mattyt36

Crime, evidently

No, but, as described, the funding pie is fixed . . . Well that's a bit revisionist . . . you said it's simple "common sense" to connect an airport to downtown and that a train was needed to have "some level of appeal to visitors." Hmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . Well glad to hear you saying (implying?) that demand is a worthwhile consideration. Sources shared above about how demand for these things is commonly grossly overestimated. You don't have to predict the future, but considering the experience of other cities and other key factors certainly can be used as a reasonably reliable predictive tool, at least in the short term.

Well it sure seems to be a "feeling" . . . it's simple "common sense," you say . . . you seem to imply that the 4th largest city in the nation=rail transit to the airport must be an option is some sort of natural law, regardless of actual demand, travel behavior, or, dare I say, even the lowest standards of financial feasibility? I do agree that your view is widely enough held, but I think most in the industry would say it's a "common misconception" rather than "common sense." The primary domestic airport for the largest city in the nation (LGA) has had no rail transit in its 82-year history. Granted, it might yet get such a link soon, but take that under consideration. My argument is straightforward . . . it makes no sense whatsoever on the basis of demand or financial feasibility . . . it only makes sense as some sort of vanity project or some warped idea of what constitutes a "real city." And yes, I do know how these are funded. METRO's 2020 revenues were $945MM in 2020 before the pandemic, $775MM of which were sales tax receipts. (Fares were less than one-tenth this, at $75MM.) These collections are at the MAXIMUM RATE allowed by the State of Texas. What of METRO's current operations do you propose to curtail to run this vanity "See, My City Is a Real City" train? (And before you say it doesn't need to be METRO . . . true . . . but there isn't room for any other agency to charge a sales tax as Harris County is at the maximum rate, so the same argument remains.) If actual demand and either financial feasibility (or, better said in the case of transit, the best use of limited financial resources) is not a criterion by which you judge major investments, then I don't know what to say. In any case, we will probably see soon enough the effect of a train on the "appeal to visitors" . . . do you expect HOU to become wildly more popular than IAH as a result of the light rail extension? May I suggest this as a worthwhile addition to your library: TRAINS, BUSES, PEOPLE, written by a local, professional transportation planner, and a former METRO board member. Yes, true commuter rail would be a much better investment.

Providing options at any cost? Travelers do have a transit option . . . do they have to have an option for a train, too? And why would Harris County consumers be interested in subsidizing (through sales taxes) a small number of visitors from out of town, essentially so that these visitors leaving "feeling" that there is a "better sense of connectivity"? Seems like a pretty high price to pay for feelings. Are there not better, more critical uses of such monies? You can do that (and METRO is doing that) with an express bus, with much shorter headways due to lower capacity and, more than likely, providing faster transit times and the possibility of multiple terminals downtown. Aside from that, air travelers as a demographic group are more affluent than the general public and don't really top many lists of groups needing to be subsidized (at least not mine). If you said to help airport employees, the majority of whom are low-wage service workers, well, then a case could certainly be made for that. But I'm sure almost all of them would choose a 30-minute express bus operating every 15 minutes than a 45-minute heavy rail train operating every hour.

Agree that passenger rail sharing the freight rail lines in the Hardy Corridor would not be a recipe for reliability, but I disagree many people would miss their flights because no one would be taking it in the first place! Best case scenario is a 45-minute to an hour ride with headways of an hour . . . at best. Add a bus connection for the vast (99%+) majority of the market that won't live in the immediate downtown area, and it's probably 90 minutes. Transit to airport works best for employees. The data below are from 2008, but I assure you little has changed . . . this is pre-Uber. Top airports for transit ridership (all modes--rail/bus) / Annual transit ridership (per day) / O&D passengers / New York JFK / 2.2MM (6,027) / 11.6MM / 19% Los Angeles LAX / 2.1MM (5,750) / 16.4MM / 13% San Francisco SFO / 2.1MM (5,750) / 8.9MM / 23% Las Vegas / 2.0MM (5,480) / 16.3MM / 12% Atlanta / 1.9MM (5,205) / 13.7MM / 14% And since the question is bound to come up . . . Washington Reagan National / 1.2MM (3,288) / 7MM / 17% See 2020 study at (PDF) Use of Public Transportation by Airport Passengers (researchgate.net). In the United States, there appears to be limited market for public transportation (rail, bus, and shared-ride vans) at airports. The ceiling on public transportation use in most U.S. cities appears to be about 10% to 15%, even at airports with rail service. At most U.S. airports, the primary, potential market for rail service is passengers with trip ends in the downtown area (or other geographic areas well served by rail), travelling alone and with little or no baggage, and familiar with the rail service (and schedules). Compared to European and Asian cities, there appear to be a relatively small number of U.S. cities that have the airport user characteristics, the appropriate airport configuration, and the existing or planned rail network that are required to attract a large share (more than 5%) of the airline passenger market. At least the HOU lines will have a primary demand base of serving neighborhoods, as opposed to commuter rail down the Hardy Toll Road to IAH, which would be a tremendous misuse of money that could be more productively used for other transit solutions that people would actually use.

