totheskies

Southside Place!!!

Yeah, once again... it's not the original design. But you know what?? It's being built and is going to add 300 hotel rooms to the downtown inventory. It hasn't been cancelled. That's a lot more than some metros can hope for right now. So I am thankful.

Indeed, good luck to Mr. Gertner. I have no doubt that he'll find a good location for the Skybar, or whatever new concept he comes up with. I'm going to go to the closing party on Saturday for sure though. Should be fun.

From Facebook newsfeed...

JazzHouston [News] via Scott Gertner :

hey guys, Skybar will be closing July 3rd due to the building closing it's doors. it's been 11 years of great fun, great friends, great fans. come visit this week to say goodbye! BTW, i'm currently looking at new locations, bigger to fit more patrons. thank you for making the skybar a legendary live entertai...nment location.

So what's going to happen to this building? Being demolished?

I agree, I work for a hotel consulting firm and do quite a few assignments in the Houston area. Most houston submarkets are not hurting for hotel rooms. Houston has had one of the biggest increases in supply compared to other US cities during this downturn (all those little Holiday Inn Expresses that no one ever sees or thinks of). I believe the number is like 7% increase, but can double check.

Personally, I'd like to see less hotel rooms, higher occupancies, so that rates can begin to increase... and most may disagree, but i'll explain why. Houston has some of the cheapest room rates. I've seen the Four Seasons offer rates as low as $129 on the weekends, which is bordeline depressing. Until Houston sees some rate increases, we will never get new and sexy hotels, because it is financially unfeasible to build a new four seasons that will be forced to offer $129 rates. (my firm actually completed the study for this Embassy Suites -not me- and I don't remember, but did this property had some incentive from the city??)

I just finished doing an appraisal of a limited-service hotel in the medical center (one of the best performing markets) and this limited-service hotel had an average rate of $115 (actually very good for that type of property)....so considering building costs and earning potential, most people end up building the limited-service properties.

I've had calls from hotel brands (sorry can't disclose a lot of info), telling me that they've had a developer approach them wanting to build that hotel company's signature brand (think competitors to Four Seasons, St. Regis, etc.) in the Houston area, and they wanted to get my thoughts on the market. I love this city and tell them all the plusses, but as soon as we talk about numbers and what other properties are doing, the conversation ends. Numbers don't lie, the city's top two hotels (four seasons and st. regis) have an ADR (average daily rate) slightly above $200. They know what is going to costs them to build that signature property and the ADR that is needed to support those construction costs, which is way above $200. Some Marriotts and Westins in other US cities do better than that. :-(

Just to clarify, because I know this question always pops up: ADR is not to be confused with the rate you see on the hotel's website, also known as the rack rate. Many people ask: how is it that the XYZ Luxury Hotel has an ADR of $200 but when I go on their website their cheapest room is at $400? This is because XYZ Hotel, like all other hotels, set up contracts with their top accounts. They end up offering major companies rates of $130, because by doing so they guarantee themselves that business, which can be many many room nights in a year. Thus, they end up with a lower ADR at the end of the year.

Wow thanks for the expert opinion from an industry insider!!

I suspect that much of the issue lies within Houston's layout which affects our hotel needs. The issue isn't that there is a lack for number of rooms total, but number of rooms in an area like the CBD. As long as the number of CBD visitors continues to increase, then we have a reason to want more hotels in the area. I agree... the city may be saturated for hotel rooms, but there are a disproportionate number of rooms within the CBD.

I'm of the opinion that the CBD rooms could also be more expensive, but precedent is helping to keep the prices low.

So is there going to be any street-level retail for Main Place?

I think it's worth it to talk about the general trends for Downtown retail (restaurants being a HUGE part). In recent months, several new eateries have opened in downtown, and in the coming months we will gain some true Houston staples like BB's cafe, Niko Niko's and Phoenicia. Along with others.

So the question is this... is downtown finally the new hotspot??

Wow... this is all I could have hoped for downtown... and more!! I am a loyal Phoenicia customer. Only problem is I live so far away that I only get out there about twice a month. Now, I'll be able to take my bike there!!!!!!

I agree that eventually we want downtown to have a "mainstream" grocer, but this is and Byrd's market are a great start. The crowds that come for Phoenicia are the type of crowds that downtown wants to be "discovered" by. They are young and/or independent with fewer suburban ties (generally) and more disposable income. This IMO is the perfect fit.

And we can still meet the "mainstream needs" via the rail line... Randall's and two Fiestas are there. I will guiltily admit that I'd rather sit on the train a few mins more and hike across the road to the Fiesta by Reliant than the one at Wheeler station... selection-wise, there's just no comparison between the two.

I'm reserving judgement on the merger until I see how Smisek behaves in the United chair. If he really wants to stay "Houston's hometown airline" then he better put up some money for it. Keep the sponsorships for our sports teams, arts and music groups! Show us that you still care!!!

