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POST: Mixed-Use Development At 401 Franklin St.


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1 hour ago, EllenOlenska said:

Super-cool + a shit ton of parking = Houston

 

All that parking in that render is existing. Seems there focus completely on the reuse of the old building and not any new construction

 

1 hour ago, Twinsanity02 said:

Surprised. With the proximity to the bayou, the theater district, market square park, numerous restaurants, walking distance to the rail, bayou walking paths, and stunning views of the skyline I would think something more than this would be developed. Surprised.

 

Not really surprised. Honestly I compare this to interventions and reuse in Sawyer Yards. Its not like those reuses did anything dramatic in relation to the bike trail or other buildings around it or even the railroad, but when I recently went down there I liked what was starting to happen there and it has lots of potential.

 

This post office site has lots of potential and I'm guessing they need to start seeing a good return on their investment and the quickest way is to reuse the existing building as quickly as possible. Get people on site and interested. See what kind of companies you get into that little area and then develop the rest to cater to that area. No need to rush.

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They shot for the stars with the original plan and failed. Good for them for at least trying. Now they have to start with something that is realistic and that makes sense financially, while leaving future development sites for when the market supports them. I'm all for it.

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This development is actually starting to remind me of a development in Pittsburgh known as Nova Place. Before I moved down to Houston, I attended college just outside of Pittsburgh, so I frequently made trips to the city to watch ball games and see performances, a nice mid-size city.

 

Nova Place is a renewal project on the north side of town that took the former Allegheny Center (Mall) and turned it into a mixed-use hub with the largest co-working space in the city, restaurants, and even residential units nearby. From what I've heard, it's experienced a decent amount of success and continues to add a lot of tech and medical companies.

 

You can take a look at it for yourself here: https://novaplace.com/about-nova-place/

 

I hope Post HTX can be a significantly better version of this, and hopefully grow and add more amenities with time.  

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22 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:



I think Paul Qui may have signed on to open a restaurant or food stall at Post Houston (could also be named Post or Post HTX).

He visited Post Houston again, I heard. And it may not mean anything because these two could be childhood friends, but Qui posted a photo of him and Lovett Commercial's Kirby Liu hanging out this weekend. Also in the photo was Brazilian chef Alex Atala. His restaurant is among the World's 50 Best Restaurants. He's also in Netflix's 'Chef's Table.' He may have been in town scoping the Houston food scene or maybe he's contemplating opening something in Houston? Maybe Post Houston?

 

 

Ate at DOM earlier this year. Given his approach, I would be very surprised if (a) he decided to open an outpost outside of Brazil, and (b) if Houston was the place he opened it.

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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

An update on when we'll get another update about Post Houston ( or Post HTX or Post). According to Houston Business Journal, updated plans and renderings will be released next week.

From Houston Business Journal today:


 

Almost four years after purchasing downtown Houston’s former Barbara Jordan Post Office, Lovett Commercial is finally ready to unveil formal plans for it.
 

The Houston-based developer has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on June 27, according to a media alert. Formal plans and renderings will be released at that time, but the media alert confirms that the over 550,000-square-foot building will become a mixed-use development featuring "international cuisine, retail, art, music and innovation."

 

Jason Long, a partner in the New York office of international architecture firm OMA, and Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture are working on the project, per the media alert.

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/06/18/long-anticipated-post-office-redevelopment-in.html

 

Its amazing how the dominos just keep falling. This is the market economy at its best. As soon as one big urban core project announces it seems to push another to push their project, and so on and so on. Every now and then the market economy can be very fickle, but when its on...its ON. Just one big update per week it seems.

 

Glad we are finally getting an OMA project in town. I don't believe they have done anything in Houston, yet I'm going to temper my expectations since Powers Brown is attached. They do solid consistent work, but they don't do work that goes above and beyond or goes beyond your expectations.

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18 hours ago, hindesky said:

https://oma.eu/projects?view=

 

I like their projects.

beautiful projects.  BUT, one really gets the sense, when they read about the Dior exhibit in Dallas, just how damned full of themselves those dallasites are LOL !!!  Maybe if Houston had just a fraction of the self promotion ability of that city, we could overtake them, and rightly so, in terms of popularity, tourism and thus the fame Houston truly deserves.  But, I can dream I guess...

