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Levit Green: Life Science Mixed-Use District By Hines


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46 minutes ago, Lux said:

Synergism or competition with TMC3?  The references to Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass. and Mission Bay in San Francisco are lifted directly from the TMC3 playbook.  An amalgam of life science clusters from 288 to the TMC would be a beautiful thing, and it’s going to take massive CRE Life Sciences investments, in addition to TMC3, for Houston to rise by leaps and bounds in the U.S. Life Science cluster rankings (JLL, CBRE, etc.).  Thoughts?

I'm going to guess synergism. Given how much work Hines and Gensler do in the city, and that this was planned "for years," someone at TMC3 must have known about this and vice versa. And if they knew/know about it, then you can't help but think that they will work together to not...cannibalize each other's potential. 

 

This is pretty astonishing and wayyyy out of left field. Checking the forums and going around town I just kept thinking we just needed to keep the momentum going from all of the projects currently being built, and here.we.go. With Hines behind it, and given how fast Texas Tower is moving, we should bet on which project begins to open up significant spaces first, this or TMC3. Absolutely nutty.

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1 hour ago, X.R. said:

I'm going to guess synergism. Given how much work Hines and Gensler do in the city, and that this was planned "for years," someone at TMC3 must have known about this and vice versa. And if they knew/know about it, then you can't help but think that they will work together to not...cannibalize each other's potential. 

 

This is pretty astonishing and wayyyy out of left field. Checking the forums and going around town I just kept thinking we just needed to keep the momentum going from all of the projects currently being built, and here.we.go. With Hines behind it, and given how fast Texas Tower is moving, we should bet on which project begins to open up significant spaces first, this or TMC3. Absolutely nutty.

Yeah this should kick start both. But we have to wait a year? 

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On 10/19/2019 at 5:14 AM, CrockpotandGravel said:

Originally posted by Naviguessor, December 2018  in the original thread for Grocers Supply Co. | 3131 Holcombe Blvd | Medical Center.


 

This interesting and ambitious "Confidential Master Plan" shows up on the Munoz Albin Project page on their Website. 

Thanks to research from another Haifer researching the Colombe d'Or tower.   

 

https://munozalbin.com/project/old-market-east-omaha-master-plan/



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Originally posted by CaptainJilliams December 2018 in the previous thread for Grocers Supply Co. | 3131 Holcombe Blvd | Medical Center.



Not to get anybody too excited, but here's the conceptual rendering from the link Naviguessor posted above:

OWv4rFl.jpg

 

 

Well, I'm still very excited !!  LOL.  This would be by far the most forward thinking and looking and attractive development Houston has ever seen IMHO.  I only hope it will happen one day.  It wreaks of positive growth and energy and "synergy" for this new century and could actually become another huge catalyst for growth and up the stakes in the entire Houston area.  I love the extremely interesting rendering.  However, I know a lot of dreaded "valued engineering" will most likely take place before this would get off the ground, but the colors, lighting and shapes in this rendering is exactly what Space City has been screaming out and needing for decades.  Fingers and toes crossed !

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Great rendering, however, it was done by Munoz + Albin not Gensler so i'm sure the design will be a lot different. In my opinion Munoz + Albin designs are more "edgy" than Gensler. Cant wait to see the actual master plan designed by the architect Gensler. 

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Behind the deal: How Hines, former Fiesta Mart owner teamed up for TMC-area mixed-use project

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/06/16/hines-levit-family-2ml-real-estate-levit-green.html

 

Quote

 

It took more than three years for two of Houston’s biggest names to come together on a project that promises to be one of the city’s most significant mixed-use developments in years. But Houston-based Hines and 2ML Real Estate Interests, formerly known as The Grocers Supply Co. Inc., say all of the planing and negotiations wee worth it to get their proposed Levit Green project moving.

 

 “There was no question on anyone’s part when we first sat down that there will be a continued need for investments in the life sciences for years to come,” Mooz said. “The Levit family thought this would be a great opportunity to give a second life to land that has been in their family for 100 years.”

 

Mooz said Hines began speaking to the Levit family in 2017 about building the mixed-use development on the site of some Grocers Supply warehouse and distribution facilities. The site is located near the interchange of Highway 288 and Holcombe Boulevard/Old Spanish Trail.

 

“It took a considerable amount of time to form the partnership,” Mooz said. “But we started from the common position that building a 52-acre development focused on life sciences research was exactly what Houston needed to continue to build on the success of the Texas Medical Center.”

