King Owl

lol I have to admit that the one in Chicago is way better.  It's basically the same tower, but a lot taller.  That wins.

I don't get all the "us vs. them" mentality that exists in the world of skyscrapers.  I appreciate each city on its own, and am glad Chicago has an amazing skyline.  No need to compare it to Houston's.

Designed by the world class architect himself: Ray Charles

Sounds great, but haven't they most likely already decided what their plans are?

The worst use is probably a single use office tower. But with them choosing Dallas as the spine of the retail district makes me think it will at least have retail. If it included residential that would just be awesome.

Agreed.  I was just dreaming a bit.

If Houston were to ever get a supertall again, I would suspect that there would need to be some government intervention -- e.g., massive tax benefits, coordination with hotel, residential incentives, etc.  Somewhat similar to how San Francisco is working with Hines on their new supertall -- the Transbay Tower.  

With the high profile visibility of this site, proximity to the rail, convention center, major employers, this would be a fantastic place to do it.  It could also create some excitement around convention goers over and above what "similar cities" could offer (Dallas, Atlanta) that could provide Houston a competitive advantage there.

This plot of land would be a great spot to do a hotel/office/residential combo, perhaps leading to a 1,000+ footer.  There's not a better time to do it, given the hotel, housing and office markets in Houston.  The city should pony up some huge tax incentives for this, since it's such a high profile site in the heart of downtown and at the most visible stop on the rail line.  Get it done Annise.

I'm still dying to see the "Allen Parkway view" of this building.  Please don't just be a box...

The Galleria is feeling the heat from BLVD Place, Highland Village, River Oaks district, etc...  gotta keep pace

Is anyone else completely flabbergasted at how quickly things on this tower have progressed? 

 

Aug 9th Swamplot reports on it

Aug 14th The rendering is revealed

Aug 25th Construction starts this Fall

 

If this tower can sneak up on us like this, makes you wonder what else might sneak up on us next.

are you suggesting....102 STORIES?????  (kidding)

but yeah, awesome that this thing is going up so quicky

now that is an awesome looking building.  A+

Yeah the shale gas revolution has caused a severe setback for renewables.  It's driven natural gas prices down, which make renewables relatively less competitive.  Many of these companies are struggling to survive.  You'll see a more natural gas-focused energy portfolio moving forward, with renewables stagnating unless there is some major breakthrough we're not yet aware of.

so swtsig said this one is only going to be 22 stories?  That rendering appears to be more than that, but is that simply because the rendering hasn't been scaled down to 22 stories?

could almost pass for Randall Davis....doesn't fit in Montrose

has anybody seen the "other side" of this building?  the one visible in most of the Houston skyline photos, like if you were driving down Memorial into downtown?

anyone have any idea what "OR" stands for? that appears to be the 49th floor. wish it stood for Observation Room. would be a cool angle of the rest of downtown. i assume MR stands for mechanical room?

my sources tell me it stands for "orgy room".  

sorry no observation allowed unfortunately

Wow, that would be the 5th tallest in downtown!  And a very nice addition to the skyline.

You mean like this decorative crown? Would you really want city council members making design by committee decisions on aesthetics on high profile buildings in downtown Houston? Yes make it better, but better to who? The guy who approved this beauty...? Careful what you wish for. At least what Chevron is currently proposing won't hurt downtown. When you see the effects of high profile ugly it makes you realize that there are worse things than boring.

How exactly did you make the logic leap from my post to assume that I would want city council to be making the design by committee decisions?

Talk about a logic fail on your part.

City Council should use this as leverage to get some better aesthetics on the building...  Maybe a decorative crown or something.  It's going to be a very visible, long lasting contribution to our skyline -- make it look better, please.

So basically a lot of anecdotal evidence regarding xom. Ok thanks.

Many times a corporate move is a way to cut dead weight. The top performers will be compensated to make it worth their while to stay

wow, this might even top Hanover West Gray's cheapness.  Seriously, hardie-plank for the entire building?  And what's up with the mustard paint?  Were they all out of teal colored paint or something?

Not exactly a compelling reason to build a signature tower. I don't think that Houston is going to get a tower like that anytime soon because of public perception. The only potential tenants for that kind of building in Houston are oil companies. Oil companies don't want to engage in that kind of conspicuous spending because of the amount of discussion that it would start about their profits. Look at what Chevron is doing, they are building inexpensive and cheap. It's all about staying under the radar.

I could see a foreign company doing it.  Remember Deyaar's expensive dirt in uptown?  Look who's the name tenant on Hines' last skyscraper -- BG Gas, a foreign company.  There are many companies in the Middle East and Asia that would likely enjoy the publicity of a tall skyscraper in downtown Houston....Koreans, Qataris, Emiratis perhaps? 

Would just like to point out to the poster who thinks Chevron would have gotten more buzz by building a large campus like Exxon... This thread already has more responses than the Exxon Campus Thread despite the Exxon thread having existed since 2010. 

 

Oh, and the Exxon Campus is currently under construction but that thread has fallen off the front page. Nobody cares. I am willing to bet that when a 50 story tower starts going up in downtown, that thread will never fall off the front page.

 

Chevron is making a WISE choice. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. 

I believe this post is directed at me. Two things:

1) Reading comprehension is important and seems to have eluded you.  I said that Chevron missed the mark if this was their answer to XOM's campus, and that Chevron missed an opportunity to do something really cool that would get people talking.  My point was that they could have built something eye-catching and innovative they could have really created a buzz.  Their skyscraper, while fairly tall, won't stand out in the downtown skyline.  They are building a 1.7M sq ft tower -- for perspective that is larger than Williams Tower in terms of sq ft.  Why not build up to create a true titan of the skyline?  Why build a box?  Why use the same 30 year old glass concept simply for the sake of consistency?  They could have done better.

2) Logic is also important.  Using the metric of "pages on HAIF" is a weak metric that is not representative of oil company employees or the general public.  You have a group of people on here who value interesting architecture and height.  Yes, Chevron's tower hits on the latter, certainly much more than XOM's campus...therefore the page count difference on here.

Again, I do like Chevron's commitment to downtown and the location is good for them, I simply believe they missed an opportunity to do something truly great.  They gave us a mediocre effort that could have been better.

I used to work in 300 n lasalle in Chicago! Great building inside.

Apache?

A for alpha and Apache?

Man, I can't stand this thing. It reminds me of the Harris County jail Downtown (that building is even better looking) or a college dormitory.

Exactly -- I was thinking prison, as well.  I wonder if armed marksmen will sit atop the pillars on the 4 corners....and will there be a recreational yard in the middle?  Can guests arrive for conjugal visits on the weekends?

At the risk of getting jumped by Mister X again, this design is trash.  Hanover really cut corners with this one and it shows.  Sorry.

A proposed Houston skyscraper is increasing its height?  Is today opposite day?

I'll take it!  Wow