largeTEXAS

What's different about this rendering? I like this building because of it's dominance, not it's architecture marvel. I personally like the north/south front of the building better than I do the spine----which seems to be the only rendering anybody is proud of.

I agree. I don't think any of the buildings going up are architectural marvels or even all that interesting. Can't believe I'm saying this, but it doesn't really bother me, as long as the the ground floors are active and built with the pedestrian in mind and the upper floors aren't hideous.

To me, this stage of downtown's and Houston's growth is about density. Once there are actually pedestrian corridors and life on the streets, then I think the market will mature a bit and we'll start to see some better architecture. A lot (if not most) of what's being built now is being developed by merchant builders. They are interested in flipping out of the buildings once they stabilize. You'll hardly ever see interesting architecture by a merchant builder because they're building for the REITS and funds out there. 

For a long time, people in NYC complained that no good architecture was every built there. Recently that's changed, but just goes to show you that it might take a while...

I live in Uptown and really don't think the traffic situation actually within Uptown is really that bad. It's mostly getting out of Uptown (San Felipe and Westheimer eastbound toward 610) in the afternoons that is insane. 610 backs up and then all the feeders to it back up as well and it starts to affect the roads in Uptown. It amazes me how well the Uptown district has managed do traffic management consider what a giant cluster it all is. At the end of the day, the only real options are 1. to make more road segments in uptown one way to reduce traffic light cycles (i.e. west alabama between sage and post oak) and 2. reduce/remove cutout in the median on post oak/westheimer that allow left turns at non-traffic lights (this will happen on post oak in conjunction with the BRT)

That's why it's so great that mass transit will be built in Uptown, but not connecting to it!

The Houston Citizens building is offices. Lots of lawyers. Pretty sure the building is about to undergo a rehab. It's got one of the coolest (big) retail spaces in Houston on the ground floor, mezzanine, and basement. Was several nightclubs in the late 90's/early 2000's, but could be a fantastic high-end restaurant.

Thanks for posting those pics, Triton! What I keep hearing is that infrastructure work has started and will continue for a while. Once it's finished, the building will begin. That rendering appears to be old. The recent site plan I've seen has a small park at Fulton and Burnett and midrises along Burnett, high-rises to the south. 

N Main has already been closed in order to connect it to Burnett. Infrastructure work is being done now. Burnett is being widened and wide sidewalks added to both sides. Then, apparently, work will be done on the Yards

Thanks, Purdueenginerd, for all the great insight! I'm always fascinated by this stuff and still can't fully grasp how it all works. To me, it appears that the foundations for buildings such as 609 Main are just too puny to hold those giant structures above perfectly in place over long periods of time. It would only make sense to me if the foundations were like tree roots - equal, or at least close to the size of the structure above. But, this is why I'm not an enginerd!

Looks like an 80's office building...not that there's anything wrong with that

As it slowly crawls out of its reputation as merely a location to work then commute away from, I think downtown as a region still misses out on its largest advantage.  It's the highest density of people for the metro area yet so few choose to appear out on ground level thanks (and no thanks) to the ubiquitous options in the tunnels but also to the lack of natural appeal above surface.  I very much like 600 Travis's plaza and wish developers past, present, & future would mimic and not devote for construction every last square foot of ground-level space.  Instead, why not enhance building aesthetics and reserve open spaces for office workers to escape to, chat leisurely, grab a bite at food carts, etc.  I realize the climate advantages offered by the tunnels, but perhaps if there were more plazas and pocket parks with even small patches of green space interspersed around the highrises they might be inviting enough to draw more people outdoors and above surface, particularly from the October through April time frame.  Comparatively, Houston's downtown still seems overly buttoned-down, anesthetic, spiritless, devoid of signs of non-contrived human interaction - characteristics that obviously detract from big city vibrancy. 

 

Let the workforce find its solitude and productivity inside those soaring glass & steel monuments.  For respite, how nice it'd be to come down the elevators, shove against a heavy revolving door, emerge into a natural setting of sunlight and fresh air, and take a moment's pleasure to contemplate not on a frustrating spreadsheet but a nascent, slightly bustling street scene.  I'm sure the same street vibe - eclectic mixes of business people, students, tourists, artists & performers, food carts - in the business districts of Chicago, NYC, or Seattle can relish the same in Houston's city center if only there were attractive public spaces to do so.  

Couldn't agree more. It'll be really interesting to see how all the new residents will affect the retail scene downtown. I bet we'll start to hear a lot of cranky people demand more amenities (flower stores, 24 hour pharmacies, fast food, coffee shops, shopping, etc) that are available more than just the daytime hours. Something's gonna have to give - either more ground floor retail or much more openness to the tunnels. Will be fun to see how it all plays out. 

Because this is the first development in the area, cheaper development costs would make sense to minimize risk. I don't think this will command the rents seen in Montrose or closer to the Heights (I'd be surprised to see occupancy at rates north of $2.00 per square foot). I don't think this will be the last of what we'll see on the Near Northside.

Avenue CDC doesn't do market-rate housing. It's a non-profit that develops affordable housing: http://avenuecdc.org/ 

I wish Avenue CDC would choose better architects and program retail in their projects. Mary Lawler is amazing and I have a ton of respect for her. On the light rail on Main St, though, TOD should be the focus. Even with the workforce and low income housing above.

Thanks for posting, Triton!

It's still showing up on the Starwood/Aloft website as opening June 2016.