There has to be something the State and the city could do to keep the headquarters in Houston. Its going to be a major loss not only to Houston but to the state. IAH will be hurt as well even if it remains a hub. All of the upgrades Continental was helping pay for for the airport. It sucks! Chicago always thinks its entitled to get the better of any deal. Lets hope the state of Texas and the city of Houston can burst their bubble!

FAT CHANCE.

This is Texas afterall. We don't regulate anything. Houston's businesses are here because they want to be here. The city, nor the state is so busy making this place a "business orgy"... no taxes, no restrictions no NOTHING that when something like this happens we may as well bend over and be sore in the morning. This is Texas's and Houston's fault because we're not giving them any reasons to stay here.

It's really good!! Tracy and her family are great to watch, and she takes you around to different hot spots of the city. The magazine is also pretty good, though not something that is of interest to me in reading.

So what is the final floor count going to be? 19 or 22?

Have to say... I like it. Especially how it is mindful of the pedestrian activity and makes use of the existing buildings. P-E-R-F-E-C-T for the East End.

It'll be great to be able to bike to soccer games!!

So you're saying that the blue lights that we saw a couple of weeks ago were a collective figment of our imaginations? The Chase building is in fact an inanimate object. But being an object that houses living humans, it also houses their actions and conversations... which therefore means that it can and most certainly has housed disagreements. I was not referring to a disagreement between the physical building an arrangement of letters posted into the blogosphere. I was (obviously) referring to the ongoing discussions among people that decide the Chase buildings lighting scheme.

The argument has already been solved. The people who pay the light bill decide whether the lights should be turned on or off, and for how long.

I like how Houston imitated C2H's old hometown of Denver and copied their lighting scheme.

For now... hopefully we will continue to "see" disagreements like those from the Chase building.

the ballpark apartment tenants are just gonna LOVE when the place is rockin for a 9pm game!!! oh joy

Sounds "par for the course". Afterall, they are Ballpark tennants.

^^ Right. As I said.... TXDOT. Last time I checked, smoke is not flourescent in most cases, but it can definitely obscure vision when combined with light sources. The downtown lighting scheme generates far less light pollution than our ever-constant high-mast freeway lights. So if you want to see stars, you need to either turn off those power-lamps, or cut on up to Cut 'n Shoot.

Consider all the different kinds of media there are. Published media would include newspapers, books and textbooks, magazines, scientific and academic journals, newsletters, music, software, video games, and websites. Broadcast media would include radio, television, and certain forms of web-based media. And then you have the film industry.

Consider that newspapers and periodicals are undergoing a lengthy process of obsolescence and that what's left of them will be mostly web-based affiliations of bloggers, stacked upon a foundation of institutional AP/Reuters stories. Consider that music, television, radio, and film are undergoing simultaneous demassification in a way that is currently disruptive to their traditional business model. Mass media are an endangered species.

If there's an opportunity to be sought after by a city or its leadership, it isn't likely to be big or sexy. It probably won't make our skyline or our city globally recognized as a media mecca. It'll be the sort of project that pulls together numerous niche media (mostly web-based) so that there is a successful geographically-specific collaborative community that exists virtually and physically. That's what success looks like to me in the 21st century: a resurgence of localism/regionalism.

As for what's left of the mass media, there will probably always be a need for large news agencies that cover global and national politics, but they'll be fewer in number and concentrated in very large and wealthy urban areas, and in cities the are political capitals. These areas (particularly the northeast corridor) also happen to have multiple airline hubs in close proximity (although Atlanta and LA are also in decent shape by that metric). If there is any untapped mass media niche for Houston, it's probably going to be Latin America. We have geographic proximity, a large Hispanic population, probably the best air service to Latin America out of any US city, and yet we still retain the relatively stable and relatively less corrupted American legal system under which businesses based on intellectual property tend to thrive. Even still, Houston isn't the place where news or cultural happenings relevant to Latin America are originating; so there may be an opportunity, but it isn't one that I'd bet on.

Your best bet is to ride the digitally demassified wave of unsexy localism.

This sounds like a fair assessment. Media markets are changing much much faster than television groups would like us to believe... it's definitely a waning market. Any major media outlets that develop in current times will have to have a strong foundation in the internet blogosphere. The Huffington Post is a perfect example... she has become a media mogul without any help from a TV audience.

Houston has great favorability among the Latin American communities (there's a reason why we're able to do things like host the Latin Grammys), so that could be a powerful outlet that comes into play.

The BBN is a growing entity... and definitely one to watch. Though I'm 28, I'm a bit more of the "TVOne" generation, but I learned about BBN through Black Planet and I check the site from time to time. We'll wait and see. I hope that their planned partnerships with HBCU tv networks are able to take root, b/c that would be a goldmine for the young network.

