Discovery West: Mixed-Use Development Downtown By Skanska

[Moore713]

Does anyone have anything on this apparently they bought a block of land in Downtown  for 55 million 

Nevermind* found little more information 

 

Skanska has purchased four land parcels, including one full city block, totaling about 14,200 square meters in downtown Houston, USA. The seller is a private citizen. The total investment amounts to USD 55 M, about SEK 520 M.
Located adjacent to Discovery Green, these four sites are in Houston’s Central Business District and Skanska plans to develop a mix of office, multi-family and retail for the local community.

[Texasota]

If this is one or more of the fully vacant blocks between Lamar and Clay, then that would be excellent. Depending on how quickly they move of course. Take advantage of that Opportunity Zone!

[Moore713]

8 minutes ago, Texasota said:

If this is one or more of the fully vacant blocks between Lamar and Clay, then that would be excellent. Depending on how quickly they move of course. Take advantage of that Opportunity Zone!

Trying to see what lands  close enough  to be labeled " adjacent " that could be anything even four blocks away

[Texasota]

I think the Lamar/Austin/La Branch/Dallas block is pretty much adjacent, and if they also picked up the weird shaped parking lot behind the Embassy Suites, then that's absolutely adjacent.

 

I'm hoping for those two, a portion of the Dallas/La Branch/Polk/Austin lot, and the vacant half of the Dallas/Austin/Polk/Caroline block. That could help connect Discovery Green to Green Street.

[HNathoo]

This is all of block 251, and portions of blocks 275 and 276.

 

HCAD currently shows ownership as MIPS Investments / MIPS Parking. 

[cspwal]

It sounds like these are the parking lots in front of Toyota center; if these are developed with ground floor bars and restaurants they will be packed before Rockets games and concerts

 

 

 

According to HCAD, there's a couple of owners of these lots - Golconda owns about 2 blocks of parking lot (as well as a bunch of other blocks in SE downtown), while MIPS owns about 2 more blocks.  None of these parcels have a recent sale listed on HCAD; MIPS seems to have owned their blocks since 2006, and the name associated with MIPS parking on HCAD is a Dallas lawyer.  Golconda has been holding on to these parcels since 1989.  According to the WSJ, it's a Taiwanese firm that is Opicoil's real-estate arm.

 

It seems likely if it's 4 blocks that Skanska managed to get both of them to sell

[kennyc05]

That one across from Toyota Center 😍

[Avossos]

2 minutes ago, cspwal said:

It sounds like these are the parking lots in front of Toyota center; if these are developed with ground floor bars and restaurants they will be packed before Rockets games and concerts

 

 

 

According to HCAD, there's a couple of owners of these lots - Golconda owns about 2 blocks of parking lot (as well as a bunch of other blocks in SE downtown), while MIPS owns about 2 more blocks.  None of these parcels have a recent sale listed on HCAD; MIPS seems to have owned their blocks since 2006, and the name associated with MIPS parking on HCAD is a Dallas lawyer.  Golconda has been holding on to these parcels since 1989.  According to the WSJ, it's a Taiwanese firm that is Opicoil's real-estate arm.

 

It seems likely if it's 4 blocks that Skanska managed to get both of them to sell

 

Says only 1 city block... and states near Disco Green... and from a private citizen. 

 

My guess is Mips / Lawyer guy is likely the seller

[Sanjorade]

Based on the square meters quoted, I’m guessing the MIPS lot and the partial block in which the Marlowe building sits. 
 

... or maybe just all of what MIPS owns. 

Edited October 17, 2019 by Sanjorade

[HNathoo]

2 hours ago, HNathoo said:

This is all of block 251, and portions of blocks 275 and 276.

 

HCAD currently shows ownership as MIPS Investments / MIPS Parking. 

 

 

[cspwal]

Ah I read "4 sites" and "full city block" and mushed them together

 

The 3 MIPS holdings add up to 144,452 SF of land area, or about 13,420 square meters. That's missing 800 square meters (8600 SF or about 1/8 of a block)

 

[KStreet]

MIPS sold blocks (portions of) 251, 275 & 276 filed on 10/16/19 per the Harris County Clerks Office. I attached one of the deeds.

