POST: Event Venue At 401 Franklin St.

[BeerNut]

7 minutes ago, Luminare said:

 

Kraftwerk is pretty cool. Its a massive building though. I once tried to get inside when I stood in line to get into Tressor which is one of the biggest nightclubs in Berlin. If you want to be really self-referential then throw in some tones from Kraftwerk the techno group haha. Maybe some Radioactivity, or some Trans-European Express. Now I seriously want a techno night club to be in the mix for this development.

 

Speaking of Kraftwerk...Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk co-founder, dies aged 73 (I know you meant the club though...)

 

I talked my friends into going to Tressor back in 2001.  No headliners so it was easy to get in.

[Luminare]

10 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

 

Speaking of Kraftwerk...Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk co-founder, dies aged 73 (I know you meant the club though...)

 

I talked my friends into going to Tressor back in 2001.  No headliners so it was easy to get in.

 

Oh wow. With some much noise about this virus going on everything else gets pushed aside. How crazy is that? I'm talking about them and there founder just died today. Thats sad news.

 

Was talking about the club and then was talking about the band. People don't really know just how pioneering the group Kraftwerk were. Was introduced to there works by a professor when I was in grad-school there.

 

The line for Tressor when I was there in 2016? I believe was super long. I think I eventually went to Watergate. That whole area of Jannowitzbruecke is a cool part of town though.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Luminare

[BeerNut]

2 minutes ago, Luminare said:

 

Oh wow. With some much noise about this virus going on everything else gets pushed aside. How crazy is that? I'm talking about them and there founder just died today. Thats sad news.

 

Was talking about the club and then was talking about the bad. People don't really know just how pioneering the group Kraftwerk were. Was introduced to there works by a professor when I was in grad-school there.

 

The line for Tressor when I was there in 2016? I believe was super long. I think I eventually went to Watergate. That who area of Jannowitzbruecke is a cool part of town though.

 

I think Tressor had fallen out of favor compared to some of the newer clubs in Berlin also that area was considered "rough" at the time.

[Avossos]

In my mind, the only thing keeping this from being a slam dunk is the lack of rental apartments / parking lot. Does someone have a reasonable suggestion why they decided to leave the lots and ignore rentals? Seems like they would truly make it a live / work / play type place.

 

Potential reasons -

- Too expensive to do both?

- they want to attract more car traffic than pedestrian traffic

- there is costly remediation to do if they try and build new

- they want to partner and get a 3rd party to build apartments

- they plan to sell parcels

- they are waiting to announce more development for future phases?

[Luminare]

17 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

 

I think Tressor had fallen out of favor compared to some of the newer clubs in Berlin also that area was considered "rough" at the time.

 

Still is to be honest. It was definitely gentrifying when I was there, but while they were building a lot of new stuff on the bank of the Spree, just down a few blocks there was still a anarchist type settlement full of squatters and Antifa types haha. Thats Berlin for ya. I would have liked to see the city in 2001. By the time I got there most of the hip stuff were further out East since by 2015-2017 most of Mitte and a few other areas around it were pretty much fully gentrified. Don't know how long the east will hold out though. Its changing very quickly for good and bad.

 

I'm just glad Lovett is letting OMA do its thing, and are trying to take good cues from other cool places since we don't have a lot of that natively here in Houston.

[pm91]

18 hours ago, BeerNut said:

 

 

Not gunna lie, this looks cool AF

[gene]

Yep amazing photos @BeerNut !!!

[CaptainJilliams]

I'm not sure if anyone has had the chance to take pictures, but from i-45 there is a lot of steel going up on the roof of the building. It caught me off guard the first time I saw it, thought it was an entirely new building going up at first. It also looks like they are repainting the exterior. 

[BeerNut]

[tangledwoods]

i am absolutely shocked / confused as to how the project wasn't put on hold.  Did they land a tenant that none of us know about???

[Texasota]

This thing has tax incentives out the proverbial wazoo, and it seems like projects in Opportunity Zones (as I believe this one is) are starting to be seen as a really good place to park some money under COVID-19 related circumstances. 

[H-Town Man]

1 hour ago, tangledwoods said:

i am absolutely shocked / confused as to how the project wasn't put on hold.  Did they land a tenant that none of us know about???

 

They got their financing before Covid-19 and there's no reason to stop now. If you stop know, all the work you did and money you spent just sits there and goes to waste, and you can't pay the loan off. Who knows what things will be like in a year when this thing is finished. If there's a Great Depression, then maybe all the people who would normally be travelling to L.A. or Seattle will cut back their family vacation to downtown Houston and Post HTX. 

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by H-Town Man

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

This thing has tax incentives out the proverbial wazoo, and it seems like projects in Opportunity Zones (as I believe this one is) are starting to be seen as a really good place to park some money under COVID-19 related circumstances. 

