Avossos

Heard from a buddy who works at Blackfinn, they are shuttering soon.

Guess they weren't making enough money.

Interesting. Can't say that I'm upset. Didn't care for it. But it seems like rents in that area are too high.

If they do scrap the tower position I really hope they go with the pocket park concept for that lot..but this being Houston odds are a surface parking lot

It will be a parking garage. With the base strength for a tower

They are planning on adding slides and tree house, interesting to say the least in my opinion good to see different things coming along.

http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Thirty-three-foot-slide-and-tree-house-coming-to-5853348.php

Where exactly will this be? Is it just a treehouse / slide?

Some of these "things" include the same factors that are affecting other projects in the Houston area (limited supplies, factoring in rapidly rising construction costs, etc.). A big factor, though, is Cresent itself who is watching the market... there is now a "trigger" for when it will begin construction. I'd like to say a lot more but that's all I can say right now.

Doesn't make me feel great that there is a 'trigger'. If they expect a trigger soon, why not start it now? Trigger means, it possibly could never be pulled.

Nate, is the old white building that has the application on it? It seems like the building needs some work / repair

I see "multi-story" but no necessarily highrise as the plan. My guess is another one of the many 4-5 story apartments going up all over town. Is the lot (including parking) big enough for something like that? I can't picture 1308 Cantina in my mind.

It is a big lot. It could be whatever

Edit: some howeowner has said via swamplot said the whole block to Gray (including Gibbs) will be demolished.

I had heard rumors of this last month, but was never able to verify. We asked a manager there and he denied it (but did say he had heard the rumors).

Hollywood chinese is closing as well right? And I saw a sign that Little Bigs was moving?

 

Adding residential is great, but not at the expense of losing retail when there are still plenty of empty lots in the area.

Neartown / Montrose is going up! ^^^

Hopefully these structures will have retail as a component of their buildings.

my gosh!  i do indeed pray that this particular hotel is not deeply hidden within that vicinity.  this hotel, shall need to standout... big time!  why on earth shall we construct a w hotel, and not gain as per the overall excitement that this particular brand usually delivers from the standpoint of overall aesthetics.  this is why i was hoping that this brand would be developed downtown houston vs the galleria vs the river oaks district vicinity.

It will be near 610. I am sure we will be able to see it.

FYI, this keeps the downtown market open for a RITZ. WestCreek / ROD should get a nice hotel as well.

The marketing flyer for Post Oak Corner says this redevelopment project will include a W Hotel.

So we are saying the corner of Poast Oak Blvd and Uptown Park Blvd?

I think I-10 from downtown to 6-10 interchange will be nice too when the trees grow in. Also, 45 North around the heights is nice because there are sizable trees there too.

Observation? Trees in empty spaces around freeways is a win-win. It helps contain and mitigate freeway noise / it beautifies the drive / it recreates Houston's original landscape. Overall, it helps Houston reverse the ugly image. Memorial Drive and Allen Parkway are really beautiful with the bayou improvements.

The AT&T building next to South Texas College of Law? If so, I'll walk by tomorrow on my way to class.

Near st. Joseph's

Feel free to merge:

The block with the tall ATT building in it has a construction fence and there has been digging. Looked like heavy equipment is on site. Did we find out what this was?

Thanks for the pic. The impression I get is that it's not permenant. But maybe they are going to do internal (inside) work? The building needs some power washing at the very least.

Good. I hope to see that block continue to improve.

Is it best suited for office space or commercial of some sort?

I walked by this morning, and it looks like they are installing plywood boarding in front of the old Battelstein's building at the street level entrance. I am hopeful that this means that they have come up with a permanent use for it and are about to begin some renovation there. It looks to have been used as a construction office during the renovation. If they were not gong to use it in the future, it seems to me that it would revert back to the way it was, but that does not appear to be the case.

So they are basically putting a plywood fence around the building? If that is the case, it sounds like there is some activity there.

If they are boarding up the building itself, then that implies (to me) they are going to let it sit for awhile...

BTW, who owns the building? Does Marriott? If we know it sounds like that could help us understand what could go in. Hotel space doesnt seem to make sense since there is a lack of windows.

The picture is of an apartment complex up in Dallas near SMU.

Which one

they really don't need any. Its all around them. This is the most walkable urban setting in all of Houston. I work around the corner and walk to lunch all of the time. All they need is a grocery store and a park and it would be easy to live there and not own a car. I think this is great project. Unlike downtown which has very little surface retail this area is all about ground floor retail.

I hear you. But damn is it annoying to walk around there. It is so difficult with all the drivers and the lack of good sidewalks. I would remove the parking lots completely

So this building really has zero ground floor retail?

What's wrong with it?

Something wrong about the window views in this picture.

good catch.

Look, I'm not siding with the neighborhood on this, but at this point I think the developer should consider options for getting out of this location. Offer to "donate" the property to the locals with the sole purpose of creating a park, only if a similar size property can be purchased by the community nearby in a location the community and the developer thinks will be more appropriate. Midtown? Kirby? Museum District? Medical Center? Uptown? By creating a park the developer could save face while also still getting to build the designed building at another location.

 

There is just too much other competition for residential high rise in Houston right now to build where sales may be harder to come by because of the high amount of negative PR.

Sounds like a defeatist attitude... This is a great spot. people will want to live there. 

Everyone is complaining that there are too many "luxury" units going up and not enough affordable... here we have a group who looks like they specialize in more mid-priced units and everyone's complaining they're not nice enough. assuming they build something similar to what they show on their website, a smaller mid-priced complex should be welcomed.

 

can't win with this crowd.

haha, oh so true.

I was going to add that this group seems to be growing and by their resume, it proves it. Interested to see what they come up with. The name 'Lofts' makes me think they are probably going in a new direction. Fun to watch small firms grow. Looks like they are finding success being the Buick to the Cadillac in the areas they build/renovate.

I do hope it is a good design.

From Bobruss, he saw men working on site yesterday.

 

Ashby Workers by brijonmang, on Flickr

Good sign!!

I respect Randall Davis. His architecture is controversial, but I think it's good the we have the balance of styles. It seems he tries to give a classic vibe to his buildings. Some have turned out better than others.

That being said, I am excited to see what he comes up with. He has a vision that's his own. I just hope he maintains a consistent architectural theme.

Aloft supposedly