CaptainJilliams

Beautiful! That'll be some much-needed infill as well.

Found a rendering:

I drove by the Interpose site today and noticed the former Cash America Pawn at the corner of Washington Ave and Durham Drive (SW Corner) had a notice of variance sign. It also looked like some light demo work had been taking place since the roof had been removed. I didn't get the chance to take a picture of the sign, but it said "Bottled Blonde Houston."

I did some digging and found Eater wrote on article on it in December:

https://houston.eater.com/2018/12/13/18138907/bottled-blonde-washington-avenue-houston-opening

Not sure if a thread has already been started, but I thought I'd post an update that there is progress on the site.

18 minutes ago, DrLan34 said:

 

What is the steel frame development on the left in your first picture?

That development is being discussed here: 

28 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Demolition has started on the western portion of the lot.

Finally! I drive past the site everyday and was wondering what took so long for the demo to continue. That equipment was on site for almost 2 weeks.

They need to just tear down that strip of buildings along W Alabama. With the Hanover going up behind the site, they're sticking out like a sore thumb.

Just went shopping at that target a couple days ago, looks like they've completed several noticeable improvements inside.

They've removed the logo outside and have banners hanging on the exterior saying they are remodeling, so it looks like it will be a thorough renovation outside and inside.

Drove by the site again today. Demo work has begun.

From what I could see, the western portion of the lot had been dug up. Looked like they were getting ready to tear down the structure on the eastern end.

Awesome looking tower, I hope it gets built!

Finally saw some activity on this site driving home from work.

Looks like they have a digger out along N Durham. 

Haven’t had the time with the holidays to really get some pictures, but a lot has been happening.

They have already started putting the new siding up and you can see the design really start to take shape. I’m liking it with the minor nitpick being the color. If they keep it how it is, it’s fine, but I’m hoping they paint it white or a lighter shade.

28 minutes ago, Luminare said:

 

While sometimes this city puts business/development first to a fault, I rather take that then what is going on in San Fran, for example, where they can't build anything at all because of NIMBY's and the "cult" of preservation.

Speaking of the "cult of preservation", I found this video that was posted over on the Nashville development forums, explains the current crisis they and some other places are going through: 

^ Thank you! Never got a chance to go back and see the final product.

Chronicle article with new renderings of the project: 

https://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/article/Developer-announces-new-details-for-Katy-13474508.php#item-85307-tbla-5

Awesome!

33 minutes ago, thatguysly said:

 

I will gladly buy a bus ticket for you to go somewhere else so we can keep people like you out of Houston and make it a better city.

Exactly. There's no problem with expressing your opinion, but constant negativity and little to no constructive conversation becomes annoying very quickly. 

No city is perfect, anywhere you go there will always be good and bad things about the place you call home. One of the worst things you can do is complain about the bad and remain inactive, whether in action or ideas.

But in saying all this, the best way to deal with these people is to just ignore them. Don't feed stupidity. 

56 minutes ago, swtsig said:

 

from what i can tell updated renderings haven't been produced yet but the distinctive staggered/offset design is being done away with. knowing that, it's probably safe to assume that additional exterior design elements will also be value-engineered.

 

 

there's a pervasive attitude amongst many houston developers (particularly this one) that the exterior of a building matters little, at least relative to the interior. certainly there's some merit to that, especially in residential buildings, but that attitude seems to get amplified here compared to other major cities.

 

That's a shame. That plot of land will still benefit from infill and it's good news to hear things seem to be moving forward, but I'm definitely concerned with how it will look now. Hopefully, they provide updated renderings come the time that leasing office opens.

57 minutes ago, swtsig said:

Not to be a Debbie downer but I’ve heard that the distinctive condo/hotel tower will be significantly value engineered. IOW, expect this one to get the infamous “houston developer” treatment. 

So does that mean that:

(1) We will see a shorter/redesigned version of the tower or

(2) Cheaper materials will be used or

(3) All of the above?

I wish there was a rendering or something of what's going up on this site!

Either way, exciting to see the steel go up so quickly.

2 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

I hope that they make it an urban Target.

 

well, at least I can hope.

^ This. Yes please.

4 minutes ago, Skyboxdweller said:

Demolition fencing going in today;.

*inserts "It's Happening!" gif*

1 hour ago, BlindTiger said:

 

So this is confirmed a leasing office?

I don't think anyone has confirmed yet, but it almost certainly looks like a leasing office.

36 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Damn that sucks. Let's just hope they reopen. 

The article ended on a hopeful note saying the owners plan to reopen sometime "next year". But that's about as vague as it gets.

A fair argument for sure. A lot of it does come down to location and convenience, but at the end of the day, the only way these food venues can do business is if customers value the food more than they value their money. Time will only tell how successful Finn is.

I'll have to swing by sometime this weekend and see for myself.  

Swamplot article with new images of the concrete base:

http://swamplot.com/a-first-concrete-step-toward-building-that-mixed-use-complex-at-allen-pkwy-and-gillette-st/2018-12-05/

At least there's some activity on the site.