shasta Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Taking that into consideration, it seems likely that this would be for a big project. You wouldn't pick this conference to unveil a simple 20-story building?!? This seems more like a "Splash" making announcement.And also, if it is indeed the Texas/Capitol/Main lot, I would expect any project Hines does here to have ground floor retail and restaurants due to the site's close proximity to Metro's planned "Central Station" and the convergence of 3 light rail lines.I wonder if the rendering will be drastically different than the previous rendering we saw a few years back for a Hines building on this site. that one was pretty bland and generic so hopefully the city's new direction will force Hines to make this building more dynamic.I'm not sure how the magnolia is doing but a mixed-use Office, Hotel (maybe a few end condos at the top), Retail building on this lot would be perfect. I know Hines has done these type of projects in other cities. Couple that with the fact that the city is BEGGING developers to add hotel space, even to the point where they are offering attractive incentives for those who do.Unfortunately, they are not getting a whole lot of takers and had to develop the Hilton on their own and are now looking to develop a second hotel on the other side of Discovery Green, which was another city of Houston development.Like the old saying goes :If you want things done right, do it yourself" and the city of Houston is all in on this philosophy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxman Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I'm skeptical to be honest. Why would Hines compete with itself when the paint so-to-speak on MainPlace isn't even dry yet? Unless Mainplace is near capacity already, I find it hard to believe that Hines would unveil a glistening new tower a few blocks away. But then again I'll admit that I am not well ''versed'' in this subject. Mainplace is the tallest office building to be built in Houston in a LONG time. I doubt we will see another building of the same magnitude. Then again, I've been wrong before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolie Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I'm skeptical to be honest. Why would Hines compete with itself when the paint so-to-speak on MainPlace isn't even dry yet? Unless Mainplace is near capacity already, I find it hard to believe that Hines would unveil a glistening new tower a few blocks away. But then again I'll admit that I am not well ''versed'' in this subject. Mainplace is the tallest office building to be built in Houston in a LONG time. I doubt we will see another building of the same magnitude. Then again, I've been wrong before.It would take a couple years for a project announced tomorrow to have tenants move in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolie Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Everyone likes tall buildings, but I'm really of the position that we need more midrise and small highrise structures downtown. The streetscape is so discontinuous, there are large parking lots even in the center of all the very tall highrises. I think we already have enough 40+ story buildings downtown, and I would be surprised if there is *ever* another 60+ story building in Houston. That era is over.In dream land, downtown would have more 6-10 story small office buildings, and apartment buildings of roughly the same size, clustering around the vast disused but LRT-adjacent areas. There are office buildings of this size strung along every freeway in town. I just wish more of them were in part of an urban fabric, not just bumps surrounded by gated employee parking. I suppose most of these were built in the 70s and 80s before the current "urban revival" around the country...... but I go to a place like the Memorial City development and think "If only this effort was used to build a real urban fabric, not just a thin veneer around a typical, totally controlled suburban development." I know it can be done, even in contemporary America -- Portland, modern Los Angeles... Also, as long as I'm in Sim City God Mode, I would demolish the Pierce Elevated. Anyway end rant. Edited March 31, 2012 by woolie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Everyone likes tall buildings, but I'm really of the position that we need more midrise and small highrise structures downtown. The streetscape is so discontinuous, there are large parking lots even in the center of all the very tall highrises.In the 64 square block area from Prairie to Polk, and from Bagby to Fannin, there are only 2 parking lots. One of them is the subject of this thread, and is hardly considered "in the center" of all the highrises, being east of Main Street. There is only one surface parking lot in the middle of the highrise cluster...but apparently that one lot REALLY bothers you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 In Sim City's god mode, you could build a steep hill along the route of the Pierce Elevated, tunnel through it, and then after that you could submerge the middle of the tunnel into a lake...or a vast ocean supposing you wish to create a beachfront park along the edge of downtown Houston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 That would be much cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolie Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Large parts of downtown are surface lots, even areas directly adjacent to current or planned LRT stations. I travel frequently and can't help but make comparisons. Downtown has a fantastic skyline, but beyond that... I'm not criticizing this project, just grumbling about the overall state of things. Edited March 31, 2012 by woolie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) Large parts of downtown are surface lots, even areas directly adjacent to current or planned LRT stations. I travel frequently and can't help but make comparisons. Downtown has a fantastic skyline, but beyond that... I'm not criticizing this project, just grumbling about the overall state of things.There is a huge difference between the above statement and this one...there are large parking lots even in the center of all the very tall highrises.Certainly, I agree there are numerous surface lots surrounding Minute Maid in the northeast quadrant of downtown, and in the southest quadrant, even as far west as Travis. But, when you