J.A.

On 10/4/2023 at 9:14 AM, mfastx said:

Jesus that's ugly and a huge disappointment .. 

... They just followed the aesthetic standard set by their neighbor... The Travis... Compared to that, Mariner House just fades away!!!

18 hours ago, I'm Not a Robot said:

Alamo Drafthouse would make any future tenant just icing on the cake for me. 

I don't think Foodtown or Fiesta is what they should aim for but maybe a smaller Whole Foods, Amazon was already looking at the area for their headquarters during that process. I know Trader Joes has a required house hold income that the area doesn't meet and I think HEB is way too risk averse to do it. 

This development is so close to Downtown and with EaDo eventually becoming more connected to the East End, I feel that these companies are missing an opportunity to get a foothold in this neighborhood that is so close to just bursting. This is the closest thing Houston has to the opportunity that Brooklyn was in the early 2000s. Cheaper land, plenty of room and an already existing artistic community. Whole Foods popping up everywhere in Brooklyn was a trademark of the dialogue surrounding that area. 

Broham is the one tenant I see on the list that fits the area, everything else (besides the ice cream spot because I always will welcome more dessert) just feels a bit redundant. I think Midway is failing but honestly, a lot of the larger local businesses are failing. They are shying away from being a pioneer to the area and staying safe by opening new outposts in the Heights. 

 

 

I agree 100% about businesses failing to see the opportunity at East River. I mean, HEB for example didn't even open in the Heights or on Washington Ave. until 2019!!! Ridiculous! That's probably 10yrs later than it should have happened. I dunno about Whole Paycheck being interested in East River given that their store in Midtown didn't exactly meet business projections... unless it is now? Grasping at straws tryna think outside the box: What about a Joe V's Smart Shop (Never been there but it's owned by HEB so maybe still too risk averse?) or 99 Ranch Market? I was thinking maybe Food Town or Fiesta could be convinced to up their game into something kitschy cool while maintaining brand identity and pricing the neighborhood is familiar with. Or maybe something else we probably wouldn't have thought of that may be looking up it's visibility in a different market of the city like Phoenicia did when they opened Downtown. Still not a grocery store, though (and too close). Anything from 'China Town' or 'Mahatma Gandhi' District? Too specialized?

I feel there was/is still a lot of inertia in Houston real estate development regarding mixed use buildings and centers until very recently. Then the pandemic hit... and now the inflation aftermath...

Also, we have to remember that it took a long time for retail at City Centre to fully lease up when it was the mixed use development pioneer in Houston. I recall a lot of empty space there too for a few years. Now with East River add in a financial market and inflated construction pricing where no one wants to build anything. Hopefully, Midway will ride this out too and stick to their vision. When the market figures itself out, this area will probably take off!

2 hours ago, I'm Not a Robot said:

I am curious if we will get an updated tenant list or if what we see is what there is. I have to say, from wanting a grocery store, a gym and a movie theater (which was originally in the plans) to getting another dentist in the area is pretty underwhelming. I would have thought Midway had a little more pull than this, but from what I've heard is there is a lot of apprehension to being an early adopter but that list of tenants is bleak. 

I'm wondering if Midway should aim for tenants that aren't quite as 'high end' as what we might expect to find at City Centre... More businesses local-ish to the East Side of town would probably be more appropriate for the area anyway? I have no idea what those might be as far as a gym or movie theater (1st inner loop Alamo Drafthouse?)... For a grocery store, maybe Foodtown, Fiesta or similar? Maybe Midway is looking for this tenant mix already... but from afar it seems like it's probably out of their comfort zone.

... The main tower in the new rendering doesn't actually represent what's been built so far... kinda odd, no? 🤔

I've always thought they should change the circular area facing Kirby into a pedestrian courtyard with landscaping that restaurants can open out onto, etc. No cars driving through there at all. They put a lot of effort into making an architectural statement with this outdoor space, but then what's it programmed for? ...Drive thru/valet drop off...

After reading all the discussion about why 2 big mixed use projects failed in Midtown, I wonder if the answer might be pretty simple: Downtown stole Midtown's thunder... and from what I'm seeing, is continuing to run away with it.

16 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

https://www.click2houston.com/sports/local/2020/09/11/what-does-the-future-hold-for-houstons-nrg-stadium/

 

 

 

The article conveniently forgets to mention that there's also... ehem... a Six Flags next to those stadiums in Arlington... Something that we used to have 🙄

17 minutes ago, cspwal said:

I don't know traffic volumes on memorial - would a protected bike line be feasible, or is there way too much traffic to cut out a lane each way?

It can get pretty backed up during afternoon eastbound rush hour (pre-COVID) between the 2 parks, particularly with Westcott dumping traffic coming from i10 right into this stretch of road. From my experience though, any other time it's not bad. I'm guessing they won't be giving up a lane to bikes any time soon since they just finished a repaving project a couple of weeks ago... cutting out sections of the road and replacing with proper concrete from Westcott all the way to Sabine.

Is there enough space to widen the sidewalk into a proper hike/bike path?

I can set aside the validity of historicist architecture on modern buildings if it looks right. I'm not so sure that the proportions of the overall massing are working for the Music Hall, though. I've always thought that the big blocky mass plopped on top looked a little truncated... like they forgot to design a pitched roof for it. Without that big volume dropped on top, the proportions of the rest of the building (windows, arches etc.) seem pleasant enough if not really a match for an actual historic building.