 

What tax incentives is this thing getting?

[Texasota]

State and federal historic at least, but I think there were others as well. There's a link a few pages back that goes through some of the financing details on the project.

[EllenOlenska]

I know on other threads people are talking about this as a sort of central station/centerpiece whatever you want to call it.

But what does it abut to the north. I really don't know. Is it gonna be a long fence along a train embankment to and from which no one can move? 

[Houston19514]

24 minutes ago, Texasota said:

State and federal historic at least, but I think there were others as well. There's a link a few pages back that goes through some of the financing details on the project.

 

Found it. Thanks.  Historic tax credits, Opportunity Zone, and EB5.  I thought you were talking about something more like sales tax rebates or property tax abatements.

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

 

They got their financing before Covid-19 and there's no reason to stop now. If you stop know, all the work you did and money you spent just sits there and goes to waste, and you can't pay the loan off. Who knows what things will be like in a year when this thing is finished. If there's a Great Depression, then maybe all the people who would normally be travelling to L.A. or Seattle will cut back their family vacation to downtown Houston and Post HTX. 

 

 

m e h. Lets not go overboard. I'm assuming the person you are responding too is also a laymen. For some reason the initial reaction of a laymen is to immediately panic and ask why anything is happening during a downturn. Of course this is a very real emotional fallacy which can sometimes make people panic which in turn makes some people make rash financial decisions such as pull investments from projects, but we know that if you are actually the one building a project then the last thing one should do is panic. The best course of action for anyone currently with a building under construction is to not panic and stay the course because exactly what you just said will come true. Panic will just lead to a terrible waste of money, and panic makes one only focus on the short term not the long term. I'm certainly not amazed this is still being built. I would actually be amazed if they stopped.

 

I encourage all laymen to ask the kind of questions this one did, but I simply ask in return that they listen to those who know what is actually going on, so next time they don't have to ask these types of questions, and if they ever started a project the first thing they won't do in a downturn is panic. Because what they don't know...is that we aren't panicking. They don't know that actually we've been working more since this all started not less, and so have others on here that I've talked too.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Luminare

[gene]

wowsa...

i ride my bike from the galleria to downtown everyday just to do it and to have a possibly super cool new destination to visit (apart from discovery green) is exciting!

(and yep @BeerNut that view...dang!!!)

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by gene

[Fortune]

6 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

i am absolutely shocked / confused as to how the project wasn't put on hold.  Did they land a tenant that none of us know about???

 

According to this article they have secured a anchor tenant.

 

https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/commercial-real-estate/6-houston-projects-to-watch-in-2020-104550

[j_cuevas713]

Based on the scale of this project, anyone want to guess who it could be? Watch it be something like Memorial Hermann 😆 jk jk 

Edited May 27, 2020 by j_cuevas713

[H-Town Man]

7 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Based on the scale of this project, anyone want to guess who it could be? Watch it be something like Memorial Hermann 😆 jk jk 

 

Maybe it's our grocery store.

 

[Triton]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Maybe it's our grocery store.

 

 We've been talking about HEB coming to downtown. That would be quite a location.

 

Edit: I do feel though that an HEB would compete with all the small shops/bakeries they had in their earlier renderings though. Might not make too much sense to have them here.

[samagon]

maybe Forever 21?

 

Maybe Macy's?

 

another Amazon distribution facility?

Edited May 27, 2020 by samagon

[Triton]

1 hour ago, samagon said:

maybe Forever 21?

 

Maybe Macy's?

 

another Amazon distribution facility?

The first two stores haven't been expanding for a while. Amazon tends to build distribution centers out in the suburbs and I don't really see any warehouse use here anymore.

[LBC2HTX]

Given the description of the different atrium's, the anchor tenant is either a co-working space operator, a food-hall operator, or a music venue operator. Seems like the retail portion is intended to be experimental retail/pop-up shops rather than major tenants (similar to Chelsea Market in NYC). 

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, LBC2HTX said:

Given the description of the different atrium's, the anchor tenant is either a co-working space operator, a food-hall operator, or a music venue operator. Seems like the retail portion is intended to be experimental retail/pop-up shops rather than major tenants (similar to Chelsea Market in NYC). 

 

I'm just crossing my fingers for a killer techno/house music club.

[LBC2HTX]

Would be amazing. Houston needs to embrace party culture as that’s the only practical way I see to boost tourism and make downtown vibrant. 

[BeerNut]

2 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

I'm just crossing my fingers for a killer techno/house music club.

 

Have you been to Bauhaus?  Are you wanting something comparable to what's found in Europe?

[iah77]

16 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

I'm just crossing my fingers for a killer techno/house music club.

I think this one will be a music venue but I do know a techno/house club is probably going in another project nearby lol. 

[Luminare]

14 hours ago, BeerNut said:

 

Have you been to Bauhaus?  Are you wanting something comparable to what's found in Europe?

