The RO: Mixed-Use Development At West Alabama And Buffalo Spdwy.

[astrohip]

14 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

Any pics?

Funny you ask... I was driving by it again this week (I live practically next door) and noticed nothing going on. The flags are still there, but no trucks, no people, no nothing. 

I'll try to get some pics in a few days. I'm always driving when I go by, and try to focus on driving and not other distractions. But I should be able to pull over and get some.

As far as what it's part of, since everything (according to Marketing) that's inside the Loop is "River Oaks", I'm sure that's the main focus. It is (IMHO) closer to Greenway Plaza than RO.

There was a news story earlier this week about a shooting at a "River Oaks apartment complex". But in digging down, it was located at San Felipe & 610. But hey... that's River Oaks! 🙄

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, astrohip said:

Funny you ask... I was driving by it again this week (I live practically next door) and noticed nothing going on. The flags are still there, but no trucks, no people, no nothing. 

I'll try to get some pics in a few days. I'm always driving when I go by, and try to focus on driving and not other distractions. But I should be able to pull over and get some.

As far as what it's part of, since everything (according to Marketing) that's inside the Loop is "River Oaks", I'm sure that's the main focus. It is (IMHO) closer to Greenway Plaza than RO.

There was a news story earlier this week about a shooting at a "River Oaks apartment complex". But in digging down, it was located at San Felipe & 610. But hey... that's River Oaks! 🙄

This is an example of "concept creep" which happens when small or minor shifts in semantics ends up pushing or expanding the boundaries of a defined concept, idea, word, etc... If River Oaks is the place that many people want to be, but the space available is limited then overtime you will have those on the periphery who will then attempt to link themselves with River Oaks by simple association just so they can say they "live in" River Oaks. Over time as more and more people start naming themselves as River Oaks the boundary that once was the actual River Oaks begins to be diminished. As the name River Oaks expands the name will get further diluted over time to a point where nobody really understands what River Oaks even means anymore, and its at that point you would then start to see a shift or change. Its a natural and emergent phenomena that's really interesting once you look into it.

[hindesky]

22 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

Any pics?

Nothing going on when I took these pics today.

[Luminare]

9 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Nothing going on when I took these pics today.

Well I don't remember there being a lake on site, so I guess thats progress?!

[hindesky]

1 minute ago, Luminare said:

Well I don't remember there being a lake on site, so I guess thats progress?!

I believe those were old fuel/chemical tanks used for chemical experiments after all this was the old Exxon Chemical offices/labs.

[Twinsanity02]

The way I understand "River Oaks" is north of Westhimer, west of Shepherd , and east of Willowick with a further westward bulge to Inverness. All this calling areas all the way to the Loop "River Oaks" seems like to put it politely pure piffle. If you don't live in River Oaks pretending doesn't make it so. 

[Big E]

7 hours ago, Twinsanity02 said:

The way I understand "River Oaks" is north of Westhimer, west of Shepherd , and east of Willowick with a further westward bulge to Inverness. All this calling areas all the way to the Loop "River Oaks" seems like to put it politely pure piffle. If you don't live in River Oaks pretending doesn't make it so. 

I have a hard time thinking of anything west of those train tracks as River Oaks, though apparently anything north of Afton Oaks and East of the loop is.

[Geoff8201]

This discussion on boundaries got covered on the previous pages of this thread.

The RO doesn’t fall within the boundaries of River Oaks, Upper Kirby or Greenway Plaza.

Google any one of those with “Boundary Map” and you will see the borders. Some maps are more accurate and detailed then others. Take Realtor provided boundary maps with a grain of salt.

With the boundary of River Oaks being a block away, and the name “The RO” not being used elsewhere it’s no surprise they used it. Maybe the initials RO don’t actually even stand for River Oaks? 🤔

Centerpoint has been doing work along W. Alabama replacing poles and aging equipment. Sanitary Sewer updates have taken place along Buffalo Spdwy and W. Alabama is supposed to get updated in the coming years on the Upper Kirby (Buffalo to Shepherd) and COH (Buffalo to Weslayan) sides. Both plans would replace storm sewers, replace the streets, add sidewalks and add bike lanes.

As for the RO, last I heard they were looking for more Capital. Bears the question if Spear Street is still on board.

I’m just hoping in the short term, they fix this leaking valve that has been pouring water since the freeze last year.

That’s it. That’s all I know for now.

[j_cuevas713]

40 minutes ago, Geoff8201 said:

This discussion on boundaries got covered on the previous pages of this thread.

The RO doesn’t fall within the boundaries of River Oaks, Upper Kirby or Greenway Plaza.

Google any one of those with “Boundary Map” and you will see the borders. Some maps are more accurate and detailed then others. Take Realtor provided boundary maps with a grain of salt.

