Aris At Market Square: 32-Story High-Rise At 409 Travis St.

[H-Town Man]

Looks better. Justbuildit.

[j_cuevas713]

Can they start on this already!?!?

[monarch]

this particular lovely, has indeed prospered upon it's height factor.  she actually look's a bit more glamorous.

[HoustonIsHome]

Lmfao.. I agree though, I think I like it better

But I thought urbanizer said it got 30ft shorter.

I like the latest renderings too, but what an I missing.

As per the height I mean

Edited April 23, 2014 by HoustonIsHome

[kbates2]

As per the renderings,, I think they just look so nice with the new views.  I think we would all prefer the extra height.

[Timoric]

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Edited July 8, 2019 by Timoric

[editor]

I have deleted seven messages from this thread. If you cannot keep it on topic, this thread will be closed and certain posters sanctioned. Please re-read the terms of service you agreed to when you signed up for HAIF. If you can't be civil, feel free to surf elsewhere.

[Dakota79]

I really like it. Seems classic to me. Hines has to be one of the best developers around, IMHO. He made our skylines.

[Montrose1100]

I really like the brick color. It's not too trendy and I think the design will age nicely. The grey corners don't bother me so much.

[mollusk]

One doesn't have to slavishly mimic the existing surroundings in order to complement them.  With the latest renderings, the palette and the massing seem to have hit the sweet spot pretty well.

[Subdude]

One doesn't have to slavishly mimic the existing surroundings in order to complement them.  With the latest renderings, the palette and the massing seem to have hit the sweet spot pretty well.

 

I would agree.  As you pointed out earlier, the indentation in the podium breaks the mass of the building so it doesn't seem so out of scale to the rest of the Market Square area.  A sophisticated touch the kind of which we don't see enough. 

[rsb320]

I've not seen any activity on this site, other than pedestrians using it as a shortcut.  Does anybody have a timeline on when construction starts?

[H-Town Man]

I would agree.  As you pointed out earlier, the indentation in the podium breaks the mass of the building so it doesn't seem so out of scale to the rest of the Market Square area.  A sophisticated touch of the kind of which we don't see enough. 

 

Funny that a developer would care about the surrounding area. It's as if they had some strange idea that by making their building work synergistically with its surroundings, they could improve the total environment of the area, which would in turn enhance their building and its marketability.

[Subdude]

Funny that a developer would care about the surrounding area. It's as if they had some strange idea that by making their building work synergistically with its surroundings, they could improve the total environment of the area, which would in turn enhance their building and its marketability.

 

Yes, just imagine.  How did they come to dream up something like that, instead of just dropping in a glass box.

[Urbannizer]

The revised plan was approved last week by the HAHC.

[Nate99]

The revised plan was approved last week by the HAHC.

 

Game on.

 

[bobruss]

This is going to be exciting to watch this area develop over the next five years.

[bobruss]

I like that they aren't getting rid of the old Cabos bldg. I ran the bar at night when it first opened a few years back. What a crazy place, and I've always loved that part of town. Once a few more high rise buildings get built down there, the Cabos building will be similar in setting to the original P.J. Clarkes in Manhattan , which is a great institution and one of my favorite places for a cold beer and burger during happy hour. This place rocks! Good oysters too.

[H-Town Man]

Game on.

Foreal? What are they doing?

[UtterlyUrban]

Foreal? What are they doing?

It appears to be soil testing. You can see the drill rig in the back.

[Texasota]

I like that they aren't getting rid of the old Cabos bldg. I ran the bar at night when it first opened a few years back. What a crazy place, and I've always loved that part of town. Once a few more high rise buildings get built down there, the Cabos building will be similar in setting to the original P.J. Clarkes in Manhattan , which is a great institution and one of my favorite places for a cold beer and burger during happy hour. This place rocks! Good oysters too.

 

I'm sure Hines would've loved to get rid of every building on that block, just as they've tried to do with their other projects.

 

Luckily it's in a historic district.

[bobruss]

Your right, but a few years back that wouldn't have stopped them from razing it on a Sunday, when no one would be around like another old historic building in that same area a few years back. I think the brick from it was used in one of Pappas's first restaurants. This is such a pivotal project along with the other market square hi rise that's proposed. I know the restaurant owners and retail have to be excited about all of this new residential to give them a boost. The theater district and the Sundance theater are also going to benefit from all of these new downtown residents. Definitely an exciting time!

[H-Town Man]

It appears to be soil testing. You can see the drill rig in the back.

Hmmm thought they were past that stage...

[Triton]

Hmmm thought they were past that stage...

Yea, thought they already did that long ago.

[kbates2]

I saw them doing that a few months ago.

[H-Town Man]

I wonder if the new design necessitated new soil tests as a formality for the various environmental reports, etc.

Or it could be that they found something in the first sample and had to do a Phase II environmental report to further analyze. Which now that I think about it is plausible considering there was a bus station catty-cornered from here. Hopefully nothing bad is down there.

Edited May 4, 2014 by H-Town Man

[Nate99]

FWIW, they drilled a lot of holes. 

 

When I have seen this on other lots (like the one next to Hess) there are maybe a couple drilled in one location. These guys had probably 8-10 holes drilled when I walked by, and they were fairly spread out. 

 

I'm close by, I'll keep you posted on developments. 

[UtterlyUrban]

I wonder if the new design necessitated new soil tests as a formality for the various environmental reports, etc.

Or it could be that they found something in the first sample and had to do a Phase II environmental report to further analyze. Which now that I think about it is plausible considering there was a bus station catty-cornered from here. Hopefully nothing bad is down there.

I was thinking the same thing..... But.....

The workers are not wearing any sort of PPE (maybe other than gloves) so I doubt that they are double checking "bad stuff". My guess is that they are double checking for something but, given the lack of PPE, it can't be "bad stuff", IMO.

[mollusk]

We know that there used to be a variety other buildings on that site, and that they've been gone long enough that who knows what sort of foundations or basements or fill they had, or how deep.  My guess is they're just surveying to get background numbers for foundation design.

[Nate99]

I went back and walked across the lot today. There are upwards of 20 holes that were drilled. Like mollusk mentioned, they probably have to do quite a bit of inventory work to see what they will be dealing with. 

 

In any case, I would imagine that they will be digging out to a level well below anything else that was in the vicinity, but keeping the buildings that will remain on the block from being impacted by excavating around and very near their foundations is probably fairly delicate work.