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Launch At NASA: 29-Story Condominium Tower In Clear Lake

houstonfella

By houstonfella
in Houston Neverbuilt

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houstonfella

houstonfella

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Clear Lake joins high-rise trend

Two developers propose condos along the shore

By NANCY SARNOFF

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The high-rise condominium craze that's spreading throughout Houston is taking a southern detour.

Two developers are planning residential towers on the banks of Clear Lake that will be the area's tallest buildings.

Both buildings are proposed for the north side of the lake on NASA Parkway. But developers won't break ground until a significant number of their units are sold.

"The race is on," said Mark Smith, a local developer who's planning to build a 20-story building at 3002 NASA Parkway next to the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake.

The project is called the Launch at NASA and will have some 80 units ranging in price from the $290,000s to $2 million for a 5,000-square-foot penthouse.

Less than a mile down the road, a second group is planning to build a 29-story condominium tower at 4821 NASA Parkway.

The group started selling units in the proposed building less than a month ago and says it already has 31 of the 88 units reserved.

"The buyers we've found are mostly from the Clear Lake area and empty nesters," said Roy Hockenberry, a partner in the project called Endeavour.

Pre-construction prices there start at just under $300,000. The developers expect to start construction in October.

Area officials said the new projects could kick off more high-rise developments along the lakefront.

"It's probably not utilized as much as it could be," said Warren Escovy, the city planner for Pasadena, where the Endeavor is located.

Pasadena also seems to be moving away from its strict rules governing development.

The city's current multifamily building code limits building height to three stories, but it granted a variance to the developers of the Endeavour.

Nassau Bay, where the property for the Launch is located, is also becoming more lenient on its building height restrictions.

The city has created a development ordinance that leaders said makes it easier to develop projects like the Launch.

"We're trying to make it as bureaucracy-free as possible for developers to come in and develop or redevelop property," said John Kennedy, city manger of Nassau Bay.

But area residents aren't used to this type of dense development, said Lynne Billman, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in the Clear Lake area.

"The community as a whole loves their views of the lake and doesn't want to see high-rises all up and down NASA Parkway," she said.

As long as the high-rises are built sparingly, Billman said, she doesn't expect resistance from residential communities.

She also sees a growing demand for this kind of housing.

"A lot of people are downsizing and want to travel but don't want to put up with a yard and so forth," she said.

Indeed, a small enclave of townhomes recently completed in Nassau Bay sold out quickly.

Many of the homes were purchased by residents who wanted to downsize but didn't want to leave the community, Kennedy said.

"I think the condo project has the same potential," he said.

GREAT NEWS FOR METRO HOUSTON!

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RedScare

RedScare

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"The project is called the Launch at NASA"

Excuse me, while I wipe the coffee off my computer screen.

Maybe they'll put in some ground level retail and call it "The Shoppes at the Launchpad". Do these guys go to developer school to learn how to name developments?

Other than the awe inspiring name, highrise condos along the shore of Clear Lake could look pretty nice.

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houstonfella

houstonfella

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"The project is called the Launch at NASA"

Excuse me, while I wipe the coffee off my computer screen.

Maybe they'll put in some ground level retail and call it "The Shoppes at the Launchpad".  Do these guys go to developer school to learn how to name developments?

Other than the awe inspiring name, highrise condos along the shore of Clear Lake could look pretty nice.

You are so right about the name. There are so many space items to name it after instead of "Launch"! :lol: Looks like it will be a beautiful high rise at any rate. B)

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YakuzaIce

YakuzaIce

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Sorry to go off topic, but the chronicle got mad at somebody here for that?

Yeah remember at some point the chronicle contacted editor and said something to the effect that we had to take down the full articles. I think there is a thread somewhere. Also you will notice around that time the mods trimmed the posts and put something to the effect of saying post an excerpt with a link. I will try and find a post like that.

EDIT: Ok I found something. This is what it would say when it was edited

"This message has been edited to remove copyrighted material.

Please do not post copyrighted photos or articles from newspapers or magazines. We have already received a warning from the Houston Chronicle, and the legal departments of other publications have visited the site. If you would like to discuss a published article, please summarize the article and provide a link to the original source."

or just

"***Edited to remove copyrighted content***

Please provide links where possible."

Heres a thread were it happened http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...wtopic=2199&hl=

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2112

2112

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More dense development in Clear Lake would be awesome. I would like the whole area to become the preimier waterfront for Houston. Only problem is, with more dense development, the traffic will be even worse. I work in the area, and believe me, the congestion is pretty bad.

