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Lux

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  1. Lux
    Austin would tokenize the $teak and make you feel dumb for not understanding the paradigm shift. https://steak.network
  2. Lux
    https://www.texasstandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Texas_BioTech_Triangle_01102022.mp3
  3. Lux
    Yep. The old south extension lots were not VA lots. To the best of my knowledge, all VA lots reside east of Cambridge. With that being said, I like that the Chron editorial board is an advocate for this transformative project.
  4. Lux
    Editorial: Houston's future is rising out of a VA hospital parking lot The Editorial Board Updated: Jan. 3, 2022 6:13 a.m. Imagine a scientist, a doctor and a venture capitalist strolling into a Houston bar in the heart of the Texas Medical Center. They trade gossip and jokes over drinks until some offhand comment leads to an idea for the next lifesaving technology. On a table napkin, they sketch out a plan to prove that the technology works, testing it with volunteers from our diverse patient population so they can launch Houston’s next billion-dollar company. Sound like a joke? Maybe. There certainly isn’t any bar like that now at the center of Houston’s giant medical center. And even if there was, few would probably be walking to it. Whether sidewalks or bridges or tunnels, pathways at the TMC are a notoriously confusing labyrinth. And, finally, the venture capitalist? TMC bylaws ban for-profit companies. For all of Houston’s many medical world superlatives — and in terms of sheer size,the TMC is the largest medical research center in the world — it lags other hubs when it comes to launching billion-dollar start ups. At long last, however, that could be changing. A new development called TMC3 that broke ground in September should help reposition Houston, and allow us to stop leaving the big money on the table. The master plan includes 5 million square feet of buildings with restaurants and shops on the first floors, organized around a series of parks resembling the double helix of a DNA molecule. The architect planning this new venture is David Manfredi, the founding principal of the firm hired by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 to enliven Kendall Square in Cambridge, hailed as the iconic innovation district by the Brookings Institution in its report on the new geography of innovation. Kendall Square has incubated some of the most successful biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in America. Among them is Moderna, the company that developed a lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna began as a partnership of Harvard professors and an entrepreneur at a biotech “venture studio.” The proximity of scientists and venture capital was critical to translating mRNA technology into our best defense against the pandemic. What about Pfizer? Their Cambridge research spaces are in Kendall Square, too. What’s so magical about this place? In addition to bringing together many different educational, research and business enterprises, Kendall Square is hip. When the scientists aren’t experimenting on rats and the financiers tire of working their spreadsheets, they can relax together at parks, cafes, restaurants and bars. Manfredi told the editorial board he knew he had succeeded when his three daughters made plans to go to Kendall Square and he wasn’t invited. Houston’s efforts to recreate that kind of atmosphere are exciting, but success is anything but guaranteed. A medical center built up over more than seven decades won’t change quickly. Its own fascinating backstory reveals why change will be hard. Back in 1943, Houston sold a 134-acre forested section of Hermann Park to the MD Anderson Foundation. With this land and funds from the foundation as as a local match, city leaders convinced Texas lawmakers to choose Houston as the site of the state’s first cancer center. Baylor College of Medicine relocated from Dallas as well and, in 1945, the Texas Medical Center was born. TMC manages the land, doling out pieces to 61 nonprofit member institutions that include Houston Methodist, St. Luke’s, Memorial Hermann, Texas Children’s Hospital, Ben Taub and others. The high-rises we see today didn’t come about all at once. Initially, low-slung buildings spread out among the trees and along streets laid out like those of a gated neighborhood. As each institution grew, TMC allotted more parcels of land and built up parking garages. Each big institution established its own fiefdom. The overall result is a district with the scale and crowds of a big city but without the interconnectedness that makes urban areas work best. Things have begun to change, however, and in 2013 TMC hired William McKeon as its new president and CEO. He had background in working with biotech companies and he soon made plans to throw for-profit firms into the mix. In 2014, the TMCx start-up accelerator launched in a repurposed Nabisco factory. Then, instead of allotting land to each of the TMC’s member institutions individually, he convinced them and commercial life sciences companies to commit to a master-planned innovation district on what was a set of giant surface parking for the Veterans Affairs hospital. He also created an exception to the ban on for-profit corporations. After an initial design by Gensler that envisioned the double helix, TMC brought on Manfredi, thanks largely to his experience improving Kendall Square. The master plan calls for a radically transformed urban space where innovation, life-saving science and potentially billion-dollar developments all coexist. But to reach its full potential for transforming Houston, it will have to be more than just a successful island of urban life in the midst of a mess of parking, apartment, office and hospital buildings. That’s where the city, county and TMC must all play their roles in stitching together the surrounding urban fabric, connecting them to transit and Brays Bayou paths. The $1.8 billion first phase of construction is well underway and will include 950,000 square feet of research space, a hotel with upward of 500 rooms and 65,000 square-feet of conference space, a 350-unit residential tower and parks designed by Mikyoung Kim. The new streets have been poured. The construction of the TMC3 Collaborative Building is underway along with the unavoidable parking garage. Houstonians already have reasons to feel pride in the TMC for what it is today. Medical discoveries are nothing new, including the recent success by a Baylor team lead by Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi that developed a patent-free, lower-cost, easier-to-produce COVID vaccine that is being manufactured in India. TMC3 could help open a new chapter in the center’s success, however, helping the whole region. It represents a pivot that could bring institutions together to form a greater whole in way that attracts investment capital, jobs and talent. When the next global health emergency arrives, Houston’s scientists and entrepreneurs could launch the equivalent of the next Moderna. For all the turmoil of the last two years, decades from now Houstonians may well look back at these years as the moment when the city made a transition to a biotech hub.
