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Market Square Tower: 40-Story High-Rise At 777 Preston St.


Urbannizer

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Will this have any effect on Hines market square project or do you think that they will go ahead with theirs.

On the office space side Hines starting 609 Main seemed to take the sails out of Stream Essex's project.

Just wondering if this would have a similar result. I am well aware of the size and scope of the work Hines does but I just

don't see the urgency to get their project going like this one has. Any thoughts?

 

It does seem amazing that somebody got the jump on Hines! It would be a real shame if this project delayed or prevented Hines from going forward, since Hines' tower embraces principles of good urbanism while this one for the most part doesn't.

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Hines and this project both closed off a parking lot that was being used, though we did see that Hines already had soil samples taken.

 

The last couple of surface lot tower builds that I remember (Hess and Marriott Marquis) took many months between soil samples and actual ground breaking. It is, like watching the pot boil.

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Could Hines simply move forward witha Condominium version if this thing slows down their plans? Also, the rental prices mentioned for this tower are..... REALLY, REALLY expensive!

That would REALLY slow things down, as condo would require about 40% pre-sales in order to secure financing.

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Well, if its the only option aside from canceling the tower...

 

And Houston12912319823123  could be right in that Hines would simply move forward with it any way.  ?  Guess we shall see.

 

Of course its not the announcement of work, or even the start of construction, but the end of construction and how soon the tower can start seeing residents.  I would tend to think the shorter building by Hines might finish before the taller tower?

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I don't think Hines has ever self financed a project; what makes you think they would do that now? Doing so would add risk, reduce the rate of return, and tie up equity that could be used for other projects. I really don't see this as a possibility.

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I don't think Hines has ever self financed a project; what makes you think they would do that now? Doing so would add risk, reduce the rate of return, and tie up equity that could be used for other projects. I really don't see this as a possibility.

 

I don't pretend to know the intricacies of Hines' financing for its thousands of building projects over the years.  So allow me to rephrase: Hines may not need to get conventional financing like many, if not most, other developers.  The standard percentage-units-sold hurdle to get condominium financing probably does not apply to Hines.

 

Having said that, let's not get too far off course.  I have no reason to think Hines has any interest whatsoever in converting their Market Square tower to condos.

Edited by Houston19514
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Why are we talking about Hines?  This development is a block away from the upcoming Hines project.  There's another thread on the Hines project.

 

Sorry to upset you but it seemed a relevant question since they are so close and it has a direct

correlation with the other, and besides I've seen things discussed on this board that are way off base and it never gets this kind of response.

 

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Wait...  I thought most people on here didn't like the way this thing was going to look?  I mean most of you hated this tower.

 

I kept quiet.  I'll only say that I'm glad we now have a 3D rendering of the tower.  I wish that it was smaller or more centralized within downtown so that it can be hidden by surrounding towers.  I definitely hate that existing massive garage which was excluded from the rendering.

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Wait...  I thought most people on here didn't like the way this thing was going to look?  I mean most of you hated this tower.

 

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

now now arche_757.. i am thinking that our initial and yet reluctant responses.. were due to the simple fact that the first rendering was not as SEXY as the above masterpiece.  complete with a cherry (sorry) pool on top!

 

I thought the first rendering made it look better than this one. It's  not ugly, but it's nothing to proud of either, architecturally speaking.

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It's not an ugly tower. But it is way too ordinary to be dominating the northern downtown skyline or obscuring views of superior towers. From some angles it will hide the far more interesting International Tower (if they ever build it) and lessen it's impact. I wish they could trade places.


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Exactly what I was thinking.

I thought the first rendering made it look better than this one. It's not ugly, but it's nothing to proud of either, architecturally speaking.

The design is mediocre, boring, you name it. I had a fit a few pages back about the orange facade. I'll hold out on my cry fest until I see the final product.
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I agree, I am also reserving judgment until it's built.

Based on the rendering's lack of detail, it could be a very nice or a very bland building.

It could be a very nice brick building, with interesting masonry detailing and relief. Or it could be a cheap-looking, flat-detailed stucco building.

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I agree, I am also reserving judgment until it's built.

Based on the rendering's lack of detail, it could be a very nice or a very bland building.

It could be a very nice brick building, with interesting masonry detailing and relief. Or it could be a cheap-looking, flat-detailed stucco building.

Hoping and praying we get brick and stone detail

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Tallest residential tower in the history of downtown Houston - game changer.

 

BTW, since when does a 40 story tower NOT break the 40 story mark? This tower made it to 40 stories. It did not break the 41 story mark, if that's your problem.

Edited by Metro West
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It's actually from the same architects who designed One Park Place.

 

That's encouraging.  One of the things I really like about OPP is how well worked out the details are - like hiding rooftop machinery inside what looks like a solid roof from below.

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That's encouraging.  One of the things I really like about OPP is how well worked out the details are - like hiding rooftop machinery inside what looks like a solid roof from below.

 

and on that same notion - this should be a brick facade. I think the colors we saw in the past renderings were simply a play on brick colors / illustrations.

Edited by Avossos
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