MarathonMan

Nice looking rendering.  What are the odds it gets value-engineered into a Randal Davis monstrosity?

27 minutes ago, SMU1213 said:

Or because no one over the age of 30 wants to live in Midtown and people under the age of the 30 don't pay the rents necessary for a succesful highrise development. 

I think you’re spot on here.  Midtown needs to pivot from the bar scene that caters to the young party crowd to a more all-encompassing live/work/shop model that takes advantage of the street grid to create a very pedestrian lifestyle.  Everything you need within walking distance.  A much more stable, affluent population would migrate to the neighborhood.  Hopefully the Ion will be a catalyst for such a transformation!

On 6/25/2021 at 1:49 PM, hindesky said:

The curtain has come down on a portion of the south side exposing the brick.

I LOOOOOVE that this is brick and not stucco!   The small part that’s visible looks really good.  I’m excited to see more! 

Skanska does good work — I’m looking forward to seeing this one rise.  And it marks the final development immediately adjacent to Discovery Green!  No more surface parking lots flanking the park. 😊

I’d say the Greyhound Station plus the inordinate number of homeless/poor outreach organizations plus the high crime rate associated with the nightclub scene all induce a little fear in people when it comes to investing in Midtown.  It’s also not a good look when you’ve regularly got drug pushers setting up shop a block away from Drewery Place.  It dulls the shine of a nice, new development.  All combined, this stunts the growth of the area.

Oh, one more thing:  Midtown has been in the process of upgrading Caroline Street to bolster the east-of-Main part of the neighborhood —for the past FIVE YEARS!  The street is torn up and looks awful.  Time and again this neighborhood has proven it is horrible at executing development/upgrade projects!

Shouldn’t the cost of holding a building vacant spur SOME kind of action by the owner?  Either sell or renovate/repurpose?  Seems crazy to pay taxes and maintenance costs on an asset that generates no income.  With the glut of vacant office space in the city, flipping to residential seems logical.

Quick question:  Are these mock-ups required to be displayed?  If so, why?

5 hours ago, SMU1213 said:

ApartmentData has them at 53% occupied and the Travis at 39% occupied. Based on what I can tell from the occupancy schedule on the website, Drewery opended in July '19 and The Travis opened in April '20. 

For comparison, Apartment Data has The Driscoll and Colombe D'or both opened in August '20 and are 60% occupied 45% occupied respectively. 

 

Drewery Place and The Travis are obviously struggling relative to comparable properties in other neighborhoods.  Do you think it’s a marketing failure or is Midtown just less desirable?  I can’t help but think it’s a Midtown problem.  I wonder if the recent surge in crime/shootings, the Greyhound Depot dilemma and the sheer volume of homeless people have many steering clear of Midtown altogether.  

I’m completely confused.  Seems as though Caydon is dumping and running, but the Realty News Report article says they’re about to start the Fitzroy?  Really?  After foreclosure?  All of the on-site promotional banners for Fitzroy/Kimpton came down last weekend (replaced by graffiti - yay!) and everything online indicates the development is defunct.  Unless I’m missing something, whoever researched this article did a horrible job fact-checking.

2 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

who designed this thing?  Were they playing the lets use one of each glass type possible drinking game?

I have to agree that the color scheme isn’t cohesive.  The finished product is quite different from the rendering.

3 hours ago, hindesky said:

Great news!!!  Anyone know how condo sales are going for this?  It seems like Houston is slow to embrace high-rise condo living.

Ugh.  Another self storage facility.  The vast number of these, Mattress Firms and ER centers in this town will forever baffle me.

Heard from a friend who works for Midtown Management District that the Fitzroy/Kimpton tower will be delayed again. . . until 2022.  Anyone else hear anything to that effect?

3 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

A couple of questions:  Is this project going up in phases or is it all going up at once?  Also, given that construction under way, is it safe to assume that the renderings on the fence are final and will be realized?  The hotel is beautiful!

On 1/13/2021 at 12:19 PM, Triton said:

If we are going to have all these major developments along Westheimer, then it seems clear to me that Westheimer is clearly due for reconstruction now. The road is in horrible shape.

I’ve never driven down a stretch of road with more narrow lanes.  Any time there’s heavy traffic I’m white-knuckling the steering wheel.  Reconstruction would be soooooooo nice!

16 minutes ago, HNathoo said:

Wow. Two midtown locations? 

Where is the other Midtown location?  I know of Montrose, Med Center and Downtown locations.  

2 hours ago, Avossos said:

Btw - from my view, the floor they are working on has a much taller ceiling. I wonder if this is the last inhabitable floor or if they are still going up...

I think it’s the last full floor.  Only the crown left.

12 hours ago, Bassclef said:

Do you all really think this is going to happen?

Yep.

1 hour ago, Big E said:

 

So, if I'm reading this right, there is still a third structure, its just behind the tallest building.

Sort of. . .  The “10 story building” in back is a parking garage with a ballroom on the top floor.  

$33 million on a project for which construction hasn’t started and with a completion date five months away.  That’s a tight timeline!

Very beige.

Those would have been SOOOOOOOO cool!