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Drewery Place: Multifamily High-Rise At 2850 Fannin St.


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On 6/20/2020 at 12:25 PM, TheSirDingle said:

Caydon website: https://caydonproperty.com/us/properties/residential
Link given for view property: https://caydonproperty.com/us/properties/fitzroy-residences-houston-condos

 

(pardon me for the low quality snip)

864979121_Phase_2caydon.PNG.fb9630a43a6d7ae3ddda33d255b744cd.PNG
Looks like they also updated their listing on the website. It seems to be a condo tower paired with a Kimpton hotel, and has the same street level rendering looking at the garage level as before.

 

The Condominiums will start from $300k, and will range from 1-3 bedrooms (bathrooms are currently unknown but we can assume it's the same as the bedrooms). They'll also range from 560 sqft to 2000 sqft. That's all I can really get from the website listing.

 

For the view property link it ask me to put in my email, name, and phone # if you want to know more about the development (guess they'll send me a link in the future). This in turn puts you on a VIP list that allows you to be one of the first people to visit their sales office. 

 

$300k for 560 sqft...yowza!

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I actually like the scaled down version - it kind of looks like the Allen.  The fact that it will have a neighboring tower on the same block is great for density and based on Drewery Place, Caydon will use high quality materials.  Of course would prefer a higher floor count, but 30+ floors with good design/quality in an area that didn't have a high-rise 12 months ago is a W in my book.

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I'm just gonna echo @CREguy13 and say something like this in midtown is really going to change the look of midtown. Houston is so spread out, a really tall building doesn't make much sense here. In some sense this sort of thing is necessary before we can begin to get very tall buildings. 

And I for one still remember when, except for two peculiar buildings, all the buildings in midtown were two to four stories tall. 

Edited by EllenOlenska
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22 hours ago, wxman said:

Yikes, this thing got a pretty significant hair cut. Not nearly as dominate first proposed. Looks like it got the quintessential Houston treatment.

 

There is really nothing quintessentially Houston about it.  This happens in developments everywhere.

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On 6/27/2020 at 1:08 PM, EllenOlenska said:

I'm just gonna echo @CREguy13 and say something like this in midtown is really going to change the look of midtown. Houston is so spread out, a really tall building doesn't make much sense here. In some sense this sort of thing is necessary before we can begin to get very tall buildings. 

And I for one still remember when, except for two peculiar buildings, all the buildings in midtown were two to four stories tall. 

Although I agree with what you are saying, I would like to point out that this is Houston and plopping down tall buildings in random areas are what we do.

 

The Williams tower, AIG building and others.

 

But like I said, I do agree with you. This will help transform the area which will hopefully result in taller and taller buildings. 

 

My dream for midtown has always been a sea of 12 storey buildings with a string of 30 to 50 storey buildings along main from downtown to Herman Park. 

 

There's so much empty or decay around this project. Hopefully more deals can get going in this area

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5 hours ago, HoustonIsHome said:

Although I agree with what you are saying, I would like to point out that this is Houston and plopping down tall buildings in random areas are what we do.

 

The Williams tower, AIG building and others.

 

But like I said, I do agree with you. This will help transform the area which will hopefully result in taller and taller buildings. 

 

My dream for midtown has always been a sea of 12 storey buildings with a string of 30 to 50 storey buildings along main from downtown to Herman Park. 

 

There's so much empty or decay around this project. Hopefully more deals can get going in this area

Yeah this project along with The Innovation District are going to change this area dramatically. You are already getting a better urban vibe from West Alabama to Holman towards HCC. And further down around McGowen. 

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25 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah this project along with The Innovation District are going to change this area dramatically. You are already getting a better urban vibe from West Alabama to Holman towards HCC. And further down around McGowen. 

I bet the stretch of Richmond just west of The Ion on  the other side of the spur will start developing next. It seems like just about every storefront on that stretch of Richmond between the spur and Montrose Blvd is vacant, and I have a feeling it’s due to the crummy conditions on the Wheeler side. Once that area improves, I think this pocket of Montrose will also explode.

Edited by clutchcity94
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7 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah this project along with The Innovation District are going to change this area dramatically. You are already getting a better urban vibe from West Alabama to Holman towards HCC. And further down around McGowen. 

