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X.R.

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  1. X.R.
    I agree with Luminare, you can be skeptical about this project. But I think you would need to temper that skepticism with this thought: Rice and its endowment wouldn't pour 100 million down the drain. They are jumping at the chance to be the first ones to really take control of Houston's tech scene. If you go to their campus, and just walk around, you realize they sit right next to parts of TMC, which I know allowed my friends, who were rice students, direct access to these medical institutions/research facilities for opportunities like summer jobs/internships, and potentially employment/residency after they graduated from Rice. Rice is now seemingly doing the same thing with Houston's tech scene. They get to control the two blocks around the burgeoning tech scene at their ion? Imagine the opportunities for their students. Its a calculated risk. At worst, it becomes a glorified WeWorks for Tech companies. Which is still waaaaay better than anything else Houston has right now. The writer of that article, as Luminare points out, thinks this should be in Montrose or Uptown. She believes the "build it and they will come" mantra is invalid because that area of Midtown is not dense enough. The writer, and the people interviewed keep pointing out that the Ion is next to a jack in the box, in an attempt to say that there aren't viable dining options or a gym or bars around it. Yes, there is a jack in the box. But two blocks down there will be a Whole Foods (coming Q1 2020!). And one train stop down you have: 5 bars, a great sushi place with a conveyor belt (4+ stars on yelp!), an actually pretty traditional chinese restuarant, and a vietnamese restaurant. Then if you walk a block or two past that the vietnamese place you hit 24 hour fitness, and that whole block of places like Jinya Ramen, and Piola Pizza. The Ion has the things the writer believes should be around it, but she fails to give Midtown, and the Ion, a chance. I hope Pt. II of that article is the argument for it succeeding!
  2. X.R.
    Theres a banner up saying "award winning sushi restuarant and bar" is moving in, and they also put up a sign some kind of fitness looking place is moving in. Have they already said what places are going to be on the ground floor?
  3. X.R.
    Seems like they were putting the finishing touches on stuff today. The parking lot has the lines drawn already and they were going around removing some of the construction equipment. Some of the workers were putting up the open hours signage at the front door. Looks like they are going to be ready to be open starting Saturday morning. I had my doubts about the look of the museum, but it really came together very nicely. The slope is quite dramatic in person, and the outdoor seating area looks great.
  4. X.R.
    I never realized those were basically telephone poles. Mind. Blown. Lights are coming on downstairs in the building, but I don't know if they are gonna make their July deadline. If they somehow do it, is there a HAIF star for non-delayed projects that can be given to them? 😂
  5. X.R.
    Its smart by WF to hold of a bit, until the Pearl and the other two projects in midtown get closer to completion and gaining leasees. A robust and already established customer-base right there. But it kind of sucks for everyone else, including the Pearl since the big selling point (to me) is that you can do your grocery shopping where you live.
  6. X.R.
    ^ That first photo is a HAIF wet dream: the destruction of a parking garage to build a 46 floor tower in the background, a 47 floor development going up in the foreground. Great shot.
  7. X.R.
    Most of that stuff in the corner is just the incredible amount of shit they have dragged out from the inside. As Luminaire said, its a tiny demo that they are doing on the backside near the bay. In the mornings for the past week they've closed Wheeler down to one lane to accommodate whatever it is they are doing: moving the junk to the trash, demoing part of the back area walls, or loading stuff into the building through the demo'd walls. Seems like they are working on wiring or something cause there are men and women standing on ladders on the second floor looking into the (now) uncovered ceiling. Also, the comments in that reddit thread are gold.
  8. X.R.
    Yeah, was just thinking that the other day. If you count all the apartments by Hermann Park, and then just keep going North, its becoming pretty dense, what with the Southmore and the new million dollar Condos that are right next to it. Wish more food/drinks stuff would open. Thaaaaat said, we gotta support the jewel that is Lucille's. And Java Lava Brew cause theres nothing quite like it in the neighborhood as of now.
  9. X.R.
    Five towers? Who even has enough money to build five towers/buildings? This guy has more faith in Midtown than probably half the people on this forum. If this even gets to a completed phase II, and lets say he forgoes the last two buildings, this is still a massively transformative project for that space. And they are close to the "innovation district" so lets say some techie wants to stay at a hotel close by, its going to be his hotel. They want to go to retail? Its probably his shops. I'm excited, don't take me wrong, but I almost can't believe that they are proceeding with Phase II with as much gusto as that article states. Its almost like Midtown won some kind of lottery.
