Hanover Montrose: Multifamily At 3400 Montrose Blvd.

[ClutchCity]

Can't wait to see what this will look like in combination with the new development at Westheimer & Montrose.

It's also pretty close to the Chelsea Montrose tower too so it would be incredible to watch those 3 rise together. Good news is at least this and Chelsea seem to be pretty certain that they will move forward in the next few months. With all the projects around the city slated to break ground this Spring/Summer it seems like we're going to have a new tower crane going up every week starting in March! Can't wait to see these proposals going vertical!

Have to agree that the Montrose facade looks like those white 1970's office buildings(i.e. Shell Plazas) that are all over the place. Kind of like a mix between 2 Shell Plaza and Houston House which is an interesting combination. It may look a little dated but I still like it some how.

[treblelino]

Another boring, banal box. When will this end?

[H-Town Man]

It was a stroke of genius that it should face the Kroger rather than Montrose Blvd., since they both embrace the same urban design principles. The creative interplay of their curb cuts and entrance/exit lanes should be fascinating to watch.

 

[jayshoota]

It's also pretty close to the Chelsea Montrose tower too so it would be incredible to watch those 3 rise together. Good news is at least this and Chelsea seem to be pretty certain that they will move forward in the next few months. With all the projects around the city slated to break ground this Spring/Summer it seems like we're going to have a new tower crane going up every week starting in March! Can't wait to see these proposals going vertical!

Have to agree that the Montrose facade looks like those white 1970's office buildings(i.e. Shell Plazas) that are all over the place. Kind of like a mix between 2 Shell Plaza and Houston House which is an interesting combination. It may look a little dated but I still like it some how.

 

Houston House is the first thing that crossed my mind as well.  That is not a good thing.

 

[capnmcbarnacle]

It was a stroke of genius that it should face the Kroger rather than Montrose Blvd., since they both embrace the same urban design principles. The creative interplay of their curb cuts and entrance/exit lanes should be fascinating to watch.

 

Snarktastic.

[Subdude]

That's going to be an eyesore. Hopefully it will look better than the renderings.

 

I wouldn't say eyesore, just really boring.  The kind of building that after it is built, becomes invisible and you never quite notice it.

[VelvetJ]

Yet another wasted opportunity for a high profile location in Houston. Yes it's infill but come on man, it's the Montrose!

[bobruss]

I agree, but there don't seem to be any aesthetics police keeping watch over the Montrose area or they wouldn't have allowed all of these cheaply built, poorly designed builder townhomes all over the hood.

I did see a crew on a scaffold all the way to the roof on the Kroger side of the building today.

I guess this is where the dump shoot is going for all debris coming out of the building.

I'm interested in seeing what this does to the developers who bought the 1/2 price books shopping center plan to do now.

Hopefully they try for a W hotel. With all of the restaurants and the museums in the neighborhood it would be a great place for it.

[H-Town Man]

To those neighborhoods who have urbanism, more will be given; to those who have not, even what they have will be taken away.

 

[cloud713]

Speaking of aesthetic police (would be nice to have).. I'm kind of surprised Montrose doesn't have unique signage, lighting, bus stops, ect like uptown. I guess the reason uptown has unique stuff is because of the uptown TIRZ? What are the chances of montrose or some of the other more unique/urban areas of town getting their own TIRZ? I'm naive to what they do, but I like the unique signage, ect to uptown and think artsy eclectic stuff around the montrose/arts district area would be cool.

[bobruss]

I don't know what happened to the group, but about 3 or 4 years ago I participated in a group discussion that had well over 100 attendees discuss refurbishing Montrose Blvd. They talked about new sidewalks signage and lighting with a common concern for the pedestrian space and making Montrose Blvd. into a signature street. I haven't heard what the outcome of these discussions were.

It looked very promising and I hope that it is still being looked at. It is long needed and could make Montrose BLvd. the great street it should be.

