Purdueenginerd

In my opinion, I'm not a huge fan of 9 floor of garage space within that footprint. I get the idea that whilst looking for parking the driver will get dizzy driving up to the top. 

wow, a potential 600 footer for midtown. 

On 8/6/2018 at 6:28 PM, MarathonMan said:

This is starting at lightning speed!  It begs the question:  In general, is it more cost-effective to put more people on the job and expedite it, or keep head count low and draw it out?  There is such a wide range of paces on the various projects around town, I’ve often wondered this.

Labor is generally a lot bigger portion size of total construction budget than materials. Allocating 3 shifts a day, 7 days a week will for sure lead to a good chunk of the workers get OT pay, which drives up labor costs a lot. 

As for whether thats offset by the sooner profitability of the land owner is dependent on their loan, what theyre making money on, and how many tenants they have in waiting. 

On 8/3/2018 at 10:15 AM, Houston19514 said:

 

Was that building built in 1936? There were rail operations (and a station) on site long before that date...

The Post office that we see today was constructed in the 1960s, with the exception of the portion I pointed out. That was built circa 1936, and its original function was also a post office. 

It was a post office building in 1936 as well. The expansion,  which reflects the majority of the property was expanded in the 1960s. 

On 7/31/2018 at 4:21 PM, Houston19514 said:

in their report, BisNow [mis]informs us that the property opened in 1936!  SMH

 

"The property, which opened in 1936, includes a 500K SF office building and a two-story industrial building."

Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/mixed-use/lovett-commercial-announces-plans-for-former-downtown-post-office-91299?be=wdm5%40georgetown.edu&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tue-31-jul-2018-000000-0400_houston-re?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser

There is a portion of the building towards the front that was designed and constructed in the 1930's. If you look at the curved drive-in ramp of the structure, you'll see the original 1930's portion of the structure. Ive attached a screen shot of the site from 1944 to 2017. You'll see the original 1930's building in both images. 

Man, with the two camden apartments and this apartment underconstruction, thats about 1200-1300 units in a 3 block space. Add two more buildings there could be around 2000 people living in those 3 blocks.

Thats a lot of people for retail spaces. 

Screwston apparently has access to the revit model. Careful bud, dont get in trouble 

Yeah, I reside not too far from this project. Drive by it daily on my way home. They've been doing a lot of work on it already.  Manufactured Metal frame buildings like this are hard to modify, so its great they were able to get it done. 

I agree with the connection to cottage grove to the back side of this property. However, there are plans to eventually continue the white-oak bike trail along this rail spur and down to Memorial park. Perhaps it would connect with this. 

Had a project here a few months ago, found this old model in one of the vacant spaces. 

Side bar, I'm trying to figure out why they felt the need to render 3 different renderings of the Men's restroom.

The renderings from the North west make it look taller, but take a look at the renderings from Minute Maid Park, it appears shorter. I think that is a better comparison shot since the two buildings are relatively "straight on" from the ball park. Whereas from the North West, its a little more perspective insofar that the new building is "closer to the camera"

All of this is arguing semantics since were not sure how closely the rendering is modeled with "realty" But my personal opinion is that this building will be relatively close in height to 609 Main.

Edit: I could be wrong though, The view from Minute maid would also have 609 main "2 blocks closer" so the same perspective issue could apply. 

This looks great. But I do have to ask, can the Houston office market absorb this? isnt downtown sitting at like 25 percent vacancy? 

1 hour ago, MarathonMan said:

When the “unveiling” began, I got a glimpse of some of the tile accents on this building and was excited to see more.  But as the metal cladding continued to come down, I must admit I became a little disappointed.  IMHO this is not living up to the hype.  It’s kind of blah, actually.  Reminds me of an outdated Sears department store.  As the cornerstone for an innovation hub, I’d rather see something modern, new and edgy.  Knock it down and start fresh, in true Houston fashion!

Honestly, it probably needs a good pressure wash and some street foliage. 

So that basically confirms the construction thats going on at the site right now is for another office building adjacent to it. Looks like this property is only taking up 1/3rd. The current construction is about 2/3rds.

I'll try to head over there this weekend, looks like they had drilled piers constructed already. 

Theres already activity at this site. Looks like some foundation elements have been poured recently. 

Is this a different office building than the one under construction? This building might be closer to the corner than the one under construction. 

On 2/21/2018 at 11:55 AM, invisibletrees said:

Hoooly sheeeet!!!

 

 

 

 

This image shows no less than 4 people and a dog narrowly missed by the light rail.  I think this canopy design is going to change since the light rail draws power from the electrical lines above it which arent shown in this image.  Canopy is probably going to be quite a bit taller than shown. 

Eitherway, this is a fantastic development. Wow! hope this gets built as shown. 

Green roofs are great. I've worked on a few in the Chicago Land area. Wish more Houston developments utilized them. Though 1 building isnt a lot, thousands can lower the strains on stormwater runoff system for the city-- something that would be quite apt given recent events. 

Dont think I've ever seen land surveyers plot out a building in that manner. All of those markings will get annihilated very early in construction and they'll have to repeat the work. This makes me wonder if this is for a feasibility study. 

On 1/8/2018 at 0:11 AM, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah but their foundations are built on bedrock, not clay and silt. 

Doesn't quite work that way. A building with this cross-sectional area would likely be built with driven or drilled piles, with a matt-foundation on top. The depth of the piles might more here than in NYC, but the construction technique is roughly the same. Spread Footing foundations are rare for high rise construction. 

550 Trucks, 10 cubic yards a truck. 5500 cubic yard placement maximum. Thats a big placement! 

Thats a big building. 

Great photos btw

Yeah I agree, that could have obscured with a parapet wall or detailing around the perimeter. Kind of odd to have it exposed like that and be so significant on the profile of the building. 

On 1/11/2018 at 2:51 PM, Timoric said:

Where is the Astroworld Space Needle when you need it?

Mexico City, Apparently,

https://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/archives/february00/stories/020700_05.shtml

No worries. Maybe we make a new post? lol. 

I would imagine this project is public record so it may require a little digging to ascertain what theyre doing. There have been a lot of coffer dams,and temporary water-routing structures built for it.