MIPS Sale.pdf

9 minutes ago, HNathoo said:

 

 

 

Good work, beat me to it

 

[Luminare]

I'm really hoping that someday they can relocate that power relay away from Discovery Green. That block next to the Rustic would be ideal.

[urbanize713]

Just for further reference. 

[Luminare]

So while waiting for a render I decided to go to my google map where I like to play mythical urban planner, and thought I put this here. This is what I would like to see happen.

 

In other words this is what I would like to see, not exactly what Skanska or the city might have planned (if they do have a plan).

 

Orange - New Development

Green - New Park land

Light Yellow - Pedestrian Plazas or Pedestrian Streets

Purple - Relocated Power Relay

 

Would be nice If we can seamlessly stitch Toyota Center to Discovery Green to Minute Maid Park.

[cspwal]

After playing Sim City so much, I thought you were proposing light industrial zones

[Luminare]

2 minutes ago, cspwal said:

After playing Sim City so much, I thought you were proposing light industrial zones

 

the retro industry aesthetic is in now, don't you know? haha

[Nate99]

This is great. If the Marquette (?) tower opposite the Marquis and this get completed with more residential, and Brookfield's HC vision works out, that end of DT will be a really nice amenity rich neighborhood. 

 

Where are they putting the HEB? 😉

[mollusk]

35 minutes ago, HNathoo said:

 

Was anyone else getting this stuck in their head:

 

 

[cspwal]

13 minutes ago, Nate99 said:

This is great. If the Marquette (?) tower opposite the Marquis and this get completed with more residential, and Brookfield's HC vision works out, that end of DT will be a really nice amenity rich neighborhood. 

 

Where are they putting the HEB? 😉

Has HEB made any full size stores that would fit on only one block?

[Luminare]

1 minute ago, cspwal said:

Has HEB made any full size stores that would fit on only one block?

 

The new one they just did on Washington Ave would pretty much fit on one full block in downtown and work fine, sans frontage parking.

[H-Town Man]

Christmas just came early. They spent $360 per square foot... across 3.5 acres. This is an investment of the magnitude of Hines' purchase of the Houston Chronicle property, and in order for them to make it profitable, we will see development of equal magnitude. Only the development will be different in nature, because this is not a place where you would build a 1 million SF office building. I would expect 3-4 towers out of this.

 

[TheSirDingle]

Discovery green finally going to have a canyon of high rises!?!?!?!?! Also Toyota Center getting some more developments to cover up the parking lots, holy shit this is massive. 

 

Edited October 17, 2019 by TheSirDingle

[asubrt]

Is there any way the electrical/power station or whatever that's on block 277 can be moved/demolished anytime soon? Not sure how essential it is to the power grid in that location. It seems like a major waste of space, though I guess with all the surface lots around that area it's easier to start with those. Still, it's not ideal to see when walking from Discovery Green to Toyota Center.

[Urbannizer]

10 hours ago, Moore713 said:

Does anyone have anything on this apparently they bought a block of land in Downtown  for 55 million 

Nevermind* found little more information 

 

Skanska has purchased four land parcels, including one full city block, totaling about 14,200 square meters in downtown Houston, USA. The seller is a private citizen. The total investment amounts to USD 55 M, about SEK 520 M.
Located adjacent to Discovery Green, these four sites are in Houston’s Central Business District and Skanska plans to develop a mix of office, multi-family and retail for the local community.

 

Link: https://news.cision.com/skanska/r/skanska-invests-in-land-in-downtown-houston--usa--for-usd-55-m--about-sek-520-m,c2934457

[cspwal]

10 hours ago, asubrt said:

Is there any way the electrical/power station or whatever that's on block 277 can be moved/demolished anytime soon? Not sure how essential it is to the power grid in that location. It seems like a major waste of space, though I guess with all the surface lots around that area it's easier to start with those. Still, it's not ideal to see when walking from Discovery Green to Toyota Center.