Aloft is moving along nicely and should be open by the Superbowl. 

You didn't hear it from me and deal isn't finalized, but the City has chosen Midway and Lionstone over the other groups. Details are being ironed out and some of the other groups might be included in parts of the overall development. Similar to how the Sears/Fiesta site is being handled in Midtown. 

Well, sounds like Midway and Lionstone were selected to develop the site. At least 1 hotel, office buildings, residential buildings, and some retail. 

Too bad. Always thought those warehouses were very cool. The offices on the SW corner have amazing ceilings. The other structures are pretty incredible inside as well. It's a shame they'll be torn down. 

I don't think anything should be done to what is arguably the most urban area in Houston and now that residential has been added its almost complete. The only thing that is missing and sorely needed is a small grocery store along the lines of a Trader Joes or something like it. It would definitely be used by Southampton and wet U. I don't want to see a Kroger or HEB flagship though. That would be overkill. Then you would have the perfect place to live. Everything is at your footsteps. I walk from my office over to Jasons,  Potbelly, or Local, several times a week although it's starting to get a little more humid and I work on Sunset, so not as much but if I chose to live in Hanover I could walk to anything I needed.

Completely disagree, except for the grocery store part (which, I agree, is very much needed!). The Village Arcade is suburban in scale and footprint. It needs to be better oriented towards pedestrians with parking better situated towards the center. It needs better public space(s), green space, and parking. It needs added density -- possibly residential, hospitality, etc. And, it's just plain ugly! Hanover did a great job. Village Arcade could be even better!

the economics of a project determines how many units and how tall it will be; it isn't a random choice the developer makes ("uhhhh, i think we'll go 8 stories"). it's fun to consider what would look great on any particular lot but when it comes down to it, it's business.  how little can the developer spend in exchange for the most return.  aesthetics and urban planning are usually not their biggest concern (if at all).

when i see a development that disappoints, like the mediocrity that camden produces, i know it's just business.  that said, there are developers who are concerned about aesthetics and urban planning and will forego or delay return on investment in exchange for a better urban fabric.  houston has not been the epicenter for this sort of developers but hopefully this is changing.

 

You are dead-on, unfortunately. For developers such as Camden, Alliance, Morgan Group, and Trammel Crow, just to name a few, returns are pretty much the only thing that matters. They are the reason I think we need government-imposed building standards such as urban setbacks, wider sidewalks, pedestrian-level enhancements, and mixed-use in certain specified areas. To these developers, building community and creating better neighborhoods aren't even part of the conversation. Most of these developers are investment vehicles, REITs, so they are beholden to hundreds, sometimes thousands of investors that might not ever see the final product, but sure do care about that darn return. 

I might be crazy, but I think developers that are based in Houston should at least put a little extra effort in, though. To me, this is why Camden is such an utter disappointment, especially with Ric Campo being Chairman of an organization who claims: "We are leading the effort to have Houston recognized as one of the great cities of the world." Yeah, Ric? Put your money where your mouth is!

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Camden-bullish-on-Houston-s-inner-city-5461618.php"The six acres it is building on also will include retail and a three-acre city park."

Camden is not doing any retail. After almost a decade of negotiations, they still would not include it in their project, so the Redevelopment Authority had to save the day and program retail next to and around Camden. A company based in Houston that does mixed use in almost every other market, except Houston, Camden is about as obstinate a low-quality production builder as there is...in Houston. But, bravo to the Midtown Management District and Redevelopment Authority for rescuing this project and creating the retail that Camden wouldn't. It'll be a fantastic park, albeit divided, that should become the center of Midtown.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Camden-bullish-on-Houston-s-inner-city-5461618.php

Funny how Ric Campo, Chairman of Houston First, was also quoted saying, "There's really sort of an urbanization that's been going on across the country for the last 10 years that has finally caught up in downtown Houston."

In that case, shouldn't he propose changing Houston First to...Houston Last? 

nice illustration.  perfect for midtown!

Better than I thought it would be, but far from great. If this truly is going to be "one of the most desirable places in Houston," the programming and architecture should be faaaaaar better. Arguably, the most prominent site in Midtown and there's not a sq inch of retail. Midtown Redevelopment Authority had to program retail all around them, Camden was so opposed to it. It's a shame that Ric Campo, also chairman of Houston First, refuses to do retail in any of their projects in their hometown. Shameful. 

Good news. Man, the grammar in the article is pretty poor, though. Sign that the Chron is contracting in all directions.

Building is currently for sale: http://www.loopnet.com/lid/15073342 for about $12M. Just spoke with someone close to the current owner who said the building is about to sell to a "hotel or apt developer" who, he says, will rehab the building and seek historic designation. 

It is a very cool Mod building, indeed. Unfortunately, I've been there a few too many times with animals that weren't doing that great, though.

Personally, as long as the ground floor is well-designed and active (with retail, where appropriate), the amount of floors and even design of the building is somewhat secondary. That said, we need many more residents downtown, so the more floors in each development the better!

A couple of other reasons Austin is building tall is that, overall, it has a much smaller downtown than Houston, is a much more centralized city than Houston, and has no (real) equivalent to the Galleria, Westchase, Med Center. Austin also has a very active community of residents that protests the heck out of any new development in most of the neighborhoods surrounding downtown. Downtown is kind of the only place to develop densely, if you want to develop in the inner city.

Probably so, the rendering's been circulating a while. Just hadn't seen anything yet on this board, but I probably missed it.