Montrose creates and axis that starts at the zoo and continues to Buffalo Bayou. If you start with the building in the zoo and draw a line through the obelisk, the Sam Houston statue and the Mecom fountains it goes all the way up Montrose to the Bayou.

I think they should commission Calatrava to do a bridge for Montrose over the bayou and right in that same area get the artist Oldenburg to create a tower shaped like a flash light. Since Houston is the energy capital of the world, and the space center.

What better symbol of exploration in space than a flashlight.

It could have a beam of light shooting up in the sky. Maybe a restaurant and observation deck

I also thought a sculpture in the middle of McGovern lake on that same axis of a space capsule coming down in the water with parachutes above would tie the whole thing together.

I always thought that this axis should be rebuilt and allow Montrose to be the Grand Blvd. for Houston with high rise living and specialty shops.

It's unifying feature being all of the Museums along its path.

Just an idea Ive been playing with for years.

[Naviguessor]

Cloud.  Good Point.  I bet, when the city finally addresses the issues with the Lower Westheimer streetscape/traffic lane flow, there will be a unifying "Montrose" concept introduced.  I bet this is done prior to 2017 Super Bowl, as there will be much attention in the area, due the the hot restaurant scene. 

[H-Town Man]

Speaking of aesthetic police (would be nice to have).. I'm kind of surprised Montrose doesn't have unique signage, lighting, bus stops, ect like uptown. I guess the reason uptown has unique stuff is because of the uptown TIRZ? What are the chances of montrose or some of the other more unique/urban areas of town getting their own TIRZ? I'm naive to what they do, but I like the unique signage, ect to uptown and think artsy eclectic stuff around the montrose/arts district area would be cool.

 

This is a double edged sword - it makes the area seem more attractive to the average person, but aesthetic upgrades from a TIRZ mean institutionalized aesthetics, which is very non-cool to the funky/eclectic/artsy types. Right now the Montrose atmosphere is already endangered by increased cost of living and the replacement of low rent retail buildings with high rent buildings (e.g. whatever replaces the shopping center at Montrose and Westheimer most likely will not be a place Half Price Books or any independently-owned shop can afford).

 

Remember that Montrose became what it is when people from the fringes of society inhabited a once-stately, deteriorating neighborhood. The desire to see it become more urban is in tension with it remaining a bohemian, avant-garde place, the kind of place that produces the kind of art you would see at the Menil. If all the existing retail stock is replaced with new high rent development and Montrose Blvd. becomes lined with high rises, the people who made Montrose Montrose might have to migrate somewhere else, maybe Navigation or N. Main.

[bobruss]

H-town man

 

You are right, they are already migrating to the east and north.

There is no cheap housing stock in Montrose anymore. All of the affordable apartment projects have been taken down and are being replaced with very expensive housing. It's like it was for the artist who lived in Santa Fe before it got popular and now all of the artist and service industry workers are forced to live in outlying areas.

This unfortunately has always been the case everywhere and it is happening as we speak in Montrose.

We received letters from home builders asking if we want to sell. Drive down Kipling between Dunleavy and Woodhead. There have been five lots cleared all at once to build new townhouses and homes. Its busier than West U was in its early stages.

Its kind of sad to see the spirit of the neighborhood go away but you can't stop growth. Montrose is just too close to downtown.

 

[cloud713]

I don't know what happened to the group, but about 3 or 4 years ago I participated in a group discussion that had well over 100 attendees discuss refurbishing Montrose Blvd. They talked about new sidewalks signage and lighting with a common concern for the pedestrian space and making Montrose Blvd. into a signature street. I haven't heard what the outcome of these discussions were.

It looked very promising and I hope that it is still being looked at. It is long needed and could make Montrose BLvd. the great street it should be.

Montrose creates and axis that starts at the zoo and continues to Buffalo Bayou. If you start with the building in the zoo and draw a line through the obelisk, the Sam Houston statue and the Mecom fountains it goes all the way up Montrose to the Bayou.