 

Bauhaus is actually similar to something you would find in Europe, just not a club. Its more like a typical Euro Bar you would find in the city or a small town. I liked the look. They play decent House, but the clientele and vibe is more similar to a Euro Bar. If thats what they are going for then fine. It seems to work for them, but its not a club. I certainly would like something similar to what I found during my time in Europe. Doesn't even have to be like a mega club like a Berghain or Tresor, but it is a giant warehouse, and they are drawing inspiration from similar warehouse spaces in Europe. Would be awesome if they could also bring in an actual techno/house venue. Gravity in midtown, when it was open, was probably the closets a place got to being a true techno/house club. Just needed more support, and probably needs to be in a better location.

 

14 hours ago, LBC2HTX said:

Would be amazing. Houston needs to embrace party culture as that’s the only practical way I see to boost tourism and make downtown vibrant. 

 

It doesn't even need to be exactly the party culture. Houston actually knows how to throw down if you know where to look, but electronic music certainly fits the vibe of the current city. I also hear it a lot in cars, and in bars. I think there is a real untapped market in this town. Not to mention we pull a lot of internationals particularly from Germany and France. We pull a lot of people from Cali and New York, who have great Techno/House scenes. There is a market. Just nobody is filling it.

Edited May 28, 2020 by Luminare

[BeerNut]

11 minutes ago, Luminare said:

 I certainly would like something similar to what I found during my time in Europe. Doesn't even have to be like a mega club like a Berghain or Tresor, but it is a giant warehouse, and they are drawing inspiration from similar warehouse spaces in Europe. Would be awesome if they could also bring in an actual techno/house venue. Gravity in midtown, when it was open, was probably the closets a place got to being a true techno/house club. Just needed more support, and probably needs to be in a better location.

 

Club Hyperia where Tout Suite is now was probably my favorite venue.  I went to Gravity a few times but the headliners I wanted to see never aligned with my schedule.

[BeerNut]

[gene]

dang! exciting stuff! thanks for the great photos @BeerNut!!! 

[samagon]

I noticed the steel structure from the freeway. pretty cool stuff.

[brijonmang]

6/27

[Fortune]

What a great photo!

 

I think the roof top element of this project is going to be great! I just really wish the developer would develop the surface lots surrounding the main building. If they cant do it themselves then they should partner with Hanover, Hines, Midway, or another developer to build high-rises on the parking lots. They could even sell the land to other developers if they don't want to partner with them.

 

I highlighted the parking lots in red. You could get at least three nice sized buildings on that land. For example a residential building, hotel/hospitality building, and a office building would be a great trio and a nice mix of uses! I think that would really make this development a success! You would have a built in customer base for the retail and restaurants planned in the old post office building. Not to mention the high-rises would have amazing views to the north, west, east, and downtown to the south!

 

 

[hindesky]

Paint it white.

[CaptainJilliams]

It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do to an old structure.

[hindesky]

 

[gene]

Wow thank you so much @hindesky for all the great photos over the weekend!!! 🙂

[coolman]

More cool pictures of stairs in case ya'll have not seen them. Looks awesome!

[EllenOlenska]

Damn it, don't make me love this building. 

[kbates2]

Yeah, it's looking amazing so far.

[CaptainJilliams]

Looks like it will be a pretty "instagrammable" place once everything is all done. Hoping it's a success!

[nate4l1f3]

Most of our issues with this is the surrounding parking lots but other than that it’s looking pretty cool. 

[iah77]

9 minutes ago, nate4l1f3 said:

Most of our issues with this is the surrounding parking lots but other than that it’s looking pretty cool. 

If those lots are reserved for future towers why is that bothersome? 

[HouTXRanger]

21 minutes ago, iah77 said:

If those lots are reserved for future towers why is that bothersome? 

Are they? Do we know what the developer has planned or are we just speculating?

[kbates2]

51 minutes ago, iah77 said:

If those lots are reserved for future towers why is that bothersome? 

 

I think similar to Greenstreet - the success of the project in the near-term, and thereby the chances of those reserved parking lots getting the future towers, is somewhat predicated on having a built-in market which the towers could provide.  I'm still really excited about the project but the towers would just make it cooler and more likely to succeed.

Edited July 17, 2020 by kbates2

[nate4l1f3]

47 minutes ago, iah77 said:

If those lots are reserved for future towers why is that bothersome? 

Because as of right now that’s just sizzle, we want the steak.

 

Also, initial expectations and hopes for this particular location were HIGH. Just go back through the begging of this thread. 

[Fortune]

1 hour ago, iah77 said:

If those lots are reserved for future towers why is that bothersome? 

 

The issue is that we do not know what the future plans are for the parking lots. We do not know if it is the developers intention to reserve the parking lots for future towers.