East River: Mixed-Use Development By Midway

[hindesky]

[talltexan83]

Would this be the starting location for a pedestrian bridge?

[cspwal]

Possibly kayak launch?

[wilcal]

4 hours ago, talltexan83 said:

 

Would this be the starting location for a pedestrian bridge?

Based on the Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan, there does appear to be a pedestrian bridge across the bayou at this location:

The picture you posted is aligned with Gregg St. No idea if East River is planning on paying for the proposed bridge.

 

 

[HOUTEX]

On 4/25/2023 at 3:46 PM, wilcal said:

Based on the Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan, there does appear to be a pedestrian bridge across the bayou at this location:

The picture you posted is aligned with Gregg St. No idea if East River is planning on paying for the proposed bridge.

 

 

No...it's not. 

That's a drainage spillway in the photo. 

[wilcal]

On 4/27/2023 at 8:31 AM, HOUTEX said:

No...it's not. 

That's a drainage spillway in the photo. 

Well... that's awkward. You are totally right. I took one of Hindesky's other drone shots and marked where it will actually be:

The X is the approximate location of the drainage spillway and the red line is the alignment with Gregg, so it is quite a bit further down.

[cityliving]

[hindesky]

 

I'm not sure this is drainage because there is an underground culvert right next to it. Too scared to get any closer to those high voltage electrical wires. It's seems to be really steep, I wonder if they plan to add a metal staircase and a drop off dock near the water?

 

Edited May 1 by hindesky

[JBTX]

It is quite steep, and as you pointed out there is an underground culvert next to it, plus a manhole cover at the top, so I'm guessing drainage is through the culvert.

We should ask whoever left the bucket there.

[samagon]

perhaps it's the beginning of a ramp for people who wish to try their hand at Evil Kineviling their way over the bayou?

[hindesky]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/52mn4vpud8lg0kn/Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan.pdf?dl=0

The bike trail bridge crossing location taken from the Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan.

[hindesky]

[brijonmang]

 

[wilcal]

On 5/1/2023 at 8:09 PM, JBTX said:

It is quite steep, and as you pointed out there is an underground culvert next to it, plus a manhole cover at the top, so I'm guessing drainage is through the culvert.

We should ask whoever left the bucket there.

 

I seem to remember talk of a ferry to shuttle people to downtown, but that looks way too steep to comfortably walk down.

[hindesky]

Proposed plat general plan.

[hindesky]

[JBTX]

4 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Due to overwhelming interest in this paved feature, I suggest a naming contest.

I'll start: Ditchy McDitchWitch

[BEES?!]

The Slide

[IntheKnowHouston]

On 4/15/2022 at 7:27 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

It's possible an all day cafe and coffee shop from New York City may lease (or has leased) a space at mixed-use development East River (100 Jensen Dr).

El Condor filed an entity last month hinting a Houston location may be on the way. In February, Eater New York reported the shop's owners  had their eye on Houston for future outposts. The following month, Daily Coffee News reported El Condor signed a lease for its forthcoming Houston shop.

El Condor opened its first cafe in New York's West Village earlier this year.

As for its Houston branch, El Condor could open at East River by the spring or summer of 2023, according to Daily Coffee News.

Additionally, Daily Coffee News reports: "Each of the El Condor locations will maintain the Palm Springs mid-century vibe with open kitchens and indoor/outdoor seating where possible, though each will be uniquely adapted to its locality."

 

https://elcondor.coffee

https://instagram.com/elcondorcoffee

https://ny.eater.com/2022/2/17/22935947/el-condor-coffee-west-village-opening-menu-nyc

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2022/03/15/el-condor-coffee-swoops-into-new-york-nashville-and-houston-next

 

So far, confirmed retail and other businesses slated for East River are:

• Broham (boutique grocer from Johny Rhodes)

• Lick Honest Ice Creams

• Urbn Dental

• The Astorian (event venue, may open under another name)

• East River 9 (golf course & driving range)

• Riverhouse (restaurant anchoring East River 9)

 

Speculative tenants for East River were briefly published last year in materials from Midway. A screenshot of those possible tenants are located in the posts below:

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/27030-east-river-kbr-site-purchased-by-midway/?do=findComment&comment=631300 

 

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/27030-east-river-kbr-site-purchased-by-midway/?do=findComment&comment=643089

 

On 6/17/2022 at 5:56 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

Midway formally announced El Condor and Tomi as recent tenants for the East River mixed use development.

As noted in the quoted posts above from April, El Condor and Tomi leased units at East River earlier this year.

 

Realty News Report has more about their locations in the development and estimated opening provided to them through a press release:

 

El Condor

"El Condor Coffee Roasters will open its first location in Texas and second in the country in the base of East River 1 (Building C), with convenient access to the office building’s lobby. The 1,500 square-foot space will feature an open-format layout, as well as an outdoor patio."

