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downtownian

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Everything posted by downtownian

  1. downtownian
    St. Germain although what is visible is actually the shared parking garage entrance for both St. Germain and Capitol Lofts. 609 Main decimated the view of all north facing St. Germain units.
  2. downtownian
    This is going to sound uncaring and impersonal but I strongly dislike cars and so I am supportive of any actions that impose additional costs on cars or drivers, especially if the actions benefit pedestrians. Houston is a car-centric city today and some may claim that we should have policies and planning in place that reflect and support the car model. I believe that if you make driving in a car painful enough, you will incentivize people to live next to rail lines or close enough to walk to work. This type of shift will happen slowly - who knows maybe driverless cars will occur prior to the shift and reduce traffic / the cost of driving.
  3. downtownian
    After this wave of residential buildings are completed, Downtown Houston may be the most dense Houston neighborhood. According to the formal boundaries of Downtown, its area is 1.6 square miles but the area is only 0.7 square miles if you exclude the Warehouse District north of the Bayou and the Louisiana St office corridor which may never be 24/7 activated given its corporate lobbies. Before this wave of residential, Downtown had total population density of 1,532 people/square mile and “Core” population density of 3,481 people / square mile. If everything planned gets built, Downtown will have total population density of 5,038 people / square mile and “Core” population density of 11,444 people / square mile (Assuming one person per unit. If you want to assume greater than 1 person per unit, just multiply your assumption by density). Compare this to 77006’s (Midtown / Montrose) density of 8,720 people / square mile per 2010 census. I’ve split the residential projects into six sub-neighborhoods detailed in the attached map: 1) South Downtown; 2) Ballpark; 3) Market Square; 4) Discovery Green; 5) Main Street; 6) Warehouse. Before the Downtown Living Initiative, there were just 2,437 units in total Downtown. If all these projects are completed, South Downtown alone will have 2,833 units and the Ballpark area will have 2,087. South Downtown is also the least certain of all the sub-neighborhoods – it has a number of planned projects that are not yet under development. I’m excited to see how these sub-neighborhoods interact with each other and how they will support each other’s development.
  4. downtownian
    Would they hold a groundbreaking but then delay construction by a few months? "In the Houston Independent School District, which passed a $1.9 billion bond in 2012, officials are considering delaying projects several months in hopes of soliciting lower bids from contractors. They also are weighing cost-cutting moves such as weeding out pricier materials and square footage from campuses." http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Houston-ISD-plays-waiting-game-with-construction-6054083.php
  5. downtownian
    CBRE Retail Exec: "We may see one more specialty store," Lestin said, "But it would surprise me to see a big grocery store downtown over the next couple of years." http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2015/02/top-retail-exec-dishes-on-downtown-grocery.html
  6. downtownian
    That would destroy my loft! Seriously though, the block is extremely mixed use with residential, office and lodging and good ground floor retail (Flying Saucer, Bayou City Theatrics, Springbok, Tabe 7 Bistro). I think it's a great block.
  7. downtownian
    Updated downtown residential and hotel maps posted today. No material updates from what I can tell. Residential http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2015-01-28/150126_Residential_Map_1-28-15.pdf Hotel http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2015-01-28/Hotels_Map_2015.pdf Also, I realize this is fairly technical, but believe the Downtown District and not the city produces the development map.
  8. downtownian
    That would be awesome. Where is this mysterious block of text from?
  9. downtownian
    Thanks for the info Urbannizer. A big disappointment but I liked the post because I'm always impressed at your ability to get renderings before anyone else.
  10. downtownian
    A couple of shots of the train turning from Main Street to Rusk. Sorry for the poor quality, I was in my car.
  11. downtownian
    I agree that the cost of the option is: 1) Application process; 2) Owning the land (if you own the land already, this is free. Mine as well apply for this incentive); 3) Designs. Not really sure how much this costs - does anyone know? I like the idea of a fine if the project does not go through - call options have economic value so developers would still apply for the incentives even if there was a fine. You just need to set the fine low enough so that it does not discourage developers from applying but high enough so that only serious developers get the incentive.
  12. downtownian
    I have a problem with the DLI being structured as a free call option to developers - if downtown residential looks good over the next few months, they build; if not, they don't build and it doesn't cost them anything other than having to go through the relatively costless application process. I would have preferred that the incentives were granted to developers who committed to build downtown or pay a penalty or that it was only granted to projects that broke ground. It seems like all you need for approval is some designs and land. Not trying to demonize the developers - if I owned a block, I would have submitted a random residential proposal for it (maybe even a proposal for 5,000 units on my one block just so I could have the free option).