  10. X.R.
    That’s what they get for moving so slow!
  11. X.R.
    Anyone heard anything about this? Wasn't this part of the 50 miles of bike lanes they were supposed to have started on by now? I rode Austin the other day and didn't see anything except signs for a bike route, but those have been there...
  12. X.R.
    Drove by on my bike yesterday, and stopped to look around and was approached by a crew member to make sure I wasnt just hanging around, lol. Asked him how they were doing, he said they are racing for the June 22nd opening to not only be on time, but they seem to be having some kind of soft opening event the Sunday before, so the 16th. Once they finish, he mentioned that some of the crew are staying in the area, so I assume he meant going to work on the Art Museum expansion (same construction company).
  13. X.R.
    Drive by this every day, and since it stopped raining their large construction crews have been at it every day, from when I leave for work to when I come back. It seemed like they have slowed down on knocking out the bricks on the windows, and stopped dragging stuff out from inside and onto the parking lot. A lot of new steel/metal being brought inside. The wonders of having an endowment with enough money to keep stuff on schedule...
  14. X.R.
    For the local folks, I think that WF is gonna get a looot of traffic from the Montrose people right across the highway. Its a 5-6 min walk for all those people living in the apartments in Montrose on W. Alabama. If its get a lunch crowd, and/or maintains a steady dose of people, I can see other "health" oriented businesses moving close by to take advantage of people walking to and from. Hell, Turkey Leg Hut isn't even healthy but their success on Almeda is causing so much overflow that you've had healthy food/retail pop ups on the weekends, foot traffic is nuts. I can see something similar happening with this WF.
  15. X.R.
    If you spend time in downtown during M-Th from 6pm-10pm, you can see that people are using the streets and walking around but its joggers and people walking to go sit indoors at a bar. So people are moving in and occupying spaces. I think the "wall" is that other than the bars and random experience stuff, theres not much reason to be outside/push a person to move to downtown. At least Midtown has a smattering of parks and outside-friendly bars. That southern park can't come soon enough. If you're living at skyhouse, its kind of a walk to get to discovery green. Midtown on the other hand has people walking to the grocery stores and to do Zumba at the park and stuff. Its a weird contrast for sure.
  16. X.R.
    The speed of this project is kind of insane when compared to other office buildings/apartments that are going up. Every other set of pictures is either depicting a new floor or the support pillar going make its way above the new floor. If they have the same timeline for the Preston...Hine might want to take some contracts in China to see if they can give them a run for their money. 😂
  17. X.R.
    From their FB page, if no one has posted it yet: Gonna be reaaaal interesting to see how busy that WF gets. WF is generally too expensive for my blood, but their hot food to go can be had for under 10 dollars a plate, which would make it a decent option for a quick dinner or something. I wonder if the foot traffic in that area will expand or not.
  18. X.R.
    Well, it looks like the architect finally has a plan. Think it looks great but the sidewalk seems a bit skinny. Also, tbh, there's been a lot of rain lately and this is the first uninterrupted stretch of non-wet weather that Houston has had in a bit. We'll probably see more work done in the next weeks than had been done in the last two months. Also, disagree with whomever mentioned that developments on Main/in the area would have happened anyway without the rail. A friend who used to do commercial development at Caydon said the rail was one of the larger selling points for them when assessing potential appreciation of the physical asset. Edit: And if I may, I've talked to quite a few commercial real estate friends who work for larger companies here in Houston specifically about Midtown/Downtown/Washington (cause thats where all their apartments are) and the Midtown consensus seems to be: The rail is cool but on its own probably would just gotten you more bars/experience type stuff (escape rooms, spas, nail salons). Its Camden/Caydon that, in their words, that is potentially transformative to the area because one is creating a family space and the other is bringing further planned development, and both are bringing massive amounts of tenants. But for both developers, they were drawn in by the rail. Rice's Ion seems to just be icing on the cake, because their firms don't know what that'll mean for that area. Sorry for the length, its just strange for people to say things like the rail doesn't matter. Just talk to developers in town.
  19. X.R.
    I've always wondered what that plot of trees was for. You can currently ride a bike or jog through it, but no one is ever over there, other than maybe coming out of that building. You might see a jogger or two making their way back to TMC. This would resolve the common complaint I hear from friends/family who come to the park, that there isn't anywhere to really let the dogs loose. Very mindful/thoughtful of HPC!
  20. X.R.
    New Development on the McKee and Hardy road going North out of Downtown. Slow, but steady work on these pike paths is happening. The armadillos are coming soon, apparently.
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