 

Tomi

"Tomi, a collection of jewelry designed in Houston and made in the USA and Italy, will debut its first brick-and-mortar store on the ground floor of The Laura apartment building."

 

https://realtynewsreport.com/east-river-signs-retailers-to-redevelopment

I don't think El Condor is moving forward at East River. The coffee shop and cafe recently announced the impending closure of its NYC location.

In the announcement shared on Instagram last week, there's also this:


...although we have been doing better (thanks to your loyalty!), this little cafe of ours is a fragile operation without a larger footprint. And as you know, we were working on additional locations around the country, but unfortunately not able to secure the necessary capital quickly enough to make these projects a reality. So we made the difficult decision to call it quits for now, and find ways (and funds!) to bounce back even stronger soon.

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

[wilcal]

FYI: the revised general plan is just shifting an alignment of one of the streets on the east side by about 10' or so, so very minor change. 

[hindesky]

 

 

[hindesky]

[JBTX]

39 minutes ago, hindesky said:

 

Now that is the boat launch (based on what the one right next to Guadalupe Park looks like).

[hindesky]

[cityliving]

[hindesky]

[j_cuevas713]

This gives me vibes of what Regent Square could have been. I love this development and I can’t wait for Phase 2

[hindesky]

They recently had a meeting with the neighborhood to see the progress of the CBA (Community Benefits Agreement). Here is the PDF for it and I grabbed a few screen shots of it.

https://global-uploads.webflow.com/60fabed9899a525885269ae4/649edd869e38541702249693_230623 ER Community Stakeholders Meeting Pres - small.pdf

[004n063]

3 hours ago, hindesky said:

They recently had a meeting with the neighborhood to see the progress of the CBA (Community Benefits Agreement). Here is the PDF for it and I grabbed a few screen shots of it.

https://global-uploads.webflow.com/60fabed9899a525885269ae4/649edd869e38541702249693_230623 ER Community Stakeholders Meeting Pres - small.pdf

Anybody know why the bottom image there has a building in the northeast corner (sort of a mirror to the Laura), but then this site plan has nothing there?

 

[Texasota]

This is a phased development; Laura's mirror is planned but they're leasing the first group of buildings first.

[Valhalla]

I see they're planning to dye the water blue! That's an awesome addition!

In all seriousness, why can't we change the color of the water? If chicago can dye their river green for saint patties why cant we dye ours blue?

[Texasota]

Do you actually like the color of dyed water?

I don't. I'd much rather have the bayou be its actual color than an unnatural-looking blue. 

[Valhalla]

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

Do you actually like the color of dyed water?

I don't. I'd much rather have the bayou be its actual color than an unnatural-looking blue. 

Easy on the copium hits dude. 

The water looks objectively disgusting, like toilet water after a late night taco bell run disgusting. Every time I take someone to the bayou downtown they comment on the color of the water.

I grew up in San Antonio and no one would ever go to the river walk if it was this color. There's no reason the bayou can't copy the success of the river walk, but the color of the water is a major factor holding it back. 

I'm not sure if permanently dying the water is even possible. If it is, however, that's clearly the way to go. 

 

Edited July 1 by Valhalla

[Texasota]

People can disagree with you dude. We have our own thoughts and opinions. 

I grew up with this bayou and prefer a natural color to a dye job.

[Amlaham]

On 9/15/2022 at 1:38 PM, Amlaham said:

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 

 

28 minutes ago, Valhalla said:

Easy on the copium hits dude. 

The water looks objectively disgusting, like toilet water after a late night taco bell run disgusting. Every time I take someone to the bayou downtown they comment on the color of the water.

I grew up in San Antonio and no one would ever go to the river walk if it was this color. There's no reason the bayou can't copy the success of the river walk, but the color of the water is a major factor holding it back. 

I'm not sure if permanently dying the water is even possible. If it is, however, that's clearly the way to go. 

 

Ah yes, the tropical blue waters of the San Antonio river 😂

Dude, seriously the water color is very common in big cities around the world (as shown in my above post). I always find it funny when people think the color of the bayou is absurd. It's like an instant tell that that person hasn't traveled much. 

[79ta]

This isn't the first time someone's asked about the bayou color, it's not even first in this thread. 

Spoiler

 

Does the River Walk have clear pristine water? Not usually. The River Walk is drained and cleaned bi-annually. For Houston to have something like SA's River Walk we'd need to dig a new channel that offshoots from the Bayou. There it could be funneled, filtered, and dyed. Then it could flow back to the Bayou and out to the Gulf.

