downtownian

I like the concept but it sounds like Frost Bank

That would be really confusing with El Segundo Swim Club right down the street

This "Downtown Economic Recovery Monitoring Update / December 2020" posted by Central Houston, Inc. is very interesting - all metrics are downtown from what I can tell: Office -Estimated 16.1% of employees in-office downtown -Office vacancy at 21.2%; rental rates down to $36.41/sf Residential -Core population of 10,251 residents across 6,279 units -Occupancy of 82.6% in December, down 7.4%(!) over last 12 months but inline with 84% in Midtown and 84.3% in Upper Kirby -Rent is still 15% premium to other areas Lodging -14.1% occupancy in November and $131.27 average daily rate = $18.53 RevPAR -The historical occupancy by month on page 10 is very interesting - (4.1% occupancy in April 2020!) Food and Beverage -75% of street level restaurants excluding bars are open and 67% of tunnel restaurants are open Seems really negative but there is so much potential once things start reopening - the Main Street outdoor seating initiative, POST, all the construction. I'm excited to see how it all plays out. Source https://www.centralhouston.org/media/filer_public/29/8d/298d8135-942c-49bb-b83b-8cc6f5cccd9b/economic_recovery_update_december_2020.pdf

That's gorgeous. Would love to see it with the new Skanska tower too.

I’m cautiously optimistic about the Life Time Green Street. It’s going to open in the spring and the facilities are large and incredible. I went in for a virtual tour over the weekend and joined at a discounted early rate.

Wow not sure why I thought it was the airport code. Any idea of how Austin got ATX?

It seems like we’re trying too hard to copy Austin and ATX which is their airport code. The preferred abbreviation is HOU for us

Here's hoping the lead tenant will be a relocation from outside of downtown

It's great news but hard to wrap my head around it in this context: "Almost 51 million square feet of office space – the equivalent of 50 downtown skyscrapers – is currently vacant in Houston." “Houston’s office market was struggling amid a glut of available space even before the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus,” said Wade Bowlin, president of property services, central division of Madison Marquette. And then there could be post-pandemic headwinds of additional working from home reducing the need for space and M&A and consolidation in energy. https://realtynewsreport.com/houston-office-vacancy-hits-highest-point-since-1980s-madison-marquette/

Awesome news: Georgia James Tavern to open in Market Square Tower later this year. Sad to see Coterie go but I like Chris Shepherd's concepts: https://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/01-06-21-chris-shepherd-new-restaurants-georgia-james-tavern-market-square-tower-wild-oats-houston-farmers-market-underbelly/#slide=0

Has anyone noticed this video projected ad on the side of Marlowe previously? Wondering if that was always part of the plan

the sign is up. Sorry for bad quality but looks like it will be “The Nash” instead of Mia Bella. Maybe same owners? Edit: website here - https://www.thenashhouston.com/ All-day American restaurant and bar

Still an awesome program but did not realize how much space is required for fire lanes

Preservation Houston is hosting a web meeting on Dec 15 on efforts to rehabilitate the Kiam Building at 320 Main. I was unaware that any efforts were currently underway. This previously had a Mia Bella on the ground floor until a plumbing issue (I believe) forced it to close and the building is vacant today. invite below: Join Preservation Houston and architect Joe Meppelink for an online Preservation in Practice program Tuesday evening, December 15, examining the restoration of the 1893 Kiam Building downtown, one of Houston’s first proto-skyscrapers, early multi-story buildings that set the stage for taller steel-framed structures. Clothier Ed Kiam built the five-story building to house his clothing store on lower floors with office space above. Architect H.C. Holland designed the building with Romanesque Revival elements including arched windows and rusticated masonry accents. It was said to be the first building in Houston with an electric elevator and drew attention because it was fully outfitted with electric lights when it opened. Over the years, the building had a variety of tenants, including prominent attorneys, architects and the first Houston location of the Sakowitz Bros. department store. The Kiam Building was restored in 1981, but has stood vacant in recent years. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as part of the Main Street/Market Square National Register historic district and is a contributing building in the City of Houston’s Main Street/Market Square Historic District. In his presentation, Meppelink will discuss the Kiam Building’s history and the current work to document and rehabilitate the building while meeting local, state and federal preservation standards.

Ouch, but not completely unexpected: "McClenny’s report ranks the Downtown as the 42nd worst place on a list of 42 Houston submarkets. The cost of rent in the urban center has dropped 14.3% in the last six months, 12.3% in the last year. Just 271 apartments have opened in the Downtown, and over 1,200 are under construction." https://realtynewsreport.com/downtown-apartment-rents-down-14-percent-while-houston-suburbs-hold-firm/

Long time horizon here unfortunately - decade plus.

Downtown is strange right now. Weekdays are fairly empty as a fair amount of people are still working from home. You can see this in the lunch spots and the tunnels. Evenings and weekends have some pockets of activity: the Harry Potter bar consistently has long lines, Discovery Green is packed, Bravery Chef Hall is packed, places like Flying Saucer, Pappas Bros are decently busy.

https://www.downtownhouston.org/media/uploads/attachments/2020-10-26/Downtown_Market_Update_2020_Q3.pdf Q3 occupancy of 83.1%. Seems to be underperforming Montrose/Heights/Kirby on occupancy although rates are holding up

Starting to be able to see it from my place:

Not sure if we had the timing of delivery before: "NORF Cos. plans to convert the property into a mixed-use multifamily project with renovations beginning in early 2021 and is expected to deliver in late summer 2022." Source: http://www.downtowndistrict.org/static/media/uploads/attachments/downtown_market_update_2020_q2-compressed.pdf

Looks like BirdDog Saint (formerly Springbok) is closed. Saw them taking equipment out yesterday and the space is recently listed: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/711-Main-St-Houston-TX/20780571/

National Cash Register Building is pretty cool.

I'm sure after the BBEE development and Brother's Coffee plant redevelopments, land values will be too high to justify using that amount of land for pickle ball courts and a seasonal swimming pool

To me its charming and what makes Houston unique and cool. Same with all of the Buffalo Bayou East End developments including the Turkey Bend event space which is only a few blocks away but located next to active industrial

Here's the link https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/554-Lockwood-Dr-Houston-TX/18640199/