Regent Square: Mixed-Use On Allen Parkway At Dunlavy St.

[capnmcbarnacle]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard the site went under archeological study (doesn't mean digging for bones) a while back. Only after the exhausting research and approval from the state could the move forward.

The existing land under the project had various activities happen on it dating back to earliest days of Houston. Allen House was built at a time when this type of study wasn't performed.

This is new to me. I know there were other sites along Allen Parkway and Dallas that had some digs a few years back-- the old elemntary school in Freedman's town and spots near the Allen Parkway Village -- but I've never heard of anything going on at this site. Of some interest though is the fact that the old black cemetary is next door and this area used to be an old black enclave of the city. It was outside of what was considered freedman's town and was more of a pocket that had development build around it. There is an old church and a couple of shotgun shacks left down behind the Gotham and Backstreet Cafe. And for what its' worth the mob in the Camp Logan riot in 1917 turned from Buffalo Dr. (now Allen Parkway) to Dunlavy (then something else) and down a street a block north of Dallas that goes right past Daily Review. But I digress...

[uhlaw09]

This is new to me. I know there were other sites along Allen Parkway and Dallas that had some digs a few years back-- the old elemntary school in Freedman's town and spots near the Allen Parkway Village -- but I've never heard of anything going on at this site. Of some interest though is the fact that the old black cemetary is next door and this area used to be an old black enclave of the city. It was outside of what was considered freedman's town and was more of a pocket that had development build around it. There is an old church and a couple of shotgun shacks left down behind the Gotham and Backstreet Cafe. And for what its' worth the mob in the Camp Logan riot in 1917 turned from Buffalo Dr. (now Allen Parkway) to Dunlavy (then something else) and down a street a block north of Dallas that goes right past Daily Review. But I digress...

Pretty sure KJB is referring to this article:

http://swamplot.com/grave-concerns-for-reg...are/2008-08-28/

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/kho...ves.22ac15.html

I'm interested to know if any potential discoveries would cause problems during the development process.

[houston-development]

or kjb is talking about the hisd site on taft and w gray.

edited to add link.

Edited October 30, 2008 by houston-development

[capnmcbarnacle]

I've been by a numer of times in the past few weeks and while there is not any activiy on the site proper, the building at 1203 Dunlavy, where the construction/hiring office will be, has been full of activity. It appears to me that they are doing major work inside that building and they have also dug up the parking lot and set rebar for new concrete. Whatever is going on in there, it looks like they are settling in for the long haul.

[ChannelTwoNews]

Whatever is going on in there, it looks like they are settling in for the long haul.

According to this week's HBJ article on the state of several mixed-use projects in the current economy, construction is slated to begin in the second quarter of next year. The delays were supposedly, according to the article, to allow for more time to refine the design of the development.

It also mentions that the office at 1203 Dunlavy will be the marketing center which will "open in December, but won't officially launch until February".

Read more here: http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/sto...7502800^1736561

[lockmat]

John Darrah, vice president of GID Urban Development Group, said a retailer has already committed to lease about 30,000 square feet in his company

[swtsig]

http://www.cbre.com/USA/US/TX/Houston+Gall...re.htm?pageid=2

there's a nice rendering of the office component (front left 10-story bldg) on the website that i cant get to upload for whatever reason

[UrbaNerd]

Here, found a way to do it

Edited December 16, 2008 by UrbaNerd

[fatesdisastr]

i love the classical look

[fatesdisastr]

http://www.cbre.com/USA/US/TX/Houston+Gall...re.htm?pageid=2

there's a nice rendering of the office component (front left 10-story bldg) on the website that i cant get to upload for whatever reason

on a closer look, what the heck is the red, white and blue in the upper right corner right behind the highrise?

[swtsig]

on a closer look, what the heck is the red, white and blue in the upper right corner right behind the highrise?

looks kinda like a pool

[lockmat]

click on the brochure on the upper right hand corner. It's got a great birds eye view rendering that we havent' seen before and it looks awesome. I'll try and copy and paste when I get home if someone doesn't beat me to it.

or here is the link...duh

http://www.cbre.com/NR/rdonlyres/3839781A-...chure122008.pdf

Edited December 16, 2008 by lockmat

[lockmat]

[swtsig]

that's the exact picture i posted about 6 posts up, lockmat

Edited December 17, 2008 by swtsig

[roadrunner]

This needs to happen. I just don't see it anytime soon.

[lockmat]

that's the exact picture i posted about 6 posts up, lockmat

Oh, my bad. For some reason my work laptop won't show images, so i didn't see it.

[uhlaw09]

This needs to happen. I just don't see it anytime soon.

Channel 2 posted news on this recently:

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/sto...7502800^1736561

HBJ reports that things are back on schedule (original groundbreaking was to be October 2008) and work on the site is expected to begin in the Second Quarter of 2009. Also, they're completely renovating the Marketing Center for the development right across the street (have been working on it for a month, if not more). The developer is saying in the media that they're going ahead with it. Work has been very active over there at the Marketing Center, so I don't see any reason to think that they've changed course.

A lot could happen between now and 2Q of 2009, but things look to be on track for now.

[stilettoninja]

My friend who works at Morris (the architects designing the project) just told me today that pretty much everybody in the studio who was assigned to the project were laid off. From his understanding, the project is going to be on hold for at least another year. Without the design team, I

[kjb434]

stilettoninja,

That could mean something. If the design was finished, the worker could have been laid off because of lack of future work.

At the engineering firm I work at, a couple of large project were wrapped up early so workers could get laid off. The rest of the work force would handle the smaller projects lingering.

