wilcal
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Posts posted by wilcal
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It’s a move that signals an approach to urban planning and walkability. Currently between four and six lanes wide, Bagby Street, one of just a few two-way streets in downtown, will be reduced to between three and four vehicular lanes to allow for wider pedestrian walkways, a bicycle lane, beautification elements, and signature lighting.
This is great! This may hurt traffic a bit after theater shows, but they can deal with it imho.
Edit: Asked one of the planners on Twitter for a timeline, and he said 1 year for design and 2 years for construction.
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3 hours ago, Nate99 said:
- 59N isn't that bad, and its close to the airport.
I reverse commute to Humble and I can assure you it's the best highway in Houston
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Very exciting!
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Pitch25 says they are trying to open by the end of the month:
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Ummm...... WAT.
I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no way. Let me be clear, that this project is fascinating and I'd love to see it come to fruition.
First of all, most people don't want to boat on the San Jacinto River, much less on Lake Houston. There's debris everywhere and the lake sucks. There is a boat launch in River Grove Park right next to this, but still.
This would require radical changes to the streets in the area. It's in a really awkward spot to get in and out of the area for a major development. Even extending Woodland Hills over the river wouldn't help that much.
If the Kingwood area can't even attract a single luxury car manufacturer, how would they be able to uphold a crazy luxury home and commercial district like this? This looks like The Woodlands and I don't think Kingwood is up for this.
I'm sitting here just stunned this is even being presented.
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Menil Drawing Institute to open Nov. 3
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/article/Menil-Drawing-Institute-to-open-Nov-3-12876282.php-
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10 hours ago, MarathonMan said:
Drove by this site over the weekend. Didn’t get a picture, but construction is under way. They’re moving a lot of dirt!
Taken from the webcam above just now:
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4 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:
Is that the LSC EMCID?
They are one of several tenants. The building itself is owned/operated by the East Montgomery County Improvement District.
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On 3/28/2018 at 7:20 PM, Slick Vik said:
Interjet starting IAH-BJX June 22. There is huge demand here as United runs 4 flights a day.
Looks like initial fares are right at $300 RT while United is asking $638.
Interjet is also flying the Sukhoi Superjet on the route. They are one of the few north american airlines using the SSJ100 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Superjet_100
It holds 93 versus United's 4X daily service with EMB-175 aircraft which have 76 seats.
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This is one of the land clearing photos from their Twitter account. The green roof in the background is one of the EMCID buildings I marked them in the second pic with the star.
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3 hours ago, Twinsanity02 said:
According to wikipedia construction has started on segment H and I-1. Do not have any visual verification.
Looks like there is an official twitter account for the H&I segments here: https://twitter.com/sh99grandpkwy
It says that tree clearing started March 26 and another tweet April 10 said that it's continuing M-Sat 0700-1800.
They may have made it approx 1/2 mile in the first 2 weeks.
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I'm assuming this was in connection with Le Meridien?
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23 hours ago, Triton said:
Really curious how this is going to look. Sounds like a new bridge potentially over I-10? This is desperately needed... it's quite difficult biking from the Heights over to the park without having to share a lot of roads with traffic or taking a long route into downtown and back.
Edit: Ok cool... it appears to be H and J on this map. So they'll be going along the existing railroad tracks.
Had a mini panic attack/sadness because the two softball fields in the middle where the land bridge are have disappeared on the rendering, but then I saw that they added two more in the north end of the park.
I was so sad for a moment!
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Surely whoever buys this would renovate, right?
Is this lot really good enough to demo and build something else?
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3 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:
For that matter, when will the construction on Elgin between Main and Bagby be completed?
Seems like the only thing worse than the COH not starting a project is the COH starting a project.I live in Westmoreland, and I'm basically surrounded by construction with Elgin and W Alabama being torn up and now Tuam@Bagby being torn up. None of it looks close to being done. I'm assuming it's all sewer work.
