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On 8/26/2019 at 9:01 PM, ekdrm2d1 said:

r4WR7bn.png

 

 

 

Will not look like this at street level unfortunately, variance request denied due to neighboring opposition. 

 

https://www.virtualbx.com/construction-preview/houston-condo-developer-swats-opposition-forges-ahead-with-tower-in-royal-oaks/

 



Houston (Harris County) — A Houston condo tower developer shrugged off a decision by the Planning Commission for a requested variance and, instead of building a 22-story high-rise, will probably add several floors.

 

At its Aug. 22 meeting, the commission by majority vote adhered to a staff recommendation of denial on a setback variance request. The vote came after a public hearing in which most of the neighbors stated their opposition to the variance and the tower project. 

 

One aesthetic feature that Davis offered as an incentive was an art wall within the lobby that would be visible to pedestrians from the sidewalk, although enclosed in glass. But there was correspondence suggesting this would not be offered if the variance were denied. 

 

Carolyn Hartley, one of the residents in opposition, produced an email exchange between Davis and former Planning Commissioner Bill Baldwin, wherein Davis said that if he did not get the variance he would add three or four stories and increase the number of units from 50 to 55 or 60.

 

“The developer is likely to fence (the setback area) as a private garden, providing only the required 6-foot sidewalk and small trees because of the neighborhood’s prior response,” Hartley said, referring to the email.

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30 minutes ago, Urbannizer said:

 

Royal Oaks? Isn't that the area around the country club in Westchase?

 

Then again, the same person wrote that garage at Fannin & Rusk was being built in a "Federal District", downtown.

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2 hours ago, db650 said:

Let’s be honest here. No matter what he builds or how tall it is, it will disappoint most people here. No matter how appealing the rendering is, the final project will fall far short of most people’s expectations. 

 

I recently walked by his condos downtown which I originally thought to be one of his best efforts except the damn thing already needs a power washing. Any vent or window or really any edged corner on the building already had grey streaks coming down from them. I have no idea why he chose white for all his recent buildings exteriors in our climate. 

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2 hours ago, db650 said:

Let’s be honest here. No matter what he builds or how tall it is, it will disappoint most people here. No matter how appealing the rendering is, the final project will fall far short of most people’s expectations. 

 

At least he was going for something nice from the pedestrian aspect. Randy usually does not file a request for a shorter setback. The people who go out to oppose variance requests are clueless, when a request is denied to build closer to the street majority of the time it means a building will end up being taller. Same scenario occurred with the X Houston project planned for Museum District.

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Email went out today...

 

Quote

 

If you drive by Paramount, you will see the transformation of the sales gallery is almost complete. We have been re-branding the existing building, which will soon be The Paramount, slated to open mid - November. My long-time superior Sales Manager, Gloria Tanksley, will be leading our sales team. Her knowledge of the local market and The Paramount in particular will greatly inure to your benefit.   

 

All Paramount’s floor plans are in the final design stages. The stunning exterior details will be reflected in the renderings and building model, which is currently being custom constructed in Las Vegas. When you visit The Paramount Sales Gallery, you will see a completed kitchen with Gaggenau appliances and Eggersmann Cabinetry. Paramount’s completed bathroom, will give you an idea of the luxurious finishes offered to you. Also on display will be custom closets by Eggersmann from Germany, and a custom closet by Molteni from Italy. 

 

We are more than excited about the Grand Opening of The Paramount sales gallery and are looking forward to your visit. We have over 135 people who have signed up for our VIP viewing. Therefore, two parties are forthcoming on November 20th and 21st so please save the date that works best for your schedule.

 

We look forward to seeing you at Paramount’s sneak preview.

 

Sincerely,

 

Randall Davis

 

 

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  • The title was changed to The Paramount on Westheimer
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2 hours ago, db650 said:

I like it. I just wonder what the finished product will look like.

 

 

I do to but you're right. Often the first renderings are pretty handsome and then once he's sold a lot of the units he pulls the switch and puts out one of the stinkers of a rendering.  

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The garage won't look that nice because of the way they lit it in the rendering. Looks like a Sky House sort of. I think it'll be nice infill and is a nice look but will probably suffer the same issues as other RD designs. As much as I bag on him, they have been consistently building in Houston and I appreciate that.

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If that garage is stone, this will be his best one yet. If the garage is stucco, it could be the worst.

 

He has an affinity for classic Americana - 1920's drama. Hopefully he will realize that the cost associated with a building that will truly be romanticized cannot be cheap.

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35 minutes ago, Avossos said:

If that garage is stone, this will be his best one yet. If the garage is stucco, it could be the worst.

 

He has an affinity for classic Americana - 1920's drama. Hopefully he will realize that the cost associated with a building that will truly be romanticized cannot be cheap.

What is the ballpark cost difference for doing something in stone like limestone versus stucco? Is the difference that significant given the cost of these units to the buyer?

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25 minutes ago, db650 said:

What is the ballpark cost difference for doing something in stone like limestone versus stucco? Is the difference that significant given the cost of these units to the buyer?

 

Depends. But it can get into the millions. It depends on their # of units, parking plan, revenue modeling, etc...

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19 minutes ago, EllenOlenska said:

So...on the subject of that base?

What type of material would be of high quality to give it the appearance it has in the rendering? What would be low quality? 

 

In this region? Typically the high end would be using actual limestone, and to my eyes thats what the stone in the render looks like. I would say an example of actual stone veneer that seems to look decent would be The Sophie on Memorial. Now a super high end alternative to limestone would be a kind of white, gray, or tan granite.

 

A medium range solution which they might do is mimic the stone look with concrete. They could form it and create the joints to get that look and then either paint it or infuse a color into the concrete to give it a stone look. If you want an example of how they do this you will typically see this done on streets if someone wants a stone street look, but doesn't want actual stone, and so they will just get a machine that creates the lines to give it that finish. Now foregoing concrete they could utilize a technique that was used to mimic stone in the past and use Terracotta. If you go to New York you might be surprised that most of the building stock there where you think is stone is actually Terracotta. When stone veneer techniques were proliferated Terracotta (especially for architectural detailing) was the material of choice to mimic stone.

 

Low end? I can't remember the field name often given to this product, but it would be a Faux Stone which is typically made of foam. In fact most times when you see "stone" especially on apartments or McMansions it will be this faux stone. Most cornices are made of this material due to the fact that its less demanding structurally, and its super cheap. If you see a classical cornice on a strip mall then its probably this material.

 

Considering this is RD, its hard to tell what he might do, but seeing how this is in River Oaks it might be a signature project that he might want to really embellish and make beautiful with top of the line materials, so who knows.

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Ugh!  Why, why, why does RD have to construct a giant sarcophagus-like parking podium?!?  It is so unnecessary and makes the building look incredibly disjointed.  As for the limestone cladding — I give it zero chance of happening.  That podium has Cosmo-Astoria-Arabella-Marlowe-esque stucco written all over it. 😕

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