Spoiler

Edited July 1 by 79ta

[hindesky]

[IntheKnowHouston]

On 2/1/2021 at 8:48 AM, ljchou said:

Text:

"White-boxed spaces are designed to lower the barrier to entry for these local makers.

The cost and complexity of managing a full-scale build-out if often why young brands avoid brick and mortar expansion.

The names on the merchandising plan are purely representation of categories and uses. There are multiple brands that could successfully serve our coffee, juice, or yoga needs but the key is the placement of each within the project.

Our immediate focus is on the larger users in office and retail building along Buffalo Bayou, as they will be early adapters and set the tone for the project considering the buildings adjacent to both the Central Plaza and Bayou connections.

Current Tenant Mix:

2k SF restaurant by Fifth Ward resident and Multi-nominee of the James Beard Award
4k SF cultural grocer/market
2k SF East End Barbershop
2.5k SF market of locally sources products from Fifth Ward retailers
10k SF Architectural Firm
20k SF multi-strategy holding company
5k SF ral estate development company
15k SF chain rooftop event space and cocktail lounge
3k SF bank
Preliminary negotiations are underway with tenants and build-to-suit opportunities.

Current On-Site Activations:

Moonstruck Drive-In Theater at East River specialized in first-run films and classics playing every Fri-Sun. In January on 2021, the drive-in will be a satellite location for the Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, the drive-in acts as the venue for monthly private events for non-profits, corporate and community functions.

East River Gold, a planned par-3 golf course with driving range and ice-house restaurant concept will be the eastern end of the property. Construction to begin 2021.

Plans are underway to bring a black-owned and operated urban farm to East River, offering access to fresh produce and community programming.

 

On 8/27/2021 at 11:24 AM, samagon said:

Quote

Finally, the owners of The Astorian event venue near Sawyer Yards will open a new 20,000-square-foot private event space and rooftop bar in Trail Head 1 (Building F). The yet-to-be-named event space will include a ballroom, bride and groom suites, and an outdoor wraparound deck with panoramic views of downtown Houston and Buffalo Bayou.


https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2021/08/26/midway-east-river-breaks-ground-new-tenants.html

 

On 8/29/2022 at 1:18 PM, hindesky said:

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/

 

This isn't fresh news, but I haven't seen any posts about it in this topic: The name of the event venue under construction at East River is Le Tesserae. As previously mentioned, this is from the owners of The Astorian.

There are interior renderings of Le Tesserae on its website and social media. A rendering of the outdoor deck is also on both sites (it's the same rendering included in previous leasing materials). On Le Tesserae's Instagram are progress photos and videos.

Le Tesserae's address is 2990 Clinton Dr, Suite F-500.


https://letesseraeevents.com/

https://www.instagram.com/letesserae/

 

 

Lobby hall





Ballroom




Rooftop bar / Outdoor deck

Edited July 8 by IntheKnowHouston

[BEES?!]

Beautiful venue!

And at the end of the day re:bayou coloring, there’s really only so much that can be done, and frankly the awesome habitat it provides for all sorts of cool, diverse animals and plants is way more important to me IMO. I mean, you can see gators, huge gar, and alligator snapping turtles right next to downtown! How many cities get to say that? It’s not a place for humans to swim, but that’s okay, there’s many other ways to enjoy the bayou.

[Naviguessor]

Coloring the bayou would make us a punch line of every late night comic and a laughing stock for years to come.

[jmitch94]

On 7/8/2023 at 10:50 AM, BEES?! said:

Beautiful venue!

And at the end of the day re:bayou coloring, there’s really only so much that can be done, and frankly the awesome habitat it provides for all sorts of cool, diverse animals and plants is way more important to me IMO. I mean, you can see gators, huge gar, and alligator snapping turtles right next to downtown! How many cities get to say that? It’s not a place for humans to swim, but that’s okay, there’s many other ways to enjoy the bayou.

Before development the bayou was clearer, not crystal clear mind you. Human development is what has turned it an opaque brown. 

[samagon]

14 hours ago, jmitch94 said:

Before development the bayou was clearer, not crystal clear mind you. Human development is what has turned it an opaque brown. 

there is no way for you to prove that, and I would challenge anyone that told you that to provide some proof that doesn't include some oral historical passing down from generation to generation, and specifically doesn't include information that originated from people who would stand to profit from selling land on the bayou. 

the reality is, the water's color is very natural. vegetation, organic matter, runoff, fine silts that never settle on the bottom, these are the major things that make the bayou look like it does.

the only bayous that I've seen that look clear are the ones that are channelized and straightened into huge concrete drainage ditches, there's a long stretch of Brays bayou that you can see things in the water, but that's because it's been traveling through 30 miles of concrete channel. head on over to Scott Street and take a look, I suppose if we really wanted Buffalo bayou to look clear and 'pristine', we might want to call in the Army Corps of Engineers to come do a concrete lining on the bayou.