  5. Lux
    One end of the TMC3 mixed-use building underground cistern is nearly encapsulated with dirt. Future East Street connection to Wyndale Street (NE corner behind hotel & conference center / residential tower) TMC3 Collaborative Building is picking up steam! Across from Collaborative Building, the tower crane for IB1 stands tall. The TMC3 Collaborative Building and IB1 are both scheduled for late 2023 completion, so rapid advancement on IB1 is expected for early 2022.
  6. Lux
    Fitch Ratings - Chicago - 16 Dec 2021: Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'AA-' Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and bond rating to the following Harris County Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corporation taxable revenue bonds, issued on behalf of Texas Medical Center (TX): --$93,725,000 Taxable Revenue Bonds, Series 2022. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The $93.7 million in series 2022 bonds will be issued as fixed-rate taxable bonds, proceeds used to fund two parking garages on the Texas Medical Center (TMC) 3 campus, fund capitalized interest through October 2023, and pay costs of issuance. The bonds are expected to price the week of January 10 via negotiated sale. [more in linked Fitch Ratings article]
  7. Lux
    Houston Business Journal confirms cistern location. Wow, that’s a lot of water! I thought the Myk-d documents spoke of a 3-4 million gallon detention system.
  8. Lux
    Any comments on decoupling the hotel from the proposed residential tower and doing away with the curvature? Remember, the current position of the residences was previously identified as future office development space. I imagine that such redesign decisions are cost-driven (and perhaps post-pandemic driven). The hotel room count spiked upward, so the hotel itself is pretty tall even without adding residential units on top (reminds me of the Fairmont in Austin, which I love BTW). I’d guess that the hotel & conference center will break ground within the next year. Timing is everything to match up with expected future demand. The Blossom Hotel open date as shown on Google is regularly delayed a week or two at a time (this’ll be a nice venue, and I’m excited to see it thrive in the TMC). In addition to the Intercontinental and Westin, the Blossom and Hyatt will provide near-term accommodations proximate to TMC3.
  9. Lux
    TMC3 Collaborative Building: The First TMC Collaborative Research Hub Designed by world-renowned Elkus Manfredi Architects, the 250,000-SF TMC3Collaborative Building will house synergistic research initiatives for four founding institutions: MD Anderson, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and TMC. The four-story, state-of-the-art building will foster ongoing collaboration between academic institutions and industry partners through a 43,000-SFjoint research lab, office/co-working space and a shared IT infrastructure to facilitate idea exchange. In addition, the building will host commercial life sciences companies and industry leaders, as well as the TMC Data Collaborative, Braidwell, the TMC Venture Fund, and national venture and equity fund partners. Facing TMC3’s unique Helix Gardens, this central hub will also include a 14,000-SF M.D. Anderson lab and a 7,000-SFatrium for TED talks, weekly programming and informal events.
  10. Lux
    The same construction workers mentioned that the multi-million gallon cistern referenced on the myk-d website will reside below the mixed-use parking project on the northern end of the development.
  11. Lux
    Per the construction crew, this is a road, and the underground collaborative building parking extends beneath the street. The stepped feature remains a mystery, but perhaps it’s related to drainage.
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    It would be fabulous if TMC, Vaughn Construction or Transwestern had a live stream or compiled a living movie from one second of daily TMC3 footage. It’s such an active project, and the pace of site development is accelerating. I quickly shot the short time-lapse in the above post just to highlight ground activity, but I’d much rather see the project evolution stitched together in frames over the months and years to come. I’m not currently aware of any dedicated site cameras.
  17. Lux
    IMG_4487.MOV
  18. Lux
    @phillip_white Thanks for the helpful observations!
  19. Lux
    It’s my understanding that each building may have limited parking underneath, but most parking will be in new onsite Braeswood garage (excavation underway next to MD Anderson garage) or offsite at Smithlands or elsewhere. My question is more about the planned TMC3 surface street grids (B, C, D, E, F, Crosswell Way) and how things are lining up with the plans and renderings.
  20. Lux
    Borrowing one of Hindesky’s shots from a sunny day, I’m somewhat confused about the position of the northside Parcel C pillars. Based on the architectural standards document and several renderings, it appeared that Lehall St. turns into D Street. For those of you who understand the current state of the collaborative building development and the likely function of these pillars, does it appear that D Street will be placed above several of these north end structural pillars, or did the TMC3 collaborative building shift north? Unless otherwise advised, I’m assuming the former with Lehall Street running into D Street with utilities below street level. https://www.tmc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TMC-Arch-Standards.pdf
  21. Lux
    The Blossom Hotel launch in June (keeps getting delayed) will bring a new energy to the area immediately adjacent to TMC3, but I keep wondering how all of the surrounding land will be redeveloped to complement TMC3 and nearby developments. Lyndon and Lehall streets are virtually vacant, and most lots are owned by UT. Additionally, I’d guess that the adjacent parking lot could be acquired and/or redeveloped. This area between Fannin and Bertner all the way down to Dreyfus street and the Hyatt development seems ripe for a posh makeover. High-rise multi-family housing? Restaurants and shops? All of the above?
  22. Lux
    So we still have time to grab popcorn and snacks before the movie begins in earnest :) What a cool project!! Surely the 8 year timeline is to fully build out the entire TMC3 campus and OST bridge to the UT campus. I’d expect individual research buildings and parking structures to activate at their earliest opportunity.
  23. Lux
    Mikyoung Kim Design’s TMC3 landscape masterplan earns Urban Design finalist status in Fast Company’s “World Changing Ideas 2021”.
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