Is it me? Or does it seem the place has overbuilt and is in dire need of some local mass transit of some sorts?

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kjb434

kjb434

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A lake light rail?

Maybe an intercounty local entity can be formed to create the mean to develop a mass transit in the area.

I can encircle the lake. It seems it would be more for visitors than locals though.

It could go from webster by I-45 along the northside of the lake, cross over and follow the southside back to I-45 and reconnect across clear creek.

At lease a bus service that did that would be nice.

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hokieone

hokieone

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More dense development in Clear Lake would be awesome.  I would like the whole area to become the preimier waterfront for Houston.  Only problem is, with more dense development, the traffic will be even worse.  I work in the area, and believe me, the congestion is pretty bad.

Is it me?  Or does it seem the place has overbuilt and is in dire need of some local mass transit of some sorts?

The place is definitely overbuilt and just continuing down that path. I grew up there, and hate to be one of those "I remember when..." but Clear Lake is not at all the same place it was 10-15 years ago. Used to be a quiet, nice suburb. Still is a nice suburb, but quiet it is not. Bay Area Blvd, Nasa Rd 1, all have become just as jam packed as Westheimer is these days. Kemah, while definitely propelling tourism, has also added to the congestion. And the building just keeps coming. They built a church, a CVS and a gas station on 2351 which used to be green space. Now they want to build townhomes on the former CLear Lake golf course. Obviously, this is all development not really near the lake, but does clog up arteries in getting there. The condos I don't think will add too much more traffic, but I think the answer is yes, the place is overbuilt.

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skwatra

skwatra

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yes NASA 1 and Bay Area are a mess, but they are pretty easy to avoid. all the "north-south" streets really don't have much problems. once NASA parkway is completed, it should help things out alot during the rush hour.

kemah does cause a lot of problems on NASA 1 approaching 146, and the Kemah bridge turning into the boardwalk can get pretty bad. i don't think there's anything they can do about that right now...

its amazing how they keep expanding all these neighborhoods, i don't really notice much now, but when i was off to school, everytime i came back there was a new shopping center or 100 new homes where there use to be green.

i don't think the new condo will cause traffic problems given the location, at least i hope not because i live a few blocks away...

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The Great Hizzy!

The Great Hizzy!

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Whatever service you put in down in Clear Lake, it has to be limited service, including a reduced span of service and moderate headways (time between trips). The demand for transit service in that area is pretty limited but you could still put in efficient service (relatively speaking) if scheduled right.

There also used to be a NASA shuttle that served the Space Center, but it was primarily for NASA area employees--kind of like the TMC Shuttles.

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The Great Hizzy!

The Great Hizzy!

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That's fine, the alignments probably won't be that difficult to figure out, but whatever alignment, you'd need to operate at it with limited service. It's better to have too little service than too much. You could proabablyl run the NASA to Baybrook line from 6 AM to 9 or 9:30 PM, with service every hour during the middle of the day and maybe every 20 minutes during the morning and evening rush hours. Something like that. But even with that, if no one rides, it probably won't last based on the past service that METRO's tried to put in.

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skwatra

skwatra

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There also used to be a NASA shuttle that served the Space Center, but it was primarily for NASA area employees--kind of like the TMC Shuttles.

there is still a JSC shuttle that runs between NASA and the USA buildings on Gemini (near the Bay Area P&R, metro has a stop there), as well as NASA to the NBL and Boeing (north on Space Center near EFD). every 30 minutes during the day. it is employee only though.

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2112

2112

Posted
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That's fine, the alignments probably won't be that difficult to figure out, but whatever alignment, you'd need to operate at it with limited service. It's better to have too little service than too much. You could proabablyl run the NASA to Baybrook line from 6 AM to 9 or 9:30 PM, with service every hour during the middle of the day and maybe every 20 minutes during the morning and evening rush hours. Something like that. But even with that, if no one rides, it probably won't last based on the past service that METRO's tried to put in.

That was definetely the case in the past. I'm not sure it has changed. But I do know there are a heck of a lot more people in Clear Lake now. It is chronically congested. So, theoretically, there should be more ridership, and people are getting tired of the congestion. However, Clear Lake was not a very transit oriented communicty, at least on the local proximity services. It is a very good commuter transit community however. If the price of gas continues to climb, maybe people will become more willing to use local service if it becomes available. Who know.

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  • 3 months later...
  • The title was changed to Launch At NASA: 29-Story Condo Tower In Clear Lake
  • The title was changed to Launch At NASA: 29-Story Condominium Tower In Clear Lake

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