 

The progress over the last 5 years is impressive.

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2 hours ago, HOU_huckster said:

 

This isn't true, though. Look for D&Q (Houston's best beer shop), Ono Poke (Houston's best poke), Foelber Pottery (a goddamn institution), Chapultepec, BCN, etc. Appearances are deceiving. This is the Houston I love quite frankly. The Houston that's a little less obvious (and, sure, slightly unkempt) but rewarding. 

Agree! I lived on Jack and walked to all these places. It's actually a very cool neighborhood. Much better when Brooklyn was still open. Used to walk across the street for UH games. 

Edited by j_cuevas713
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13 hours ago, HOU_huckster said:

 

This isn't true, though. Look for D&Q (Houston's best beer shop), Ono Poke (Houston's best poke), Foelber Pottery (a goddamn institution), Chapultepec, BCN, etc. Appearances are deceiving. This is the Houston I love quite frankly. The Houston that's a little less obvious (and, sure, slightly unkempt) but rewarding. 

True. I feel like there’s so much more potential there though.

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  • 3 weeks later...
5 hours ago, TheSirDingle said:

I've seen some over reactions to design changes, but this takes the cake 🤣🤣

 

Putting that aside, and just real talk about design, looking at Preston's portfolio, is this really a shocker? Even with the current climate. I can buy the argument that the economy chopped the building by about 10 stories, but design wise that's all on the architect. I constantly have problems with architects who are like this. If you can not achieve it then don't sell it. It would have been better if they had undersold and then delivered the version they currently have. Nothing in Preston's portfolio tells me they excel with anything curvilinear. I see a few buildings with some stock "Oh lets place a gentle bezier curve here," but that's it. What this should tell people, at the end of the day, is that sure there was some obvious value engineering, but overall design wise this firm oversold and under delivered, and that is on them. Not the value engineering. Look at what Michael Hsu does, or Munoz Albin, etc... Those are just examples of firms that make sure what they sell is actually what gets built keeping in mind that at some point the budget in every project gets trimmed. Let's not let the architects potentially get away from this penalty free with an excuse of...it was the economy, and so we had to value engineer. No this is a pattern. They can not do curvilinear work. Just a bad choice in architect, and I hope Caydon learns from this.

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1 hour ago, Luminare said:

 

Putting that aside, and just real talk about design, looking at Preston's portfolio, is this really a shocker? Even with the current climate. I can buy the argument that the economy chopped the building by about 10 stories, but design wise that's all on the architect. I constantly have problems with architects who are like this. If you can not achieve it then don't sell it. It would have been better if they had undersold and then delivered the version they currently have. Nothing in Preston's portfolio tells me they excel with anything curvilinear. I see a few buildings with some stock "Oh lets place a gentle bezier curve here," but that's it. What this should tell people, at the end of the day, is that sure there was some obvious value engineering, but overall design wise this firm oversold and under delivered, and that is on them. Not the value engineering. Look at what Michael Hsu does, or Munoz Albin, etc... Those are just examples of firms that make sure what they sell is actually what gets built keeping in mind that at some point the budget in every project gets trimmed. Let's not let the architects potentially get away from this penalty free with an excuse of...it was the economy, and so we had to value engineer. No this is a pattern. They can not do curvilinear work. Just a bad choice in architect, and I hope Caydon learns from this.

Agreed, Preston never delivers on their promises. I mean it's not a bad design, hell it's actually pretty above average compared to most. Its just why didn't they just shrink down the other design, it still would of looked great with a few floors cut off. Come on Preston do better, hope Caydon doesn't choose them again. 

I have a feeling a large part of the scale back was part of the deep dive the hotel market did, while Kimpton is a high tier brand even they can't avoid this massive of a melt down. They might of had a pretty large say in this design change, considering the circumstances. 

 

I'm sure this isn't go to negatively affect the rest of the development, since this is honestly the best time to build condos/residential (I think I spotted some permits for the other parts). Although while it's scaled down considerably, it's still a great addition to the overall development and a once dead area of Houston. I'm hopping the laneways concept takeoffs in Houston, just love the idea of large pedestrian oriented, vehicle free canyons. While I wish they would of kept the original design, this will still be a massive plus to the skyline and pedestrian environment of Houston/midtown. 

