East River: Mixed-Use Development By Midway

[Luminare]

3 hours ago, Texasota said:

It looks like a student rendering to impart a general design and color scheme.

1. If this is what students can do these days then thats significant progress from when I was in school haha

2. We all have our sense of aesthetics, you have yours and I have mine. To me its just fine. I'm not a fan of realistic architectural renders, nor do they wow me since most people have the capability to produce these. The quality looks good to me. I think someone up'ed the bloom a bit to much. Just a tad washed out, but it seems to me they want to impart an idea that this is nice bright open space.

3. General design is fine. Its industrial chic and that is very in line with Method Architectures thing. It seems to be good approach for them. Is it my thing? .. Seen way to much now. Not that I don't like it. Just seen to much at this point.

4. Color scheme is definitely...eclectic. Its the kind of eclectic that seems to have a purpose though. I personally think this variety of color is a tad distracting for an office environment. This scheme for a candy store? Yes. This scheme for an arch firm? Not my cup of tea. It is fun looking though. Guess thats the vibe they want.

If this were me right now grading this at a criq. for final review, I would say there is nothing "wrong" with any of this, but its definitely not something I would immediately appreciate. This is simply a very specific and particular approach they want to go which I both admire, but it means it narrows the scope/amount of people whom could appreciate it.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Luminare

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[hindesky]

Proposed plat passed.

 

[BEES?!]

I like the design of the bridges- they look very cool

[quietstorm]

From their Instagram stories. 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by quietstorm

[hindesky]

[IntheKnowHouston]

Progress of El Condor's buildout at East River. The coffee shop and cafe posted the photo  around mid-July to Instagram.


El Condor Houston at East River as of 7.19.22

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgR2DVkuJk3/




 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

dji_fly_20220823_124236_181_1661276635189_photo_optimized by David, on Flickr

dji_fly_20220823_124218_180_1661276633472_photo_optimized by David, on Flickr

dji_fly_20220823_124056_175_1661276627672_photo_optimized by David, on Flickr

dji_fly_20220823_123956_173_1661276625071_photo_optimized by David, on Flickr

dji_fly_20220823_123756_165_1661276618406_photo_optimized by David, on Flickr

[hindesky]

Architect - http://lh2architecture.com

https://www.astorianevents.com

Building on the success of their original Heights-area, Grand Central-inspired venue, the owners of The Astorian will debut a new 20,000 square-foot private event space and rooftop bar in Trail Head 1 (Building F). Located on the south side of East River Phase One overlooking Buffalo Bayou, the event space will include a spacious ballroom, bride and groom suites, and an outdoor wraparound deck with panoramic views of downtown Houston, allowing patrons to seamlessly flow between inside and outside settings. The venue design draws inspiration from its Buffalo Bayou location and natural surroundings, and will incorporate features such as smart technology, configurable spaces and a partially covered patio to accommodate a variety of events including weddings, receptions, corporate meetings, social gatherings and proprietary programming. The rooftop bar will be open to the public and also be available for private parties.

https://eastendhouston.com/midway-breaks-ground-on-east-river-announcing-first-tenants-in-phase-one-of-the-150-acre-mixed-use-development/

 

[hindesky]

 

[cityliving]

[cspwal]

The scale of it…

 

I wonder if metro will actually improve frequency on the buses that go next it. A train is too much to hope for 

[hindesky]

Two new proposed plats.

[freundb]

5 hours ago, cspwal said:

The scale of it…

 

And its only half of phase 1. This area is gonna be crazy cool if they can keep the momentum.

[texan]

8 hours ago, cityliving said:

I guess I've never realized just how close Forth, the Mill, and East River are to one another (I don't spend a lot of time in EaDo/the East End). Hopefully East River catalyzes more dense developments (and taller ones in the future) similar to how the Domain in Austin has catalyzed dense ancillary developments around it.

[004n063]

5 hours ago, texan said:

I guess I've never realized just how close Forth, the Mill, and East River are to one another (I don't spend a lot of time in EaDo/the East End). Hopefully East River catalyzes more dense developments (and taller ones in the future) similar to how the Domain in Austin has catalyzed dense ancillary developments around it.

I also hope it catalyzes the construction of a pedestrian bridge there (or reconstruction of the Jensen bridge to better accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists).

[wilcal]

On 9/2/2022 at 3:04 PM, hindesky said:

 

This is a great pic to show the location of two projects across the bayou.