 

It is probably very important for the grid - Toyota center by itself needs a lot of power - but I'm sure if Center point thought the block was worth enough, they would figure out a way to reroute the power.

 

Is there anyone here more familiar with power grids that could speak to how hard it is to move a substation like this?

[H-Town Man]

41 minutes ago, cspwal said:

 

It is probably very important for the grid - Toyota center by itself needs a lot of power - but I'm sure if Center point thought the block was worth enough, they would figure out a way to reroute the power.

 

Is there anyone here more familiar with power grids that could speak to how hard it is to move a substation like this?

 

Austin got much of its Seaholm power station removed, but there is still a block-size piece of it there, despite being on land worth about twice as much as this land. Problem is that anywhere else you put it nearby is also going to cost a lot to acquire. It's really the price differential of the two land sites that has to be great enough to cover the cost of rerouting, plus some incentive.

 

I wonder if this could be consolidated with the station in Frost Town?

[Nate99]

Maybe if there were to be a larger scale re-design of the area's needs, a repositioning of that substation could be incorporated. A gigantic new development might necessitate such a move.

[bobruss]

Perhaps somewhere between Midways East River project and Minute Maid.

There is an old site on Buffalo Bayou east of the old Elysian Viaduct that looks to be an old substation or something related to the power grid.

I don't know how far away a power station can be located to serve the east side of downtown, but with the Toyota center, GBCC, Minute Maid and all of the big hotels on that side of town I'm sure they have huge needs for power. 

[Nate99]

5 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Perhaps somewhere between Midways East River project and Minute Maid.

There is an old site on Buffalo Bayou east of the old Elysian Viaduct that looks to be an old substation or something related to the power grid.

I don't know how far away a power station can be located to serve the east side of downtown, but with the Toyota center, GBCC, Minute Maid and all of the big hotels on that side of town I'm sure they have huge needs for power. 

 

I think that's the Frost Town substation that H-Town was referring to.  It looks almost Victorian with riveted steel structures. 

[bobruss]

Its a great old structure on the banks and I thought that someone was going to restore that building at some point. 

I didn't realize that was its name. Thanks for the info!

[Triton]

19 hours ago, cspwal said:

After playing Sim City so much, I thought you were proposing light industrial zones

You would have to download NAM to get Lamar's curve though. Oh the glory days of putting grid patterns everywhere.

[cspwal]

 

3 minutes ago, Triton said:

You would have to download NAM to get Lamar's curve though. Oh the glory days of putting grid patterns everywhere.

 

Cities Skylines has curved roads and in general no grid that has to be snapped to, but the buildings themselves are still rectangles

[Triton]

2 minutes ago, cspwal said:

 

 

Cities Skylines has curved roads and in general no grid that has to be snapped to, but the buildings themselves are still rectangles

Yup. I've still been playing that ever since it came out in 2014 and have had to seriously upgrade my system for it (RAM and CPU).

 

Anyway, I actually doubt HEB is going to be coming here. Would be odd for them to leave out grocer in their release unless they planned to include one in their development. But hey, here's to hoping we get a HEB in downtown! When I first moved to this area (north of downtown), there were zero HEBs in my area. Now I have 2 and would be great to have a third in downtown... would probably be my go-to.

[H-Town Man]

24 minutes ago, Triton said:

Yup. I've still been playing that ever since it came out in 2014 and have had to seriously upgrade my system for it (RAM and CPU).

 

Anyway, I actually doubt HEB is going to be coming here. Would be odd for them to leave out grocer in their release unless they planned to include one in their development. But hey, here's to hoping we get a HEB in downtown! When I first moved to this area (north of downtown), there were zero HEBs in my area. Now I have 2 and would be great to have a third in downtown... would probably be my go-to.

