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Discovery West: Mixed-Use Development Downtown By Skanska


Moore713

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18 hours ago, staresatmaps said:

It would probably make most skyscraper taxes downtown much lower. Compare the property tax of a skyscraper downtown to the property tax of a same sized area of houses in the burbs. Now compare the land value of a block downtown compared to the land value of a same sized area in the burbs.

The relevant comparison would be property taxes of office buildings downtown vs. property taxes of office buildings in the burbs. Right now, land value makes up about a third of the total assessed value of a typical  office building. So the property tax is only 1/3 affected by location. The rest of the tax is based on building value, and a building can be equally nice downtown or in the burbs. But if you base the whole tax on land value, and your downtown land is worth $300-400/SF whereas your suburban office area land value is $15-20/SF, your downtown taxes will now be twenty times the suburban taxes for the same building.

There are some factors that will diminish this. A suburban building probably takes up more land because land is cheaper; it has a sprawling garage and some gardens rather than all being stacked on a single block, 2-3 acres instead of 1 acre. And of course downtown land values would sink if such a law were enacted, so that will diminish the difference a bit more. But there would still be a much sharper difference in taxation for downtown vs. suburban offices, because you've based the whole tax on location.

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So let me think- Discovery West, Texas Tower, Brava, and the unnamed 42-story highrise going up- so that makes 4 towers going up at once downtown, is that correct?

When's the last time we've had that many buildings going up at once downtown?

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52 minutes ago, BEES?! said:

So let me think- Discovery West, Texas Tower, Brava, and the unnamed 42-story highrise going up- so that makes 4 towers going up at once downtown, is that correct?

When's the last time we've had that many buildings going up at once downtown?

 

52 minutes ago, BEES?! said:

So let me think- Discovery West, Texas Tower, Brava, and the unnamed 42-story highrise going up- so that makes 4 towers going up at once downtown, is that correct?

When's the last time we've had that many buildings going up at once downtown?

There is also a 10 story going up at Main and Jefferson and some other apartment north of the baseball stadium. Still, I think a few years back ( 6 or 7 years ago) there was more construction.

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1 hour ago, BEES?! said:

So let me think- Discovery West, Texas Tower, Brava, and the unnamed 42-story highrise going up- so that makes 4 towers going up at once downtown, is that correct?

When's the last time we've had that many buildings going up at once downtown?

During the time frame of 2015-2017 we had a building boom downtown due to the tax initiative for apartment developers. At its peak I recall 19 tower cranes in downtown and was hoping they would hit 20 but projects started finishing.

Hillcorp office on Travis had 3 tower cranes.

609 Main office tower had 3 tower cranes.

Block 334 apartments 1 tower crane.

Old Texaco Reno apartments had 1 tower crane.

SkyHouse apartments 1 tower crane.

Marriott Marquis had 2 tower cranes.

Hampton Inn had 1 tower crane.

Houston First had 1 tower crane.

Catalyst apartments had 1 tower crane.

Hines Aries apartments had 1 tower crane.

Market Square Tower apartments had 1 tower crane.

16 story parking garage on Milam had 1 tower crane.

UHD parking garage had 1 tower crane.

HSPVA had 2 tower cranes.

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On 7/10/2021 at 4:12 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

I think this is the beginning of a massive change in downtown construction, as we continue to get denser and push downtown further south. Still a few lots to fill up, but imagine downtown with no empty lots 😮. Our skyline would be huge. 

Agree, its a big difference in market Square in the last 5 years.

I think by 2030 downtown Houston will be completely different. Im hoping it happens by the World Cup in 2026

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, urbanize713 said:

Can it be moved? any of the blocks along 59/69 would be way better than where it currently is. 

Sure but CenterPoint isn't going to want to pay to do that. Plus all the connections would have to be routed to the new location as well. Anything is possible but I say it getting moved will probably never happen.

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5 hours ago, sapo2367 said:

This is really interesting!! 

I live somewhat close to a substation and it is such an eyesore. I wish Houston would do this! How do I make that happen?? lol

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I can’t see Centerpoint paying the money it would take to construct a shell around their substation(s).  The substation in question is a full city block, and I would think that if they decided to do something like this the best we could hope for is a high wall around the electrical equipment.

Petition your local city council representative.  Agreed these are typically horrid.

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for centerpoint to spend millions of dollars on a relocation or beautification project like this, the cost would ultimately be approved by the texas public utilities commission and end up on all of our electricity bills.  i will generalize and say we tend to get the ugly/cheap option in texas compared to more progressive locales.   

Edited by TrainTrak
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^seems about right.  Heaven forbid public infrastructure not look like hell.

I guess that is one of the positives the Great Depression gave all of us: Public works and infrastructure that is something to be proud of, not only in its design but also the longevity of so many of those old projects.

Edited by arche_757
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4 hours ago, arche_757 said:

^seems about right.  Heaven forbid public infrastructure not look like hell.

I guess that is one of the positives the Great Depression gave all of us: Public works and infrastructure that is something to be proud of, not only in its design but also the longevity of so many of those old projects.

Yeah, the WPA built some great stuff. But there were great public works before. Look at all the nice courthouses across Texas.

 

23 hours ago, urbanize713 said:

Can it be moved? any of the blocks along 59/69 would be way better than where it currently is. 

Anything can happen. It's a question of cost. When the value of the land is high enough, it will happen. Not sure how high that needs to be. There's a reason you don't see electric substations walking around Manhattan or downtown Chicago. The land value is too high. Austin has relocated a lot of its Seaholm plant to create some high value land, but some of it is still there.

 

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30 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

Anything can happen. It's a question of cost. When the value of the land is high enough, it will happen. Not sure how high that needs to be. There's a reason you don't see electric substations walking around Manhattan or downtown Chicago. The land value is too high. Austin has relocated a lot of its Seaholm plant to create some high value land, but some of it is still there.

 

Serious question:  Where do they put their substations in downtown Chicago and Manhattan?  They have to have them somewhere.

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22 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Serious question:  Where do they put their substations in downtown Chicago and Manhattan?  They have to have them somewhere.

In places where visitors like you or me would not be likely to see them. A google search shows some stations scattered alongside a railyard in Queens, one on the water near some industrial stuff, one in an industrial part of the Bronx, nothing in Manhattan. Maybe they are underground in Manhattan?

 

 

Edited by H-Town Man
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