couldn't resist the delicious temptation to drop into the bottomless pit of hyperbole, I felt compelled to correct your egregious error. There is only one surface lot in the center of the skyline district.By the way, while grumbling about the "overall state of things", have you stopped to consider that Houston's hideous parking lots are actually full, while many of those beautiful buildings and parking garages in the other cities are half empty? I'll bet you a month's salary that Atlanta would trade its empty buildings for our full surface lots in a heartbeat. Edited April 1, 2012 by RedScare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolie Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) I spend so much time daydreaming because it's my every day surroundings. I've been interested in these urban issues since I was a kid, and I pay close attention to the streetscape. I love to walk and ride my bike around midtown and downtown, and stare out the train windows several times per week. It's why I live where I do, and why I read this forum.Speaking of empty buildings -- Houston's economy has always been on a different cycle than the rest of the country; we're up right now, but we've been down before. And back then, there were even more surface lots.Anyway, I'm not going to derail this thread any more. I've been drafting a post in my head about these issues for a while; I'll keep them collected until it's a cogent narrative, and stop spilling them into random threads. Edited April 1, 2012 by woolie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Forget about Downtown and Midtown. You should ride your bike more westward, into Southampton/Boulevard Oaks. There are more pedestrians, its prettier, and I think that the presence of people like you and I pisses off the NIMBY property owners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolie Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Forget about Downtown and Midtown. You should ride your bike more westward, into Southampton/Boulevard Oaks. There are more pedestrians, its prettier, and I think that the presence of people like you and I pisses off the NIMBY property owners. Haha, well, my username refers to my wild hair and great big bushy red beard. I love the stares when I'm in "the right kinds of places." Although I usually get hassled by the police when I'm out taking pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister X Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) Remember this? It's a little 2007ish but maybe its time has come. Edited April 1, 2012 by Mister X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 If the building depicted in the rendering above were built that would be incredible. One of the more architecturally interesting things in the Houston skyline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I also like the building above, but the streets of lava are much more impressive. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 just under 50 stories... should be well received on here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 (edited) I'm gonna guess an approximate mirrored tower of 811 Main St., by Pickard Chilton again. The massing seems to work w/r/t the Chase tower and it's exactly a block away from 811 Main.This will certainly be more exciting if it's taller than 811 Main but material choice is a no-brainer considering it's historic nab. Another glass skyscraper would look nice from the east side of town but as in other's assumptions the western flank of the grid is almost complete and Brookfield holds those cards atm. Edited April 1, 2012 by infinite_jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 just under 50 stories... should be well received on here.NICE. So it grew, eh? Last I heard, which was well over a year ago, Hines was planning on a 34 story tower. Just under 50 would put it in the 650-700 foot range depending upon how many garage floors and if there's some sort of crown on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxman Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 just under 50 stories... should be well received on here.Is this assumption or something you heard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Dude, don't doubt swtsig 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Is this assumption or something you heard?strictly based on what i've seen which could definitely be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxman Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Well, today's the big day! Any guesses on how big the new building will be? I'm going with 40 stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPHous Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'll Price is Right you and say 41 stories with street level retail on all sides of the building Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxman Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 haha, the project won't be announced until at least 4pm. The expo is from 4-8pm at the Westin Galleria 3rd floor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) nm Edited April 4, 2012 by Houston19514 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Well, today's the big day! Any guesses on how big the new building will be? I'm going with 40 stories.Sweet, early "Christmas" for me! For some reason I was thinking the announcement was tomorrow. I'm going with 53 stories. Retail space for a restaurant. No spire and let's throw in some condos while we're at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolie Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) My Price is Right: 25 stories office (no residential, no hotel), one side of retail. Edited April 4, 2012 by woolie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 My Price is Right: 25 stories office (no residential, no hotel), one side of retail.pooIs the garage beside or underneath? If underneath, is garage included in the 25? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatesdisastr Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 If that is true...What an utter disappointment and a waste of "I can't wait till Wednesday" mentality. Sure is a let down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 48 stories with garage in the bldg. glass curtain wall. BIG improvement over the one time drive-thru McDonald's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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