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Much better article/press release here: http://memorialparkconservancy.org/latest-news/97-memorial-park-accelerates-visionary-plan-with-70-million-gift-from-kinder-foundation.html
QuoteKinder Foundation is offering a grant of $70 million to fast-track Memorial Park’s Master Plan, one of the nation’s largest and most visionary urban park restorations, led by Memorial Park Conservancy (MPC), Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD), and the Uptown Development Authority (UDA).
Today, a revised and restated Memorial Park Development Agreement was presented before the Quality of Life Committee of the City Council and is pending council approval. The planning partners outlined a private-public funding framework, built from Kinder Foundation’s lead gift, for developing a significant portion of the Master Plan within the next decade.
“With the City Council’s approval, this historic gift will enhance a park that draws users from all over Houston, boosts the city’s entire park system and help make Houston more flood-resilient,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “The Kinders’ past generosity to several signature Houston parks, along with this latest magnificent gesture, means their foundation is ever more a constant catalyst for health, recreation, community engagement, appreciation of nature, green space preservation and other quality-of-life factors that help make our city great. Let’s all applaud Kinder Foundation for its vision and commitment to making Memorial Park a treasured destination place for years to come.”
Kinder Foundation has been instrumental in Houston’s nationally recognized green space renaissance over the past ten years, gifting transformational grants that often serve as a catalyst for additional philanthropic and government funding, including Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Park, and Bayou Greenways 2020. Kinder Foundation’s $70 million lead gift to Memorial Park – the largest single parks grant in Houston history – resulted from conversations over a two-year period and specifically supports connectivity to and within the Bayou City’s largest urban park, Memorial Park.
“Memorial Park, one of the nation’s largest parks, is much-loved by Houstonians and requires ongoing maintenance,” states Rich Kinder, chairman, Kinder Foundation. “Our experience is that it takes a carefully designed public-private partnership to ensure that a park reaches its true potential. The partnership the Kinder Foundation has conceived with the City sets the stage for a more vibrant Memorial Park.”
Designated to complete priority projects over the next 10 years, as well as provide long-term care of these capital improvements and the overall park, Kinder Foundation’s gift is slightly more than half of the $125 million in private sector funding to be raised by MPC. Augmenting Kinder Foundation’s $70 million will be $15 million previously secured by MPC and $40 million in new donor commitments.
Kinder Foundation’s lead gift also leverages the potential for $30 million in federal support, alongside UDA’s $50 million investment for infrastructure improvements. With this restated agreement, HPARD will regain $600,000 in annual fees previously committed for green space maintenance and the Cullen Running Trails Center operations.
“We are thankful to the Kinder Foundation for their continuing support of parks throughout the city. The funds regained will be a catalyst for our ongoing Neighborhood Playground Initiative,” said Steve Wright, director, HPARD.
A sustainable, resilient urban center
Memorial Park is unique on a local and national scale because of its central location and size; at 1,500 acres, Houston’s largest green asset inside the city, is almost double the size of New York’s Central Park. Therefore, restoring, enhancing, and protecting the park’s natural environment, deployed through a science-based, data-driven method, serves as a nationwide model for urban forest and park renewal. The Central Connector also includes significant acreage of native prairie restoration. By promoting the park’s healthy ecologies and habitants, Memorial Park can sustainably balance conservation with recreational opportunity. Furthermore, subsequent ecological resiliency will help retain stormwater onsite and reduce erosion into Buffalo Bayou, while improved drainage will streamline emergency vehicle transit on Memorial Drive during major floods.
A city connected through Memorial Park
Projects completed as a result of this public-private partnership will connect neighborhoods to neighborhoods through Memorial Park, as well as attach Memorial Park to the growing hike-and-bike networks across Houston. Hundreds of acres of parkland currently inaccessible will become accessible, and urban barriers that isolate and segregate the park will be replaced with bridges and access points. An iconic central connector will be built over Memorial Drive.
Planned for national and international distinction, this unique nature bridge will connect the park’s north and south sides, providing safe crossing for all people and wildlife within a cohesive park experience of restored prairie and trails. Other additions include a trail/bridge system north over I-10, linking the White Oak Bayou Greenway trail system, and south over Buffalo Bayou; a 1.5-mile accessibility trail through the 600-acre wilderness on the south side; and other trails and crossings.
