The New Juniper

The Clear Lake market is thin at best. Kitch has a great site though.

Another example of the crack real estate reporting from the Chronicle and, for that matter, the Business Journal. Wouldn't you think that construction on such a high-profile site would merit at least a mention in the business pages?

It is a sales center.

Gentlemen, the deal is real. All good things take time.

Respectfully, I disagree. And I would like to disagree in a manner as to not raise anyone's ire. Rather, I just believe that condominium development does not get better with time. Contracts go stale, interest meters tick out of control, public confidence wanes, markets shift, you get my drift.

In fact, deals like 2727 don't even remain neutral over time. Without daily progress, they get worse....

Again, not a personal shot at the previous post. Don't even know the person. What i do know is every hour you are not "moving the ball down the field"* you are losing ground.

TNJ

*reference to the $^% Horns who urinated away a shot at the title ...nice job against KSU....

Note the price increase. Sometimes developers will offer different price points prior to financing/construction, then during construction, and then upon completion. There are two reasons for this. First, the developer needs to fill up a certain percentage of units before obtaining financing...some developers are willing to do this at cost, just to get the project off the ground. Second, consumers willing to sign a contract to buy something that may not exist for another couple of years (or at all) need to be compensated for their willingness to wait and share in the risk. After all, they could very easily go and buy a unit in some other tower.

Note the price increase. Sometimes developers will offer different price points prior to financing/construction, then during construction, and then upon completion. There are two reasons for this. First, the developer needs to fill up a certain percentage of units before obtaining financing...some developers are willing to do this at cost, just to get the project off the ground. Second, consumers willing to sign a contract to buy something that may not exist for another couple of years (or at all) need to be compensated for their willingness to wait and share in the risk. After all, they could very easily go and buy a unit in some other tower.

Let's all please keep in mind that "RESERVED" and "SOLD" are entirely different. Especially to a lending institution.

QUOTE(ricco67 @ Sunday, October 8th, 2006 @ 7:59am)

Personally, I believe some hi-rises should be built for those that make LESS than a few million a year.

I mean, would it be bad to make a highrise for the person can afford at about $100-175k?

Mosaic's approach seems to have been going for the low-end market. Their 1BR units start around $150k.

If Mosaic is selling a unit for $150K, then it must not be more than 500 square feet. The construction costs alone in a high rise are $200 psf. That doesn't take into account any other costs, much less profit.

Coach Fran is the best thing to happen to the rest of the Big 12

The Aggies need to fire Franchione and hire Mackovic....

no pun intended, right? :lol

Riparian, get it?

You set 'em up, I'll knock 'em down!

Good times.

Dal, thanks for a good laugh.

The name of this project reminds me of the name of an epidemic or computer virus, not a building. This "development" is a joke IMHO that never stood a chance.

if they cant get the presales and a lender will allow them to build tower 2 as apartments, then that is what will happen. problem is they need $30m in mez money and no one will step up to the plate...

confucius say as long as lenders lend, builders build

in regards to high-rises coming from nowhere, look at 3333 allen parkway. never could get 50% leased and the sales were absolutely horrific. currently on the market as apartments, again, and at a discount from previous sale.

Houston-Development has really cut to the heart of the issue here. The folks that originally built 3333 made money. Now, various groups are left trading an asset back and forth that is overpriced and should not have been built.

I looked at the pictures on the party page and it really does look like a first class operation. Guess my invite got lost in the mail....

Moral is: If you can get a building financed, there will almost ALWAYS be someone that will buy it from you and save your bacon. That is a tremendously risky way to approach development, but it happens every day....

So, as much as i think we'd all like to debate the merits of Almeda and how nice the views are, IMO, these guys built it b/c the condo hysteria that set in for a while had some out of town lenders convinced it was feasible. The current guys will build, take a hefty fee, and sell as rental to a converter.

The converter, who will undoubtedly be from out of town, will sell very slowly, lose money and the bank will get back a chunk of the units....

Of course, it may sell out before it's built. I like my side of the bet better though.

TNJ

Traffic is bad enough in this town. What irks me the most are the people walking in and out of lanes of traffic at stop lights asking for money. Homelessness is an issue that can be discussed separately from "traffic beggars". These people walking in an out of moving (or, more likely stopped) cars pose a danger to themselves and provide even more congestion. Yes, this includes churches, football teams, volleyball teams, etc. that "raise money" by walking through traffic with cups under the auspice of needing money to "go to state" or whatever. I am all for providing money so that less fortunate kids can take part in something like that, but LETTING YOUR KIDS BEG FOR MONEY IN TRAFFIC IS RECKLESS and the parents or sponsors should be disciplined.

It is, as i understand it, currently against the law to do as i described above. However, the argument put forth against enforcement is "who has the time"? That is a nonsensical argument. We need to clean up the streets.

