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23 hours ago, Triton said:

Haven't seen it in a while... is it in bad shape?

 

Not really, I use that garage once a week-ish, and to me its just antiquated in design. Getting in and out sucks. It also doesn't make sense for its location, you get some foot traffic walking to the park over there. 

 

When are the repairs supposed to be done? I know they are kind of zooming, but I feel like this has been going on a while, and the lobby in the houston center is a little...rough with all of the construction stuff. 

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21 minutes ago, Nate99 said:

Status of McKinney Street: jacked. 
 

DEEC5BDC-0857-4D75-9764-A8340FAF9F7C.jpeg

 

Oh wow, so they really are going to alter that street. I thought that was just a projection into the future of what they wanted to see, but nope they are doing it right now. A reduced McKinney St in this area will go a long way to making this feel like a place.

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3 minutes ago, Big E said:

 

Wait, why are they tearing up the street again?

 

This part of McKinney is being reduced from 3 lanes and 1 parking lane to 2 lanes and 1 parking lane. The parking lane will also be structured, so not one continuous road. They will probably be busting up the sidewalks at some point in order to match the streetscape they will be doing as well.

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41 minutes ago, Urbannizer said:

 

I rode by there last night on my bike because of the this thread to check it out. The lighting looks great, its to unfamiliar that I was like "where am I?" The part of the PDF showing the aerial view accentuates how much is going to change, having that outdoor space up top and have much more green is really going to change the way people view the shops. Rather than this lunch haven and not much more, I can really see this attracting people to utilize it after hours, potentially before sport events (when they eventually come back) or just unwinding after work.

 

I can't help but think if this was only done 5 years ago how much more desirable downtown office spaces would be. But, thankfully, talking to a developer friend, he was saying this development might get a COVID-inspired boost in 2021 when its one of the only "new" office-adjacent spaces to come online during that time. 

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Looks like they've really scaled this back.  Probably for the best, though, because now they won't have to kick out their existing tenants to make this work.  No more movie theater, and less street-level interaction, and the rest of the second floor ends up a lot less "open", even keeping several of the tenants in their old locations.  It's a lot less of a "reimagining" than they originally had planned, but this still should be very nice, especially with that rooftop patio.

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Eh, it’s a nice facelift that’ll improve street presence but the interior is going to remain mostly the same- a food court with added programming. Its hard to see this becoming a destination with its current tenants. 

Edited by LBC2HTX
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I'm impressed with it. If the inside is still something that people don't really want to visit, good. The more people on the street, the better.

 

The combination of this, the renovation across the street, and the narrowing of McKinney to two lanes, is better than we could have ever dreamed 5 years ago, and provides an attractive visual gateway to bring visitors from Discovery Green to the rest of downtown. 

 

 

 

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On 6/29/2020 at 10:09 AM, H-Town Man said:

I'm impressed with it. If the inside is still something that people don't really want to visit, good. The more people on the street, the better.

 

The combination of this, the renovation across the street, and the narrowing of McKinney to two lanes, is better than we could have ever dreamed 5 years ago, and provides an attractive visual gateway to bring visitors from Discovery Green to the rest of downtown. 

 

 

 

Agree. If you go to the mall in downtown Seattle, it's not very big, it's like 3 stories tall, and the stores are ehhhh. BUT because it's so nicely designed, it was aesthetically pleasing walking from there to Pikes Market. Similar to what's happening here. 

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On 6/29/2020 at 7:07 AM, LBC2HTX said:

Eh, it’s a nice facelift that’ll improve street presence but the interior is going to remain mostly the same- a food court with added programming. Its hard to see this becoming a destination with its current tenants. 

Anytime there's an elevated terrace added to Downtown, I will frequent it. We have a decent skyline and if I can sip a drink & gawk I will certainly do so.

 

Plus it's cool to bring all of my suburbanite and out of town guests. Downtown can really benefit from it's new residents plus us East End-ers. 

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On 6/29/2020 at 7:07 AM, LBC2HTX said:

Eh, it’s a nice facelift that’ll improve street presence but the interior is going to remain mostly the same- a food court with added programming. Its hard to see this becoming a destination with its current tenants. 

 

Anything to not look like a 90's mall from the outside and a dingy mall food court on the inside. I used to hate going to our downtown office cause the shops was so depressing since all the good places were always busy and then some days finding a seat was a pain in the ass. Inside always felt like a crappier Almeda mall 😝

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On 6/29/2020 at 7:07 AM, LBC2HTX said:

Eh, it’s a nice facelift that’ll improve street presence but the interior is going to remain mostly the same- a food court with added programming. Its hard to see this becoming a destination with its current tenants. 

But that was the issue, very few people knew there was anything inside. The food court and the layout isn't bad. Once you get some notable tenants, that will upgrade the interior on its own. Like I said in a previous post, the mall in downtown Seattle isn't anything to marvel at but the fact it was open and I know there was life inside made it enjoyable and worth checking out. 

Edited by j_cuevas713
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Milestones to come at LyondellBasell Tower:

 

  • End of August
    • Skybridge from Fulbright Tower to 4 Houston Center opens  
  • September
    • Terrace area on P1 completed with new outdoor furnishings
  • October
    • New glass entryway located on the northeast corner of LyondellBasell Tower opens
    • P1 south lobby finishes to be complete
  • December
  • Plaza, mezzanine, and amenity spaces, including the fitness center and conferencing venue to be complete

 

The redevelopment of Houston Center aligns with our approach to creating and operating iconic mixed-use projects and focusing on the central theme of placemaking. Upon completion, Houston Center will be a modern and dynamic mixed-use office campus with amenities specially designed for you, our tenants. We look forward to unveiling the entire redevelopment once complete. Please note that there is still the possibility of delays for delivery of items that may be impacted by the pandemic, weather events or other unknowns. As construction continues, we will provide project news and updates through email and via www.HoustonCenter.com.

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1 hour ago, Montrose1100 said:

It's a cool feeling seeing this interaction with the street. It goes against everything in the original vision.

 

The contrast in glass is kind of ugly, but I guess I'll reserve judgements until it's complete with some greenery. 

 

100% agree with see this being against the original vision. The change has been much...more than I would have thought after seeing the original outline a year ago.

 

If they basically just remove SOME of the brick from the Shops, downtown will have gotten such a facelift. And walking into the shops will no longer feel like going into a bunker.

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2 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

It's a cool feeling seeing this interaction with the street. It goes against everything in the original vision.

 

The contrast in glass is kind of ugly, but I guess I'll reserve judgements until it's complete with some greenery. 


I think the contrast is pretty neat, from a historical perspective. I'm going to enjoy pointing out to people why there's such a stark break between the old building and the new renovations, and the 180 planning philosophy has made since the Houston Center was built.

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4 hours ago, X.R. said:

 

100% agree with see this being against the original vision. The change has been much...more than I would have thought after seeing the original outline a year ago.

 

If they basically just remove SOME of the brick from the Shops, downtown will have gotten such a facelift. And walking into the shops will no longer feel like going into a bunker.

 

I believe there are plans for updates to the facade of the shops, correct? or am I mistaken?

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