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BayouCityMan

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Everything posted by BayouCityMan

  1. BayouCityMan
    Bring it! This campus has literally done a 180 since I graduated in '02. I hardly recognize it. Very very proud to be an alum right now.
  2. BayouCityMan
    I can't say I'm the biggest fan of this. I bleed Cougar Red and I do think UT is sliding in here for nefarious and harmful reasons. If they wanted to expand their research in the city, why not add a tower or two to the UTMB cluster in the Med Ctr and focus on what their presence here has always been about. Just saying....
  3. BayouCityMan
    Remember when the forum was generally "blah" to "slightly negative" about this tower's design.... And now we are begging and pleading to the Construction and Oil Gods to spare this one from the budgetary chopping block.... I do hope it gets built. Having only a garage on this block for years would be a true downer. I have a feeling Skanska won't let us down.
  4. BayouCityMan
    I couldn't agree more. Yeah it's ugly but look at it this way, it'll hopefully be buried by other taller developments soon!
  5. BayouCityMan
    I couldn't agree more. This along with 609 Main are my favorite current projects. If Museo really does happen though.... Oooweeeee
  6. BayouCityMan
    I doubt the original hodgepodge of buildings can be adequately restored at this point in their lifespans. When that cladding was put on those buildings in the 1960s, they did alot of damage to the exterior surfaces. Also, so much alteration has been done to the interior that it's all but unrecognizable in some areas. It is a shame though. The original Chronicle Building was a handsome architectural specimen for its day. It was built in 1909 and stood 10 stories tall.
  7. BayouCityMan
    Nice! Will add some signficant height to the E side of 610. Once this, Amegy, and the as-yet-unnamed hotel get done, it'll fill in perfect. Depending on the view and angle, this one would add an ascending height profile towards Williams Tower.
  8. BayouCityMan
    I'm going to guess its contamination from both the post office trucks and equipment along with the site's previous occupant, the Southern Pacific depot. Think about it... All those trains, probably some sort of maintenance facility etc. There were two separate depots there dating back to the late 1800's.
  9. BayouCityMan
    Yes, for the most part it will be hidden. Will look good at street level though, especially with the lighting effects, reflections, and so on.
  10. BayouCityMan
    Great stuff Urb... I can't help but think this building belongs somewhere out on I 10 or the West Belt... That said, it will be a nice addition when done.
  11. BayouCityMan
    My opinion . . . They should have a private firm build it as suggested in the article and lease out. They should relocate all of those facilities to the North or East of Downtown while that land is still relatively cheap. Then once it is all built and everything is relocated and operational, they should doze the old site on Riesner and sell that land. It is far more valuable for residential multi-family or commercial and could help service a portion of the debt on the new facility.
  12. BayouCityMan
    Possibly to bring in more dirt? I find it odd that they'd fill in the entire block as opposed to laying some foundations for the new building. I'm used to seeing holes like this either preserved or dug in the first place for that purpose. Headscratcher to me.
  13. BayouCityMan
    Between this and the Hines residential project, Market Square will be "lorded over" on 2 sides. Will definitely affect the views and environs accordingly but wil also bring new activity to the square should both be built. I am cautiously optimistic about this one getting built but like everyone else, I see the impending glut of space available in downtown within the next 3 years. Hopefully that doesn't sway Stream from doing this, but going multi-use may not be a bad idea.
  14. BayouCityMan
    That wooden coaster looks like it's gonna be a blast! I wonder if they'll go ahead and shoot for the longest/tallest since they already have plans to be in the top 10 anyway. As for the rest of the concept, I like what I see although the ever present question about parking will surely surface soon.
  15. BayouCityMan
    Now if they could only re-do that hideous excuse for a park next to Jones Hall . . . Looks like a skatepark surrounded by urinals and toilet stalls . . .
  16. BayouCityMan
    The city will need to do alot more with that end of downtown besides tossing up a park. The Greyhoud station NEEDS to be closed, demolished, and rebuilt elsewhere (Intermodal Terminal to also replace the Amtrak Shack too). They really ought to get serious and force the other bus companies nearby to go to one common facility as well. Most of the streets have already been rebuilt over there but a few still remain if memory serves correctly. Lastly, the police will need to raise their presence in the area to discourage vagrancy or this park will end up being a public bathroom and bedroom all in one, much the way Market Square used to be.
  17. BayouCityMan
    Nice choice of exterior colors for the proposed building too. Will fit in nicely. As for the parking podium comment, I thoroughly agree Kinkaid. Looks like they've done a masterful job of squeezing as much out of that land as possible.
  18. BayouCityMan
    I'm not a big fan of RD's work either. I agree that stylistically it is a hodgepodge that will stand out for all the wrong reasons over time. We really have been on the architectural short end of the stick lately (2929 Weslayan, the 40+ story Hines tower, and the twisting museum district tower notwithstanding). I would like to see RD stick with one theme and run with it, only not so gaudy or "out there". Just my 2 cents.
  19. BayouCityMan
    So which one do y'all think will look cooler once done (A poll perhaps)? 2929 Weslayan or the new 42 story twisting tower going up in the Museum District? They said there is a rendering floating around out there of that new one so hopefully someone "in the know" will post it here.
  20. BayouCityMan
    Another possible design parallel? This one is in Mississauga, Ontario (suburb of Toronto). Image from Google.
  21. BayouCityMan
    Hmmmm . . . so many possibilities style-wise . . . This one will stand out as much as (if not more than) 2929 Weslayan . . . The spoiled brat in me wishes this was being built in the CBD. Images from Google.
  22. BayouCityMan
    Yes I do. The original plan was to convert at least one street into a waterway (why imitate San Antonio, sheesh). The rest were to become narowed tree-lined pedestrian friendly thoroughfares with head-in parking. For the most part, I actually liked the original design, save for the waterway. I would have preferred one East-West street closed to all traffic and turned into a linear park-scape to link the convention center area to the West side of downtown. Main Street (which should be closed to vehicular traffic IMO) would have been the natural North-South linear. Anyways, they did implement parts of Cotswold by narrowing some of the streets (mainly E-W ones) and adding some head-in parking, street lights, better signs, and so on. An ambitious idea that ended up getting watered down (budget or lack of vision, take your pick), but still a good one that is paying dividends today.
  23. BayouCityMan
    http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/08/office-construction-surpasses-historical-norm/?cmpid=businesshcat
  24. BayouCityMan
    @j_cuevas To expand on what you ere saying . . . This was such a different place 25 yrs ago, even despite the oil bust. The city was very much in it's modern day infancy. For those who have been here all this time, I think it's safe to say that this is the most diverse our economy has ever been. Yeah Oil and Medical still power this town but in 25 years we've added a much bigger legal, logistical, and manufacturing base than we had back then. I'd say banking has stayed about the same although BBVA Compass really seems to be setting up shop. I wouldn't be surprised if more major worldwide banks give this place a long look in the next 20 years. And to think, they project another 2 million people here within 20 years. And yeah, a little planning and some beautification do go a long way. I can't think of a single more transformative project in the last 25 years than the East side of downtown. I remember going there in the early 80s and seeing the utter dereliction. I credit MMP somewhat and Discovery Green mostly. The GRB was all alone out there previously and never really did anything for that side of downtown. My only lament is that Discovery Green isn't twice as large.
  25. BayouCityMan
    I think it will be as well, maybe by 50-100 feet, somewhere in there. I am holding out hope for some additional floors, hehehe.
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