Other than that, i really have no opinion on the subject.

WELL I NEVER!

but seriously, ill elaborate. allegedly, freemont has approved financing and atlas sold a portion of oak lane (+/- 5 a) to zom for redevelopment. so in theory, his has financing and equity in place. i am confident the deal will move forward HOWEVER if he doesnt hit his presales number, the deal is dead.

tnj is absolutely correct when it comes down to our information. hence the reason i never give a 100% certainty unless im that confident in my source (ie downtown park and fingers tower)

Here is the latest from what i have heard:

New Partner in the deal. That's right, new partner with new money. And no real contracts at this point.

I must say I feel less confident in this info than normal, but source held firm even when I told him he was full of ^$#.

TNJ

I have news for you. The cookie cutter look has moved in The street i grew up on is now home to some very monstrously large Medit. styled homes. That hideous Medit mess is spreading like a bad cancer. My parents have right around 2 acres there and im sure they will be getting calls to sell and divide soon.

if you parents have 2 acres in Memorial, i'll buy....

Nothing personal Juniper, but Houston-developement's track record is pretty consistent, thus I'm staying optmistic. It has however been a couple of months since his initial "it's a go" post.

It is not personal at all. the best part about this forum is the free and open exchange of gossip, information, facts, speculation, everything. We all can then have the benefit of being able to read chrnologically through the discussion and see what turned out to be the case.

Houston Development has been right a lot, however, he was wrong about the funding of this project...No one can be right 100% of the time

We are all only as good/correct/smart as the information we have that allows us to form the opinion. I believe that my information is better than most, but that doesn't make it so. i'm not asking that you believe everything i say. However, go back and review my posts and i will stand by the content of all of them....even the ones about getting rid of the people begging for money in traffic, but i digress...

More later.

TNJ

As I understand it, this is dead. Or, at least it is currently on life support. I predict an attempt at a sell off or graceful exit before end of calendar year....

Could be wrong, but i deem reliable the sources from which info was received.

Mid to late August, which was floated months ago as the start date didn't exactly pan out. If it looks dead and smells dead, it's dead.

Here's to hoping i get to read countless postings telling me how dumb i am after this goes up.....

Couple of thoughts:

First, your concerns over appreciation are probably well founded. However, i do not believe it is any more of a risk than buying a single family home in a new neighborhood. In other words, if you buy in a good neighborhood, buy a quality house, and do not overpay, you should be fine.

It is when buyers get caught up in the euphoria of a new product (like the ubiquitous townhome construction) and decide to settle for inferior product and pay at or just below going rate to get in that they run into trouble.

Look for the established builder. End of the day, quality construction is going to last and wear well. Conversely, shoddy construction will look shoddy in a short amount of time leaving you with maintenance issues and upkeep costs that will bring the cost fo the house effectively up to par with the nicer homes.

My advice, pay the extra nickel and buy a well constructed home. It will appreciate much more than the alternative.

Now, having said that, building will cost you about $100 psf. Can be done cheaper (and many do), but i believe it can be done correctly with quality at $100 psf. Caution: Hire a builder. doing this on your own with no experience in the industry is a disaster. You could probably save $15 psf by doing so, but is $30K worth it???

Memorial is so expensive because the Villages are their own incorporated entities. They go to Spring Branch Independent School District which has a great reputation. Along with the reputation are high taxes to support the good schools. It is expensive to live there which weeds out the masses. Builds on itself....

That is Turberry out of Vegas doing a high rise.

I know everyone is bracing for me to poo poo this project, but i actually like the proposed design. Seahorse is a good site. The land cost at this site is high, so if this gets built, it will demonstrate that Galveston is for real. Anyone can make a profit building condos on land that is a buck a foot. However, when you get $40/land, the sales prices have to be there....

Editorial note: Cisneros is a C+ architect. Hope they get someone to supplement him on the specifics of the design. Same guy that did the Piaza Blanco, or whatever its called down behind Chilis....

Cheers.

TNJ

Well, assuming that you guys are not suggesting that HPD write citations to people that LOOK like panhandlers, just how would you enforce the ordinance? Would you have HPD divert even MORE of its officers to panhandling duty, away from violent parts of town, so that Class C ordinances are enforced? Would everyone feel better that they were not panhandled, even though their house was burglarized?

These are serious manpower issues, and I dare say that MOST Houstonians would rather have the cops busting real criminals, while we shoo away the bums ourselves. Even if violent crime was under control, most Houstonians would not advocate hiring a cadre of police just to go after panhandlers. Things like property taxes are more important.