Sarah Newbery, project director for Memorial Park with UDA says, “Infrastructure plays a pivotal role in reconnecting Memorial Park’s contiguous acreage, while providing safe and easy access.”A park for all citizens
Today, Memorial Park serves 4 million users each year and draws residents from 170 zip codes across greater Houston. Thousands of visitors use the park’s signature exercise trail daily, and countless others enjoy its highly regarded 18-hole public golf course, tennis, swimming, cycling, 30 miles of trails, bird watching, and fitness facilities. Over the next decade, the 100-acre Eastern Glades project, already in progress, will add a large, quiet, and shady respite for picnicking, leisurely strolls, and other passive pastimes, and will feature a 5-acre lake and wetlands. Other developments include Memorial Groves, a tribute site that will honor Memorial Park’s original use as one of only 16 National Guard training camps for WWI soldiers; a running complex, with a quarter-mile timing track and concessions; replaced and rebuilt ball fields; and ancillary parking, restrooms, and signage.
“Our 10-year timeline reflects keen focus on connectivity to and through Memorial Park; resiliency through ecological renewal; and aesthetic and historic preservation, amid cultural and recreational amenities,” states Shellye Arnold, president and chief executive officer, MPC.
Memorial Park’s Master Plan
In 2012, amid collective concerns for Memorial Park’s increased traffic, lack of accessibility, and environmental decline, the City asked MPC to develop a long-range master plan for Memorial Park that became critical after Houston’s historic drought. The nationally acclaimed landscape architectural firm, Nelson Byrd Woltz, led the Master Plan’s design, incorporating vast public and stakeholder input as well as expert consults from ecological, biological and conservation scientists. Nelson Byrd Woltz achieves restoration, beautification and excellence through organic revitalization, indigenous design, integrity of historical intent, and stewardship of space – hallmarks desired for the park’s restoration – making them perfect partners to ensure Memorial Park’s sustainable future. Ecological restoration underpins the Master Plan, an area in which the design firm has significant experience.
Thomas L. Woltz, Principal, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects stated, “This is a rare opportunity to set Memorial Park on a more resilient course – to ensure longevity for the thousands of people using it every day; to create a rich and varied ecosystem that will enhance the user experience; and to envision and articulate the critical balance between intense use and preservation.”
The Master Plan was approved unanimously by Houston City Council in 2015. The Kinder Foundation gift will accelerate the impact of pledges from the Houston philanthropic community including The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Cullen Foundation, The Fondren Foundation, Wendy and Jeff Hines, Houston Endowment, Inc., Christopher Knapp in honor of the David M. Underwood Sr. family, The Wortham Foundation, Inc. and other generous foundations and individuals.
The value of green space
In the nation’s fourth largest and most diverse population, Houston’s parks, greenways, and public spaces serve a vital role as common ground, where people from disparate backgrounds and socio-economic stations naturally traverse. A growing national trend, ‘quality of green space’ has earned singular significance, with quality of life increasingly desired, and community health contingent on public space. Parks and greenways improve mobility, connectivity, and economic vitality, while providing a bucolic refuge from the stresses of urban life. As revealed in a City Parks Alliance 2018 video, “City Parks: Americas new Infrastructure,” activities in parks make people healthier; every dollar spent creating and maintaining trails offsets three dollars in healthcare expenses. Parks serve neighborhoods as gathering hubs and provide recreation and social interaction that may otherwise not exist.
Parks are for the people, so Houston’s extraordinary investment across philanthropic, government, and non-profit sectors improves quality of life in Houston for all walks of life.
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48 minutes ago, Triton said:
Hmmm... the article doesn't say that though:
Shows won't end at 9:30pm during school nights unless it's during this testing period.
They edited it! That would make more sense though.
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Holy Shit.
Kinder Foundation donates $70 million to fast-track the largest projects of the master plan.
QuoteCall them Mr. and Mrs. Green.
