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Texas Tower: 47-Story Office Tower At 845 Texas Ave.


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I'll add another car to this derailment.

The last super tall we know of that had a rendering come to light was in Uptown, so scarcity of Downtown blocks (which won't happen for a while) is not a big deal. So, there are many factors and options. It will come down to the right demand and development to hold a crown of tallest in the city, state, or even west of the Mississippi.

I'm sure Hines' latest tower could have easily become this, but would probably require the purchasing of another block solely for additional parking.

I think you're right. Both submarkets have their own levels of scarcity and either could potentially provide a supertall. But remember my downtown caveat. All of downtown real estate doesn't need to be scarce, only the west/northwest side. That's my theory.

Maybe an advantage that Post Oak has is that there aren't really towers they're going to tear down and replace with a tower. However, there is lots of room where current shopping centers are.

...thinking out loud here.

Edited by lockmat
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http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/06/houston-chronicle-building-sale-in-the-works/#21137101=0

Looks as though Hines is moving toward purchasing the Chronicle site Downtown. This holds potential for either commercial or residential. Would love something taller than the Chase tower here.

 

Hines is confirmed:

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Hines-to-own-another-prime-piece-of-downtown-6479478.php

 

"John Mooz, senior managing director of Hines, confirmed the company's plans to acquire the property late Tuesday but would not expand on what it plans for the site or provide any other details."

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Well atleast we know the buildings will be gone. He sat on the BG Group lot for a while, I remember a rendering of a small blue glass building maybe the size of 6 Houston Center.

It will be interesting what Hines decides to do with it. If they build residential now or commercial later, we can expect quality.

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Well atleast we know the buildings will be gone. He sat on the BG Group lot for a while, I remember a rendering of a small blue glass building maybe the size of 6 Houston Center.

It will be interesting what Hines decides to do with it. If they build residential now or commercial later, we can expect quality.

 

I thought that was the Texas/Main lot.

 

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Not so sure if they are thinking office, I think they will wait, if the are thinking residential then I think they will wait to see how the current project fairs, if it lease fairly quickly, then they will be aggressive. .one think about Hines they don't seem to focus on the current state of the market as much as the others if they did 609 would have been put on hold like so many plan towers

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Given economic uncertainty I think this will be a surface lot for many years to come.

I'd usually agree with you but you never know with Hines. Their risk assessment appears to be a little different than others. I could be wrong... we all know a slowdown in growth is coming so who knows what Hines may want to do now.

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Not so sure if they are thinking office, I think they will wait, if the are thinking residential then I think they will wait to see how the current project fairs, if it lease fairly quickly, then they will be aggressive. .one think about Hines they don't seem to focus on the current state of the market as much as the others if they did 609 would have been put on hold like so many plan towers

 

their timeline on multifamily is much longer than most developers... they pro forma assets through multiple cycles which equates to holds between 7-15 years. not to say that is always the case but that's their MO.

Edited by swtsig
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I doubt the original hodgepodge of buildings can be adequately restored at this point in their lifespans. When that cladding was put on those buildings in the 1960s, they did alot of damage to the exterior surfaces. Also, so much alteration has been done to the interior that it's all but unrecognizable in some areas. It is a shame though. The original Chronicle Building was a handsome architectural specimen for its day. It was built in 1909 and stood 10 stories tall.

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2018 possibly? Seems like a total guess.

 

 

 

But with the Houston office market headed for the doldrums it will be years before the Chronicle site, 801 Texas Avenue, will have a new skyscraper on it.  A groundbreaking in 2018, with a tower being completed in 2020, seems like a good timetable estimate.

 

http://realtynewsreport.com/2015/09/01/houston-chronicles-demolition-to-clear-way-for-hines-next-addition-to-houston-skyline/

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Would they really bulldoze it until 2018?  Wouldn't leasing it out as offices until then be cheaper and provide more in come than a parking lot?

 

It doesn't sound like the easiest property to lease out.  At best, it might be comparable to the pre-demolition Houston Club building which was largely vacant for a long time prior to Skanska getting its hands on it.

 

As to why you would demolish it vs. let it sit as is until you are ready, I don't know the economics or legal concerns involved well enough to hazard a guess.

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Would they really bulldoze it until 2018?  Wouldn't leasing it out as offices until then be cheaper and provide more in come than a parking lot?

 

I suspect the configuration of the building would not be terribly attractive to most commercial tenants.  Hines would be on the hook for the value of the improvements in addition to the land for tax purposes and would have to pull tenants in in order to make the additional improvements worth it.  With all the construction downtown eating up competing places to park, they can reliably get good rates for parking to cover their holding costs without risking the maintenance costs and liability risk that comes with having improvements on property.

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I'm sure this has been answered many times before but the timetable to build a skyscraper is several years, especially in the 40+ floor range. So why not take advantage of the 'cheap' resources now for when the market recovers several years from now when the building is ready for occupancy. Sorry, I'm sort of ignorant on these issues.

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Hines has not been known to buy properties with any intention of sitting on them for any extended period of time, and I cannot think of a single instance where they have bought a property, demolished it, and replaced it with a parking lot.

Dumb and lazy question, do we know how long they sat on the 609 property? They will likely not bulldoze anything until they build.
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