The Galleria Mall At 5085 Westheimer Rd.

[cloud713]

sounds like it will be a huge improvement. i agree it would have looked weird if Galleria III looked different from the rest of the galleria, though they could have taken the opportunity to start renovating the look of the entire mall, renovating the other buildings after they finish III. but there wasnt really a need to change the look as it still looks nice and doesnt appear dated.

will this "expansion" truely expand the size/floor space of the Galleria?

is there a map of how the Galleria is laid out? i was trying to envision the complex from an arial perspective to determine where the new tower would go. i was also curious if there would be room for additional expansion like a Galleria V or something.

Edited September 9, 2013 by cloud713

[ArchFan]

As I recall, Hines at one time considered extending The Galleria westward across Sage.  Not sure why they changed their minds, but perhaps it was market conditions at the time.  Instead, they developed a couple of little strip malls, the (then) Ranger Insurance Building and the (then) Guest Quarters Hotel.  In retrospect, I wish they had done that rather than having to build Galleria IV to the south.  

 

I agree that the decision to isolate Galleria III by forcing pedestrians to walk though a department store  (Marshall Fields / Saks) played a big part in why it failed to draw traffic.  

 

 

[Fortune]

If Simon is ever able to purchase the land where the church stands at the corner of West Alabama & Sage it could expand on that property. It's a pretty large space, the majority of it currently being used for a parking lot. It seems like a pretty logical place for a expansion with it being directly across from most recently built Macy's, they would just need a large department store to anchor the expansion. Like Barney's, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf, or even Belk( I believe they are opening a store in Dallas).

[cloud713]

so when your looking at the galleria from arial views it would be..

3 2 1    and 
   4       going south across alabama?
 

It had to be done it was always awkward to have to walk thru Saks to get the the Galleria III. I cant wait to see how it turns out, with the residential high rise and all. 

 

Now the only thing I wish they would do is develop the parking lots at the SW corner of Post Oak & Westheimer. Also it would be great if they redeveloped the Dillards and its parking lot.

according to this post from the first page in this thread, Dillards and Neiman Marcus arent part of theGalleria. 

"I know that Neiman Marcus is not owned by Simon, the company that owns the mall. The mall just came out to NM's front door. The same goes for Dillards. A skywalk would be nice, but it is unlikely a common corridor would be built for something that is not really included in the Galleria mall, even though NM is included in the mall directory. NM was built before the Galleria was and the own the land it sits on, not Simon."

so it would appear the Galleria wont ever be building any sky bridges connecting Dillards to NM. i dont think it would be a very popular connection anyways since it would have the Galleria III effect with NM cutting off traffic/causing you to walk through a department store to get from Galleria I to Dillards. i wonder if the Galleria owns the land Dillards is on or if that land is owned by someone else too like NM is? that could determine if they would/could ever redevelop Dillards (what were your ideas?) and its parking lot. as for the parking lots north of NM, one of those may be owned by NM. it would be neat though if they developed those parking lots and connected it into the old Lord and Taylor store/area where Kona Grill and Del Friscos are. it might be kind of a weird development though, if it were to parallel Galleria I? i guess they could have the hallway at the entrance by Cheese Cake Factory and McDonalds be extended out north up to Westheimer with stores lining both sides of it. 

i wonder if there are plans for a Galleria V. does anyone see any major expansion happening in the future? that Church just south of Macys at Galleria III has a large parking lot. maybe they could sell off the majority of that to Simon and build a garage to the south of the church? im not sure it would be a large enough expansion to be deemed "Galleria V" though. maybe just room for another department store. it would be cool if Simon were able to buy off the whole Church and develop their whole plot into Galleria V. they could even offer the church space somewhere in the building so they dont have to relocate where they hold their services.

[KLP]

The same happened to us this Tuesday afternoon. This is clearly a repetitive, organized crime, however, I do not see that neither the Galleria Mall security nor Houston police department are taking any actions against this. Sad. Question: Could this be an "inside job"?

[august948]

What's a good way to deter thieves? Lojack, car alarm, steering wheel block, something else?

[fatesdisastr]

I've had two of my friends cars broken into in the past few weeks in the Galleria area. Something serious is going on in this area and it is out of control.

[SkylineView]

It always picks up in Q4, esp around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I keep literally nothing in my car (and still worry).  If your laptop bag is their cocaine, your gym bag and 5 year old iPod (inferred through the cord just barely visible under the seat) are the crack.  They'll still take it.

[The Pragmatist]

I lost all of my rims and tires two Saturdays ago inside of my condo complex's gated garage.  They jacked the truck up into the pipe running above it in the garage and damaged the roof too.  With the truck in the shop and an awesome deductible to be paid, I am getting wheel locks to possibly deter them on that front.

Edited October 21, 2013 by The Pragmatist

[mkultra25]

What's a good way to deter thieves? Lojack, car alarm, steering wheel block, something else?

 

All of the above, plus a well-hidden kill switch. Lojack isn't so much a deterrent as a recovery aid once it's been stolen. 

 

I think "deter" is the appropriate word. As many people have pointed out, you can't stop thieves from stealing your vehicle if they really want it, but you can certainly make it harder for them to do so. And making it even a little bit harder is frequently enough to cause thieves to move on to another less-challenging target. The steering wheel and pedal bar-type locks are highly visible and relatively low-cost, and while they're easily defeated with the appropriate tools, they'll also slow someone down longer than the standard door and ignition locks will. 

[BaderJF]

Any thing new about the high rise?

[Sky-guy]

Just saw this on HBJ, the Galleria could get an entirely new look!

(forgive if this been posted somewhere else already)

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2013/09/big-changes-coming-to-houstons.html

[musicman]

That second picture looks old if not current

[Sky-guy]

I myself think that the second picture is boring and could very well be old. But what really looks incredible is the first one. I think that would look amazing! It also looks much more pedestrian-friendly.

