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MarathonMan

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Everything posted by MarathonMan

  1. MarathonMan
    Looking at the renderings for this project, I wonder how they can, with a clean conscience, build so close to the Bayou. Less than a year after Harvey, I would suppose developers would design generous buffer zones between the water and their buildings. Maybe I’m missing something. Can anyone help me understand this?
  2. MarathonMan
    Another residential tower perched on a hulking parking vault. Ugh! ☹️
  3. MarathonMan
    Activity on The Greensheet building at McGowan and Main — 2 blocks north of the Caydon construction site. Are they gutting the inside to prepare it for demo (making way for The District?) or are they doing renovations?
  4. MarathonMan
    Is it just me, or does this building look really dated? Not good something that hasn’t been built yet.
  5. MarathonMan
    Only one block is fenced off. I’d say the other will lie vacant.
  6. MarathonMan
    Looks like no retail on this project. A shame, really. East of Main Street, Midtown is kind of a retail desert. Lots of non-profit homeless & no/low income services. Lots of single family residential development. But not one Starbucks. I look at Mid Main and the Post Midtown at Gray & Bagby (and, presumably, the Caydon high-rise, which IS East of Main — barely!)as great examples of how GFR can make a neighborhood come alive. Too bad some developers don’t develop for the long-term benefit and vibrancy of the neighborhood (Camden) but rather for their immediate ROI. Hopefully this development will be a catalyst for a Mid Main-type development or two deep into Eastern Midtown.
  7. MarathonMan
    Crawler crane is being assembled. More heavy equipment and workers are now on site. This project is ramping up quickly!
  8. MarathonMan
    I’d say around 30 floors. The Southmore is around 27. Aris Market Square is 32. I think La Colombe d’Or will be 33 or so. That seems to be their sweet spot in Houston.
  9. MarathonMan
    Truly, this will take a century to complete.
  10. MarathonMan
    I’m a little confused by all the Phase I/Phase II talk. I’m assuming Phase I is The Sovereign and Phase II is everything else, yes? If so, I see three new high rise residential towers coming. One at Tirrell and W Dallas, one directly south of The Sovereign and one just southwest of The Sovereign. In addition, there will be a high rise hotel at Dunlavy and Allen Pkwy a mid rise office tower at Tirrell and Allen Pkwy, and low rise residential and entertainment over the rest of the site. Based on the renderings, the development could be truly spectacular, — a slam dunk — especially being nestled next to the new Buffalo Bayou Park. It just needs to get done........
  11. MarathonMan
    I’m torn on this one. I like the infill..... but, boy this is NOT an attractive building based on the rendering.
  12. MarathonMan
    544’ and 621’ for District 1 and 2, respectively! Unprecedented for Houston residential development... I LIKE IT!
  13. MarathonMan
    I understand that we aren’t going to eliminate all the freeways adjacent to downtown. I’m not that naive. My argument was more general.
  14. MarathonMan
    I never said there was a NEED for Downtown and Midtown to integrate by removing the Pierce Elevated. Both districts will be fine if the Pierce stays. And I’m not naive enough to think that the Pierce is going anywhere anytime soon. I didn’t write anything to that effect. My point, to be clear, was that I think freeways in general create unfortunate physical, visual and psychological barriers between neighborhoods. When those barriers can be eliminated a city is better off. Vancouver, B.C., for instance, doesn’t do freeways near its core For this reason. Another example, Klyde Warren Park in Dallas (over the Woodall Rogers Fwy). That park is a great way to connect Uptown and Downtown Dallas. I may be wrong, but I bet you’d be hard pressed to find someone who thinks otherwise. So, yes, I would love to see Midtown and downtown Houston more connected someday. And I’d love to see I-45 gone between downtown and Buffalo Bayou Park. That would be transformational for the city!
  15. MarathonMan
    Jeez, I hope not! It’ll take them years! This developer is giving new meaning to the term “baby steps”. Well, this outfit and the one doing Dolce Midtown on W Gray.
  16. MarathonMan
    Whatever they’re doing, it’s not full-force construction work. There is only a skeleton crew there each day.
  17. MarathonMan
    Soil sampling this morning on the block just north of Caydon’s high rise construction site. Preparing for The District Tower I, possibly? For reference, this is the art supply store parking lot on the south side of Dennis between Main and Fannin. You can see Caydon’s tower crane and the nearly-complete Camden Midtown in the background.
  18. MarathonMan
    I haven’t seen any dirt hauled away. I think they’ve been shifting it, exposing pieces of the foundation from the old building. Maybe to yank them out?
  19. MarathonMan
    Both. I live in Midtown and I love spending time downtown. I also spend time in the Museum District/Hermann Park. I think that, once the Pierce Elevated is eliminated (fingers crossed!), the two districts will integrate. They’re both pedestrian-oriented and easy to navigate.
  20. MarathonMan
    I don’t think there’s been any discussion of converting the Fiesta. And I’d guess that most would agree that there isn’t much architectural significance to the Fiesta building. I’d wager that it comes down.
  21. MarathonMan
    True. Houston isn’t downtown New York or Chicago. But it has come a loooooong way in the past few years! It’s got the Convention District, Toyota Center, MMP, Theater District, Historic District, Buffalo Bayou Park. The two things it’s still lacking are residents and retail. But people are moving into downtown. And as more folks see all that it has to offer, more will continue to move here. The people will draw retail and the retail will draw more people. And so on and so on. Downtown will become an indisputable point of pride for the city and a true destination that visitors flock to.
  22. MarathonMan
    There was only one guy out there working the backhoe this morning. Definitely not a full crew. It makes me wonder what's actually going on here.
  23. MarathonMan
    Yes. This is, indeed, the top floor.
  24. MarathonMan
    I hope so. Time will tell what kind of cohesive, show-stopping final “district” grows from this starting point. I REALLY hope something spectacular happens, but Houston developers have such a track record of turning grand visions into mediocrity.
  25. MarathonMan
    I do hope you’re right. As it stands, though, I just don’t see that the architects/designers have much To work with.
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