalo Bayou Partnership wasn't the seller of this property. It's merely a steward for Buffalo Bayou.

Midway was smart enough to see the potential and willing to cooperate with B. B. P.,  knowing the importance  saving this strategic piece of property would be.  Thank goodness Midway's CEO had the interest in helping B. B. P. for years, being involved in whatever capacity he was. The fact is he understood the importance of this property for the city, the public, and the B. B. P. for access,  recreational use and natural beauty.  This was an opportunity to save and develop at the same time. And it will be a very successful development for Midway, as it should. I believe it was KBR who sold the property too Midway. I 'm pretty sure the bidding for this tract was open to the public and several different groups were speculated as winners during the process.

It  came down to Midway, and I'm glad it did, because their CEO through his time spent with the B.B.P. is going to insure that Midway helps the B.B.P. create the most beautiful scenic waterway for everyone with  more access for all to interact with and enjoy.

[iah77]

8 hours ago, bobruss said:

Buffalo Bayou Partnership wasn't the seller of this property. It's merely a steward for Buffalo Bayou.

Midway was smart enough to see the potential and willing to cooperate with B. B. P.,  knowing the importance  saving this strategic piece of property would be.  Thank goodness Midway's CEO had the interest in helping B. B. P. for years, being involved in whatever capacity he was. The fact is he understood the importance of this property for the city, the public, and the B. B. P. for access,  recreational use and natural beauty.  This was an opportunity to save and develop at the same time. And it will be a very successful development for Midway, as it should. I believe it was KBR who sold the property too Midway. I 'm pretty sure the bidding for this tract was open to the public and several different groups were speculated as winners during the process.

It  came down to Midway, and I'm glad it did, because their CEO through his time spent with the B.B.P. is going to insure that Midway helps the B.B.P. create the most beautiful scenic waterway for everyone with  more access for all to interact with and enjoy.

Anyone with a brain can understand the "importance" of building next to someone else's billion dollar tax funded beautification project having retrieved information to buy land below what it's market value would be had the public known lol. It's cool to like what they are doing but don't say that it was a totally transparent deal, they had access to not yet public information. 

[bobruss]

22 hours ago, iah77 said:

Anyone with a brain can understand the "importance" of building next to someone else's billion dollar tax funded beautification project having retrieved information to buy land below what it's market value would be had the public known lol. It's cool to like what they are doing but don't say that it was a totally transparent deal, they had access to not yet public information. 

Anyone with a brain that uses it for more than anger can dig a little and find that the report that I posted from the Buffalo Bayou Partnership that laid out their future plans was printed and offered to the public in 2002. So if anyone who was really interested in knowing what BBP planned could have done just as I did, years ago when I downloaded this document.

As for Midways CEO being a part of a civic minded non profit to help improve Houston and the public realm more power to him and I thank him for his time and efforts in helping BBP bring all of the wonderful projects that have been accomplished on the west side of downtown  to fruition. 

Edited September 1, 2019 by bobruss

[bobruss]

Heres a link to the report I posted earlier. 

http://jordanrivercommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/BBB_Summary.pdf

 

 

[I'm Not a Robot]

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

Heres a link to the report I posted earlier. 

http://jordanrivercommission.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/BBB_Summary.pdf

 

 

 

BBP's finalized plan for the East Sector is set to release in the next couple of months and took East River into major consideration as far as I have heard. 

[bobruss]

BBP is looking for as many opportunities to work with landowners  of industrial sites and old city of Houston sites to continue progress on it's eastern sections.

On this present document the East River is defined as a development called Richardson.

[iah77]

Just now, bobruss said:

BBP is looking for as many opportunities to work with landowners  of industrial sites and old city of Houston sites to continue progress on it's eastern sections.

On this present document the East River is defined as a development called Richardson.

That's absolutely not true because they don't seem to care about the thousands of low income families around the site who are going to be displaced by the incoming wave of gentrification. Do you really think people who live in the area now are going to go to the fancy cafes in the render or use "boat landings" lol? How about they figure out a a way to lock down property taxes to not displace families and industries already there?

 

HR&A out of NYC btw was working on these plans way before 2002 when they were released to the public. A lot of large plots magically traded hands around then. 

 

[Eric.kelly]

Displaced families? It’s not like someone is just taking people homes with no compensation. In this area a lot of homes are being lost due to non payment of taxes. At the current tax rates. 

[Naviguessor]

Iah77 - You have a general beef Something, that’s apparent. But your anger and frustration with BBP is way misplaced, buddy.  You are tying BBP and development/ redevelopment of the bayou into parkland and public spaces in with things it has absolutely nothing to do with (taxes, housing...).  Actually, had you attended many any of the multiple meeting which BBP has hosted in these poor area in the east end (2 ward, 5 ward...) you would actually learn that they are very concerned about the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods, and are incorporating plans based greatly on input for these communities.   What’s with these conspiracies? 

[samagon]

On 9/1/2019 at 1:36 PM, iah77 said:

That's absolutely not true because they don't seem to care about the thousands of low income families around the site who are going to be displaced by the incoming wave of gentrification. Do you really think people who live in the area now are going to go to the fancy cafes in the render or use "boat landings" lol? How about they figure out a a way to lock down property taxes to not displace families and industries already there?

 

HR&A out of NYC btw was working on these plans way before 2002 when they were released to the public. A lot of large plots magically traded hands around then. 

 

 

that land was going to be redeveloped irregardless of who bought it.

 

the bayou is going to be made into a park irregardless of who bought it.

 

these things would have happened on their own, without midway being involved.

 

You give Midway, and this development way too much credit, take a look around gentrification is happening, and has been happening for a while. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by samagon

[Nate99]

The perhaps apocryphal story in my family was that a cousin a few generations back had a choice as to where to build his home once he had some means and had considered what is now Southampton and River Oaks, but ultimately concluded that he would prefer living off Wayside.  Sometimes you get priced out of your lovely neighborhood, sometimes other people get priced in. You never know how that market is going to bounce.