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21 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

 

What hotel component? I don't ever recall a hotel being planned here.

In the HBJ article it stated when the property was first purchased on 2015 by Lovett, the developer mentioned plans of a hotel as one part of the development. Did i interpret this incorrectly?

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2 hours ago, CaptainJilliams said:

 

Well, if this 1st phase goes well, my next guess is that they will want to incorporate multi-family units around the property.

 

Especially when/if the freeway gets moved back and the rail line possibly eliminated there.

 

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5 hours ago, HOUCAJUN said:

In the HBJ article it stated when the property was first purchased on 2015 by Lovett, the developer mentioned plans of a hotel as one part of the development. Did i interpret this incorrectly?

 

Ah, you're correct. I only read the excerpt by Crockpot. There was a few mumbles here about future phases including high-rise(s). 

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On 5/24/2019 at 10:10 AM, Twinsanity02 said:

Surprised. With the proximity to the bayou, the theater district, market square park, numerous restaurants, walking distance to the rail, bayou walking paths, and stunning views of the skyline I would think something more than this would be developed. Surprised.

I agree.

 

the developers here have a jewel and it has the potential to reshape downtown for the next 5 decades.  It needs vision and it needs willpower.  It doesn’t need a sea of parking and a buzzy grass roof (how’s that working out at greenstreet?).  It needs passion.  Frankly, it needs Hines.

 

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On 6/21/2019 at 5:02 AM, UtterlyUrban said:

I agree.

 

the developers here have a jewel and it has the potential to reshape downtown for the next 5 decades.  It needs vision and it needs willpower.  It doesn’t need a sea of parking and a buzzy grass roof (how’s that working out at greenstreet?).  It needs passion.  Frankly, it needs Hines.

 

Best outcome now is bankruptcy for these joke developers.  They see value in a dumpy building, the true value is in the land.  A shame this is what it is.  I’ll gladly eat crow if they turn this into something. Anything really beyond what it’s heading toward.  But having been disappointed enough with our talentless designers and developers here I won’t be holding my breath.

 

This is probably the biggest disappointment in terms of development of any scale in Houston in quite some time.  There’s plenty of disappointments elsewhere (Thor Equities buildings are terribly hostile to the street and a waste of space - frankly), but this is the biggest loser.  I mean look at the Albert Thomas, yes it’s successful in that it isn’t vacant, but that land is FAR more valuable than what it is. This monstrosity will be the same thing minus the interaction with the rest of downtown since it is across the bayou.

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4 hours ago, West Timer said:

I'm not impressed by this either, but drama much? Calm down. No one died! 

We are each allowed opinions.  Mine veers toward the dramatic - at times.

 

This developer had dreams of OMA but an EDI budget (they probably cannot really even afford them!).  My point early was that someone better suited to a more transformative development should have this project.  Sadly that’s not how things worked out for this site.  And it will be developed into something far less than what it should be.  Because.  Houston.

Edited by arche_757
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Exactly Marathon Man.  Be bold.  The fact they’re still sitting on this with just the most marginal of expenses to build this out doesn’t bode well for its future.

 

I hope I’m wrong in my pessimistic view of this project.   My past experience in both projects I’ve worked on, and ones that pop up in this town tells me otherwise.

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4 hours ago, astrohip said:

 

Joke developers?...

 

I vote we wait and see how this develops (pun intended), rather than jump to drama and histrionics.

My opinion.  But then who is the architect involved on this?

 

Also, this isn’t a strip center to repurpose.  This is -as others have mentioned- a potentially transformative project.

 

I’ll await further judgment till it has been further developed.

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You may be right about this project. But you're way out of line when you start trashing the whole city. Then it just starts to sound like you're carrying a lot of personal baggage and personal resentment. At that point, you just get thrown in with all the "Everything About Houston Sucks" crowd and nobody's listening anymore. I get it, you're 'passionate'. Good for you, but there are a lot of great looking projects in the works in Houston these days.

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