First Lloyd Jones Brewer, I think second was actually Pelli.

Hopefully they didn’t kill anybody.

Wow, who knew Montrose hadn’t gentrified yet? 🤔

HBJ article on permits being issued Conversion of State National Building into Moxy by Marriott hotel moving forward - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com) An effort to convert a historic downtown office building into a Moxy by Marriott Hotel is preparing to move forward, according to building permits issued this month by the city of Houston. Houston-based LMG General Contractors received a permit from the city for a $9 million commercial alteration at 412 Main St., the former State National Building on the block of Main Street between Prairie and Preston streets. . . . While most of the building’s exterior will remain, Campo’s proposed changes included removing and replacing some of the nonhistoric decorative features, including a section of wall above the main entrance, according to Campo’s 2019 application to the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission. Other proposed changes in the application included swapping out a mezzanine window with one that resembles other surrounding windows, adding new lighting along the sidewalk, installing a “Moxy” sign composed of channel letters on an aluminum pan style background and replacing the existing canopy with an aluminum-faced composite one. Campo’s application was approved on March 21, 2019. Documents filed with the city appear to show that the developer behind the project is Pharr, Texas-based Oceangate Hotel and Development Co. . . . While it is unclear what the timeline for the project is, the building permit seems to indicate it is moving forward. On Campo Architect’s website, the company says that when it opens, the Moxy by Marriott hotel will feature 119 guest rooms, a main lobby and a bar.

Seems pretty inefficient

Does anyone know what's going up at the site of the old Hefley's that burned down (138ish W Gray?). It looks to be a 2-story steel frame structure.

WOOF WOOF

For all intensive purposes, could you have meant dog-eat-dog world there Monarch? 😛

Well the writing is as soulless as the community will inevitably end up being.

C Baldwin signage installed this week and now functional. Can't say I'm a fan . . . looks a bit cluttered spread out over two lines (C Baldwin / Hotel) instead of one line like the Doubletree. Seems to be a similar font. It lights up at night.

Highly doubtful interest rates for a hotel development (whose business is predicated on conventions, no less) at this point are lower than what they were at the beginning of the year due to widening of credit spreads. It's a common misconception that just because the Fed Funds rate is low doesn't mean it translates 1-for-1 to borrowers, or that borrowers can get credit in the first place.

Discussion of conversion of vacant space from March 2019 (probably not the best title)

Yes, my apologies. The fall numbers reported them separately and the spring numbers reported them together. I just don't think the absorption number is reliable because I think we would have heard of it.