 

I would be very surprised if they have a concrete development plan at this point. This is the kind of thing that will likely be built out in phases as determined by market demand at each stage of the buildout. Think of when Midway first purchased the KBR site, and it took a few years for East River to come together. Or what Caydon is doing with their land in Midtown. They're probably not sure yet if they want a grocer (vs. a Target or something else), let alone whether they can arrive at terms with one.

 

[bobruss]

I think you're right. I think they were able to make a deal on property that has great potential and they just wanted to secure it until they come up with a plan.

In that location they could definitely do a great mixed use development. With so many people either living in the area or just visiting for games conventions the park or just hanging out there are so many unsupported needs in the area. It will definitely be something to keep our ears to the ground for. 

[Texasota]

I'd rather see a Target here than an HEB. It would pair well with Phoenicia.

[Nate99]

My initial HEB comment was more in jest than anything. It's plausible for sure, but as everyone says, there's tons more to do before something like that would get settled. HEB is a bit of a presumed evidence of a "permanent thriving neighborhood", or at least wishfully so.  

 

Hope it all works out. 

Edited October 18, 2019 by Nate99

[j_cuevas713]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

 

I would be very surprised if they have a concrete development plan at this point. This is the kind of thing that will likely be built out in phases as determined by market demand at each stage of the buildout. Think of when Midway first purchased the KBR site, and it took a few years for East River to come together. Or what Caydon is doing with their land in Midtown. They're probably not sure yet if they want a grocer (vs. a Target or something else), let alone whether they can arrive at terms with one.

 

Idk they moved pretty damn fast after tearing down Houston Club

[X.R.]

I don't think you would pay the premium they did just to sit on land. Inherent land value IS growing in that area, obviously, but its not like an Austin-type growth that could make a buy and stash a valid approach for this type of firm. Skanska is known for multi-unit developments/hubs, which fits the profile of multiple pieces of land downtown. I would guess the value proposition was high here, downtown Houston still isn't what you'd expect from the 4th largest city in the country, they get in early for what is probably going to be rapid expansion in the coming years. These type of deals usually come after intense vetting, and there are probably proposals on the table already for the usage. 

[Texasota]

also, this is an opportunity zone. If that factored in *at all* then they are going to want to move fast. 

[TheSirDingle]

Anybody else have the feeling the first four land parcels is just a start? I feel like they're trying to develop a larger part of Downtown than that, maybe even all the parking lots that side of the Toyota center. IMO you just don't buy an empty lot without buying the whole thing, especially for a development this size. I'm thinking they're going to acquire even more land, and post details about the development in the coming months. Hopefully this ramps up fast, because this side of Downtown is in need of a gigantic development like this. 

 

Green = What they currently own 

Blue = What they're trying to get 

 

[BeerNut]

8 hours ago, TheSirDingle said:

Anybody else have the feeling the first four land parcels is just a start? I feel like they're trying to develop a larger part of Downtown than that, maybe even all the parking lots that side of the Toyota center. IMO you just don't buy an empty lot without buying the whole thing, especially for a development this size. I'm thinking they're going to acquire even more land, and post details about the development in the coming months. Hopefully this ramps up fast, because this side of Downtown is in need of a gigantic development like this. 

 

Green = What they currently own 

Blue = What they're trying to get 

 

Will the Taiwanese Oil company sell?  As parking lots disappear their returns go up.

[H-Town Man]

On 10/18/2019 at 2:03 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

Idk they moved pretty damn fast after tearing down Houston Club

 

They had already determined what they wanted before they tore it down.

 

On 10/18/2019 at 5:06 PM, X.R. said:

I don't think you would pay the premium they did just to sit on land. Inherent land value IS growing in that area, obviously, but its not like an Austin-type growth that could make a buy and stash a valid approach for this type of firm. Skanska is known for multi-unit developments/hubs, which fits the profile of multiple pieces of land downtown. I would guess the value proposition was high here, downtown Houston still isn't what you'd expect from the 4th largest city in the country, they get in early for what is probably going to be rapid expansion in the coming years. These type of deals usually come after intense vetting, and there are probably proposals on the table already for the usage. 

