YakuzaIce

Looks like we were all pretty close.

I'm a bit surprised how close we could get. Though I guess the building isn't especially big. Still though, it was about half the distance of the last couple demolitions I went to.

And my video since I seem to have been in the wrong thread before.

Well, today was the day they demolished the Ben Milam Hotel. Fairly light turnout compared to some other demolitions, but it didn't seem to have as high a profile. Kind of a shame they couldn't make some use of it, it only takes up about an eighth of the site.

Here is the video I took.

Before. What is left of the sign on the north corner.

Looking down Preston St. afterwards.

I glance at this website from time to time out of, well, I suppose nostalgia is the word (though it doesn't seem quite right!) for my Houston childhood.

Are you suggesting that Houston needs less open space?!!!

Pretty sure he's just saying that a golf course is a very inefficient use of open space. There are only 48 tee times a day for a maximum of 4 people. Even if every time is taken with the largest party possible, that is only 192 people per day (although it could be more with the driving range and other ammenities). So even assuming it operates at maximum capacity year round, the zoo still averages 22.8 times more people per day despite using less than half the space. As a comparison Discovery Green saw an average of 850,000 visitors per year in its first two years ("over 4 million" since it opened, but I don't know as of when.), and that's just a 12 acre park.

While it's nice to have a golf course so close into the city, I have to agree that it is wasted space in its current form.

I was really surprised at the number of people that were there. Far more than the Prudential building a few months back. Of course the weather was better, and I don't know how many hundreds or thousands were watching from the surrounding hospitals for Prudential.

Here's the video I took of it. The demo jumped the gun a bit compared to the countdown.

I don't disagree with you all - that's why I posted this - but one counter-perspective is that this is at the top of a very tall building. The only people who would actually see this would be those watching the NYC skyline through a TV/film or overhead in an airplane. The street-level view wouldn't likely be affected, I think.

Well the number of people viewing if from a distance would vastly outweigh those directly underneath it. Also I'm fairly sure the distance to be able to see the spire would at most be around a hundred feet away. It's not my money, but it seems silly to sacrifice the aesthetics to save $20 million on a $3.8 billion tower.

Was going to say it will probably be finished eventually since the foundation was made for a large building... Then I remembered the Metlife North Building. Nearly 80 years later and it was never finished. Of course it's probably more expensive to build an Art Deco tower than a glass and steel building these days.

Some pictures from this morning. Seems that it's topped out, and the cladding will probably be going on soon.

From this morning, there is some equipment on site now.

Pictures from this morning. This one seems to be going up pretty quickly.

Some updates from this morning. They seem to be about a floor and a half higher than the last pics.

I'm not seeing that.

(Full size http://i.minus.com/ilbhOk6Julk8r.JPG )

And, what it used to look like.

Much bigger crowd than I was expecting for early on a Sunday morning. Although it wasn't that early by the time it finally came down. Here's a video of the demolition.

Also some pictures

Around 9:30 can't see a damn thing

Fog has cleared up, can see the full building now (I have a lot more and in higher resolutions if anyone is interested).

The aftermath as people flee the dust cloud.

Cant remember exactly but I believe 600,000 square feet of office space is about the same size as Main Place/BG Group Place tower that recently finished in Downtown Houston. Either BG Group Place or Hess/Discovery Tower, one of them.

Main Place is quite a bit bigger at 973k square feet. Discovery tower is just a bit under 900k square feet. I don't think this will end up being very tall. Especially being on a 5 acre lot. Although the streets surrounding it are private and I believe they are partially included as part of the lot. A very rough estimate for the area they would be building on would be around 138,000 sq ft. A good chunk of that could be taken up with drop-off areas or landscaping though.

Yeah, exif shows one of the pictures was from 2007. Plus, the train looks like it doesn't extend beyond the tree behind it, the non-facing streetlight above it looks like it's too far away from the intersection, and it doesn't look like there's enough room for a train in the opposite direction!

They also assume the trains are going to be self powered. Or more likely forgot to shop in the overhead lines. There isn't even enough room for the cars as they seem to be driving through the bushes.

Some pictures from this morning. Tower crane is still being put together. The back of the lot seems to have gotten underway.

Some new pictures from this beautiful rainy day. The crane is quite a bit taller now. Couldn't really get good site pictures because it started pouring when I got there.

132?! That seems insane, especially in this world economy. What is driving this?

Could you imagine Houston having 132 highrises going up at once? Per Emporis, Houston currently has 5 under construction.

From what I understand, condos are cheaper than single family homes up there. So just imagine if the more than twenty thousand single-family building permits issued last year for the metro area were for high rises instead.

Also, I'm curious what high rises are actually under construction here. It seems emporis has locked pretty much everything behind a pay wall now.

I know these two just started.

Westheimer @ Sage

2200 Post Oak

There must be some other things going on. Most of the new construction seems to be midrises at the moment though. Granted there are quite a few high rises that could break ground in the next year or so.

Winds are really starting to pick up here in SW Houston. No rain yet. I heard cable is out in Sharpstown 3, but internet and power are still up.

In the old days and homeless in movies they would say ...Hey buddy can you spare a dime? Now it's give me some money. If you refuse, get ready to be cursed out or worse. Most do not care if you are with a wife or children. Just try it and see. Please report back.

That's odd, my experiences are pretty much the same as RedScare's (at least concerning Downtown). For the most part when I don't give any money they will just say "God bless" or "Have a nice day", and that's that. Can't say it's the same for along 59 however. Several times I have had my windshield struck when I say I don't want them to wash it. Even so these experiences are few and far between.

^interesting find, kind of ugly building though.

If you cannot see them, then how do you know they exist to be the 1st and 2nd pics?

Well they seem to exist now...two years later.

I dont see it.

Could you show what you mean (print scr). Though I am pretty sure you should click the options button (right under add reply/new topic), then under display modes click standard.

Plastic, for your sake, don't waste your money on this...

Been there twice, last time I was there (two years ago) they seemed to be working on some new things. I may try and get around to going again; it was interesting before.

So are there many differences in this rendering and the one released a year ago? It seems the ring at the top is thicker. Also I remember they said the spire was still conceptual at the time, so is this the final version? I'll get an older rendering in a second.

Ok here is a small ugly version.

Full version here.

http://www.renewnyc.com/images_WMS/freedom...5_RGB-wmark.jpg