Super-philanthropists Nancy and Rich Kinder, who have already donated $106 million to various greenspace projects across Houston in the past decade or so, have offered the Memorial Park Conservancy a $70 million grant, the largest single parks gift in the city's history.
Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the proposed gift during a press briefing Wednesday before the conservancy was to present an amended agreement to its master plan to city council's quality of life committee. The matter will then proceed to full council for a vote next week
The Kinders' grant, through their Kinder Foundation, will be "top-loaded" to fast-track the largest, priority projects of a master plan designed by the landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz and approved by the city in 2015. The goal is to finish those projects within ten years.
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Settlement reached for outdoor shows:
40 shows/year with only 20 on school nights.
School night shows cut off at 930PM
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Stunning redesign. Can't wait for it.
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Chronicle's article is out:
QuoteA sweeping medical research campus being planned for 30 acres of Texas Medical Center land will establish Houston as an international hub for biomedical innovations and bring together four of the city’s powerhouse research institutions, officials said Monday afternoon.
The project, called TMC3, will be a collaboration between the TMC, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The project marks the first time the founding institutions have built and shared space on a major scale in the Medical Center, officials said during an event announcing new details about the ambitious health care and real estate project.
“The TMC3 campus will establish Houston as the Third Coast for life sciences, attracting the best scientific minds from around the globe,” Texas Medical Center President and CEO William McKeon said Monday. “With researchers working hand-in-hand alongside industry titans on this new campus, the Texas Medical Center as a whole will further advance its position as a preeminent global player in life sciences.”
McKeon was joined by Gov. Greg Abbott, Mayor Sylvester Turner and leaders from the participant health-care institutions at Third Coast, the upscale restaurant atop the John P. McGovern Commons building in the heart of the medical center.
The project, in the works since at least 2015, initially will include a $250 million research center with restaurants, bars, green space and an enormous plaza resembling a double helix, a nod to the medical description of a strand of DNA. The 3 in TMC3 is for “third coast.”
The so-called Helix building will span nearly the entire length of the 30 acres and comprise 125,000 square feet of collaborative research and lab space and another 125,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.
It will be topped with an elevated park with gardens and trails designed by New York’s High Line landscape architect James Corner. It will be open to the public.
The acreage is between Brays Bayou and Old Spanish Trail between Bertner Avenue and Cambridge.
The Helix structure will be funded in part by TMC and the institutions.
The Medical Center, which owns the land, now being used for parking, is providing $40 million for the project. The other four founding institutions will contribute $36.45 million.
Maureen and Jim Hackett, former Anadarko Petroleum CEO, will launch a philanthropic campaign to fund the park. The Hacketts recently gave $20 million to create a local mental health policy center.
Officials say that over time, each institution will have its own separate building and that private industry will also set up facilities there. Researchers, they say, will pioneer advancements in therapeutics, medical devices, regenerative medicine, genomics, and data science, among other areas.
The site could ultimately comprise 1.5 million square feet of building space.
The research facility will have a shared form of governance, with each institution representing one vote.
In addition to the Helix building, Los Angeles-based Majestic Realty will finance and build a 19-story hotel with 410 rooms and 50,000 square feet of conference space.
Decades-old TMC covenants prohibiting commercial space have been removed from the project to allow private businesses.
TMC officials expect construction on the Helix building to start next year with an opening slated for 2022. A request for proposals will be released to secure development and design firms.
A late 2017 economic impact study from Silverlode Consulting cited estimated annual impact of the project is $5.2 billion. The TMC cited the report but said it would not releasing the study publicly.
“The new 30-acre research campus will provide our top medical minds with the resources to remain at the forefront of the health care industry. This cutting-edge facility will not only generate thousands of jobs, but it will solidify Texas’ position as an international leader in biomedical research,” Gov. Greg Abbott said, thanking the founding institutions for being part of the project.
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From the author's twitter:
QuoteThe project has been in the works for years, but one thing to note outside of the new timeline details and financials ... TMC3 will have a 60-foot elevated park. By HBJ's internal calculations, that will be the largest hill in Houston.
lol
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The Texas Medical Center Corp., which operates the largest medical center in the world, has unveiled an updated timeline on its potentially $1.5 billion expansion for its newest campus.