Spring 2020 update. The Pennzoil Place number shows a lot of absorption . . . I'm not sure what lease that would've been or if Fall 2019 was in error. (Or maybe sublease excluded?) Address Bldg name Total space Avail space-Fall 2019 Vacancy-Fall 2019 Avail space-Spring 2020 Absorption Vacancy-Spring 2020 800 Bell Old Exxon 1,314,350 1,314,350 100% 1,314,350 0 100% Texas Tower New Hines 1,106,581 705,774 64% 673,142 32,632 61% 1001 Fannin Old First City 1,365,801 586,811 43% 552,336 34,475 40% 1600 Smith Old CO 1,227,182 489,881 40% 486,453 3,428 40% 600 Travis Old Chase 1,916,394 456,600 24% 459,828 -3,228 24% 601 Travis Old Chase garage 407,912 29,877 7% 26,817 3,060 7% 1021 Main One City Centre 554,953 424,260 76% 356,391 67,869 64% 700 Louisiana TC Energy Ctr 1,321,033 295,682 22% 303,390 -7,708 23% 1100 Louisiana Enterprise Plaza 1,391,152 288,812 21% 267,344 21,468 19% 1415 Louisiana Wedge Int'l Tower 536,626 275,179 51% 275,179 0% 811 Louisiana Old Two Shell Plaza 577,735 236,380 41% 239,201 -2,821 41% 1201 Fannin Greenstreet 656,994 230,532 35% 230,532 0 35% 1000 Main Reliant Energy Plaza 850,294 175,321 21% 175,321 0 21% 808 Travis Esperson 298,513 156,839 53% 236,518 -79,679 79% 1010 Lamar Younan Sqaure 258,776 143,727 56% 132,045 11,682 51% 910 Louisiana One Shell Plaza 1,231,896 137,364 11% 130,883 6,481 11% 712 Main The Jones on Main 794,186 128,817 16% 128,817 0 16% 800 Capital Bank of America Tower 754,000 93,725 12% 93,725 0 12% 919 Milam Old Bank of the SW 723,130 89,550 12% 111,360 -21,810 15% 811 Main BG Group Place 973,861 80,006 8% 67,349 12,657 7% 1001 McKinney Old City National Bank 378,101 78,997 21% 78,997 0 21% 801 Travis 417,693 75,675 18% 75,675 0 18% 601 Jefferson KBR Tower 1,087,974 69,888 6% 81,212 -11,324 7% 1301 Fannin Houston Data Center 766,950 65,000 8% 60,000 5,000 8% 609 Main 1,057,658 64,109 6% 58,611 5,498 6% 801 Louisiana Goodrich Petroleum 105,145 38,670 37% 38,679 -9 37% 1801 Main Amegy Bank 238,886 33,964 14% 33,964 0 14% 917 Main 140,000 8,757 6% 8,757 0 6% Pennzoil Place Pennzoil Place South 1,424,162 535,346 43% 91,941 443,405 6% 1221 McKinney LyondellBasell Tower/1 HC 1,103,424 193,009 17% 212,675 -19,666 19% 909 Fannin St 2 Houston Center 1,102,279 276,353 25% 215,859 60,494 20% 1301 McKinney Fulbright Tower/3 HC 1,311,133 401,701 31% 346,045 55,656 26% 1221 Lamar 4 Houston Center 1,526,323 404,282 26% 419,538 -15,256 27% 1401 McKinney 5 Houston Center 606,786 198,238 33% 190,089 8,149 31% Total Houston Center 5,649,945 1,473,583 26% 1,384,206 89,377 24% 500 Dallas One Allen Center 930,730 140,781 15% 150,323 -9,542 16% 1200 Smith Two Allen Center 1,075,210 361,621 34% 361,621 0 34% 333 Clay Three Allen Center 1,282,908 207,036 16% 166,058 40,978 13% Total Allen Center 3,288,848 709,438 22% 678,002 31,436 21% These were not shown in the Fall 2019 numbers so I don't have a comparison. Address Bldg name Total space Avail space-Spring 2020 Vacancy-Spring 2020 717 Texas Old Calpine 705,885 303,126 43% 1315 St. Joseph Medical Place One 207,388 58,096 28% 917 Franklin Commercial Bank 47,704 12,679 27% 440 Louisiana Lyric Centre 402,559 8,890 2% 1018 Preston Republic 22,204 4,982 22% 110 Bagby 33,124 3,067 9% 412 Main State Nat'l Bank 55,844 2,000 4%

What happened to Crockpot ... again?

Name something after a park and add “Streets” to it, makes perfect sense. 🙄

🤮

Erm, I wouldn’t call JW Marriott “ultra luxury” any more than I’d call W “luxury.”

Does the Moxy qualify as a "micro hotel"? (Any one know what is going on with that, BTW?)

Well that's great news . . . new concepts and renders always bode well. I mean developers always restrain the bold, imaginative, and fanciful until a budget is involved. 🙄