I can think of a handful of such complexes, but most of them were operating until Hurricane Ike and the financial crisis conspired in the very same moment to damage numerous complexes while simultaneously restricting access to capital to make the necessary repairs. But Mayor Parker's comments did not seem to be addressing these instances but rather cases where presently-occupied multifamily housing is blamed for dragging down a neighborhood...and actually, looking at them again, I don't think it was a flub on her part. It does kind of seem like the issue she's covertly addressing is that the desperately poor people in low-rent complexes are getting all up in the man's business....so to speak. Maybe she is just a Republican in lesbian's clothing, after all.

There are plenty in the East End for sure. The complex that surrounds Fiesta on S. Wayside has several vacant buildings. And I strongly suspect that the ones that are occupied are no where near up to code. Broadmoor, Woodleigh and Eastwood all have a substantial share of these eyesores... and in many cases, these are homes or apt units that have suffered from decades of neglect. It would benefit the city to step in and renovate these properties if possible... they will get a better return in the long run if they are being lived in and taken care of. So from my estimation, "reactivating" these homes would add to the existing usable housing stock.

Just curious about this. We all know the major media outlets in the US..

NYC--- most stations

LA-- film and most stations

SF-- fair amount

Atlanta-- CNN, Tyler Perry

Chicago-- main hub, Harpo studios, WGN

I think the media market is ripe for "Houston's voice" as well. What type of major network could be formed in Houston that would gain some national appeal.

For the love of GOD.... please don't say "Oil TV"

Am I the only person left on Earth who knows how to add and subtract? Or how to use 'greater than' and 'less than' logical comparisons?

Mayor Parker suggested that we can increase the quantity of housing by renovating and demolishing. Renovation doesn't add to the housing stock (although it does make housing more expensive, even when it is government-funded or government-run) and demolition subtracts from the housing stock (causing market rents to adjust upward in the competitive market area). The implications are that there are fewer total housing units and higher housing prices. It doesn't help the poor; it helps the working class. The desperately poor at the bottom either take the hit or get displaced to some other location, like Pasadena.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining; it would benefit me. It just sounds like the politically correct tripe that a stereotypical Republican would use to justify sticking it to the poor so as to benefit white people and real estate cronies...except that they probably thought it through, whereas I think Mayor Parker just made a flub.

Depends on what's being renovated. Many apt complexes around the city are sitting vacant and unused b/c the buildings are in bad condition. So if you renovate units that aren't currently being used, you create (re-create) more housing stock in the area. This city has thousands of apt buildings that are in this situation... currently unlivalbe, but should either be renovated so they can be made livable, or demolished so something else can take its place.

Though I do agree with you on the demolition argument.

I think your use of the word progressive to describe more lighting is misguided. As the term is often ascribed to liberalism, and as liberalism in general deplores wasted energy and destructive environmental practices, and as having a boatload of lights on at night is wasteful and potentially destructive, I think what you're a proponent of is actually a regressive lighting scheme. No amount of LEED certifications will negate the fact it makes more sense environmentally to leave the lights off than on.

I'm in total agreement with Hanuman on this issue. Let's have more dark space in the city. I'd like to be able to point out Orion or the Big Dipper to my children someday* (without having to go to the boondocks to do it).

*Why won't anyone think about the children?!!

You probably need to talk to the chemical plants and TxDOT if you want to see stars in Houston. As Niche posted above, the downtown scrapers aren't going to help you see any stars alone.

I stand by my viewpoint that having a coordinated outdoor lighting scheme is progressive as opposed to regressive, while recognizing the fact that a lighting scheme involving indoor lights could also be progressive and/or regressive.

Sounds like we should press the city to develop an ordinance that says we should be "all on" or "all off". That's the only way this argument would ever be solved.

Considering that the Astrodome has its own zipcode, and inner loop Houston is desperate for hotel space, I wish that they would reconsider the hotel idea. Astrodome could easily divide up into 1200 spacious rooms.

Sorry, but no one needs to have a fact-based preference. You either prefer a more progressive lighting scheme in downtown, or you don't. The consensus among most major US cities is to have a more progressive lighting scheme. Houston doesn't and there's nothing "wrong" with that. But some people want more lighting in downtown Houston. I for one am glad that someone over in the Chase building hasn't given up on outdoor lights for their building, and I hope that the other skyscrapers in downtown follow suit.

I think this is the best response to all the people who have complained about the Embassy Suites being so short. (+1)

And really hotels in Houston aren't built tall, this is no Miami. Our tallest, the Hyatt Regency, at 30 stories, suffers being

located next to true skyscrapers, and makes no visible impact, although you sometimes see it peeking through buildings when your on the freeway.

The Hilton-Americas makes a good impact from the Gulf Freeway, and thats it.

They're not right now, but that mentality seriously needs to change. This city is hurting for hotel rooms... especially inside the loop. The Galleria doesn't even have enough for its daily business. Downtown would be able to attract a lot more conventions, festivals, etc. if we had more hotel rooms. Tall is not something I care about, but we need another hotel that is at least the size of the Hilton Americas to be truly competitive.

ES is going to make an awesome impact from 45s.