1801 Smith Renovation/Conversion To Residential

[Montrose1100]

17 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said:

I'm wondering if the dark glass cladding on the lower levels will remain. It sort of looks like a late add on to the current building.

It looks to remain in the renderings.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[BEES?!]

Are they being called condos because that’s just the technical term, or are these actually condos?

[hindesky]

I wonder if that is painted or just power washed on the top portion?

 

[ChannelTwoNews]

On 8/19/2022 at 6:57 PM, hindesky said:

I wonder if that is painted or just power washed on the top portion?

 

I'd guess it's the earliest part of the paint job. 

 

[hindesky]

IMG_5602 by David, on Flickr

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

I was going to ask if this is the building occupied by the Harris County DA's office, but, since they called me yesterday to interview me about a wreck I was in last June, my question was answered... it's next door.

[hindesky]

https://www.bdcnetwork.com/converting-office-buildings-apartments-cheaper-greener-building-new

"Converting office buildings to apartments is cheaper and greener than tearing down old office properties and building new residential buildings."

[BEES?!]

I imagine a lot faster too. Probably why the DRA wants to facilitate quicker conversions of these underutilized buildings into something that’ll bring more life downtown

[hindesky]

[Brooklyn173]

Northeast side

Southeast side

[hindesky]

I guess that indicates this will get the orange trim around the window.

 

[X.R.]

What a difference a paint job makes. 

If the downtown authority can get another conversion going, their program is already a success since it feels like they are making something out of nothing at this point. 

[Big E]

15 hours ago, X.R. said:

What a difference a paint job makes. 

If the downtown authority can get another conversion going, their program is already a success since it feels like they are making something out of nothing at this point. 

What other building could they renovate that would be economically feasible and is mostly empty?

[wilcal]

11 hours ago, Big E said:

What other building could they renovate that would be economically feasible and is mostly empty?

*winks in Heaven on Earth Days Inn*

[kennyc05]

56 minutes ago, wilcal said:

*winks in Heaven on Earth Days Inn*

I was thinking the same thing yesterday!

[BEES?!]

14 hours ago, Big E said:

What other building could they renovate that would be economically feasible and is mostly empty?

From the DRA’s meeting, it sounds like they may have a couple in mind. Not sure which ones though

[Big E]

3 hours ago, wilcal said:

*winks in Heaven on Earth Days Inn*

Is that building even structurally sound?

[wilcal]

18 minutes ago, Big E said:

Is that building even structurally sound?

The answer evidently is yes, but the issue is that the distance between floors is pretty tight so it would make for some low ceilings. Clearly it is just valuable enough to not tear down.

[X.R.]

6 hours ago, wilcal said:

The answer evidently is yes, but the issue is that the distance between floors is pretty tight so it would make for some low ceilings. Clearly it is just valuable enough to not tear down.

I've actually heard multiple developers say its just cheaper to build new in comparison to what that building needs. But like you say, its not so f*ed that the tear down has happened yet.

For possible suitors of this program, I would look at office spaces that haven't been updated in the last 5+ years. Just keep going back until you hit some poor sap building with a subpar lease rate. The gap between A and B/C in terms of design and amenities just seems to be widening. 

[BEES?!]

I am also not sure if The Esperson bldg partial conversion is because of the DRA study or if it was just the building’s owners reacting to market changes. (I’m guessing the latter)

but I’m super interested to see the buildings that will convert in the coming years. The management district has set a goal to add 5k new residents by 2027, I believe. 

[hindesky]

The local press are finally reporting the stories about the two office to apartments conversion. 

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/office-to-apartment-conversion-houston/285-a80bad2e-5690-4578-8011-e2f4c5728369

[Brooklyn173]

West side

 

 

[hindesky]

[editor]

On 9/7/2022 at 2:38 AM, Big E said:

What other building could they renovate that would be economically feasible and is mostly empty?

How about Heritage Plaza?  Texaco's gone, and people would pay big bucks for a condo with those views, and location.

[Ross]

48 minutes ago, editor said:

How about Heritage Plaza?  Texaco's gone, and people would pay big bucks for a condo with those views, and location.

Deloitte and EOG would have to find new space. Texaco never had more than half the building.

