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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 by woolie
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 :(

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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 by infinite_jim
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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.

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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!

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