Groundbreaking for TMC3, the new campus, is expected to begin in 2019 with completion slated for 2022. The collaborative research campus is expected to involve five founding institutions as medical centers across the world continue to seek collaboration between major corporations and research universities.
The new campus alone is expected to have a $5.2 billion impact on the city of Houston and create a projected 30,000 new jobs. The campus is located south of TMC's current footprint in what is now mostly a parking lot between Old Spanish Trail and South Braeswood Boulevard.
"This project itself, I think, is one of the most transformational things that will ever happen to the Texas Medical Center," said Bill McKeon, president and CEO of TMC. "This will really set the cornerstone of how we do things in the future."
A lead architect and developer have not been selected for the project, but TMC has been working with Gensler and Hines in the initial phases of the project.
The 30-acre campus is expected to include roughly a 1.5 million-square-foot shared research space among the founding institutions: TMC, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. It's a first time these institutions will have built and shared a space of this scale in the TMC.
TMC3's centerpiece, resembling the double helix shape of a DNA strand, will be a multi-story building across most of the 30-acre area. The structure is expected to feature core laboratories, restaurants, retail and commercial space. TMC reversed its land covenants, historically designating its property as a nonprofit sphere, to become a for-profit area similar to its innovation institute. The labs are expected to be dedicated to genomics, imaging, drug screening along with conference and educational space.
Another visible part of the campus expected to be built is the 60-foot-tall elevated park, which will be open to the public. The 18-acre park is planned to have gardens, walking and running trails and views of downtown Houston. Landscape architect James Corner, who designed the High Line in New York, will be designing the park.
Finally, the new campus will feature a 19-story TMC Hotel and Conference Center. The hotel is expected to have 410 rooms, and the conference center is planned to encompass 50,000 square feet. A flag has not been selected for the hotel, McKeon said.
"We've been approached by many major flags," McKeon said. "Our data shows we could go without a flag, which is pretty impressive. Or we may choose to go with one if we meet the right partner."
The financials
McKeon hesitates to slap a $1.5 billion price tag on the entire project as costs are expected to change between now and completion in 2022.
But here's the plan for costs, at least for now.
The cost for the collaborative $250 million helix, sitting at roughly $600 a square foot, is expected to be shared among TMC and its founding institutions. TMC is putting around $40 million into the project with each founding institution contributing about $36.45 million.
Outside of the helix, the individual buildings for each founding institution will be funded by that institutions themselves. TMC3's land is valued at roughly $120 million.
The hotel, which will be separate from the member institutions, is expected to be funded through a private developer and TMC through a ground lease. Majestic RealtyCo. is the developer and has been a part of projects such as LA Live, an entertainment complex in downtown Los Angeles.
TMC expects to complete its construction documents, in addition to hiring a development team, over the next 12 to 15 months. The project's financial close is expected to be November.
Why delayed
The long-awaited campus has faced delays for the project after executive turnover at several of the institutions involved.
Former TMC CEO Dr. Robert Robbins said in December 2016 that the project was expected to break ground in late 2017 or early 2018. But Robbins stepped down from his position in early 2017 and was replaced by McKeon, who formerly served as COO at the TMC. Other leadership changes included Dr. Ronald DePinho stepping down as president of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in March 2017.
"It was really more of those transitions that we really reset the table in the last six or eight months with all the new leaders in place," McKeon said. "That takes time. We would rather do this properly with all the right people around the table than do it just for speed."
Overall, TMC employs about 110,000 people and has a roughly $20 billion GDP.
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While it's a shame to potentially lose the Fiesta, we are gaining a Whole Foods like 10-12 blocks away and the museum district HEB about 1.5 miles to the south.
While density doesn't have enough demand at the moment, it'll likely be coming soon as midtown densifies more and it having a prime spot just one block from a light rail stop.
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Theater District Master Plan
in Downtown
Posted
Oops! Missed that. @Urbannizer Should this thread just go away?