Jump to content

houston-development

Full Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    554

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by houston-development

  1. houston-development
    editor is correct, it was the lord & taylor space. simon spoke to a couple of developers several years ago but couldnt make a deal work.
  2. houston-development
    nothing is going to happen anytime soon, regardless of how "irreplaceable" a site may be. no developer wants to put up 30 - 40%, extremely tough underwriting, and take full recourse on a loan... sad thing is that's best case if they can find one.
  3. houston-development
    or kjb is talking about the hisd site on taft and w gray. edited to add link.
  4. houston-development
    i would be absolutely shocked if hanover starts construction in six months. anticipate a two to three year delay. however, if the economy comes roaring back, this could change. hanover is completely changing their business plan. unfortunately, im not at liberty to discuss the specifics but will say that developing highrises, going forward, are doubtful in the near future.
  5. houston-development
    i can confirm this in regards to hanover. dont expect their tower to be built anytime soon.. i would consider it postponed indefinitely rather than slightly.
  6. houston-development
    some excerpts from the proposed contract, provided by sellers a month ago:
  7. houston-development
    disclaimer: some people may not like what i'm about to post. if you live there, know someone that lives there, or have very strong sympathetic emotions for the residents, please either don't read futher or lash out at me. just my $0.02 most of the owners knew the property was seriously in need for major repairs. this isn't something that recently came up, it's been known for years. to their credit, it is VERY difficult and time consuming to get everyone on board to sell. they were able to get majority approval to sell based upon the economics of renovation and bringing the building up to code. again, that was an accomplishment. on the other hand, knowing how bad things were, they shouldn't have strung this out as long as they did. some/most/all were convinced that they could make some really good money on the transaction and didn't even think twice what could happen if the city came in for an inspection. who's fault is that? well, i have my thoughts and will keep them to myself as to not offend anyone. additionally, the residents knew the city was coming in due to notices placed on their doors last month: ironically, the brokers requested best and final bids the day afterwards. coincidence??!? regardless, onus falls with the homeowners. sure, they can complain to the media, try and generate sympathy, but i ain't buying it because i know greed when i see it. one theory i have (which is purely speculation) is that the owners jaded a prospective buyer and they went to the city inspectors. personally, i think it makes some-what economic sense around $70 psf but someone will probably come in around $80. hypothetically if i had the deal under contract at $80 and saw this news, bet your bottom dollar i would be retrading the deal in a heartbeat. if they got their act together a year ago, which is what they should have done in hindsight, this deal would have easily traded for $90+ psf. nothing personal, just business.
  8. houston-development
    all i can really say is there may be a change of plans...
  9. houston-development
    really? i heard 2 months ago less than 50 sold (ie funded and closed). glad to hear sales are coming along. best of luck to your staff.
  10. houston-development
    think that is the case but i could be wrong.
  11. houston-development
    for example, morgan's 2222 smith deal. they leased the parking garage land from specs (50 years, i think). they believe once the lease is up, midtown parking requirements will vanish, and there will not be a need to renegotiate a lease with specs. or at least that's what they tell perspective buyers.
  12. houston-development
    HA! that actually made me chuckle out loud.
  13. houston-development
    they are putting up a chain fence around the super block today. dont know whats going on nor have i heard anything. maybe the city made them do it.. maybe they are finally moving forward..
  14. houston-development
    and if my aunt edna had balls, i garuntee (sic) he would be called uncle ed. sorry, couldnt resist. tgif
  15. houston-development
    original plans had apartments and condos abutting each other.
  16. houston-development
    what?!?! you mean to tell me that they wont make $100MM+ loans by snapping their fingers?!? well, that's just absurd if you ask me.
  17. houston-development
    if that is the case, bpe has my sincere apologies. it was similar writing style and broad generalizations. again, if it wasn't him, im sorry for making that assumption. ps - i, like ricco, am proud of my jackassedness but only to the appropriate parties.
  18. houston-development
    what?!?! seriously, stop. if you don't understand underwriting, please, don't act like you do. and let's not go back into the debate of economics because i already wasted enough time trying to explain things to you. had you been a tad more receptive back then, probably would be happy to elaborate.
  19. houston-development
    since when did people in our profession start calling 4-story stick product a midrise? geeze, next thing you know people are going to start over-using the term "luxury living", even for C product. ooops, too late, they already do... thanks for the pic. i drove by there on tuesday evening and nothing was there, so that must have gone up afterwards.
  20. houston-development
    i think that billboard is the same one he had up before (for information, please call..) they knocked down the fence. hes planning on breaking ground in the next 60-days and allegedly has financing. and its not a midrise, its 4-story wrapped around a parking garage with 2 out-parcels that will be connected via sky bridges.
  21. houston-development
    think the strategy was mentioned here before. its been their back up plan for a while to protect the city from a possible lawsuit.
  22. houston-development
    the niche is correct. i figured it was a given but guess some people need further explination. and for clarification, i never disputed an interest level but at the end of the day, interest means squat; its all about who can perform. just because there was almost 30 offers on bayou park (or whatever its called) doesnt mean they all were in line with what the seller wanted. im positive ARA encouraged offers, regardless of price, just to say "hey, look how many offers we got on this asset while the capital markets are in the crapper. horray for us!". berkshire went in with the intention to run the apartments as is with the possibility to either renovate or redevelop. they probably put up more than 30% and made a deal with their lender that if they decide to redevelop, they get the financing. in the meantime, the property is cash-flowing and the lender is happy. for an example about "interest level", there was a lot of interest in shriners. however, some prices came in $20 psf below the winning bid. and my information isnt from a friend of a friend of a friend nor what was printed in the paper; i saw john mcdonald and john olivarri opening the bids with my own two eyes. as for astroworld, that happened a couple of years ago and would be willing to bet the same buyer could not perform in todays market. finally regarding the dubia deal on richmond and post oak, again, i would be willing to bet they put up significant equity to appease their lender. they have a crap load of cash and wouldnt be surprised if they put up 50%. in conclusion, big deals are still happening. lenders, equity players, and GPs can make deals work across the nation. however, the frequency of these types of deals actually closing is significantly less than before. there has to be a great story, soild numbers, and more importantly, the buyer has to be more than capable to perform. developers today have to put their money where their mouth is more than before. doesnt mean deals arent going to happen, just significantly harder. because of archstone's cost basis in this deal is so unique, they can make the deal work while others cant. whew.
  23. houston-development
    and i stand by my statement. if there were capable and willing buyers, the deal would have sold because its been officially/unofficially on the market for a looong time. another developer could not purchase the site with intention of redevelopment because their numbers will not pencil out. but since archstone's cost basis is so low, they can knock down 12-year old product and redevelop the site. which, what do you know, takes us full circle.... funny how that happens sometimes, eh? having said that. maybe the announcement will give other developers a new outlook on the site and make archstone an offer they cant refuse. unlikely but in theory, could happen.
  24. houston-development
    your example is comparing apples to oranges but as you said, we can just agree to disagree on how you view the economics of the deal. good luck on your sale.
  25. houston-development
    im sorry but i dont follow your logic. how are they paying market price for the dirt? they purchased the land for about $10, their rents have increased close to 50% (im guessing their original underwriting was for mid $0.80 psf), its inferior construction that no way cost more than $50k/unit to build, and the occupancy has consistantly been over 95%. assuming they just do one refi and they cash out all of their equity (and then some [understatement]) out of the deal. thats a developer's wet dream right there. as for thinking there isnt a big difference between $50MM and $100MM on a land play, well, i know many lenders and equity players that would strongly disagree with you.
×
×
  • Create New...