  13. downtownian
    It really hurts - takes 792 units away from the program (16% of the total).
  14. downtownian
    The project was announced prior to the creation of the program and is therefore ineligible for the incentives. "Although Finger was a pioneer in the recent push to build residential in the east Central Business District, he will not get a piece of the Downtown Management District’s incentive-program pie — at least, not on this project. One month after he released his plans, the Downtown Management District announced its Downtown Living Initiative, which the city passed Aug. 22, offering $15,000 per unit in tax rebates to qualifying developers who create homes or multifamily projects in the eastern portion of the CBD. It is intended to double the number of residences downtown and spur development throughout the area by 2016. “It was a big secret, I didn’t know about the plan,” he said. Finger completed the 346-unit, 37-story One Park Place development overlooking Discovery Green in 2009. His new ballpark project will be seven stories, with Atlanta-basedNiles Bolton Associates designing the complex. Finger did not win retroactive incentives from the city, however, Houston City Council did pass an economic development agreement Aug. 15 that gave the Finger Cos. the rights to a stretch of Prairie Street that runs through the land he owns. “I started knocking on the city’s door to request they abandon the street, and that’s a big deal for the city to close a street, especially one that flows right into the entrance to the baseball stadium,” he said. “But, it’s a street, it’s not $15,000 per unit.” To be clear, Finger says he is not at odds with the city or the district and he may still try to take part in the incentive program if the opportunity arises before its cutoff date in 2016." http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2012/12/21/finger-dishes-on-new-project-future.html?page=all
  15. downtownian
    500 Crawford (Apartments at the Ballpark) by Finger are sans-incentives (380 units) and I believe the Hamilton Apartments (148 units) at the southeast corner of downtown are as well.
  16. downtownian
    It's an office building. Stubhub has its last minute ticket pick up office there.
  17. downtownian
    I posted this in another thread but it becomes a lost opportunity: "In the event that an approved project is cancelled for any reason, the units previously assigned to that project by the Board will not be reassigned to other approved or unapproved projects" http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2015-01-12/150112_HDMD_DLI_Cap_Memo.pdf
  18. downtownian
    For "classier" lounges, I've been going to Prohibition, Public Services and Main Kitchen.
  19. downtownian
    I actually appreciate the tunnels in a way - they are such a perfect example of a non-place, that it becomes a learning tool for people to understand the concept. Sometimes I like to stroll the tunnels just to feel nothingness and to be a fugitive and wanderer on Earth.
  20. downtownian
    If the tunnels didn't exist, we would have a number of fast food restaurants, dry cleaners, doctor offices, etc. located at street level and the second floor of buildings. I think that would be good for street life both during the day and after. I imagine that some of the tunnel businesses would stay open after 3pm if they could (for example chipotle and the Thai place stay open for dinner). Having a number of businesses at street level, open or closed, creates a safer pedestrian feeling. Also, without the tunnels, I bet ground floor retail rates would increase and displace the dollar stores which are a nuisance on Main Street. Finally, the tunnels are a "non-space" similar to an airport or walking through hospital corridors. They disorient the pedestrian and provide no context for space or time since they lack sunlight. The private control of the tunnels prevent them from being used as a location of exchange or protest like how public streets can be used.
  21. downtownian
    This is the project I was second most looking forward to (the 1111 Rusk renovation was / is my first). I love all residential downtown but this is so completely superior to the 40-story Market Square tower.
  22. downtownian
    Here's the source: "Skanska plans at a future date to construct Capitol Tower on the former Houston Club Building site. In the meantime, construction continues on a 7-story parking garage with est completion of 4Q15. After a decision to proceed with the new tower is made, Skanska will expand the garage to ten floors and build the tower." http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2015-01-08/Downtown_Real_Estate_Update_2014-4Q.pdf
  23. downtownian
    Let's hope he doesn't give up - it will just take away from the Downtown Living Initiative. “In the event that an approved project is cancelled for any reason, the units previously assigned to that project by the Board will not be reassigned to other approved or unapproved projects” http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2014-12-29/141224_HDMD_Applicant_Memo_on_DLI_Closeout.pdf
  24. downtownian
    This info is super-dated (as always from the Chron). Refer to the first post in this thread on November 21: "District 7 Grill is taking over an empty space that spans half a block at Main and Texas."
  25. downtownian
    Delays to the project due to poor building conditions but expected May opening: Delays don't hinder spirit behind historic coffee building project http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Delays-don-t-hinder-spirit-behind-historic-coffee-5969497.php
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