houston-development

theniche speaks the truth, for better or for worse

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farb is at least 12 months away from ground breaking

hardy site is now up for sale

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if its on a really small site, it could be for scott morgan who does townhomes.

if its at least 2.5 acres, expect apartments to go up. on the positive side, they build luxury apartments that demand high rents.

no, the deal pachanga is talking about is further south from san felipe. gables recently purchased a +/- 5 a track from a larger site and will build an apartment complex. its between an animal clinic and a house on voss.

the deal that hizzy is speaking of is Gables 6464

I TOLD YOU ALL THEY WERE GIRLS!!! HAHA! THE GAY MAN WINS! >

until i see "her" goods, candice is still a dude in my opinion. in regards to crystal, i think she is indeed a she but would like to see proof just in case

i hereby nominate plastic as the greatest poster evr!!one!

Were those really man-hands? Those two girls perform in the Concrete Rose Cabaret at 1415 California may ACTUALLY be girls.

hmmm, very interesting. i dont want to take a chance of linking a "naughty" (could be considered not safe for work) site but if you take the establishment's name with www at the beginning and .com at the end...

Morgan will not sell, it is not in their business model. Should they, maybe...only time will tell. But it isn't going to happen.

huh?!? all morgan does is build and sell - they are merchant builders (i.e. they build with 100% intention to sell).

3000 sage? gone. memorial heights? gone. pin oak? gone.

the ONLY reason they havent sold smith st. is because of the garage lease with specs. while it is extremely successful compared to their original underwriting, it is almost impossible to underwrite based on their ask, the ground lease, and size of the deal (only 152-units).

I'm just telling you it's a widely held opinion, and only an opinion, that we aren't going to touch double digit long-term rates for a very long time. Of course, who knows what the future holds. I don't pretend to.

no one knows where interest rates are going to be in 3 - 5 years, im just saying condos are extremly intrest rate sensitive. historically when interest rates go up and the residential market becomes flat or depressed, the first thing to crash are condos. most condo buyers are doing 5 year arms and are banking on appreciation....

but as you said, thats a completely different subject and this post has gone far enough ot

"also, you will not see apartments being converted into condos in 3 - 5 years. those days are behind us"

And, in front of us. Who knows what interest rates will be doing in 3-5 years? I've got to imagine there will always be enough new money to come in and do condo conversions, depending on interest rates and the overall real estate market.

real estate is a constant, never ending cycle.

historically, when interest rates go up and the housing market becomes flat or becomes depressed, the first thing to get hit are condos.

i cannot predict the future but those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it in the future.

i did a quick search for the thread but was unable to find it. might as well update it here...

from a source that i consider extremely reliable, especially for this deal, the downtown park will have a ground breaking in august of this year. there could be a setback but they are moving forward without a doubt.

additionally, they will have a city-wide naming contest for the park.

finally, and more on topic, fingers deal will break ground shortly after the park does. finger has the option to purchase / lease adjacent land and will if phase 1 performs well. it will not be named the park tower because of a conflict with an existing building with the same name.

this message will self destruct in 5....4....

looks like it may get pushed back to the original groundbreaking timeline of october; however, they are busting their tails to get it done sooner. once they break ground on the park, finger will start construction.

based upon my sources, both will, without a doubt in my mind, happen.

They try to double dip, They will do rentals at the beginning while everything is brand new, then afer 3 to 5 years, you can bet they might sell them off for condos.

uh, you know morgan is a merchant builder and has never sold a houston deal to a converter, right?

also, you will not see apartments being converted into condos in 3 - 5 years. those days are behind us.

