Gator Purify

Great news.  This is a very underserved area.

Thank GOD.  If they follow this up by doing the same thing with their downtown building, I will cry tears of joy.

It isn't about the lease up.  It's about WeWork, in particular.  I work adjacent to a WeWork and its presence has created a sense of community that did not exist prior to its arrival.  Its tenants carry a palpable energy.  Plus, the fluidity of their schedules means more activity on the streets, in nearby pocket parks, and in nearby restaurants.  Activation of the streetscape is what downtown Houston needs more than anything else. 

HUGE news.

WeWork is coming to 708 Main, which is currently undergoing renovations.  ~31ksf.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/02/28/exclusive-wework-expected-to-open-in-houston-in.html

19 minutes ago, Timoric said:

Houston needs a very nice Space Needle adjacent to this park, a very tall one, maybe where that railroad or other can't remember museum thing that failed was to go and the museum at the bottom can talk about the history of space and Houston's role and the plans to do stuff at Ellington Space Port for the future.

 

Space City = Space Needle

I've been saying this for the longest.  The two grassy blocks just south of Minute Maid need to be a Space Needle-type observation tower and attraction.  Not only would it stretch the skyline and provide a focal point for that side of town, but it would create a nonstop stream of tourism income that would sustain the restaurants, attract retail and residential, and possibly spur that 102-story pipe dream office/hotel/condo tower on the block north of the Marriott Marquis. 

What can we do to make this happen?  I have a personal relationship with a city councilmember.  Do you think having her support would matter at all?

Fool me once...

If Alessandra is any indication, the KBR site is going to be CityCentre on the bayou.  Not the worst thing in the world, but hardly something that's going to break new ground or be a major tourist attraction like Pike Place.  We can all fantasize about more, but I think it would be foolish to expect anything beyond Midway's track record. 

Good question, Purdue.  I drove past this building last weekend and was shocked to see the rusty clock still on top.  It also appears as though the building is still vacant.  Can anyone confirm?  Transwestern had plans to turn this into a tech hub, but I don't see any sign of that.

This is basically Hotel Sorella CityCentre 2.0.  I guess we shouldn't be surprised.  That's Midway's frame of reference.

MarathonMan, I have the same impression as you.  I remember back in 2007 and 2008 when I was working in Austin, the natives swore the downtown building boom there was foolish and there would be an oversupply of residential.  About 8 years and 10 highrises later, it's pretty clear those people had no idea what they were talking about.  The same thing is going on in Atlanta right now.  Lots of people "in the know" claimed two years ago a bust was inevitable, and yet if you drive down 75/85, you will see tons of new midrises and highrises, with more projects in the pipeline for midtown/downtown.

The common thread in each of these situations is most of these pessimistic people live in the suburbs (or at the very least, nowhere near the city centers) and don't fit the typical profile of the kind of people who would live in these developments.  The idea of living downtown is personally foreign or strange to them, based on old notions, and so they assume everyone else feels the same way.

Not quite the Statue of Liberty or the Space Needle...BUT I'LL TAKE IT.  The city is sorely in need of more monuments/tourist attractions/iconic structures.

Lord, you scared me monarch.  Upon first glance, I thought that was the rendering!

Anyone know how much money is being spent on this?

Has anyone here ever patronized that Starbucks?  The sign is so small and dim I can't imagine the place attracting many impulse buyers.

That's huge.  Can't wait for this to open.

Re: the Kendrick Lamar performance, my mouth dropped when the cameras showed a panoramic shot of the convention district.  It was like a dream come true.  But when the crowd started jumping at the beginning of "Levitate," I literally got chills.  An amazing sight to behold.

Once the sports bar is up and running, this neighborhood is going to come ALIVE.

That rendering must be older. 

Perhaps.  It's currently on the ROD website.

I'm telling you, this might turn out decent.  The finishing touches and landscaping will be critical.

This building Was The rolls route of the day. People visited it just to see it and take souvenirs of the building. Again an update can be made without being drastic. They can coat the exterior of the building in glass without covering the fins. Heck they can paint the building pink, but the standout feature of the building are the fins

My point exactly.  There is no such thing as "the Rolls-Royce of its day."  A 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III has no day.  It is timeless.  This building is a relic and nothing more.  I can appreciate that people visited it in 1965, but this is not the Chrysler Building.  No one is visiting it now

I worked in this building almost a decade ago and back then the interiors were badly outdated and ugly.  There is nothing beautiful about the exterior, either.  It's just unique and is one of the clearest examples of mid-century modern architecture this city still has. 

A 1986 Nissan Pulsar might have sentimental value as your first car in high school, but that doesn't make it a 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom.  If the building vanished this afternoon, I wouldn't even read the news to find out why.

How do they poop?

They even have lunch up there?

The same way birds poop...

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I like the building so far.  We have enough blue, brown, and tan in our skylines.  The white works.  Similarly, we have enough flat roofs.  The irony is people loved the rendering even though it featured a pyramid roof beacon and the whole building was ablaze in lights.

I'm just waiting for the first reports of hanky panky in the windows.

The "President Trump" was tongue-in-cheek, btw.  I hope that doesn't spawn a political debate, smh.