The red parcel is 800 Middle Street, an affordable housing project which Hindesky has a few other photos of: 

 

The blue parcel is city owned and they were doing an RFP for the development which included this proposal: 

 

 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[samagon]

the reflection off the exquisitely brown water gives one the sense they can smell the stagnation in the water.

:D 

can't wait to experience it while enjoying a drink on their patio area.

[cityliving]

Edited September 14, 2022 by cityliving

[jmitch94]

The amount of empty land out side of this gargantuan development is pretty amazing, so much potential. I really hope it is used well in the future. 

[samagon]

28 minutes ago, jmitch94 said:

The amount of empty land out side of this gargantuan development is pretty amazing, so much potential. I really hope it is used well in the future. 

the way they are building, they are going to use every inch of it. I was shocked the first time I drove down Jensen when construction was underway how close they are starting this phase to the road.

and then you turn on Clinton and it feels like forever before you get to the end of the property. the scope of this thing is really immense, and there is so much potential to completely transform so much in the area.

[scarface]

Whats the plan for the willy Wonka chocolate river? I don't see the ugly brown bayou being in any postcards or views that aren't strictly photoshopped.

[BEES?!]

The bayou looks a lot different during the months when there’s less (rainfall) runoff flowing into it. It was actually quite pretty this year because of the drought. Nothing really can be done about the color- our soil type and composition don’t lend us to having clear water, unlike Central Texas for example 🙃 

[scarface]

45 minutes ago, BEES?! said:

The bayou looks a lot different during the months when there’s less (rainfall) runoff flowing into it. It was actually quite pretty this year because of the drought. Nothing really can be done about the color- our soil type and composition don’t lend us to having clear water, unlike Central Texas for example 🙃 

Lucky us. 😆 

[hindesky]

Put some blue dye upstream like Chicago does for the Cubs. Or better yet make it the Astros rainbow colors.

[JBTX]

5 hours ago, BEES?! said:

The bayou looks a lot different during the months when there’s less (rainfall) runoff flowing into it. It was actually quite pretty this year because of the drought. 

Can confirm. I often walk the east end bayou trail out towards Lockwood and the water color had been so nice. It's always great to walk along the bayou and watch the herons hunting.

[004n063]

5 hours ago, BEES?! said:

The bayou looks a lot different during the months when there’s less (rainfall) runoff flowing into it. It was actually quite pretty this year because of the drought. Nothing really can be done about the color- our soil type and composition don’t lend us to having clear water, unlike Central Texas for example 🙃 

I am confused by this because the east end of Brays, while not exactly clear, always looks a lot nicer than any part of Buffalo or White Oak, from what I can tell. Is it really just soil?

[cityliving]

20 hours ago, cityliving said:

WOW 😯 great views!👍

Edited September 15, 2022 by cityliving

[BEES?!]

13 hours ago, 004n063 said:

I am confused by this because the east end of Brays, while not exactly clear, always looks a lot nicer than any part of Buffalo or White Oak, from what I can tell. Is it really just soil?

Hmm, good question. I’m not really sure why that might be. Maybe Brays just doesn’t get as much silt for one reason or another? 

[hindesky]

Just now, BEES?! said:

Hmm, good question. I’m not really sure why that might be. Maybe Brays just doesn’t get as much silt for one reason or another? 

Long sections of Braes Bayou is lined in concrete whereas Buffalo Bayou isn't. Plus two large earthen dams feed Buffalo.

[jmitch94]

23 hours ago, samagon said:

the way they are building, they are going to use every inch of it. I was shocked the first time I drove down Jensen when construction was underway how close they are starting this phase to the road.

and then you turn on Clinton and it feels like forever before you get to the end of the property. the scope of this thing is really immense, and there is so much potential to completely transform so much in the area.

I’m talking about the adjacent properties not the land in this development. 
 

Apparently Buffalo bayou used to be clearer but having millions o people live in its watershed kind of messed that up. 