So, I hope the design team finished.

I need to go digging on the City of Houston permits website to see if I can see any activity for this project.

[roadrunner]

Channel 2 posted news on this recently:

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/sto...7502800^1736561

HBJ reports that things are back on schedule (original groundbreaking was to be October 2008) and work on the site is expected to begin in the Second Quarter of 2009. Also, they're completely renovating the Marketing Center for the development right across the street (have been working on it for a month, if not more). The developer is saying in the media that they're going ahead with it. Work has been very active over there at the Marketing Center, so I don't see any reason to think that they've changed course.

A lot could happen between now and 2Q of 2009, but things look to be on track for now.

We've heard the "everything on schedule, groundbreaking is coming in a few months" for over a year now. I wouldn't get your hopes up, especially in this environment.

[capnmcbarnacle]

We've heard the "everything on schedule, groundbreaking is coming in a few months" for over a year now. I wouldn't get your hopes up, especially in this environment.

This is an interesing one because my understanding had been that these guys had lots of equity in this thing and were somewhat buffered from financing issues. And everything has also pointed to these guys being longterm holders of this property. Obviously I'm hoping that the fact they are looking well down the road will keep them on schedule. Who knows what things will be like in a couple years when this thing is ready to go -- being the only mixed use development ready to take people on if the economy is on track would be a stellar position. But that's a lot of ifs.

One thing I did notice is that two lots of townhouses, four units, have now been fenced off along West Clay. I don't know when the developers acquired these, but I think the chainlink fencing around them is new.

The marketing building is a big project -- much more than the standard mobile home setup. I just hope that all of these steps mean that if this thing is delayed, it is just a delay and not the end of it. I think this thing can be great.

[lockmat]

The marketing building is a big project -- much more than the standard mobile home setup. I just hope that all of these steps mean that if this thing is delayed, it is just a delay and not the end of it. I think this thing can be great.

Let's not forget about Turnberry's office.

[capnmcbarnacle]

Let's not forget about Turnberry's office.

You cut to the core of me, Lockmat.

[Subdude]

This is an interesing one because my understanding had been that these guys had lots of equity in this thing and were somewhat buffered from financing issues. And everything has also pointed to these guys being longterm holders of this property. Obviously I'm hoping that the fact they are looking well down the road will keep them on schedule. Who knows what things will be like in a couple years when this thing is ready to go -- being the only mixed use development ready to take people on if the economy is on track would be a stellar position. But that's a lot of ifs.

Yes, but unfortunately even with a lot of equity financing has dried up in a lot of cases. It may be that neither the developers or the bankers want to risk it right now. I hate it that projects like this appear to be canceled, leaving plots of vacant land scattered about.

[KinkaidAlum]

THIS needs to happen. I've said it before but I'll say it again, this is the BEST project to hit Houston in quite some time. The team behind it is A+ all the way. I've been in some of their projects on the East Coast. Good stuff and a HUGE improvement over Allen House.

It's a shame the overall US economy is so terrible. Institutions just aren't lending right now despite the "bailout." Wasn't that the point of giving them all that money?

[swtsig]

THIS needs to happen. I've said it before but I'll say it again, this is the BEST project to hit Houston in quite some time. The team behind it is A+ all the way. I've been in some of their projects on the East Coast. Good stuff and a HUGE improvement over Allen House.

It's a shame the overall US economy is so terrible. Institutions just aren't lending right now despite the "bailout." Wasn't that the point of giving them all that money?

agree with you 100000%... easily my favorite project

i have faith that the economy can start making a recovery by the end of next year, and if the price of oil increases back to $70+ range (and with what the fed is doing the dollar, it should) a lot of these projects will see the light of day.... just not for another couple of years

but perhaps i'm just being optimistic because i want to see this thing get off the ground in the worst way (along with BLVD place, highstreet, and river oaks shopping district)

[capnmcbarnacle]

Strictly for what it's worth...

I emailed the developers and asked when they expected to start construciton and they told me...this year.

Speculate away.

I still see work going on at the leasing office, and they have certainly turned that old warehouse into quite a space. I also see people out on the site itself so it's not like the property is sitting itotally idle ala High Street, Sonoma, Titan... Keep your fingers crossed.

[uhlaw09]

Strictly for what it's worth...

I emailed the developers and asked when they expected to start construciton and they told me...this year.

Speculate away.

I still see work going on at the leasing office, and they have certainly turned that old warehouse into quite a space. I also see people out on the site itself so it's not like the property is sitting itotally idle ala High Street, Sonoma, Titan... Keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks for sharing. The leasing office bears little resemblance to what it looked like 2 months ago.

An opening in early- to mid-2011 would seem like a reasonable bet. The fact that they have owned this property for 20+ years and plan to keep it for the long term future bodes well. Also, as a nearby resident, I think their plans fit the area perfectly and would be very successful in the long-term.

That said, I would be surprised (very happily so) if this actually broke ground in 2009. Just my pure gut feeling and nothing else.

[BigSky]

With the amount of money these guys have made off of Allen House over the last 20-30 years. They have enough equity to build probably 200 of these type of projects. Unlike Sonoma and Titan, I believe these guys are professional and they sure seem to be in this thing for the long-haul and not just to make a quick buck. My bet is that they can make this one happen even in this bad economy.

[photolitherland]

This project reminds me a lot of The Woodlands Market Square or whatever its called, just on a much grander and sexier scale. This project NEEDS!!!! to happen. It doesnt sound like its lost steam, maybe just delayed but it will get done since these guys seem to have invested a lot of time and effort into this project.