Now, for those of you that insist on the ordinances being enforced, you are in luck. If a bum asks you for money, the statute says you must first ask him to move 8 feet away. If he does not, you may then call the police and make a report, so that a citation can be issued. You must agree to show up in court to testify to the crime that was committed. If you are willing to do these things in order to make your city a better place, I am confident that HPD will do its part.

As you might guess, panhandlers, like other criminals, do not often commit their crimes in view of the police. It is up to alert citizens like yourselves to assist the police in ridding Downtown of this scourge. Good luck in cleaning up Downtown Houston, and making it a World Class City. I am proud to have assisted in my small way.

Nowhere did i say it was the most important thing on the HPD's plate. Shifting the argument to this point is sidestepping the issue.

Again, if it is against the law, why is it so openly done? The laws that are a pain to enforce shouldn't be enforced?

Let's just enforce those that are convenient.

Do you really think "Mr. Chicken Man" is aware of laws against panhandling?

Is ignorance of the law ever a defense?

It's like the jaywalking law, unless an officer has a REALLY slow day, it's not really worth his while. The paperwork (which could take a couple of hours) for such an item is not really worth the effort.

OK. That makes sense. However, it still irks me.

Seems strange to me that so many people openly flaunt this activity which is not allowed by law.

However, like i said, i will get over it.

TNJ

The only time it annoys me is when they're on a stree that has no median, so that means they literally stand in traffic.

I think THAT is the time police need to step in, otherwise just point them out to Jr. and say "This is your future if you don't eat broccoli."

I agree. And this goes back to my earlier point. What does this say about us as a society? If we enforce the local laws and ordinances and prohibit panhandling, does it automatically make us heartless? Have we not provided shelters and support organizations for the homeless?

Is this how we clear our collective conscious while also appealing to voters? Passing laws prohibiting something while we have no intention of enforcing?

So do we just selectively enforce the law?

Actually, Juniper, your entire post is emotional, while demanding that no response be emotional.

Frankly, I am not the least bit emotional on this issue. I office on Main, and I smoke. This guarantees that I come into contact with more panhandlers than most everyone else. On good days, I give them a quarter or a smoke. On bad days, I don't. End of story. I don't spend any time whatsoever trying to decide what they do with the quarter, however, I light the smoke, so I know what they do with that.

The point here, is that what you find unseemly and unsettling, I find to be just be life. I am not sorry you find it so. I think that is just one aspect of life you must learn to deal with.

As for your statement that these people should be removed, I ask that you point me to the part of the US Constitution that guarantees your right not to be begged at the expense of others being "removed"?

I actually appreciate your response.

It is not a question of what i find unseemly. The question i have is, is there not a law against it?

I believe what they are doing is against the law. If it is, they should be dealt with just as anyone else breaking the law. If not, i will just get over it. My guess is panhandling is not addressed in the Constitution. However, my guess is that local jurisdictions have addressed it.

TNJ

Exactly. That is why I never give money to the Red Cross, or the Cancer Society, or any of those other beggers. I also do not give money to political campaigns. It is just not acceptable. And worse, they set a bad example for street people that begging is acceptable.

Redscare:

You have hit the nail right on the head. The exact point of my previous post was to draw a direct analogy between the Red Cross that raises money for those struck with tragedy and the guy smoking a cigarette and pushing a cup in my window while my 4 year old daughter is with me.

It is emotional responses such as yours that make a sensible discussion impossible.

I hate to get off on a rant here, but isn't standing on the corner and begging for money against the law?

Seriously, nothing takes away from the City's image more than a transient on every corner beggin for money. Let's please set aside the emotional angle associated with the individual plight of each of these persons. There is no doubt some reason why each has ended up at this stage in their lives, but that has absolutely no place in the discussion.

Either panhandling is against the law or it isn't. If it is, why is it not enforced?

Beyond the legality for a moment, it is a traffic hazard when these folks are walking up and down the lanes of busy traffic showing no concern for their safety or anyone else's. For that matter, it is unsettling when the guys approach your car and wash your windshield, only to look to you for some sort of "payment" for services. If you wave them off, you get the feeling you have personally insulted them. If they still wash and you don't pay, they often seem as though they are going to attempt to demand payment by force. The whole thing is just unseemly and unsettling.

Lastly, and while I am still up on my soapbox, what kind of lesson does it teach our young kids to encourage them to beg for money under the guise of funding a trip of some sort. Barely a weekend passes that there is not some church organization, middle school, high school, etc. with a team of kids on the corners of the busiest streets "asking" for money to help fund some sort of state championship, band trip, etc.

Talk about unsafe? Who lets their kids stand in traffic? What lesson does this teach? "The sky is the limit. You can do anything you set your mind to. Work hard to achieve success" Only, when you run short of funds, go beg on the streets.

I understand and am familiar with the counter argument. However, i will never be convinced that begging for money is acceptable.

These folks need to be removed.