brijonmang Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 What do you other posters think this does for the other buildings that were still waiting on tenants downtown? Could this be indicative of strong demand driving a larger scale building and quicker timeline or is this just Hines trying to get out in front of the crowd to ensure quickest return on investment? I could see it either way but I'm not in the know like many others here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moore713 Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 What do you other posters think this does for the other buildings that were still waiting on tenants downtown? Could this be indicative of strong demand driving a larger scale building and quicker timeline or is this just Hines trying to get out in front of the crowd to ensure quickest return on investment? I could see it either way but I'm not in the know like many others here. According to some anazlie the first tower to get off the ground will reduce the demand of the others.. I do not count the Cheveron since that in a in-house bulding designed for their own use.. but I do belive that the first two towers to break ground in the spec market will reduce or even stop the construction of the rest/.. right now Hines and captial seem to be the only two with hard dates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 According to some anazlie the first tower to get off the ground will reduce the demand of the others.. I do not count the Cheveron since that in a in-house bulding designed for their own use.. but I do belive that the first two towers to break ground in the spec market will reduce or even stop the construction of the rest/.. right now Hines and captial seem to be the only two with hard dates ugh, unfortunately i think this is probably true for the office market. especially with the Exxonmobil building up for vacancy after they renovate it starting in 2015 (unless Chevron ends up buying the property and relocating). i really wish Capital Tower was taller but at least were getting a bigger Hines tower. our only other hope is a major corporate relocation. i guess we will still continue to have new residential projects going up around downtown, with the Texaco redevelopment and others planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Has the financing game changed, again? Before, it was extremely difficult to gain financing without a large % of tenants, and now Hines is possibly going spec??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Owl Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 A proposed Houston skyscraper is increasing its height? Is today opposite day? I'll take it! Wow 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Stinkin awesome. I read some message board this weekend that someone acting like they had knowledge said downtown would be getting close to a 100-story soon. Most likely he was full of it, but here's to hoping he's not! "Some message board" was here! jimenez: Don’t worry my friend. I have reliable sources that tell me a 100+ story tower is coming to DTHouston very soon. http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/27752-new-chevron-tower-for-downtown-houston-50-stories-at-1600-louisiana/page-6#entry427137 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 "Some message board" was here! jimenez: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/27752-new-chevron-tower-for-downtown-houston-50-stories-at-1600-louisiana/page-6#entry427137 heh. i see he only has 5 posts. i assume he was joking, but one can hope. didnt the Bank of the Southwest Tower proposal cause a lot of drama with the FAA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClutchCity Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I think he got that quote from the comments section on the Chron's coverage of the Chevron tower. http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/07/chevron-to-build-downtown-tower/ The user, UniversalRockstar also goes on to say, "Foundation?! Ha!!! What are you smoking?! Before the 80′s bust there were several 100+ story towers on the drawing board and some are being revived. You will soon see an 85 story and 100+ story towers going up in DTHouston."It would be interesting if he was telling the truth, but there's just something about his posts on that topic that make me think he's the one smoking something... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I think he got that quote from the comments section on the Chron's coverage of the Chevron tower. http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/07/chevron-to-build-downtown-tower/ The user, UniversalRockstar also goes on to say, "Foundation?! Ha!!! What are you smoking?! Before the 80′s bust there were several 100+ story towers on the drawing board and some are being revived. You will soon see an 85 story and 100+ story towers going up in DTHouston."It would be interesting if he was telling the truth, but there's just something about his posts on that topic that make me think he's the one smoking something... haha agreed, with all of the proposed towers already vying for tenants, i dont see a supertall happening anytime soon (unless Hines wasnt kidding about Texas Sizing their tower), unless theres a corporate relocation where a big company decides to build a tower for themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Culture map has a update I think they say that hines has decided to increase the tower heighhttp://houston.culturemap.com/news/realestate/07-08-13-houstons-next-great-skyscraper-hines-to-texas-size-new-main-street-office-tower-speed-up-development/ as well as planning a first Q of 2014.. they did not say How much the article only says hines is Texas sizing it HOPEFULLY this means it will get even taller ... fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 HOPEFULLY this means it will get even taller ... fingers crossed! its going to be taller. they said it was going to be "much larger" than the original 41 story proposal. its already got a podium on the base so unless they radically redesign the building or make it a lot fatter, its definitely going up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 i had hopes that it would not compete with the design of bg group place. at 41 stories, it looks a little lost in the city from certain angles. if it is significantly taller, it will enhance the skyline greatly. shall we start betting on the new height? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 i had hopes that it would not compete with the design of bg group place. at 41 stories, it looks a little lost in the city from certain angles. if it is significantly taller, it will enhance the skyline greatly. shall we start betting on the new height? im glad its going to be taller as well. the only angle it would of stood out in at 41 stories is the north/east side of town. ill go ahead and guess 850 ft (i hope its taller but im trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up). Houston needs some 800ish footers to fill in the void, though anything taller would be icing on the cake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister X Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I'm extremely disappointed. I wanted the building to be shorter and a little more boxy. Also, can't they wait until 2025 to build? Why would they want to build this tower before they have enough tenants? What's the rush anyway? What the hell is wrong with everybody? Why can't they ever do anything right in Houston. Traffic everywhere. Insufficient rail. Summer is too hot. I hate the mosquitos too. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I'm extremely disappointed. I wanted the building to be shorter and a little more boxy. Also, can't they wait until 2025 to build? Why would they want to build this tower before they have enough tenants? What's the rush anyway? What the hell is wrong with everybody? Why can't they ever do anything right in Houston. Traffic everywhere. Insufficient rail. Summer is too hot. I hate the mosquitos too. funny misterx................ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 That building would be pretty baller if it was the tallest in the city. It would look great from every angle around downtown... IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 im glad its going to be taller as well. the only angle it would of stood out in at 41 stories is the north/east side of town. ill go ahead and guess 850 ft (i hope its taller but im trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up). Houston needs some 800ish footers to fill in the void, though anything taller would be icing on the cake. This is great news. I agree that Houston needs more 800ish footers...I really hope this one will be an 800+ footer, too. It's a great location. I've always thought the surface lot south of Two Shell Plaza would be a great place for an 800-900 footer, too. I'd love for downtown to eventually add four or five 60-69 story buildings in that range (750-950 feet), and then something like three 80-89 story buildings (1,000-1,200 feet) and two 90+ story buildings (1,200-1,400 feet with at least one of them 100+ stories), and have them all blend in well together, and have great lighting at night also. I wonder if any of us will ever live to see something like that here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 (edited) That building would be pretty baller if it was the tallest in the city. It would look great from every angle around downtown... IMO. Now after writing what I just wrote, and reading what you just wrote, I agree with you! It's such a great location, too. I like your use of "baller" as an adjective, too. Edited July 9, 2013 by por favor gracias 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 This is great news. I agree that Houston needs more 800ish footers...I really hope this one will be an 800+ footer, too. It's a great location. I've always thought the surface lot south of Two Shell Plaza would be a great place for an 800-900 footer, too. I'd love for downtown to eventually add four or five 60-69 story buildings in that range (750-950 feet), and then something like three 80-89 story buildings (1,000-1,200 feet) and two 90+ story buildings (1,200-1,400 feet with at least one of them 100+ stories), and have them all blend in well together, and have great lighting at night also. I wonder if any of us will ever live to see something like that here. haha, one can dream... i know the FAA didnt like the idea of the Bank of the Southwest Tower back in the 80s, though i heard theyve changed flight patterns out of hobby since then or something, so it wouldnt be as much of an issue anymore. i wish our buildings had better lighting at night too. Wedge used to be all outlined in green but supposably nearby residents complained it was too bright and they were turned off. i hope thats not true. maybe when some of these skyscrapers from the 70s-80s are up for renovation they will implement some better lighting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I'm extremely disappointed. I wanted the building to be shorter and a little more boxy. Also, can't they wait until 2025 to build? Why would they want to build this tower before they have enough tenants? What's the rush anyway? What the hell is wrong with everybody? Why can't they ever do anything right in Houston. Traffic everywhere. Insufficient rail. Summer is too hot. I hate the mosquitos too. POTD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Upon closer inspection of the lobby rendering it kinda has a Pennzoil-esque geometric dynamism but with a much more attuned 21st century notion of public to private space threshold (think of Seattle public library's facade unfolding onto the street). This will be a probably be a new photo op spot on Main St. (although I' m still pulling for Gensler's sunken lobby at the Capital tower as the big pedestrian "wow factor"). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 That building would be pretty baller if it was the tallest in the city. It would look great from every angle around downtown... IMO. It would look a hell of a lot better than our current tallest in Houston but I'm probably the only person that holds that opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 i just read some potentially bad news for all of us who had our hopes up on a much taller redesign.. im not sure how they can make it "much larger" and keep the same height without drastically widening the tower. hopefully they dont ruin the design and keep the proportions the same to make the building taller.http://swamplot.com/bigger-taller-hines-to-redesign-proposed-609-main-st-office-tower/2013-07-09/heres an interesting post i saw in the comment section. does anyone have any information on this other "super tall lot" Hines owns?From Shannon:@walt–the proposed Southwest Bank Tower from the 80′s was 1200 feet and had been approved –it’s true Chase Tower was lowered 5 stories in the early 80′s, however the FAA can allow for over 1200 feet, this building will not be 1000 feet–Hines wouldn’t build a building of that size for this location, they have another lot deemed for a super tall when the market allows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxman Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 i just read some potentially bad news for all of us who had our hopes up on a much taller redesign.. im not sure how they can make it "much larger" and keep the same height without drastically widening the tower. hopefully they dont ruin the design and keep the proportions the same to make the building taller.http://swamplot.com/bigger-taller-hines-to-redesign-proposed-609-main-st-office-tower/2013-07-09/heres an interesting post i saw in the comment section. does anyone have any information on this other "super tall lot" Hines owns? From Shannon:@walt–the proposed Southwest Bank Tower from the 80′s was 1200 feet and had been approved –it’s true Chase Tower was lowered 5 stories in the early 80′s, however the FAA can allow for over 1200 feet, this building will not be 1000 feet–Hines wouldn’t build a building of that size for this location, they have another lot deemed for a super tall when the market allows <Que Price is Right loser horn>. Well I sure would like to know what they mean by "Texas Size" a building. Texas is a big state with a big population (2nd in both categories). What the heck do they intend on upsizing? The price to rent there or is it the price of the building? I find it hard to believe that adding 5 or 10 stories to a building would justify it as "Texas size upgrade". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Just a correction guys. The FAA doesnt have any power to shut down a project. What happens is the FAA will look a proposal and indicate if that will force them to alter approach and departing vectors to stay within FAA guidelines. If a new building will alter pathways for the airport; it can affect commerce out of that airport in a detrimental way. Normally; at this point Governments will step in and say, "yo-change this building design". The building developer doesnt have to listen to the FAA; they may however listen to the government. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I don't know where that rumor started. It's quite annoying when anyone mentions a super tall downtown it's always "BUT the FAA"! And for crying out loud the Chase Tower was not supposed to be 80 floors. Yet another Urban Legend... That anyone who cannot name the top 10 Tallest buildings (or even look it up), in this city thinks they have some secret knowledge that there is some height restrictions Downtown. Anyone remember that ugly 200 story building proposal?If any company wanted to build a 2,000ft skyscraper they could do so Downtown. Even if the FAA came into question, if the developer has enough pull in the system they can accomplish anything. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 anyone who is thinking Hines is going to do something like double the size of this building is naive at best and out of their damn mind at worst. for a 41 story building an addition of 10 floors would easily justify as a "significant increase" - that's 25% of the existing building for crying out loud! i have no direct knowledge of Hines' plans for this development but please try and temper your expectations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pragmatist Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) Yes, not to mention that there are 3 major airports in the NYC area that are about the same distance as Hobby is to downtown that form a triangle around Manhattan. It doesn't seem as if that has really stopped vertical development in that city. Edited July 10, 2013 by The Pragmatist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 OJB has begun the schematic design phases on a new project alongside Pickard Chilton Architects in Downtown Houston. 609 Main at Texas is a 41 story office tower offering nearly 1M GSF of space on the full block (Block 69) bounded by Main, Texas, Fannin, and Capitol Streets. OJB's scope will include an expansive two-tiered urban Green roof of approximately 25,000 SF over the parking podium at Floor 10, as well as hardscape and landscape improvements at the site's entry plaza and streetscape along the Main Street side of the building. 609 will share the Houston Skyline with BG Group Place, another joint OJB PCA project completed in 2011. We look forward to continuing to share updates as the work progresses. http://www.ojb.com/news-119/OJB-begins-609-Main-at-Texas--in-Downtown-Houston-with-Pickard-Chilton-Architects/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 41 stories or 49? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.