20 minutes ago, Texasota said:

Oh hey, the neighborhood with zero negative impacts and only improvements supports it. That's so weird.

Have there been any neighborhood associations coming out against the project? Midtown, downtown, eado, 5th ward, independence heights, etc?

Museum Park Super Neighborhood wrote a letter in support of the project:

Texas Department of Transportation, Attn: TPP-UTP, P.O. Box 149217, Austin, TX 78714-9217 Submitted via email to: UTP-PublicComments@txdot.gov August 3, 2021

RE: Draft 2022 Unified Transportation Program (UTP) North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) Public comment supporting ongoing funding for the NHHIP TO: Texas Transportation Commission

FROM: Museum Park Super Neighborhood Kathleen O’Reilly, President, president@museumparksn.org

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important project, Museum Park Super Neighborhood supports ongoing funding and agrees that it provides many benefits to the region, and to Museum Park, centrally located in Segment 3. Midtown is our immediate neighbor, with Wheeler Station truly being the center of our wheel so we hold the opportunities of providing connecting bridges including highly enhanced pedestrian/ bike amenities and suppressing the roadway as very high priorities.

These priorities are defined in the Museum Park H-GAC Livable Center Study (LCS). Museum Park Livable Centers Planning Study | Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). The LCS included robust community engagement with central themes clearly emerging of mobility, walkability, and reknitting the neighborhoods of Midtown, Museum Park, and Third Ward through the multiple crossings created with suppression of U59/69, and an important element of crafting Houston’s Cultural Trail. This Trail will connect our diverse cultural and educational institutions, through the Museum District to Hermann Park and Emancipation Park, a need that becomes more apparent and important every day.

Reconnecting the two major employment centers north and south of Museum Park, Downtown and Texas Medical Center, through these same connecting bridges is an opportunity that can’t be overstated. The Innovation District and The Ion add technology, and the people that the Innovation District will add to the mix, people who list walkability and quality of life as key components of where they want to live and work.

We believe this effort can be transformational in many ways. In Museum Park, the resulting bikeways and walkways created by bridges in immediate proximity to METRO’s Wheeler Station will connect Downtown and Texas Medical Center. the Museum District, Hermann Park, and will be multi-modal transit hubs for Rice University, Texas Southern University, and The ION.

The planned bridges in Museum Park will provide pedestrian enhancements with a goal of visionary landmark features in Houston’s core. We appreciate the recognition of their importance, and the commitment by TXDoT to make sure these crossings are all that they need to be, as a part of this monumental project.

We appreciate the decades of work that TXDoT has put into this enormous effort and the extensive public engagement. We look forward to improvements in this dangerous section of IH-45, with the purpose and promise of the Project to improve safety and operations, allay congestion, improve mobility, expand transit, cycling, pedestrian and other modes, provide an emergency evacuation route, improve storm-water management, support local and regional growth, while mitigating the Project’s impact on housing, adjacent neighborhoods, and the environment.

Very unfortunate time to being doing dirt work - no real opportunity to dry out the site.

On 5/31/2021 at 3:54 PM, hindesky said:

Wow - this is coming together nicely, albeit very slow.

43 minutes ago, samagon said:

if anyone is interested, that's the same plastic underlayment they used for Saint Arnold's and it's a local Houston company. they're made from recycled plastics only.

truegrid.

they're surprisingly affordable, I used them to make an extension to my driveway when I got married and suddenly a 1 lane driveway wasn't enough.

How is it holding up for you? I've heard they don't really last too long in commercial applications.

1 hour ago, thedistrict84 said:

There’s also the Biden administration’s Civil Rights Act investigation that could postpone or derail the project as well.

I think that’s all political talking points. This project is happening (at least this segment). 

59 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Do they have plans on moving? Those blocks next to 59/69 are all going away for the new highway.

Most of the crowd being impacted by the expansion are looking for new sites, but don't want to pull the trigger until they have to. TXDOT has put a hold on ROW acquisitions for this project segment until they get their funding renewed for the next fiscal year, putting everyone in a wait and see mode. 

3 hours ago, houstontexasjack said:

Caution tape and a porta potty are next to the site. The caution tape we’ve seen in the last couple years. The porta potty is new:

I believe they have a parking agreement with the museums during summer peak demand. 

35 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

That’s the kind of density I like to see! Just curious, how was this approved if each business on this block needs a certain amount of parking due to parking mins? 

Shared parking with the development across the street

12 hours ago, hindesky said:

There are 4 businesses that have closed at this location, 5 if you count Timberline Fitness. I wonder if the rent is too high.  I wonder if they have it on the market. Good place for another mid rise or high rise. A hotel here would be perfect.

Canopy, Wood Bar, Super Cuts and General Joe's Chopsticks. Timberline moved down to lower Richmond in a new building.

The site had been on the market for a while, but I believe it is subject to a long-term lease with the bank. It definitely justifies a better use, but don't know if we'll see anything here until the bank moves out.

12 hours ago, TheSirDingle said:

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Tie Backs (for reinforcing retaining walls) and Soldier Piers (For load spreading for the foundation I think)

Air Rights:

List after April 1st 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen air rights be referenced on a Houston permit. Why would that be a thing without zoning? 

3 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

imagine paying a general contractor 100-200k per month to sit in their office trailers while you scramble for funding.  The apartments across the street will likely finish before this one gets out of the ground.

I doubt any GC is being paid that much for the work being done right now. The cost to rent trailers is a few hundred per month, and they'll cover any labor cost plus an admin fees, which I would imagine are pretty minimal given the site activity.