 

Mooz said 2ML Real Estate will serve as the project’s “land partner,” while Hines oversees its development.

 

Levit Green will be developed over the next several years as a master-planned community that aims to provide a full ecosystem built around life sciences research. The Houston office of San Francisco-based Gensler has been tapped to develop a master plan for the project’s development. Hines has not yet chosen an architect or engineering team for the individual builds, Mooz said.

 

Mooz declined to comment on how much the project is expected to cost, saying only that it will be a “multiyear, multicycle project.”

 

That said, the initial investment on the part of Hines and the Levit family is likely to be fairly significant. The two parcels of land owned by 2ML Real Estate in the area had an appraised value of $97.3 million as of Jan. 1, according to Harris County Appraisal District records.

 

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On 6/15/2020 at 7:30 PM, Lux said:

An amalgam of life science clusters from 288 to the TMC would be a beautiful thing, and it’s going to take massive CRE Life Sciences investments, in addition to TMC3, for Houston to rise by leaps and bounds in the U.S. Life Science cluster rankings (JLL, CBRE, etc.).  Thoughts?


There's not a lot of space to buy low and sell high when a field is already as superheated as life sciences has gotten.  This literal field owned by 2ML, can still sell higher, yes; but the industry itself?

 

TMC is great, but as an industry cluster, if you look at the burn rate required of the top ten areas just to stay in the top ten, Houston has almost no shot to ever break into the top six or eight, let alone five.  So is rising from third tier to second tier in a currently important prestige niche actually important enough to justify the opportunity cost?  The cost of not putting that toward an area that is more distinctive to our local character and would make us more headway?  IMHO no.  Life sciences are just something like "cyber" that seems totally investable and inevitable -- that is to say, lucrative without the risk of looking professionally foolish that, say, going to bat for something more creative but less recognizable would carry.

 

In that sense, this highly costly upside opportunity is the functional equivalent of what mixed use development itself suddenly became for the commercial real estate and institutional investment fields of business.

Edited by strickn
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The things I've been reading about the coronavirus and its effect on work-from-home, hotels, retail, etc, sound apocalyptic for urban development, at least in the near term.

 

In contrast, medical research labs and clinics inherently by their nature favor a physical presence of people and workers. And the people who work in these places tend to be well paid, and for various reasons they like to live reasonably close to where they work. And of course they go and eat and buy things nearby and visitors stay in hotels, etc.

 

Seems like a development like this would be a slam dunk and a really safe bet during all that's going on right now, and I would think investors would be wanting to pull their money out of other projects with less certain futures and throw it behind stuff like this instead.

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Houston could be catching some tail winds if/when life science research gets a boost in funding or a shot in the arm due to effects of Covid. I hope our local  legislators and public/private advocates rise to the challenge/opportunity. 

Edited by kdog08
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Man, if they have set up a tree preservation zone warding off potential construction workers...you wouldn't do that unless this thing is really underway, right? I'm getting Ion-levels of "is this really happening right now?"  I'm sure dredging/digging up that area to create that pond is going to take a lot of time, and meticulous planning to not have it flood. They could be racing to have everything prepped by the time hurricane season ends so they don't have to worry tooooo much about torrential rain when they hit the digging part. An underrated part of this development is that its v accessible via bike/bus infrastructure.

 

Still can't believe this is moving forward, or that they've already started to do this much work. Thanks for the pics!

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On 10/21/2020 at 12:15 AM, Urbannizer said:

 

They're listing 84.55-acres total. C&S Wholesale Grocers across the street is planned to sell soon? The early renderings included the extra land, but Hines only bought half of it.

 

3M-5M SF of building space for phase 1. This will be awesome.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
14 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

More renderings were released. 

 

https://www.hines.com/properties/levit-green-houston

 

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This is giving me Domain (in North Austin) vibes. Hopefully this is able to spur some ancillary develops like the Domain has, which started as one development and evolved into a total neighborhood redevelopment by many players.

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On 11/23/2020 at 5:10 PM, houstontexasjack said:

That bicyclist in the bottom rendering looks uncomfortable.

Looks like he borrowed his 10 yr old's bike. I see riders like this all the time and I just have to believe they didn't buy at a real bike shop but at a big box retailer.

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  • 1 month later...
  • The title was changed to Levit Green: Life Science Mixed-Use District By Hines

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