That interior, though... It's veering into Disney World or maybe even Tillman Fertitta territory in that it's getting a little cartoony. Has anyone been to 'Be Our Guest' restaurant in the Magic Kingdom? (Don't eat there; the food is terrible!) It reminds me of that somehow (the entry hall, and the main theater looking back towards the seating in particular)...

I hope Skanska puts A LOT more thought into the pedestrian experience and overall design than they did at Capitol Tower (not that whatever this becomes will be at the scale of a Downtown Tower). They REALLY need to step it up to Hines, Midway, Hanover, and Radom levels of thought and design.

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

 

I tend to look at leases as, if there is a renovation or significant TI allowance, it was demanded by the tenant. If it was needed to get the deal done, there is no difference between that and a demand. Just like Tesla is right now demanding that Travis County and state government fork over tax credits.

 

Interesting about Hurricane Ike, I did not realize that. Is Locke Liddell & Sapp (or whatever they're called now) still a major tenant there?

 

100% True: High end tenants are demanding better buildings. And I'm glad they are so we get to see all the transformative renovations their demands are leading to all over downtown: Allen Center, Houston Center, and I guess to some extent... 700 Louisiana (disappointed in that one). I wonder if in turn Hines, Brookfield etc. aren't also demanding higher rent, though?

Quick google search: Locke Liddell & Sapp now appears to be Locke Lord still in Chase Tower.

On another note: I like where this renovation is going overall but I wonder about the little covered area ('expanded canopy' ?) facing the Travis/Capitol intersection. There's no good rendered view of it, yet... But, right now it seems like it could look diminutive and tacked on abutted as it is directly to a building that slams all of its 75 floors from top to bottom directly into the ground without any setbacks. Wouldn't a retail pavilion similar in concept to what they're doing at Texas Tower be better? Or would that compete with the Louvre (but really Pennzoil Place) referencing lobby addition? When I worked in the Pennzoil building several years back, only smokers, cabbies, and the occasional cell phone user were ever in Chase Tower plaza (and only in the shaded area). Hopefully, this goes far enough to change that.

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

 

The sale price in 2018 was $52 million, although apparently not arm's-length, but likely near the value. That comes to around $875 a foot of land, which is still far away from demolition territory - I think Skanska paid around $300/SF for their blocks. And demo would cost a lot for this building. I also don't think this part of downtown is that hot due to the homeless and lots of Class B buildings. Greenstreet has yet to show real signs of life and the attempted redevelopment of the Sakowitz garage went nowhere. You still have ugly food stores in mummified buildings on Main. This building could be some sort of innovation incubator, but downtown might be getting maxed out on those. Someone is going to have to get creative.

 

I don't understand why JPMorgan would put their back offices in a building like this, then bring them back to the tallest building in the city and demand a renovation. What are they doing? Has the area slipped that much that they can make a quality jump like that?

 

I may be thinking this because of my recent post about the storm damaged Chase Tower in reference to the looks of the Arabella, but did they move offices to 1111 Fannin after Hurricane Ike blew out a lot of the windows and ravaged the interiors? The timing seems like it could be about right but I honestly have no clue. Either way it looks like Chase regretted the move from the tallest building in the city to 1111 Fannin (for obvious reasons). My guess is that Hines courted Chase (and probably others) by dangling this renovation in front of them rather than the prospective new tenants demanding it...

This is part of a really hot-button topic... so I'm going to try my best not to stick my foot in my mouth...

Maybe the statue should be removed from its prominent position and placed somewhere low key where William Marsh Rice is simply acknowledged rather than celebrated. To me, removing the statue all together seems like another way to continue ignoring the past, albeit a different way than just leaving a racist slave owner's figure looming in a central position of the quad. If the statue is erased completely, where does it end? Is the Rice family and their name still burdened with the sins of the father? Rice University is now a brand... Should the University be renamed, which would probably result in a very detrimental identity crisis? Sam Houston owned slaves... Should we rename our city because it's named after him?

I would like to think that the Rice University name and the city of Houston name at this point so many years, students, citizens, accomplishments, and failures after their founding have come to symbolize and stand for more than just the person they were named after.

If the statue could be placed somewhere else as part of an exhibit for Rice University's history, of which Mr. Rice's life is an inextricable part (including the terrible things he did), that could be more educational and cathartic in the long run. It might be a way of acknowledging the past while going on to explain that the university does not condone racism nor discrimination of any kind and that the school supports people in all walks of life.

6 hours ago, West Timer said:

From some angles, it kind of looks like it was hit by a tornado. The white stucco doesn't work for me. I think the only thing that might work is something darker and less contrasty to the glass. Some kind of reflective silver/chrome/nickel or something shiny might work. Maybe not. I think they should just keep painting it new colors every week until they figure out how to make it less silly looking and more artsy fartsy as it was originally intended. If they had just kept whats going on on the top 3 floors all the way to the ground it would have looked high end. What they have looks kind of like K-Mart sushi.

 

 

I'ma long time reader of HAIF but a first time contributor... I appreciate that Randall Davis tried go outside his comfort zone by attempting a building with a cool design in The Arabella, but what we ended up with missed the mark by a long shot. He didn't have the funds (nor the guts?) to follow through. Now instead of being merely boring, this building is aggressively ugly cuz it stands out. For me, it's right there with The Mercer Condo and 'the Pineapple building.'

West Timer hit the nail on the head: It looks like a tornado (or hurricane) hit it and they just decided to stucco white over the boarded up windows... I keep thinking of Chase Tower in the aftermath of Ike.