houstontexasjack

8 hours ago, Luminare said:

hmm and next to a bunch of European Consulates. Nice move Fertitta. Astros have their Cuban/Dominican pipeline. Rockets will have their Euro pipeline.

We just need the ping pong balls to go our way on May 16th so Victor Wembenyama can be the first out of that new pipeline. 😉

45 minutes ago, monarch said:

^^^ ...says who?  as you may attest above, the original renderings/concepts for the X DENVER... illustrated the painted mural style parking garage design.  however, the initial as well as current renderings/concepts (that we have all witnessed thus far) for the X HOUSTON... does not indicate any design elements of this particular nature.  do you harbor any inside info...?

Says a partner at the X Company when I reached out to them. 

Apparently, the plan is to paint a great mural on the garage like the X Denver.

6 hours ago, Amlaham said:

Contrary to everyone else, there's something that really attracts me to this building 😂. It's very different, abstract, unique. I know its not aesthetically pleasing to most people on this forum, but I kind of love it. The green stone and the contrasting materials, the contrasting colors, the interesting shape of the building, even the landscape is interesting. The name with that specific font is the cherry on top for me. Its all very eerie and illuminati-esque, as corny as it sounds, it makes you feel SOMETHING when looking at the building, instead of looking at a same style building that we've seen before. Its art IMO 🤷‍♂️

I’ve also come to really like it. It just has a sense of whimsy about it.

7 minutes ago, HOUCAJUN said:

In the 25 minute mark of the video, he said " we're building a $70 million dollar practice facility right now" after he mentioned that the Rockets have the only private 767

I interpret that remark to mean it could also be in the later stages of designing and planning. If it were under construction, there’d be permits.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Dr. Mann at least retain the tract with the old clinic to build the hotel component (always intended to be similar in scale to the MOB) based on how this turned out. The 58-story version of the Habitable Sculpture was always a longshot, but I think a hotel could be supported across the street from the MOB. It’s just down the street from the museums.

9 hours ago, urbanize713 said:

Build it! Any idea where in Midtown this would or could go?

They currently own the housing project at Main and 69 (4610 Main St). A portion of it is within the expanded ROW for the trenching of 69. I could see this being part of the replacement housing for that. 

On 4/3/2023 at 11:17 AM, X.R. said:

Because the whispers on the street is because no one wants to foot the bill for redevelopment, its contribution will be that it won't exist anymore. 

Edit: The issue is that redevelopment is supposedly extremely expensive, where asbestos abatement and destruction is cheaper. The issue is bringing it down without messing up all the other buildings. They are in a pickle.

It’s time to let the Astrodome go. Have a miniature playground of it in the middle of a park space. 

17 hours ago, monarch said:

^^^ i see you, and i can certainly comprehend your sentiment here @tigereye  however, my initial statements were never a lesson in HOUSTON SPORTS VENUE GEOGRAPHY.  my initial sentiment was, is... always regarding the actual QUALITY, PLANNING, and CONSTRUCTION of the actual VENUES themselves.  you have initiated a very eloquent illustration of the GEOGRAPHICAL attributes regarding houston's said venues.  however, the geographical or CLOSENESS of the venues inside HOUSTON PROPER, doesn't necessarily mean that these venues are indeed qualitative and world class.  their not.

I disagree that they all “suck.” The Juice Box is great. Lots of natural light, good skyline view to the west, comfortable concourse, pretty attractive exterior style drawing from Old Union Station.

The Toyota Center is just mediocre. It’s an okay place to catch a game. It’s exterior design has all the charm of a suburban Best Buy.

NRG………okay, you got me there.

3 hours ago, mollusk said:

So... no 58 story building?

Almost certainly, no. Asking price is an eye-watering $300+ psf, apparently.  So, probably no buyer for quite some time either.

