CREguy13

This is excellent news. Hopefully this gets the ball rolling for more private companies to start signing leases..

6 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Well, I am not in this industry but from what I have read Alexandria Real Estate Equities is the top tier developer that you want for projects like these, and a vote of confidence in the Houston biotech industry's long-term prospects (the only other markets they are in are Boston, SF, San Diego, DC, NYC, Seattle, and the Research Triangle).  I'm just disappointed it is located in The Woodlands, but I suppose it's less of a site-location decision as redeveloping an existing facility.

As a reminder, Alexandria is investing in a significant way just south of TMC along Fannin.  Totally agree on ARE's prowess as a life science developer..  They are clearly betting on Houston, which is awesome!

Looks like this is about to start. Wasn't able to get a picture here, but there was a sign up (that I had not seen before) stating they were 35% presold and breaking ground in January 2023.

Checked their website after posting and it reflects both the 35% pre-sales figure and the January groundbreaking.

Wasn't able to take a photo, but the MF has started construction!  Several workers on site and they were pretty far along digging the foundation.  Such an exciting project and will stand out in a big way.

2 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

 

An update on Pastore. This is the red-sauce Italian restaurant concept from Underbelly Hospitality. It will be located in Regent Square at 1203 Dunlavy St, Suite 100.


From an article published yesterday in Community Impact:


"Underbelly Hospitality and chef Chris Davies will open Pastore in the spring at 1203 Dunlavy St., Ste. 100... Pastore will also feature a garden patio with fountains."

https://communityimpact.com/houston/heights-river-oaks-montrose/dining/2022/12/13/5-eateries-slated-to-open-in-2023-in-montrose-river-oaks/

Happy to finally see this getting closer to opening.  It's been frustrating walking by seeing little-to-no activity occurring inside.  Great news!

Agreed that it deserves its own topic.

18 minutes ago, hindesky said:

I went by this and saw a worker coming out of the fenced area where the 42 story apartments will be. I asked him a few questions about it but he pointed out another worker who would know more, he said this will start in two weeks, confirmed the 42 story and TAS being the concrete contractor. He also said the mid rise office building next to it will start soon.

Amazing.  This development and general area is going to be special for Houston.

So it appears we have our first tenant announcement, but no mention on square footage of the lease...  hoping its sizeable.

Sino Biological out of Beijing, will be opening its 'Center for Bioprocessing' at Levit Green. Great to finally have a little momentum on this campus.

https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/602480783/sino-biological-announces-construction-of-its-new-us-based-center-for-bioprocessing

On 11/15/2022 at 2:04 PM, Houston19514 said:

It's absolutely a fair comparison.  Both are about supply getting ahead of demand, and a turning point in a market.  Add in that it appears this company (Wilson Capital) has built nothing remotely like this proposed building...

That was office; this is residential. That was the 80s downturn; this is (may be) the 2020s tech downturn/pullback;  That would have been the tallest building outside of NYC and Chicago; this "will be" (if it is built) the tallest all residential outside of NYC.

FWIW, not counting this new proposal, there is about a 16% increase in supply currently under construction in Austin (6% increase in supply expected to come on line in the second half of this year), coincident with at least some indications of developing softness in the office (and employment) market (see, e.g., Meta's backing out of huge space).

@Urbannizer this is a perfect explanation from @Houston19514on my comment.  I just don't see the new job creation that propelled this crazy development cycle to continue nearly at the rate its been, in the coming years.  Local job growth in tech was a primary driver for this boom and the ongoing pullback in the sector may have an impact on financing larger projects like this going forward. 

I'll be shocked if this breaks ground this cycle.  Putting this in the Bank of Southwest category.

Both concepts are dead, mainly due to the issues you've highlighted I'm told.

The good news (from a reliable source) is that both the former Cafe Sophie space and the larger space caddy corner from Brava should have some announcements soon..

I'm not sure on prospects for the former Etta space. I'd hope it wouldn't stay vacant for too long as that corner has a lot of potential for pedestrian activity..

I have no knowledge, but I would put all my money on this being the Buffalo Speedway site.  There are many bio-manufacturing companies already in the immediate area along Fannin and Kirby.  This is a no-brainer for all parties assuming they can agree to terms.