In regards to fundraising, the group running this is incredibly well capitalized - Money isn't the issue.

21 hours ago, Paco Jones said:

Level 1 is comprised of secured parking (21,152 SF), retail space (2,686 SF), and an amenity center (5,868 SF).  Level 2 has an outdoor terrace sitting area (1,600 SF).  119 Units totaling 103,221 SF. Exterior façade is EIFS and Hardi board. 

 

Looks like they copy/pasted the design of the Hamilton in downtown at the corner of pierce and hamilton.

3 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

Have they announced what will be in its place after it’s demo’d?

I heard Common Bond was offered the space since it had a drive thru, but this was a few months back. All the recent announcements seem to indicate that they'll be going inside the Ion building, but who knows.

1 hour ago, CREguy13 said:

Any idea as to why the garage has not started? Where are all the employees of Microsoft, Chevron, Common desk, new retail tenants, etc. going to park in the next several months?  Has something changed beyond a garage for this site?  

I scratch my head every time I drive by here.  There's been no movement, yet we they keep announcing more and more tenants.

They re-sealed the large parking lot across the street. I imagine they have enough parking in that super block to buy them some more time until they sign a more substantial lease.

21 hours ago, samagon said:

um, no? TXDOT released their Record of Decision. it does not include any of the changes referenced in the Mayor's letter.

the ROD can be found here http://hilldaypr.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TxDOT-I-45-Position-Papers-TxDOT-ANNOUNCES-ROD-2-3-2021_EXTERNAL.pdf

if you can find anywhere in the document that the state agrees to any of the terms from the mayor, I'm happy for you to show me. just a quick glance shows that even the easiest of things that doesn't require a complete redesign of the schematics:

below is the property request from the Mayor, and the text regarding the outlay from the Record of Decision.

again, the top is from the Mayor's letter, the bottom is from the Record of Decision, and but one singular example of the state not doing anything with the local feedback.

if you have any proof that TXDOT plans to reframe their designs to support the city and counties feedback, please share it.

all I can find is the record of decision that has no changes based on the city/county feedback.

at the end of the day, we have the Record of Decision saying what they are doing, then we have TXDOT saying, sure, we'll make changes as we go, but it's not just me and other people saying they need to make serious modifications before moving forward: it's city, county, state, and federal officials saying that TXDOT needs to do more to show their commitment to the people who will be most affected by this.

I believe TXDOT paid $90M to the HHA for the Clayton Homes project taking. 

Looks like they got their building permit:

This project is moving really slow. It seems really hard to get a proper contractor to work on these sub institutional projects. 

3 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

Saw this on the Nextdoor app.

I imagine this is probably the crane coming down from the alliance deal across the street. 

2 hours ago, MarathonMan said:

Common Bond Midtown coming to Drewery Place.  Big win for Midtown!

Wow. Two midtown locations? 

39 minutes ago, Urbannizer said:

It’s going to be a...ughhh..6-story storage facility. 😵

Uh oh. And they’re asking for a variance? Montrose folks won’t be very happy - might fight this one a bit. 

14 hours ago, hindesky said:

Midtown Project to Host Conservatory Food Hall, Hot Chicken Eatery

 

The popular hall is coming back, and a California-based spot is joining them.

By Timothy Malcolm  2/11/2021 at 11:40am

 

OXBERRY GROUP ANNOUNCED ON THURSDAY that The Crossing at Midtown, its retail project of 19,000 square feet at 610 Dennis St, is fully leased and will include the return of Conservatory food hall and a Houston newcomer, California-based eatery Dave’s Hot Chicken.

Conservatory, Houston’s long-running underground food hall at 1010 Prairie St in Downtown Houston, ended operation in late 2019. Since then Underground Hall has opened in the space, and Company of Nomads, which operates Conservatory, has talked about re-opening the concept in another part of the city.

At The Crossing at Midtown, Conservatory will be a 17,250-square-foot space with a 4,000-square-foot garden patio. 

Dave’s Hot Chicken, which specializes in Nashville hot chicken tenders and sliders, will occupy a 2,500-square-foot space at The Crossing at Midtown. 

In 2018 Dave’s was born in East Hollywood, California, and now has about a dozen locations throughout California and in Toronto, Ontario. Late in 2020, it was reported that the fast-casual restaurant will be opening more than two-dozen units in Texas, with most coming to Houston. 

Oxberry Group says to expect the businesses to open either in spring or summer; we’ve reached out to Company of Nomads for more information about Conservatory’s opening and will update with more information.

Oxberry must have been desperate to fill the space. That's a ton of exposure to a tenant that is known to back out of deals / default. 

"The Houston Astros purchased the 1.738 acres where it and a historic locomotive sits through an affiliate for $17 million in 2019 and broke ground this week on what will eventually become a retail and residential development."

If they do residential, let's hope they build something similar to One Cardinal Way in St. Louis. That building is gorgeous!

https://onecardinalway.com/

19 minutes ago, clutchcity94 said:

Gotcha. The lot is still listed for sale on the MLS for $5.3m, so it sounds like the current owner is looking to get the variance request in order to make the lot more attractive to developers.

In all likelihood, a developer has this under contract and the purchase is probably subject to getting the variance (probably some additional conditions as well)

1 minute ago, clutchcity94 said:

So does there request basically mean they want to build closer to the highway than is allowed?

Correct - I believe current setbacks require them to build 25' from the property line along 59.