I think they should commission Calatrava to do a bridge for Montrose over the bayou and right in that same area get the artist Oldenburg to create a tower shaped like a flash light. Since Houston is the energy capital of the world, and the space center.

that is very interesting! i hope they follow through with whatever came of those plans. 

while i love most of Calatravas work, i really dont want Houston to commission a bridge by him. not unless its totally groundbreaking/unique. Dallas paid 180 million for that plain jane arch over the trinity.. imagine how much something truly bold and innovative would cost for Calatrava to design? not to mention the extraordinary cost of upkeep/maintenance for his designs. as much as i love Calatrava i dont want the city wasting a bunch of money on it (i mean, a TxDot engineer designed the Montrose/59 bridges, and they did a great job [besides the lighting, lol]) when we have so many other things we could spend the money on to improve the city.. and i especially dont want to be known as that city to the south that copied Dallas...

 

This is a double edged sword - it makes the area seem more attractive to the average person, but aesthetic upgrades from a TIRZ mean institutionalized aesthetics, which is very non-cool to the funky/eclectic/artsy types. Right now the Montrose atmosphere is already endangered by increased cost of living and the replacement of low rent retail buildings with high rent buildings (e.g. whatever replaces the shopping center at Montrose and Westheimer most likely will not be a place Half Price Books or any independently-owned shop can afford).

 

Remember that Montrose became what it is when people from the fringes of society inhabited a once-stately, deteriorating neighborhood. The desire to see it become more urban is in tension with it remaining a bohemian, avant-garde place, the kind of place that produces the kind of art you would see at the Menil. If all the existing retail stock is replaced with new high rent development and Montrose Blvd. becomes lined with high rises, the people who made Montrose Montrose might have to migrate somewhere else, maybe Navigation or N. Main.

very true.. while i must admit im a skyscraper dork and would like to see high rises connecting uptown-downtown-medical center, i dont think the Montrose area should have more than a few highrises (this one, one at the Westheimer shopping center, and maybe 1-2 others) .. especially if we want to maintain that montrose vibe we have all come to associate the area with. 

unfortunately like bobruss said, its already happening.. not only is Montrose too close to downtown, it was too hip for its own good. like Austin, and everything else that was once hip.. trend followers eventually caught on and started migrating in masses, so the hip areas are starting to shift towards other areas.

while its a downer for Montrose (i feel people will still try to keep Montrose eclectic/artsy) think of the rejuvenation that will occur to the currently blighted neighborhoods the Montrosians will be forced to move to.. those people will help turn other run down parts of the city into popular thriving areas too..

[swtsig]

i actually agree w htown-man for once... i like the fact that there isn't a unified authority trying to sterilize what is left of montrose counter-culture/bohemian vibe. let's be honest, it will happen eventually and we're really beginning to see it now but i want it to hold out as long as possible.

[bobruss]

My daughter was just forced out of the apartments that Hines is tearing down on Caroline across the street from the Asia Society, for its high rise tower.

Fortunately they were able to purchase a home in the Third ward which is exploding. We have at least five or six friends who have bought or are looking right now.  These include people in Bellaire and Montrose and who work in the Med center.

It has a way to go but trust me in five to ten years the third ward will be the new Montrose, and Almeda is going to be another Washington Ave. The housing stock over there is amazing. They are willing to be pioneers and got a great deal on a very charming bungalow off of Dowling and Alabama. Same thing is happening on the near north side.

[cloud713]

i actually agree w htown-man for once... i like the fact that there isn't a unified authority trying to sterilize what is left of montrose counter-culture/bohemian vibe. let's be honest, it will happen eventually and we're really beginning to see it now but i want it to hold out as long as possible.

 

i didnt mean for it to be "sterile" mass produced fixtures.. but wouldnt it be cool if local artists designed unique light poles, bus stops, and signage (kind of like how they designed a couple unique parking meters for the warehouse district a little while back) throughout the corridor that werent replicated?

i totally agree with what you were saying though if i were to of meant throw a bunch of chrome crap up around Montrose to unify the area like they did uptown, lol.. it works for uptown, but it would never work for Montrose.