Photos of said “for sale” signs:

“For sale” banners up on the other two lots next to the MOB, this morning 

A revival of something like that Marquette 24-story tower that was proposed to the north of the Juice Box would be nice as the Astros move forward with their plans. 

4 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

Yup. He is also building a casino on the Strip from ground up. The Rockets are on the back burner. 

If the Rockets win the draft lottery and get Wembanyama, maybe we’ll see progress. 

11 hours ago, phillip_white said:

Such a shame MLB didn’t schedule the Yankees for Altuve for Father’s Day.

5 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Why not start over and build a nice mixed use building with the same tenants on the ground floor? Having a small mid-rise with 5 floors of residential to anchor those businesses would be way better. Plus there aren't any parking minimums, so you can build only what you really need. Plus good design will attract developers to the other lots. Poor design leads to this. 

You disrupt the existing business for the tenants with demolition. Much better to have this demolished and redone after other lots have been built up. 

On 3/20/2023 at 11:44 AM, j_cuevas713 said:

They need to tear this down and start over. This is what happens when you build cheap, nearsighted, and only for profit. You end up with a prime lot with a crazy amount of potential, rotating tenants with no end in sight. 

Heavens, no. Certainly not at this point in time. There are so many vacant lots or soon-to-be-vacant (looking at you, Greyhound Station) that are nearby.  Frankly, a similar version of this would be a massive improvement on a litany of other vacant or underdeveloped sites in Midtown. BW3 and Gyu-Kaku have been decent anchors. You’ve got to have some enjoyable existing uses to attract organic density. After Caydon’s experience, I doubt we’ll get any “knights in shining armor” seeking wholesale transformation of Midtown.

On 2/15/2023 at 4:24 PM, Houston19514 said:

FWIW, the garage will have approx 1,585 spaces:

"The garage is designed to be a district-wide, centralized parking facility for what will eventually be a complex encompassing more than 15 city blocks.

“ION Garage is going to force people to be pedestrians in this area,” said Mary Lou Henry of Vernon G. Henry & Associates. “As opposed to having parking at each building, people will be parking at this garage and walking to their particular destinations, so we are going to add a lot to the pedestrian activity in this area.”

 

 

Also, further regarding the above-discussed crosswalk and posters' predictions regarding its future.  The master plan has the crosswalk connecting the pedestrian promenade on two sides of Fannin.  No buildings (whether parking garages or otherwise) will be built at this spot on either side of the street.

R.I.P. Mary Lou. She was a legend.

1 hour ago, Luminare said:

Lighting at night has historically been about security. That is what lighting at night is for, period. We are so used to a world where cities are lit up at night that we have forgotten that original purpose. Its just a meme at this point with its original meaning lost to history. The side that pushes for controlling light pollution makes way to many assumptions based from a comfortable position and from a position of luxury in a world where lighting in cities has kept them safe. Its not only a fool's game fighting light pollution in an urban core, but its foolish to even propose turning off lights in cities in general. Cities of all shapes and size in every part of the world have been lit by fire then electricity, forever. Light pollution is a "thing" in that where you try to solve one problem you get another.

The ultra-bright parking lot lights don’t really enhance security. An intruder could easily get lost in the glare (try seeing someone when staring at headlights). I miss the orange-glow of old-school sodium vapor lights and wouldn’t mind a return to that spectrum, which is friendlier toward night visions.

Otherwise, as HAIF well knows, I love those LIGHT-UP FEATURES!!!!

(the all-caps said in the voice of the astronaut screaming “SPACESHIP!!” in the “Lego Movie”)

Got one tonight with the blue and green lights installed. Jupiter and Venus between Museo Plaza and the Southmore:

“H‑E‑B Downtown Market”

Put it on the ground floor of a super-mid rise scale structure. 
 

(*whispers*): If you build it, they will come…..

1 hour ago, htownbro said:

Maybe they will have hotel done in time for World Cup 2026.

They’d better hotfoot things on groundbreaking to have it ready by then.