houstontexasjack

A Sky House within walking distance of my office. I wonder if they 'd let me purchase pool privileges. :-)

I think an even better question is how have some of you construction-obsessed posters on an architecture board not come to realize that damn near every major project gets delayed in some capacity or another and that "groundbreaking" dates are almost entirely meaningless. The funny thing is when a group like Camden sets a start date 18 months out it's often the same folks complaining out loud, openly questioning why the start date is so far off.

Stop living and dying by arbitrary dates set bt developers meant to entice investors and the public to their project. These things have an innumerable amount of moving parts.

Agreed. Planning and designing a project takes a great deal of time and money. Delays of a couple quarters are very small in the grand scheme of things.

Kirby is a MAJOR thoroughfare with countless number of high-density developments including many high rises. Zero chance this gets tied up in court.

Any suit would need to be brought soon to have a prayer at slowing construction. I agree an injunction would be a longshot, but win at district court roulette and get in front of the right judge and crazy things can happen.

Rise Ashby Rise!

I can't help but think of the chant from 'The Dark Knight Rises'. :-)

A rooftop pool would make this more appealing. It would at least be fun to live in.

I doubt it. I think the people living in that area have seen (or should see) the writing on the wall. There are already towers on Kirby. There will be more. Fighting this will cost them time, money, and they will lose.

Sadly, I suspect we will see a lawsuit over this. I think the lesson of Ashby, as opposed to 2229 San Felipe, is for neighbors to sue before any concrete is poured. It makes a temporary injunction more attractive to a judge to preserve the 'status quo.' If we could get some binding appellate decision from Ashby on the other hand that might indicate such claims are baseless as a matter of law....

I'd think development would breed development in the long term. In the nearer term, we might have a bit of a glut of multifamily to contend with. Camden might be tapping the breaks to ensure that the various projects around town get occupied at the rents the projects are supposed to command. Camden's project is in a bit of a no man's land compared to the densifying area by the Ballpark.

I've understood 'Third Ward' in conversational terms to mean pretty much everything east of 288, north of the south loop and south of 45. I recognize this is far from accurate, but high school football teammates from that area would say they were from the 'Third Ward'.

One has to wonder whether the city would be willing to offer additional incentives to build a more traditional grocery store downtown.  I lived in DC for awhile, near Mt. Vernon Triangle, and that area revitalized with the addition of a Safeway located at the base of the City Vista apartments--like Downtown Houston, it was also previously filled with parking lots in an area nearby a sports complex (the Verizon Center). A proper HEB or Kroger would address a significant concern for those looking to move to Downtown.

And I see that Urbannizer previously had a thread going about the above-mentioned Unit #29 (Block 365). According to that map, we have 2796 units planned for construction with another 1266 under construction. There's still room for additional developers to come in with the city's tax incentive program (the increase in the cap on that is lovely for development--and I suspect we'll see higher tax revenues long term as well).

That development map additionally indicates a structure (#29) in the square between Caroline, Austin, Pease, and Jefferson. I have not previously seen an indication of that building. Downtown will have a few thousand more full-time residents by the time the Super Bowl rolls around.

I love the rendering above. I wonder if we might see Shake Shack, Hopdoddy, or other significant upmarket burger joints take interest in this area. Portillo's Hot Dogs of Chicago is also looking for a buyer. What better place is there to start a beachhead into Houston than right next to a ballpark?  

It would be nice to see this converted into mixed-use retail and residential. A more traditional grocery store (HEB maybe) would be a delightful complement to Phoenicia.

Well, a quick construction schedule is one way to head off a temporary injunction. Change what's defined as the "status quo" and the chances of a temporary injunction should go down dramatically. 

I'd think the Plaintiffs will need to get a hearing on a T.I. in short order if they hope to have any change to actually stop construction. Unlike the "Ashby High Rise," this property has not remained a fallow field.

Let's move the jail to the unsold Astroworld site.

;-) It would free up prime land and occupy that empty field.

Houston has a problem with creeping zoning. Although we do not have a master zoning plan, there are a number of ordinances relating to building setbacks and minimum lot sizes. We also have gerrymandered 'historic districts' (looking at you, First Ward) that restrict what might be redeveloped. I agree with others on this forum that it might be time to put a master zoning plan up for a vote again.

I still don't think this should have gone to trial. 'Prospective nuisance' as a legal concept leads to strange and difficult territory (is a German Shepherd puppy a 'prospective nuisance' because it might one day bite the neighbors' kids). At least construction can proceed.

I got a call back on this project today. It is still in the 'planning and due diligence' stages but appears to be grinding forward. I hoped for a more definite timeline, but at least there wasn't an indication that this was dead.

Interesting. I suppose AmREIT wanted a different style than the various projects Ziegler Cooper has been designing around town.

"Riverside Heights" maybe? The Heights name-creep could then continue. 

Alternatively, I wonder if a neighborhood rebrand associated with the University of Houston would work. "University Crossing" comes to mind. 

I am glad to see this area develop.

I would be interested in moving into this place. I called PMI to follow up as to the status of this project. The receptionist took a message and should have someone call me back early next week.

I am not the same "Houston Jack." I only discovered the forum relating to Houston architecture a couple months ago.

Yes indeed. Thanks. I'm new--still getting familiar with the threads.

From the Houston Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2014/04/sneak-preview-of-galleria-renovation.html?page=2

It is apparently part of the master plan for the Galleria Expansion. 

This site has been used as a laydown site for the Astoria condos going up on Post Oak. The sign for development remains out on the property (and the Master Plan remains largely similar to what was indicated above).

Once the Astoria is complete, I wonder if we will see movement on this site--particularly with BHP Billiton and Amegy Bank building new headquarters nearby.

They might be on target for 3Q commencement of construction. Glad to see that.