Arabella: Condominiums At 4521 San Felipe St.

[towerjunkie]

A gif of me throwing Arabella in the trash as Randall helplessly looks on.

 

 

[bobruss]

Not only has Randall, made major changes to the facade and the use of materials, he's lost that beautifully sensitive curved glass wall.

It looks boxy, stiff and cluttered now. 

Randall never follows through in the execution of his projects.  I've yet to see a finished project that looked even close

to the renderings that were advertised. Just when I thought he'd raised the bar with this project and was finally  going to succeed, he tripped again.

[UtterlyUrban]

9 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

The areas where they have replaced glass with the solid facade materials are almost entirely bedrooms (and some bathrooms).  Maybe the market for all-glass bedrooms is not quite as large as originally imagined.

This is and interesting thought.

 

But, what if a purchaser (I.e. They already signed a contract for a unit based on the prior design) actually liked all the glass and only now finds out that their unit will not have all that glass.  I wonder if the purchaser can now back out of the contract?  I have no idea how these "pre-construction" contracts work.

[KinkaidAlum]

Not buying the glass/bedroom excuse. Are there no bedrooms on the southern side of the building or upper floors? This is a cost-curtting measure pure and simple. Replace glass with cheaper EIFS and profits increase. It's his right to make more $ but it's my right to say it now looks solidly mediocre rather than potentially beautiful.

[thatguysly]

Hes just using the leftover paint and stucco from the Astoria project. This is a shame. It's amazing how far away from the renderings these projects end up.

[Houston19514]

13 hours ago, KinkaidAlum said:

Not buying the glass/bedroom excuse. Are there no bedrooms on the southern side of the building or upper floors? This is a cost-curtting measure pure and simple. Replace glass with cheaper EIFS and profits increase. It's his right to make more $ but it's my right to say it now looks solidly mediocre rather than potentially beautiful.

 

Yes there are bedrooms on the southern portion of the building's west wall, but as it happens, not nearly as many as on the northern portion; and there has also been some glass removed from the southern portions of the building, but as it happens, not as much... coincidence?.  But in any case, the theory that this may be in reaction to there not being as much market for all glass bedrooms as had been imagined is not suggesting that there is no market for all glass bedrooms.

[Houston19514]

14 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

This is and interesting thought.

 

But, what if a purchaser (I.e. They already signed a contract for a unit based on the prior design) actually liked all the glass and only now finds out that their unit will not have all that glass.  I wonder if the purchaser can now back out of the contract?  I have no idea how these "pre-construction" contracts work.

 

Excellent question.  I would think/hope there would be an opportunity to cancel (and get your deposit back) if there are significant design changes.  (Note to self for when I purchase a high-rise condo sometime down the road...)

[H-TownChris2]

Not sure if this was said or not, (too lazy to go back and check) but the main reason for this was because of the budget...

[SkylineView]

Another week, no movement on site.  Forms still up from 20 days ago.

[BigFootsSocks]

52 minutes ago, SkylineView said:

Another week, no movement on site.  Forms still up from 20 days ago.

As explained above, there was a redesign, which means that there will be a slight drlay.

 

i still think this is cause for the collapse of the Houston economy and the death of a city. Everyone start gathering supplies, it's about to get all Fury Road up in this delicate flower.

[Triton]

2 hours ago, BigFootsSocks said:

As explained above, there was a redesign, which means that there will be a slight drlay.

 

i still think this is cause for the collapse of the Houston economy and the death of a city. Everyone start gathering supplies, it's about to get all Fury Road up in this delicate flower.

You will arrive at the gates of Arabella, shiny and chrome.

[Triton]

On 6/8/2016 at 0:37 PM, TowermaniacXD said:

A gif of me throwing Arabella in the trash as Randall helplessly looks on.

 

 

 

[H-Town Man]

Looks like it has a skin disease. Doesn't Randall have any pride?

 

[towerjunkie]

3 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

Looks like it has a skin disease. Doesn't Randall have any pride?

 

 

Maybe those endless bottles of red wine are flooding his judgement. 

[EllenOlenska]

I'm going to be in the minority, but I don't hate it. It was handsome and now not quite so handsome, but in the end I don't know if I like it less than, say, the Sky Houses. They say humans feel twice as much pain with loss than they feel pleasure with gain, so I can understand why one would be upset with the "blah"-ization of the building, but my thoughts are still this: well, it's tall.

[bobruss]

I'm sorry but once they are built there pretty much there forever, so I don't subscribe to the build baby build program. I would prefer quality design

and not this bait and switch method he tends to practice. I think he's really destroyed the integrity of the original design.

Look what we have on the east side of downtown now. The Embassy suites and the Hampton two unattractive buildings that don't pass muster.