With the boundary of River Oaks being a block away, and the name “The RO” not being used elsewhere it’s no surprise they used it. Maybe the initials RO don’t actually even stand for River Oaks? 🤔

Centerpoint has been doing work along W. Alabama replacing poles and aging equipment. Sanitary Sewer updates have taken place along Buffalo Spdwy and W. Alabama is supposed to get updated in the coming years on the Upper Kirby (Buffalo to Shepherd) and COH (Buffalo to Weslayan) sides. Both plans would replace storm sewers, replace the streets, add sidewalks and add bike lanes.

As for the RO, last I heard they were looking for more Capital. Bears the question if Spear Street is still on board.

I’m just hoping in the short term, they fix this leaking valve that has been pouring water since the freeze last year.

That’s it. That’s all I know for now.

Good luck filing a 311 complaint. Every time I fill one out it gets sent back that I need to take further action. It's completely ridiculous. The city never just forwards it to the proper channel. And matter's like this pic above take months to fix. It seems the people at 311 enjoy doing the bare minimum. I have a chunk of utility pole hanging above a sidewalk on W Alabama that's been sitting that way for weeks with debris from what appears to be a car accident still not cleaned up by Upper Kirby Management District. 

[Ross]

6 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Good luck filing a 311 complaint. Every time I fill one out it gets sent back that I need to take further action. It's completely ridiculous. The city never just forwards it to the proper channel. And matter's like this pic above take months to fix. It seems the people at 311 enjoy doing the bare minimum. I have a chunk of utility pole hanging above a sidewalk on W Alabama that's been sitting that way for weeks with debris from what appears to be a car accident still not cleaned up by Upper Kirby Management District. 

If it's a power pole, call Centerpoint. The City doesn't fix Centerpoint's stuff.

On 1/14/2022 at 4:49 PM, hindesky said:

I believe those were old fuel/chemical tanks used for chemical experiments after all this was the old Exxon Chemical offices/labs.

A friend worked there., It was Exxon Production Research, later Upstream Research. I think the Chemicals research part of Exxon is in New Jersey or somewhere up that way.

[j_cuevas713]

9 minutes ago, Ross said:

If it's a power pole, call Centerpoint. The City doesn't fix Centerpoint's stuff.

A friend worked there., It was Exxon Production Research, later Upstream Research. I think the Chemicals research part of Exxon is in New Jersey or somewhere up that way.

Yeah I know but my issue is instead of them forwarding my complaint they force you to go back and call them yourself. Of all of the issues I've reported from sidewalks to debris, I get varying answers from 311 on what the city handles and what it doesn't. 

[Highrise Tower]

On 1/13/2022 at 6:27 PM, Urbannizer said:

Any pics?

[aachor]

On 1/15/2022 at 2:58 AM, Big E said:

I have a hard time thinking of anything west of those train tracks as River Oaks, though apparently anything north of Afton Oaks and East of the loop is.

I think it's just supposed to sound "prestigious." There are businesses that use "River Oaks" in their name as far east as Montrose, and even south of 59. 

Unfortunately, I think Google uses stuff like business names (e.g. "popular opinion") in how they define an area on their maps. So, someday we may see the entirety of the west loop evolve into "River Oaks." haha

[The Ozone Files]

I saw a truck and crew doing some kind of soil sampling on this site over the past few days.

Anyone heard anything about this moving forward?

[Geoff8201]

I saw the same thing. Took some photos but until I see heavy equipment in droves and a crane foundation getting built I’ll hold my excitement.

Also in curious searching I found 1. Spear Street Capital is no longer on board as the have listed the RO as a sold asset (https://spearstreetcapital.com/portfolio/sold/) and 2. Transwestern still has listings for leasable space at the RO. These listings have been there for a while. (https://transwestern.com/property/the-ro-3120-buffalo-speedway).

 

(attached photo was taken on July 13th)

[hindesky]

All the equipment is gone but did see a core drillings spoils barrel and a few new surveyor stakes.

 

[The Ozone Files]

Trees are being removed! 

I’ll try to take photos this afternoon.

[hindesky]

Van and Sons Drilling, I've seen them at multiple spots around town. Ulrich Engineers.

http://ulrichengineers.com

[Luminare]

Man, some of these projects are activating just in the nick of time.

[Highrise Tower]

On 7/23/2022 at 10:54 AM, The Ozone Files said:

Trees are being removed! 

I’ll try to take photos this afternoon.

 

[astrohip]

I walked over today, to get a closer look (and came back drenched--it's hot!). It looks like they're trying to save the trees. I don't know if they're going to move them, or build barriers around them, but it's definitely not your typical "doze 'em to the ground" process. Lots of them have those dirt walls around them.

[Luminare]

19 hours ago, astrohip said:

I walked over today, to get a closer look (and came back drenched--it's hot!). It looks like they're trying to save the trees. I don't know if they're going to move them, or build barriers around them, but it's definitely not your typical "doze 'em to the ground" process. Lots of them have those dirt walls around them.

That dirt wall is to mark off the "Drip Line" of the tree. Any grading that is done can not breach that drip line or the tree will die. This is usually a process coordinated between the Architect, Landscape Architect, Civil Engineer, and GC. As far as moving them, not sure myself. I don't remember seeing any markings on a previous site plan noting which trees were marked as "Existing Tree to Remain" or "Existing Tree to be Relocated". I guess we will know soon enough.