Once again, it's good to be the King.

probably more apartments

yeah, so, you got a problem with that?

fyi - tcr is building upscale apartments on the nw corner of murworth and main; where the old surrey house and grants palm court inn use to be. they paid about $35 psf and will get +/- $1.45 psf in rent.

this reminds me of a story back in early 2001. a banker friend was having his refrigerator repaired and was watching cnbc. the repairman, with pants half way down his butt, walked in and asked how the market was doing. my friend, in total disbelief, turned around and asked if he was actively in the market. the repair man said, "well every stock goes up, everyone is making money, and no one really knows anything. its just up, up, up. why wouldnt i just put everything i have into it and enjoy the ride like everyone else?"

at that moment, my friend knew a crash was inevitable.

with plastics post, another crash is inevitable.

The developers are desperate to get Tower Two financed at this point...they want to be able to build it simultaneously along with Tower One. They think that building Tower Two while they're trying to lease up Tower One will have an adverse effect on the apartments. I'd say that they're probably right.

...seems that the developers are trying to hawk every single unit in the tower all at once to an investment fund at such a low per-unit price that there'd be practically zero margins; possibly a bit below zero. They just want to get it off the ground that badly.

Sorry guys. Cannot name a source.

development fees are a good thing

Which threads? It was my understanding that the Westcreek project and this one (High Street) were separate, just near each other on Westheimer.

From the article, I would guess that the rendering is extremely preliminary - no more than a pencil sketch at this point. They are still firming up the components of the project.

you are correct. the two parties couldnt reach a deal so they are going to be seperate developments

i think this is the same deal as discussed in the hbj article from may 19th

linky

:in best keanu reeves voice:

whoa

a major road block will be the nimby'ers, who are extremely strong in that area.

while i know its a different animal, they were successful in preventing wood from developing a highrise. all the developer needs to do is piss off just one resident and everyone will pile on.

hi guys, this is scott gertner. i will give you the current scoop on 3400 montrose blvd. as i know it.....

there are rumors of the building being sold but at this point, noone has approached me about buying out my lease for the skybar location. as well, i own some townhome property that is part of the discussion above but all contracts have expired.....so......the skybar and townhomes are here to stay (for the moment).

i agree the building is in need of some updating by the landlords but there is no denying the skybar space that once was cody's amongst many others, is a timeless, magical, legendary venue that still has one of the best views in houston. just about everyone has passed through the doors at one time or another and for that i am very proud to own it.

that's it for now.............

wow, how random is that.

hey scott, if you dont mind, could you please tell us how many years you have left on your lease and if there is a clause for a buy out?

also, went to your sports bar on foutain view. i must say you did nice rehab from outback. i have fond memories from the big-assed-beer wednesday nights

Each tower has its own garage, plus some surface parking for retail.

which is exactly the way it should be

Hence, the refence to the long payback.

More retail equals more retail space

More retail space equals more choices for shoppers

More choices for shoppers attracts more shoppers

More shoppers need more parking spots

More parking spots can be achieved with more garages

More garages equal happy shoppers

Happy shoppers spend more money

More money equals happy tenants

Happy tenants equal lease renewals

Lease renewals equal happy owners

Happy owner raise leases!

See it is the circle of Life!

if life were so easy, you would be absolutely correct. so say it pays off 30 years down the road. how is the current owner going to justify that on a sale and recoop that investment only 2 or 3 years down the road? how is he going to convince a lender, under the same premise, to loan him the money today?

in theory and on paper are two completely different things

Think of how much more retail you can charge rent for, most shopping center don't charge for parking, especially in Houston. I am sure the payback is many years, but if they are building soemthing of good quality and is permanent, it should not matter.

let me start by saying retail is not my specialty, so im sorta talking out of my rear.

the village can get away with it because of their boutiqe-like setting. also, i think it's only $1.

parking garage construction prices have blown through the roof since then. today, i bet it would cost $5 - $10 no one in houston is going to pay that much, unless it comes with a valet stand.

in regards to passing it off to the tenant, again, i dont see how economically feasibile it would be. however, this would be better answered by someone other than me

Less parking lots and more garages please!

the cost difference between surface parking and a parking garage is astronomical. to build a garage, you are looking at +/- $10,000 a spot

that deal traded not too long ago for about $40 psf. nice flip i must say