[Avossos]

42 minutes ago, Ross said:

Deloitte and EOG would have to find new space. Texaco never had more than half the building.

Brookfield should just build a condo building or 2 on their empty lot (parking now) across from Heritage / Allen Center

[Big E]

5 hours ago, editor said:

How about Heritage Plaza?  Texaco's gone, and people would pay big bucks for a condo with those views, and location.

Not sure how much space is available and if it would be economically feasible to convert prime office space in a building of that size.

[editor]

1 hour ago, Big E said:

Not sure how much space is available and if it would be economically feasible to convert prime office space in a building of that size.

I've seen larger office buildings converted either into hotel+condo, or office +condo. Usually the blocking factor is will.  It's hard to introduce new ways of thinking about buildings into established markets. 
 

When IBM's former Midwest headquarters was turned into a hotel, the architects told me it was a dream assignment because the floors were so far apart, and the whole building was completely over engineered to handle the weight of old mainframe computers. 

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, editor said:

I've seen larger office buildings converted either into hotel+condo, or office +condo. Usually the blocking factor is will.  It's hard to introduce new ways of thinking about buildings into established markets. 
 

When IBM's former Midwest headquarters was turned into a hotel, the architects told me it was a dream assignment because the floors were so far apart, and the whole building was completely over engineered to handle the weight of old mainframe computers. 

Or office + hotel, as was done with the former IBM Plaza in Chicago.

I just remembered there was some talk a couple years back about the possible development of a hotel by Sam Houston Park. . .  Part of Heritage Plaza could be ideal for that.  However, IIRC, they had a pretty extensive upgrade/remodel in recent years, so it seems unlikely they would be looking for conversion possibilities at this time.  But of course it all depends on their occupancy rate... Haven't been able to find that, but with Deloitte and EOG, they might be among the healthier downtown buildings.  (It looks like EOG and Deloitte lease almost half the building.)

8 hours ago, Ross said:

Deloitte and EOG would have to find new space. Texaco never had more than half the building.

And of course what Texaco had, they let go 17 years ago.  I suspect Brookfield has backfilled most of that by now...  ;-)

Edited September 18, 2022 by Houston19514

[Big E]

4 hours ago, editor said:

I've seen larger office buildings converted either into hotel+condo, or office +condo. Usually the blocking factor is will.  It's hard to introduce new ways of thinking about buildings into established markets. 

I think for a building of that size to get a conversion, it would have to be almost empty. Those conversions are expensive (I think this conversion cost like $28 million, if I remember correctly), and you need to ensure a healthy return on investment. A few rooms spread across several floors wouldn't be worth it.

[Houston19514]

11 hours ago, Big E said:

I think for a building of that size to get a conversion, it would have to be almost empty. Those conversions are expensive (I think this conversion cost like $28 million, if I remember correctly), and you need to ensure a healthy return on investment. A few rooms spread across several floors wouldn't be worth it.

For a point of reference, the conversion to hotel of 12 floors of the 52-story IBM Plaza referenced above was in the neighborhood of $200 Million (with completion 9 years ago).  That was an interesting deal in that the hotel developer actually bought the 12 floors from the building owner (for $45 Million) and then spent the $175 Million on the conversion to hotel.  The rest of the building stayed with the prior owner/seller and remained as office space.

Edited September 19, 2022 by Houston19514

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[Brooklyn173]

Not as impressive as the above but...

 

Peekaboo artsy shot

[Highrise Tower]

On the train.

[hindesky]

[Brooklyn173]

[hindesky]

[BEES?!]

Looks really nice!

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[BEES?!]

It’d be neat if they could repurpose some of that top level of the garage for a cool amenity or something, like a nice garden, or dog run, or play spot

[hindesky]

6 minutes ago, BEES?! said:

It’d be neat if they could repurpose some of that top level of the garage for a cool amenity or something, like a nice garden, or dog run, or play spot

They probably won't have as many tenants as an office building would have therefore need less parking spots.

[Kim Brown]

ELEV8 Downtown Apartments

http://debartolodevelopment.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/1810.pdf

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

They have started pressure washing the east and south sides.

[hindesky]

East side is painted and part of the south side.