[Geoff8201]

I heard today that they intend to transplant the trees within the site, or at least attempt it. That’s why the dirt lines were placed, something about it and the trees root system…  makes it easier somehow to transplant them? I’m not sure how it works, I’m no arborist.

I also heard the residential tower will end up being 12-14 floors of occupancy… but on top of a multilevel parking garage. Much shorter than the 37 floors originally proposed but this was expected.

I found the following on Emporis listing the first building as 17 floors, which makes sense with the 12-14 floors on top of several levels of parking garage.

https://www.emporis.com/buildings/1400038/the-ro-tower-i-houston-tx-usa
 

We will likely see a 2023 start to the construction, but the site will still be divided into 8 parcels which means we should still see offices, a hotel and lots of retail in multiple phases.

 

Edit: The Emporis site lists the 17-floor building use as commercial office. So some clarification is lost as I thought they were referring to the residential tower. We shall see.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Geoff8201

[Highrise Tower]

Soil testing continuing for Parcel 2.

[Highrise Tower]

A Plan Review Fee permit was pulled yesterday for a new apartment. 

Lets go!! 

[astrohip]

1 hour ago, Highrise Tower said:

A Plan Review Fee permit was pulled yesterday for a new apartment. 

Lets go!! 

Is this the type of permit that would be used for the project as proposed? Or does this indicate a change in direction?

 

[houstontexasjack]

https://therealdeal.com/texas/2022/09/30/transwesterns-stalled-houston-project-moving-forward/
 

“Though plans are not final, Friedkin will reportedly build an Auberge Collection of Resorts on the site featuring a hotel and residences, with Compass handling the sales.“

🤔

[Geoff8201]

1 hour ago, houstontexasjack said:

https://therealdeal.com/texas/2022/09/30/transwesterns-stalled-houston-project-moving-forward/
 

“Though plans are not final, Friedkin will reportedly build an Auberge Collection of Resorts on the site featuring a hotel and residences, with Compass handling the sales.“

🤔

Did I read this correctly? Im so confused. A resort…. In the middle of Houston?

[houstontexasjack]

2 hours ago, Geoff8201 said:

Did I read this correctly? Im so confused. A resort…. In the middle of Houston?

Hence, the 🤔 emoji.

[Highrise Tower]

Water/Waste Water Application pulled.  Getting closer and closer!! 

Now we have a Plan Review Permit plus the additional Waste Water Permit.  We should see activity here within the next few weeks!

[Urbannizer]

The RO Parcel I: 360’

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=560804389&row=3

[j_cuevas713]

OMG all these cool projects are finally kicking off!

Edited November 21, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[Geoff8201]

On 5/27/2021 at 10:59 PM, Urbannizer said:

Now listed on Pickard Chilton's website as proposed so maybe there's still hope for this one.

https://www.pickardchilton.com/work/ro

Went back to the PC website. The RO is still on there and I don’t recall seeing any of these additional slides before. Good sign.

 

 

[Urbannizer]

On 11/15/2022 at 5:56 PM, Urbannizer said:

The RO Parcel I: 360’

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=560804389&row=3

28-story multifamily with retail.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=560804389&row=3

[astrohip]

Why was I thinking the first building was going to be office, not resid? Did they change their minds because of the upheaval in the office market?

[Geoff8201]

4 hours ago, astrohip said:

Why was I thinking the first building was going to be office, not resid? Did they change their minds because of the upheaval in the office market?

I figured they would build the entire Phase 1 at the same time…. At the very least build the residential and office building using the same crane(s). But we will see.

W. Alabama continues to undergo construction which has progressed on the East Bound lanes right by the RO. It will be nicer and more walkable area once done.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Geoff8201
Fix grammatical

[astrohip]

Is that pic from Lamar Towers?

[shasta]

Who is the developer on this project?

[Naviguessor]

52 minutes ago, astrohip said:

Is that pic from Lamar Towers?

Looks like from my Grandparents old unit.  

[Urbannizer]

8 minutes ago, shasta said:

Who is the developer on this project?

Transwestern 

[astrohip]

A couple shots from new drone. Thanks to @hindesky for advice on drones.

A shot from the NW corner, showing the entire project. You can see the work they're doing on Alabama. And a shot from the south (hovering above Richmond), looking north. In the far background, that's The River Oaks condo straight ahead, with Lamar Towers to the right, and St. Lukes to the left.

 

 

[Paco Jones]

Address:

3120 Buffalo Speedway

 

Architect:

The Preston Partnership

 

Information:

Residential tower consisting of 28 levels above grade with one level of below grade basement.  Parking is at basement and levels 1-5 and residential is levels 6-28.  317 units with a total of 378,387 SF of residential space.  Ground floor retail space of 15,209 SF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Luminare]

Okay that looks very slick. Diggin the warm wood colors with the black brick.

[kennyc05]

Beautiful!