Edited July 10 by samagon

[emmanume]

1 hour ago, samagon said:

there is no way for you to prove that, and I would challenge anyone that told you that to provide some proof that doesn't include some oral historical passing down from generation to generation, and specifically doesn't include information that originated from people who would stand to profit from selling land on the bayou. 

the reality is, the water's color is very natural. vegetation, organic matter, runoff, fine silts that never settle on the bottom, these are the major things that make the bayou look like it does.

the only bayous that I've seen that look clear are the ones that are channelized and straightened into huge concrete drainage ditches, there's a long stretch of Brays bayou that you can see things in the water, but that's because it's been traveling through 30 miles of concrete channel. head on over to Scott Street and take a look, I suppose if we really wanted Buffalo bayou to look clear and 'pristine', we might want to call in the Army Corps of Engineers to come do a concrete lining on the bayou.

Sims bayou looks pretty nice 

[samagon]

4 hours ago, emmanume said:

Sims bayou looks pretty nice 

while Sims wasn't lined with concrete, it was straightened and channelized the same way as White Oak and Brays.

if you have google earth pro you can go to view and see the original channel of Sims which has been continuously straightened even as recently as the late 90s, and into the 2000s.

of all the bayous, Buffalo is probably the closest to the original configuration with sweeps and turns and no straight bits, except for the places where it had been straightened already.

[emmanume]

I went to the ribbon cutting of a trail near Glenbrook Park on Sims Bayou sometime last year. One of the local residents was complaining to the politicians. He was asking how come they don’t line up their bayous with concrete how they’ve done in the “rich parts of town”. Meanwhile, the Heights is working on removing the concrete from WOB https://www.hcfcd.org/Activity/Active-Projects/White-Oak-Bayou/Lower-White-Oak-Bayou-Channel-Restoration-Study

[jmitch94]

11 hours ago, samagon said:

there is no way for you to prove that, and I would challenge anyone that told you that to provide some proof that doesn't include some oral historical passing down from generation to generation, and specifically doesn't include information that originated from people who would stand to profit from selling land on the bayou. 

the reality is, the water's color is very natural. vegetation, organic matter, runoff, fine silts that never settle on the bottom, these are the major things that make the bayou look like it does.

the only bayous that I've seen that look clear are the ones that are channelized and straightened into huge concrete drainage ditches, there's a long stretch of Brays bayou that you can see things in the water, but that's because it's been traveling through 30 miles of concrete channel. head on over to Scott Street and take a look, I suppose if we really wanted Buffalo bayou to look clear and 'pristine', we might want to call in the Army Corps of Engineers to come do a concrete lining on the bayou.

Go look at more rural water ways in the region. Armand Bayou, Buffalo Camp Bayou, they aren’t clear but would definitely be a representation of what Buffalo Bayou would look like. 
 

Also, I just made a comment about water clarity in the bayou… no need to feel like I personally attacked you .

[samagon]

12 hours ago, jmitch94 said:

Go look at more rural water ways in the region. Armand Bayou, Buffalo Camp Bayou, they aren’t clear but would definitely be a representation of what Buffalo Bayou would look like. 
 

Also, I just made a comment about water clarity in the bayou… no need to feel like I personally attacked you .

and how much water do those bayous move compared to Buffalo bayou?

sorry if I'm terse, it's a fairly absurd topic. the color of Buffalo bayou is quite natural, to suggest otherwise is to perpetuate anecdotes that have no way of being proven, so why shouldn't I ask for factual proof?

[editor]

3 hours ago, samagon said:

and how much water do those bayous move compared to Buffalo bayou?

They all vary from hour to hour. 

Today's peaks so far:

• Brays Bayou - 3,100 cubic feet per second
• Buffalo Bayou - 1,200 cubic feet per second
• Greens Bayou - 1,300 cubic feet per second
• Sims Bayou - < 1,000 cubic feet per second
• White Oak Bayou - 190 cubic feet per second

[editor]

On 7/8/2023 at 10:56 AM, Naviguessor said:

Coloring the bayou would make us a punch line of every late night comic and a laughing stock for years to come.

If we dyed it blue, sure.

But if it were dyed different colors for different holidays, that would be less subject to ridicule.

You could make a half-day festival out of sequentially dumping in different colors during pride weekend.

The problem, though, is that the bayou's rate of flow is erratic.  The rate of flow of the Chicago River is almost always  precisely controlled, and generally runs pretty slowly compared with Buffalo Bayou.  I once had an apartment looking down on the main branch of the Chicago River, and can tell you the green color lasts about a week with its slow flow. 

 

[hindesky]