 

No one said they were just going to sit on land. I said this would likely be developed a piece at a time. Multi-phase, like most large developments.

 

[CrockpotandGravel]

Me when I saw the title of the thread:





Me after reading the article and the news is sinking in:



This is superb news to my ears!

I'm glad to know Skanska isn't done with downtown Houston. Although there aren't more details known publicly, I have no doubt this will be way better than Midway's Greenstreet mixed use.

Edited October 20, 2019 by CrockpotandGravel

[Moore713]

Read that CVS was closing two stores in Houston...for a moment I had hope that it was the one on main.   I'm sorry but that store doesn't generate enough foot traffic to justify it huge foot print... unfortunately it will be one in spring and the one off fry rd

[JBTX]

18 hours ago, TheSirDingle said:

Green = What they currently own 

Blue = What they're trying to get 

 

 

STCL won't sell. That lot is a sticky subject among faculty and administration. When I was at school there, I had a lot of discussions with folks about that lot.

 

EVERYONE it seems wants to do something with it, but no one will. When the city approached them about selling the tiny lot that they have on the block that was home to the Goodyear store, and will now be a park, the school didn't budge. There were whispers that some folks in the administration tried to get the school to sell the small lot, and use the money to fund a garage on the big lot. Didn't happen. Apparently when that big lot was used as part of the super bowl festivities, it was one of the first times in ages that it was used for something other than parking.

 

Long story short, I never got to the bottom of what the hell exactly is the problem with that lot (a slow administration, "waiting for the right price," or an overly restrictive trust owning that lot) but I can promise you, that lot will never be sold.

[TheSirDingle]

 

7 hours ago, JBTX said:

 

STCL won't sell. That lot is a sticky subject among faculty and administration. When I was at school there, I had a lot of discussions with folks about that lot.

 

EVERYONE it seems wants to do something with it, but no one will. When the city approached them about selling the tiny lot that they have on the block that was home to the Goodyear store, and will now be a park, the school didn't budge. There were whispers that some folks in the administration tried to get the school to sell the small lot, and use the money to fund a garage on the big lot. Didn't happen. Apparently when that big lot was used as part of the super bowl festivities, it was one of the first times in ages that it was used for something other than parking.

 

Long story short, I never got to the bottom of what the hell exactly is the problem with that lot (a slow administration, "waiting for the right price," or an overly restrictive trust owning that lot) but I can promise you, that lot will never be sold.

Honestly the college would be stupid not to sell at the price Skanska is buying at. Now that you say that I could still see them getting the lot in front of the Toyota center, the power station, and the rest of block 276. But we'll have to see what happens, if the lot isn't sold now it's eventually gonna be sold later. Especially with the rising land prices in Downtown, it's just a matter of when. 

 

Also it seems like that Taiwanese oil company is starting to budge on some lots. 

[nate4l1f3]

Could someone share some other major Skanska projects? 

[DrLan34]

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/10/18/bank-of-america-tower-developer-buys-downtown.html?iana=hpmvp_hstn_news_headline 

 

Skanska paid $55 million in total for the properties, which were sold by a private citizen, according to an Oct. 17 press release. The parcels total around 3.5 acres, and Skanska plans to develop a mix of office, multifamily and retail on the land.

 

The press release does not identify where exactly the parcels are located, but a spokesperson for Skanska confirmed that one of the parcels is a full city block bordered by Dallas, Lamar, LaBranch and Austin streets, with another just to the south and a third just to the east, wrapping around the Embassy Suites by Hilton Houston Downtown. There's also a small parcel in another adjacent block.

 

Those four properties are all parking lots owned by MIPS Investments LLC and MIPS Parking LLC, according to the Harris County Appraisal District. Combined, they have an appraised value of nearly $30.06 million and span about 3.48 acres, according to HCAD.

 

Skanska plans to begin the master planning process for the sites by the end of the year, which will help determine a development timeline and more details about the project, a spokesperson confirmed.