Edited October 31, 2013 by Sky-guy

[cloud713]

It's a new area for theGalleria III (unless they decided to remodel the whole thing), the inside is supposed to look similar to the other "older" sections. It would be odd if it didn't. But that picture depicts the new atrium/wing that is taking the place of Saks, which for now forms a barrier between galleria III and galleria II. The expansion has been posted in the uptown sub forum. Looks like they are filling in the holes on the Philip Johnson facade?

Edited October 31, 2013 by cloud713

[fatesdisastr]

Need to let out a little negative energy rant here and it is not soley on Sky-guy, but I wish people would at least look to see if there is a thread already on a subject before posting a new thread on an older topic.

 

End rant.

 

Now back to the regularly scheduled rainbows, sunshine and unicorns 

[LTAWACS]

About bloody time.

[Subdude]

Not to worry, dupe topics merged.

 

 

[cloud713]

It kind of sounds like the whole galleria may be receiving an update, but galleria III is going to be undergoing the extensive structural renovations so the article highlighted that portion. Or did I misunderstand the part towards the end of the article about the rest of the galleria receiving an update too?

[Houston19514]

It kind of sounds like the whole galleria may be receiving an update, but galleria III is going to be undergoing the extensive structural renovations so the article highlighted that portion. Or did I misunderstand the part towards the end of the article about the rest of the galleria receiving an update too?

 

From the HBJ article:

"Simon’s plans also include upgrades to the interior, exterior and parking decks of the mall."  Seems pretty clear (and those words are straight from Simon's press release).

 

 

I think the "extensive structural renovations" of Galleria III is really a demolition of the current Galleria III and Macy's on Sage structures and construction of a new structure for Sak's (and possibly a residential high-rise) in their place.

 

I am wondering about the conversion of the current 3-story Saks store building into a new 2-level mall wing.  What do they plan to do with the current third level space?

[august948]

I am wondering about the conversion of the current 3-story Saks store building into a new 2-level mall wing.  What do they plan to do with the current third level space?

 

There's a third level to the mall right there that is offices and banks and at least one optometrist.  They could continue that into the third level of Saks.

 

Edit:  Looking at the rendering after posting this, you can see the third level.  I assume that is where the existing 3rd level of Saks is now.

Edited October 31, 2013 by august948

[cloud713]

From the HBJ article:

"Simon’s plans also include upgrades to the interior, exterior and parking decks of the mall." Seems pretty clear (and those words are straight from Simon's press release).

I think the "extensive structural renovations" of Galleria III is really a demolition of the current Galleria III and Macy's on Sage structures and construction of a new structure for Sak's (and possibly a residential high-rise) in their place.

I am wondering about the conversion of the current 3-story Saks store building into a new 2-level mall wing. What do they plan to do with the current third level space?

True, i just wasn't sure if they were referring to just the 3rd wing or the whole mall. It's about time ours gets a facelift. Dallas galleria is newer than ours and has already been remodeled.

And yeah you can see the 3rd level in the rendering.

[august948]

True, i just wasn't sure if they were referring to just the 3rd wing or the whole mall. It's about time ours gets a facelift. Dallas galleria is newer than ours and has already been remodeled.

And yeah you can see the 3rd level in the rendering.

 

I haven't been in the Dallas Galleria since 2001.  At that time it had fallen far from where it was in the '80's.  Were they able to bring it back to glory?

 

[cloud713]

I couldn't tell you, I've only driven by it. The outside looks nice though. Lol

[drecey]

I haven't been in the Dallas Galleria since 2001.  At that time it had fallen far from where it was in the '80's.  Were they able to bring it back to glory?

 

I live in Dallas now and they're slowly losing tenants. Saks just left and Nordstrom's days are numbered. They're replacing Saks with a Belks. As mentioned above, the outside is really nice. The neighborhood surrounding the mall is getting worse and it battles competition from its neighbors to the north and NorthPark to the south of it.

 

Side note: I cant wait to move back to Houston. (sigh)

[Houston19514]

True, i just wasn't sure if they were referring to just the 3rd wing or the whole mall. It's about time ours gets a facelift. Dallas galleria is newer than ours and has already been remodeled.

And yeah you can see the 3rd level in the rendering.

 

The interior of the Houston Galleria has already been fully remodeled.  Agree the exterior could use a facelift.

[cloud713]

The interior of the Houston Galleria has already been fully remodeled.  Agree the exterior could use a facelift.

oh really? that makes sense since it still looks so nice inside. when did the renovation take place? the outside definitely needs a makeover..

[august948]

I live in Dallas now and they're slowly losing tenants. Saks just left and Nordstrom's days are numbered. They're replacing Saks with a Belks. As mentioned above, the outside is really nice. The neighborhood surrounding the mall is getting worse and it battles competition from its neighbors to the north and NorthPark to the south of it.

 

Side note: I cant wait to move back to Houston. (sigh)

 

 

Sounds like it's well on the way to a listing on DeadMalls.com.

 

[Houston19514]

oh really? that makes sense since it still looks so nice inside. when did the renovation take place? the outside definitely needs a makeover..

 

The interior renovation took place in the same general time period as the addition of Galleria IV.

[IronTiger]

The interior renovation took place in the same general time period as the addition of Galleria IV.

That was 2002-2003.

I live in Dallas now and they're slowly losing tenants. Saks just left and Nordstrom's days are numbered. They're replacing Saks with a Belks. As mentioned above, the outside is really nice. The neighborhood surrounding the mall is getting worse and it battles competition from its neighbors to the north and NorthPark to the south of it.

Even back in 2006, it was a bit strange to see a department store replaced with a three-level Banana Republic/GAP/Old Navy combo.