urbanize713

I was not aware of this tradition for the tallest building in Houston? Is there something you can reference?  

It is not just the ESB, it is the WTC, Rockefeller, Hudson Yards, Sears/Williams, Hancock and other international towers I have visited. They all have dedicated elevators and spaces. 

I will agree there are many other parks but not hundreds. At the same time they were not all built at once. NY has 200+ years on Houston. I am guessing that as time progresses we will also have more green spaces. You call it "bluing" of the city, I would just call it a city changing and people evolving without labeling it anything. That is what happens over time. 

I think you underestimate how many millionaires ride buses from the suburbs to downtown similar to how many millionaires ride commuter trains from the suburbs in to NY. This s now veering off the point though along with some of the other comments you made. With that said I digress, I wish it were public but unfortunately it is privately owned so what I think does not much matter. 

If there is truly that much interest we should build a groundswell and petition (not demand) Hines continue adding to our city and their reputation by re configuring an observation deck in one of our existing towers. Sell it on them making money over time and it being an additional attraction to the city. I believe I once saw such a plan for 1000 Louisiana. 

2 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Thanks for giving us an inside perspective. I have a little trouble believing that those elevators are all crowded. As I recall, there is an entire row of very spacious elevators that go straight from the Lobby to the 60th floor with no stops. Every time I've ever been in there, I usually had my pick of several near-empty elevators. Are there that many open air tour buses in downtown Houston? That is a welcome new development, but I'm having trouble picturing it.

 

Also, your comment about "smelly tourists" raises eyebrows. So some guy in shorts and a polo has such bad b.o. that it actually transfers to a tenant and ruins his presentation? I call b.s. It sounds like more of a class issue. Tenants just can't stand it that people from a different social stratum are walking into their building. They like their country club atmosphere.

 

This, by the way, is the real thing Houston lacks in terms of urbanism. It's not population density. It's public culture. Not having everything so private and exclusive. It's why a city like Austin with much lower population density feels more urban. All the good things to do in Austin are public things, and there's more of them, because people don't live behind gates and then fuss when their work and play environments aren't equally exclusive. Same with Boston or NY. They aren't addled with the Southern exclusive mentality.

 

 

I would agree Houston needs to do better in the public realm however I disagree with you using NYC as an example.They are notorious for exclusivity and class segregation. Exclusive buildings, clubs (think Yacht, Yale, etc),  and even have a park that requires a key so only residents surrounding it can access it. The buildings that do have observation decks have dedicated entrances and spaces so tourist do not co mingle with the actual tenants of the building. If you ever try to go to one of the other entrances of said building prepare to meet the wrath of god from a private security officer. I've also never met an NYC resident that though fondly of tourists. I have friends (not rich) that live there that won't go within block of the "tourist" areas. 

While I never saw 30 people up there I did notice over time that it was more and more crowded. At my tower downtown when 50%+ of the building is trying to use the elevator (morning, lunch, 5-6pm) elevators become packed and you even have to wait for the 3rd or 4th elevator to finally get down or up. I really wish the sky lobby could be open to the public but the truth of the matter is it was never really intended for that. If it were they would have built dedicated elevators and space so the actual building tenants were not disturbed. 

Peaceful protest are a right and I 100% agree with the reason protests are occurring but it is sad to see this because of opportunistic criminals taking advantage of the situation. 

From when I toured the building the leasing agent said an Asian restaurant had signed a lease for the retail space facing Main Street. Take that for whatever it's worth. 

On 5/18/2020 at 10:11 AM, wxman said:

I wonder if this will be the 'Heritage Plaza' of today's times--as in the last major office skyscraper downtown for the forseeable future. With the pandemic and so many people working from home, it seems things may 'never' go back to normal and many people will continue working from home. It was a forced experiment that seems to have worked in that people working from their living rooms are equally, if not more, productive than when at the office. Translation: no need for abundant office space. 

 

I'm only talking office skyscrapers, not condo or apartment towers.

On the flip side  employers may actually need more space as open concept may be on the latest victim of Covid 19. I think one way or the other it is all conjecture. The overall effect will probably land somewhere in the middle like it always does. 

On 1/6/2020 at 4:43 AM, Urbannizer said:

Updated website:

 

https://ionhouston.com/south-main/

 

 

 

 

The first picture appears to show stone. However, the third picture appears to show a consistency more like paint. 

11 hours ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

it's not going to need a huge mat like the buildings downtown, so i imagine the trucks will line up on Grant and Crocker streets.

 

I believe that is what was done for the mat pours of the two towers next to Kroger on Montrose. They will just line up the trucks on less busy streets and schedule it for the least busy time. 

Does this mean the Midtown mixed use one is not happening? or is this in anticipation of it coming along the lines of what @Texasota mentioned? Sites are separated by about 1.9 miles.  

14 minutes ago, Triton said:

Wow what an incredibly poor plan.... here's to hoping those entire bottom 3 floors are parking garage only. Let me post 3 years of flooding pictures for this exact address when I get home. 

Seriously, that is the first thing that came to my mind. 

1 hour ago, Triton said:

This one still stands out so much in TMC. It's great!

 

TMC by Marc longoria, on Flickr

I totally agree. Although, that BK is getting very long in the tooth 

9 hours ago, BeerNut said:

https://www.facebook.com/events/925114941204222/

 

"To demand that the developers sign a Community Benefits Agreement, we are establishing the Houston Coalition for Equitable Development without Displacement (HCEDD). All individuals, community groups, advocacy organizations, and supporting businesses/organizations who are interested in supporting this initiative are invited to attend."

Growing up my parents always told me the world would go mad one day. I always took it as an old wives tale, perhaps not. 

Just for further reference. 

Curious what the other sides look like. At first glance the curves are slightly reminiscent of  Lake Point Tower in Chicago. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/01/heres-a-map-of-the-forever-21-stores-set-to-close.html

It looks like Houston is spared entirely on the initial list of stores that will be potentially closed. 

7 hours ago, BeerNut said:

 

It has begun... Downtown just too big for one name now...

Noooooo...I was in Denver recently and this renaming of areas has run amok there. In my opinion, we should avoid it anywhere we can. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/30/apparel-retailer-forever-21-files-for-bankruptcy.html

Well...

Since we are talking about architecture schools I did a quick google search. Let me guess, everyone got into Rice as well? 

https://www.archdaily.com/901435/the-best-architecture-schools-in-the-us-2019

https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13611-top-architecture-schools-of-2019

I heard buildings closed their water tight doors to be on the safe side. However, I do not think there was any flooding. 

This is being designed to flood, right?  

There is now a WeWork sign on this building. I wonder how much space they are taking.

A friend is moving in today.  I will try to probe for as much information as I can. 

Sad day. Always thought it was a very unique tower.