Edited by TheSirDingle
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18 hours ago, wxman said:

The quintessential Houston treatment. Ghetto.

 

That is a 1983 office building, straight up. Next

 

You either need to learn the meaning of quintessential, or pay some attention to development in other cities.  There is nothing quintessentially Houston about this.  Design changes and value engineering happen EVERYWHERE.

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13 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

Putting that aside, and just real talk about design, looking at Preston's portfolio, is this really a shocker? Even with the current climate. I can buy the argument that the economy chopped the building by about 10 stories, but design wise that's all on the architect. I constantly have problems with architects who are like this. If you can not achieve it then don't sell it. It would have been better if they had undersold and then delivered the version they currently have. Nothing in Preston's portfolio tells me they excel with anything curvilinear. I see a few buildings with some stock "Oh lets place a gentle bezier curve here," but that's it. What this should tell people, at the end of the day, is that sure there was some obvious value engineering, but overall design wise this firm oversold and under delivered, and that is on them. Not the value engineering. Look at what Michael Hsu does, or Munoz Albin, etc... Those are just examples of firms that make sure what they sell is actually what gets built keeping in mind that at some point the budget in every project gets trimmed. Let's not let the architects potentially get away from this penalty free with an excuse of...it was the economy, and so we had to value engineer. No this is a pattern. They can not do curvilinear work. Just a bad choice in architect, and I hope Caydon learns from this.

 

Are you saying they sold a design that could not be built at stated cost and so had to change the design, or are you saying that they sold a design that could have been built at the original cost, but when the cost was cut, they didn't have a good Plan B? I'm guessing the former.

 

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26 minutes ago, West Timer said:

Whatever. This will be the best looking and tallest tower ever built. (...in Midtown) (...so far). Curves aren't everything. It still looks pretty classy to me.

Midtown still has sooooo much empty.

This is soooooo much better than the waste of space across the street.

Signature towers will come one the area improves.

 

The original would have been nice but even the new design is still a plus going off of how empty and crappy the area is.

 

The homeless engage in Drugs and Prostitution a block in every direction from this development so still getting a neat tower in a not so neat area that may cause the area to improve is still a win for me

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2 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Are you saying they sold a design that could not be built at stated cost and so had to change the design, or are you saying that they sold a design that could have been built at the original cost, but when the cost was cut, they didn't have a good Plan B? I'm guessing the former.

 

Two things can be true at the same time. In this case I would say both are a possibility. This is objectively the case. Again look at their portfolio of work. One notices a pattern of nearly zero curvilinear buildings. So the former is true, which is this was a bad architect choice. Then you compound that with the economy on top of the bad architect choice, and therefore you get the resulting design we see now. I know this from professional experience. I've seen project architects cave to financial pressures and fail to keep the "promises" they made because they don't know how to work within the constraints, and so say to hell with it, just cut everything and box it up. I've seen others in that same situation say, well maybe we can't do it this exact way, but maybe we can make it work another way. Ok cut here, thats fine, but here this is where we make a stand and figure out with our means how we can get this done. These situations really highlight who are actually good architects who are creative and are able to pivot out of a bad situation, and who are just posers.

 

There is a legitimate argument to be made that during really good economic climates, more middle of the road, or mediocre outfits will start to extend themselves and try new things to get ahead and change. Maybe Preston was on the heels of trying new types of design that they aren't experienced at. I've seen this as the case as well. It's a challenging process to break a pre-established mold and do something different. I have a lot of experience in this. They maybe thought they could pull off the original, and then the economic sunk, and that made them revert to previous habits. That happens too.

 

Great questions though.

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On 7/19/2020 at 3:19 PM, wxman said:

The quintessential Houston treatment. Ghetto.

 

That is a 1983 office building, straight up. Next

It's awful, for sure, but will shine like the Williams Tower Beacon against the Mercer (3300 Main/The Travis).

 

Hoping to see more street level renderings.

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  • The title was changed to Drewery Place: Multifamily High-Rise At 2850 Fannin St.
  • The title was changed to Drewery Place: Multifamily High-Rise at 2850 Fannin by Caydon

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