[Amlaham]

This is only for perspective. Also, I experienced each of these cities and my perspective is similar to these images

San Antonio 

 

Philadelphia (recently named top 10 river walks in the country)

 

NYC

 

London

 

Amsterdam

 

The point of my post isn't to bash any of these beautiful cities. My point is that, the color of the bayou literally does not matter. People don't avoid boardwalks/ river walks just because of the water color, its all about the atmosphere. We have such a negative attitude towards our bayous with things we legit cannot change. Instead we should be focusing on making it more interactive instead of focusing on something that does not matter and will not change. I believe developments like this have done a great job being denser and closer to the bayou. Other excuses that legit don't matter 

• "but flooding," Amsterdam has had a history with flooding for hundreds of years, but they practically fixed this issue with proper flood control.
• "but mosquitoes," the San Antonio river walk has bad mosquitos... Also, there is an area in Milan called Navigli, which is basically a canal with hundreds of restaurants and cafes, its extremely crowded with people....and guess what, the mosquito problem there is soo bad. Its actually so bad that there are vendors that sell mosquito spray throughout the strip, some restaurants even had it for their costumers, but that didn't stop anyone :)

We can only blame poor city planning 

[phillip_white]

1 hour ago, Amlaham said:

The point of my post isn't to bash any of these beautiful cities. My point is that, the color of the bayou literally does not matter. People don't avoid boardwalks/ river walks just because of the water color, its all about the atmosphere. We have such a negative attitude towards our bayous with things we legit cannot change. Instead we should be focusing on making it more interactive instead of focusing on something that does not matter and will not change. I believe developments like this have done a great job being denser and closer to the bayou. Other excuses that legit don't matter 

• "but flooding," Amsterdam has had a history with flooding for hundreds of years, but they practically fixed this issue with proper flood control.
• "but mosquitoes," the San Antonio river walk has bad mosquitos... Also, there is an area in Milan called Navigli, which is basically a canal with hundreds of restaurants and cafes, its extremely crowded with people....and guess what, the mosquito problem there is soo bad. Its actually so bad that there are vendors that sell mosquito spray throughout the strip, some restaurants even had it for their costumers, but that didn't stop anyone :)

We can only blame poor city planning 

I noticed that none of those cities have alligators... 🤫

[hindesky]

1 hour ago, phillip_white said:

I noticed that none of those cities have alligators... 🤫

With global warming they will be getting them soon.

[BEES?!]

9 minutes ago, hindesky said:

With global warming they will be getting them soon.

There is a seriously untapped market here, and we could be on the cutting-edge of this one. Hear me out: Sled Gators.

Take a boat, hook up twelve or so gators to it, and let them pull your boat down the bayou, Iditarod-style. I don’t know how you’d keep them moving. Maybe put a lure with a chicken on it in the very front. 

This could be a fun, unique tourist draw. People always complain we aren’t a tourist city, and I think this would be a great start to get something going. We’d be utilizing our under-utilized bayous AND show off our local wildlife. Win-wins all around.

[hindesky]

[bobruss]

Ive lived here for 70 years, and if anything it might be a little cleaner due to efforts of many to try and make it less polluted. It's always been a brownish color during part of the year and at other times it clears a little. No amount of dyes is going to make it bluer. As far as Brays being clearer. Flushing through ten or so miles of concrete instead of dirt will do that. It is what it is and will always be. Just be happy that we have a bayou that flows to the gulf. At some point even Austin will be faced with an empty or low  lake downtown if the droughts continue. The Rio Grande has been dry in Big Bend this summer at times. Many central Texas streams and rivers have stopped running at times this year. There are bigger fish to fry.

[urbanize713]

On 9/8/2022 at 3:21 PM, hindesky said:

I am dreaming but what are the chances of a signature bridge on Jensen over the bayou? New wider suspension bridge opening space underneath and adding bike lanes/wide sidewalks?

”The East River Bridge”

[004n063]

11 hours ago, urbanize713 said:

I am dreaming but what are the chances of a signature bridge on Jensen over the bayou? New wider suspension bridge opening space underneath and adding bike lanes/wide sidewalks?

”The East River Bridge”

It'd still be worth adding an additional ped/bike bridge halfway between Jensen and Hirsch. Maybe from the Middle St. development.

I'd be willing to personally pay dozens of dollars toward that.

[cityliving]

[Ctaf]

The empty land between the Laura and all those townhomes (looks like a beddown location?), is that land part of a different phase?

Edited September 18, 2022 by Ctaf

[cityliving]

5 hours ago, Ctaf said:

The empty land between the Laura and all those townhomes (looks like a beddown location?), is that land part of a different phase?

What is the “Laura”?

[Fortune]

4 hours ago, cityliving said:

What is the “Laura”?

The apartments being built at East River right off of Jensen.