 

My daughter was just forced out of the apartments that Hines is tearing down on Caroline across the street from the Asia Society, for its high rise tower.

Fortunately they were able to purchase a home in the Third ward which is exploding. We have at least five or six friends who have bought or are looking right now.  These include people in Bellaire and Montrose and who work in the Med center.

It has a way to go but trust me in five to ten years the third ward will be the new Montrose, and Almeda is going to be another Washington Ave. The housing stock over there is amazing. They are willing to be pioneers and got a great deal on a very charming bungalow off of Dowling and Alabama. Same thing is happening on the near north side.

as much as im sorry your daughter was forced out of her apartment, im excited to hear they are vacating the apartments. i was at the Asia Society a couple weeks back and people were still living there, making me wonder when they would be vacated to make way for Hines new tower.

[swtsig]

hines' museum distrcit tower should break ground in sept. and their downtown high rise probably in july or august.

[xsatyr]

I wouldn't say eyesore, just really boring.  The kind of building that after it is built, becomes invisible and you never quite notice it.

 

That's subjective. For me it's going to be an eyesore and will def not go unnoticed.

[swtsig]

That's subjective. For me it's going to be an eyesore and will def not go unnoticed.

 

good grief... hyperbole much? maybe you'll get lucky and go blind before it is completely that way you don't have to be bothered by this "eyesore"

[H-Town Man]

That's subjective. For me it's going to be an eyesore and will def not go unnoticed.

On contrary, Comrade Stalin love functionalist social realist design and lack of decadent bourgeois "beauty."

[xsatyr]

good grief... hyperbole much? maybe you'll get lucky and go blind before it is completely that way you don't have to be bothered by this "eyesore"

 

Go blind? Now that's a hyperbole... I wouldn't mind if this building was planned for another location but it will stick out like a sore thumb for me in that neighborhood. 

[swtsig]

On contrary, Comrade Stalin love functionalist social realist design and lack of decadent bourgeois "beauty."

 

weren't you one of the preservation twins bemoaning the demolition of the original building? this proposed building practically pays homage to the orgininal so i wonder why you have a problem with it.

[H-Town Man]

weren't you one of the preservation twins bemoaning the demolition of the original building? this proposed building practically pays homage to the orgininal so i wonder why you have a problem with it.

How does it pay homage? The original was an urbanist building on the street corner with ground floor retail. Aesthetics weren't wonderful but good for their time period. This one is set back in its own little world aloof from the neighborhood... exactly like a 60's high rise in East Berlin, except for the parking garage.

[cloud713]

Would you rather have an imposing 30 story highrise shadowing directly over Montrose, or set back from the street? I agree with what your saying, but I also thought the building kind of paid homage to the former building on the site, aesthetic wise..

[swtsig]

have you seen a picture of the existing building? they're practically twins.

 

i also love how a 15' setback removes it entirely from the neighborhood. or how the lack of retail in an area chock full of it precludes it from street involvement.

 

life must be so hard for an urbanist

[H-Town Man]

have you seen a picture of the existing building? they're practically twins.

i also love how a 15' setback removes it entirely from the neighborhood. or how the lack of retail in an area chock full of it precludes it from street involvement.

life must be so hard for an urbanist

No reason to get personal, swtsig. If you don't agree with me, then just don't agree with me.

[jt16]

Go blind? Now that's a hyperbole... I wouldn't mind if this building was planned for another location but it will stick out like a sore thumb for me in that neighborhood.

It's right down the street from the Chinese consulate. It fits right in I suppose.

[H-Town Man]

Would you rather have an imposing 30 story highrise shadowing directly over Montrose, or set back from the street? I agree with what your saying, but I also thought the building kind of paid homage to the former building on the site, aesthetic wise..

Yes, rather have it on the street, with only a broad sidewalk in front of the entrance. I don't see the homage.... yes, both buildings are broadly functionalist, but I liked the more natural/solid surface of the older one.