[monarch]

^^^ ok HAIF, i am now ready.  i am now ready for randall davis to just pop out of one of houston's famous wine bars to relay to all of us that we are being PUNKED!  yes, that's it... we are being PUNKED... right?  i for one, simply refuse to believe that good ole "tricky dick" randall has suddenly decided to pounce out of nowhere to bestow to this community

a brand new rendering / concept of his once gorgeous ARABELLA in all of her once striking glory, to a building that looks as though it's going through a constant metamorphosis.  i mean really!  this new concept reminds me of a transformer or a shapeshifter.  he took the once proud ASTORIA, and turned it into something akin to a light beamer straight to planet mars or even pluto.  now, he has taken the once beautiful dress / gown off of ARABELLA, and turned her into a cheaply dressed harlot!  randall, my pal, if you can see me.. if you can hear me.. i beg of you, please tell us that we are being PUNKED!

 

[db650]

any update on sales? And is it confirmed the building design is different? The website still appears to be pitching the old design, as do the MLS listings.

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 10, 2019 by Timoric

[thatguysly]

Only update i have is that the crews have been working onsite again. So the project isn't shut down.

[Houston19514]

37 minutes ago, thatguysly said:

Only update i have is that the crews have been working onsite again. So the project isn't shut down.

 

They've had crews working onsite continuously.  There was never any reason to think the project was shut down.

[thatguysly]

17 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

They've had crews working onsite continuously.  There was never any reason to think the project was shut down.

Oh I agree. Some people seem to think otherwise so my post was being somewhat sarcastic.

[JoninATX]

Any updates?

 

[H-TownChris2]

I have a pretty reliable source and they're still changing the design of the building due to financial problems, same happened with Astoria, what you guys seen up there isn't official yet. 

[monarch]

53 minutes ago, H-TownChris2 said:

I have a pretty reliable source and they're still changing the design of the building due to financial problems, same happened with Astoria, what you guys seen up there isn't official yet. 

 

 

^^^ well, if they keep having these financial difficulties as per their developments, then why for the love of GOD, do they keep on developing more projects?

pretty soon, beautiful ARABELLA... is going to end up resembling STEPHEN KING'S DARK TOWER.....

 

[richfish]

On 6/9/2016 at 0:04 PM, Houston19514 said:

 

Yes there are bedrooms on the southern portion of the building's west wall, but as it happens, not nearly as many as on the northern portion; and there has also been some glass removed from the southern portions of the building, but as it happens, not as much... coincidence?.  But in any case, the theory that this may be in reaction to there not being as much market for all glass bedrooms as had been imagined is not suggesting that there is no market for all glass bedrooms.

 

These units, like the Cosmo, will almost all have remote blinds.

[Urbannizer]

 

 

c/o GT Leach via Facebook

[Urbannizer]

http://houstoneb5.com/arabella/

 

 

[Urbannizer]

Update sent to me via email:

 

 

 

[db650]

I got the same update. You left out the photo of the exterior rendering that looks just like the original. So is the building proceeding as originally envisioned, despite rumors on this board? Or is RD really going to do a last minute swap and eliminate tons of windows?

[H-Town Man]

9 hours ago, db650 said:

I got the same update. You left out the photo of the exterior rendering that looks just like the original. So is the building proceeding as originally envisioned, despite rumors on this board? Or is RD really going to do a last minute swap and eliminate tons of windows?

 

I think they're going to cover it all in the pebble-studded concrete of 1970's warehouse buildings, with thin tinted slit windows to satisfy building code.

 

[Urbannizer]

 

[SkylineView]

2016 08 31: pics by me

 

 

[Urbannizer]

From The Wilshire's webcam:

 

[MarathonMan]

Wow!  Arabella seems awfully close to Skyhouse!

[EllenOlenska]

[ChannelTwoNews]

From today...

 

 

[Ctaf]

the pictures make it look really close to sky house. is it just the angle of the pictures, or is it really that close

[Urbannizer]

 

[Urbannizer]

Please excuse my drive-by shooting.

 

[db650]

I guess it's now official. Website now has new rendering with less glass as suggested in this thread months before.  Took them long enough.

 

 

[Urbannizer]

4 minutes ago, db650 said:

I guess it's now official. Website now has new rendering with less glass as suggested in this thread months before.  Took them long enough.

 

 

 

[monarch]

^^^ actually, not so bad after all.  heck, we shall just take whatever we can get from good ole randall.....

[htownboy]

Interesting color scheme with the blue and white. Still looks progressive for Houston. Somewhat futuristic. Perhaps not up to the bar that the first design set but it's honestly pretty nice.

[Houston19514]

It has been refined since the earlier rendering th atwas posted in this thread.   We have not seen this rendering before.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Houston19514

[enriquewx91]

[bobruss]

On October 16, 2016 at 7:49 AM, Houston19514 said:

It has been refined since the earlier rendering fhaf was posted in this thread.   We have not seen this rendering before.

 

And its highly doubtful that we'll see this building when its finished, the way it appears in this rendering.

[EllenOlenska]

The HAIF arguments over whether it should be renovated with a full complement of glass or kept in its original 2017 aesthetic in fifty years will be wild. 

[Urbannizer]

 

[monarch]

^^^ progress, yes!