To be clear I really like Austin and always enjoy that part of TX, so none of my comments reflect a distaste for the city itself.  This is solely my opinion and I could be totally wrong, but tech is going to get smacked very hard and its already starting with many companies announcing layoffs, terrible quarterly earnings going forward (Look at what happened to the market after Snap, Inc. reported yesterday 🤨), slowing hiring, cutting capex, etc. + early-stage software/soft-tech capital is seriously contracting and that trend will continue for several verticals.  Investors/VCs are tightening their purse strings and will stop pouring tons of money into growth companies that they normally would hope to exit in a few years or ipo, those days (in this cycle) are over in many areas of tech.  I think Austin will continue to be a great place to visit and certain people will still want to move there for lifestyle, outdoors, etc. but the job market that propelled it to crazy growth over many years and especially during Covid is about to take a big hit as that's largely been tech-related and industries that are not in growth mode anymore. The city has gotten way too expensive for being located somewhere not on the ocean.

Maybe Tech companies will consolidate their bases to Austin more (reducing job losses) and not in Bay area/other tech hubs and that may change a lot of the above.  But I believe this growth is unsustainable and they have overbuilt themselves.  They've been growing rapidly for a long time and I just don't see why Austin will not be heavily impacted like many other cities in this bad storm approaching. If Google, Facebook, Apple, Indeed,  and others start announcing much larger layoffs in the next few quarters and many of them are in Central TX, we will know.

All that said, I'm generally biased towards Houston, which I'll always happily admit, and I believe we are entering our golden era and the capital + job growth that will flow here will draw a lot of the national attention to our city over Austin and Dallas (fingers crossed).  I view Houston as being the most booming city of this decade for a variety of reasons.

Long-winded, but this is a summary of my "cliff comment" and general thinking. 

I'm amazed this got off the ground, especially considering (IMHO), Austin's economy is about to fall off a cliff.  I'll be very interested to see how this does, but I genuinely could not imagine a worse time to be building a project of this scale in a market that is pretty tapped out and may be headed down in a hurry.  We shall see.

3 hours ago, hindesky said:

Associated Concrete Contractors worker I talked with said the concrete/rebar floors are done. Metal framing with smaller concrete floors from 8th floor up. He also said they got the contract to do 3 more jobs including the Fairfield Waugh and they should be starting in the next 3 months on some of them.

https://www.associatedconcretecontractors.com

 

Did he mention if Fairfield was one of the 3 starting in the next few months? Great reporting!

On 4/22/2022 at 12:12 PM, hindesky said:

Gastro gaming according to the Oche website.

https://oche.com

Architect - https://interiorarchitects.com

Eater article today on Oche.  The IG account for their Oslo location looks pretty sweet.  I'm hopeful Midtown's boom as neighborhood is right around the corner... 

https://houston.eater.com/2022/7/11/23203600/international-norway-darts-hall-oche-houston-midtown-openings

19 minutes ago, ChannelTwoNews said:

Is this that timber "boutique" office building that was announced a while back or is this a separate project?

Separate project. This will have a glass facade located along Allen Parkway.  Timber construction is still planned for the corner of W Dallas and Buffalo Park, as of now.

Glad to see this is public, a PR should be coming soon.  My understanding is the office component (~100k SF) is going on the former proposed 'RH' site across Buffalo Park Drive from Hanover AP. This and the new MF going up will be quite the construction site... The fencing around the central retail pods are coming down and the 'urban chic village' feel is really starting to take shape. 

Incredibly impressive destination for Houston and can't wait for restaurant/retail tenants to get underway.

1 hour ago, Fortune said:

Highland Village and River Oaks Shopping Center are two different developments. Kimco owns River Oaks Shopping Center and that is where the multiple high rises were planned. 

My understanding is there is a similar vision of more density for Highland Village, as are being currently planned for at River Oaks Shopping Center. I incorrectly mentioned Kimco as the owner of HV, which is the confusion.

51 minutes ago, iah77 said:

I was at first also but I think its better long term. I think RH is better where it is. It's much more accessible there to their "typical" customer and it should halt the decline of Highland Village to build a new flagship. I think Autry Park will have no problem finding more exciting tenants . 

I tend to agree.  I think an RH similar to the one they built in Dallas would do really well in Highland Village.  Along with the Lululemon destination store, it can really elevate Highland Village... especially with Kimco's vision to build multiple high rises there (assuming that is still the plan post-Weingarten acquisition).

Autry Park needs to land another Equinox or even better Equinox hotel flag since it appears the River Oaks District plans for one are dead.  Aside from a few on West Gray, there is not a high-end fitness club to service the growing population in this general area.  The access to the park and lifestyle this development is hoping to imbue, makes Autry Park an EXCELLENT location for another Equinox-branded project, in my opinion.  

21 hours ago, SMU1213 said:

I walked by Georgia James again today and it looked like they were having some sort of soft opening. 

I walked by there and spoke with them on Sunday.  Sunday evening was friends and family, soft opening is this week, grand opening next week.  

Correction:  Grand opening is this Friday!

https://www.chron.com/food/article/georgia-james-chris-shepherd-reopens-houston-17272233.php