sanman

Do you think that's blue protective film covering stainless cabinets?

Those are actually blue lacquer cabinets. That is the color that the owner of that unit or the builder chose. The cabinets are by Snaidero (Italian cabinet company) - you can go on their site and see the color options. There are lots of high gloss lacquer color options , flat laquer options, and there are even "car paint finish" lacquer color options in addition to ebony and many other wood finishes. Some of the buyers in the building chose paneled doors with more traditional hardware. There are endless choices with Snaidero and MDA Companies (the builder/developer) allowed the buyers to chose what they preferred without charging for an upgrade. Quite the concept...a fully customized unit (including changes to the floor plan) for the list price.

And this is why I disagree with the Niche. This project has been marketed for years... models in the Galleria, full sized replica model on-site, ads in Continental's magazine, the NY Times, etc...It's not like the Turnberry was announced two weeks before the markets blew up. In fact, sales efforts were underway when Houston was flying HIGH. $140+ oil prices and a booming local job market. The high end residential real estate market in Houston, especially in town, was flat out booming. When this didn't get off the ground in 2007, it was as good as D-E-A-D. Blaming the current credit crisis is a convenient way out for the FLOP that was the Turnberry Tower Galleria.

The simple fact is people aren't going to spend $1 million for a "starter unit" in Houston, especially in that location. Laugh all you want, but rich folks in Houston don't want to live next to an office park (Lakes on Post Oak) and share "public space" (the Water Wall) with everyone else. They also don't care about walking to Nordstrom's or The Fox Sports Grill. What they want is easy access to private clubs (ROCC, HCC, Houstonian) and privacy (gated/guard accessed, in-ground pools, manicured grounds).

At the end of the day - the location was the killer on this project. Period. AND - Turnberry obviously did not do their homework when drawing up the plans for the building. That location, at those prices, would NEVER have supported 182 or 184 units. Turnberry was not flexible in the Houston market, either, and insisted on delivering a decorator ready unit (no finished floors with primed rather than finished/painted walls) rather than a finished product. At those prices, in that location, the business model simply was not going to fly in this town and Turnberry was not nimble and did not adapt.

The buildings in this city that do well in the 7 figure market are those with fewer than 100 units in a more prestigious location. That is the formula that the Houston market has shown that it can and will support. Turnberry got way off into the deep water early on this deal and it simply could not stay afloat, regardless of the economic conditions.

Units in the building are for sale only - not for lease. If someone chooses to lease out their unit after they close, they can, subject to the condo docs/restrictions.

Regarding the south units selling prior to the north units - the south side of the floor plate on the lower levels (up to floor 15) contained 3 smaller units where the north side of the floor plate on the lower levels contained 2 larger units. The most popular plan was the "C" plan on the southeast corner of the building due to size, view and price. Also, with most high rise projects, the least expensive units and the most expensive units tend to sell first. The intermediate sized units take a little while longer to move. There was, however, a very popular intermediate sized unit on the south side of the building that combined the southeast corner and south center units (the "F" plan) and it had about 300 more square feet than the northeast corner unit (the "E" plan). Whenever someone bought an "F" unit - it gobbled up 2 units on the south side. Lastly, you gain a Med Center view on the south side of the building as opposed to a simple green River Oaks view - that extra skyline is quite attractive to many high rise Buyers.

Why did it get canceled?

It was cancelled due to a lack of sales.

Any paperwork or anything else to document this? It's probably not on a web site.

I just spoke to the Director of Sales yesterday, who is a good friend of mine, and she said they cancelled the project.

I also have it on very good authority that several Buyers are already looking to move over to another high rise that is already well under construction (delivery 2009) and in the same price range (read between the lines).

Turnberry Tower Residences at the Galleria has been cancelled. The Buyers have been notified and employees have been released. I believe this occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd.

2727 Kirby, before the HOA first meets and probably raises the fee, is charging $.65 psf, which a 'lot' of people consider pretty high. I had no idea Turnberry is charging less than $.35 psf for maintenance. With Huntingdon charging $.70 psf (probably due to the age of building, erring on the side of higher monthly fees instead of frequent assessments, as well as keeping 'competitive' with newer buildings), maintenance fees really seem to range with just these 3 examples.

Regarding plumbing, electrical, etc., at the Huntingdon, there is 14' between each slab, so all of the pipes, ducts, and wires are run in the subfloor, overhead and in the walls that are constructed. Since there is so much space on each floor, the ceiling heights are not affected due to drain locations, as I have seen many units at the Huntingdon with 11'+ ceilings. There have been some plumbing issues due to leaking into other units over the years in the building, though, as the wet walls are not restricted to certain areas as they are in most high rises. One of the restrictions on remodeling or new construction in that building is that the owner must install a computerized floor with moisture monitors in it in all wet areas.

Actually, the "last available raw space is currently for sale in The Huntingdon. $3,999,000 for 8,864 square feet ($451 per square foot, and again, that is "raw" space.)

That shell space is on one of the highest floors in the builidng, too - I believe it's on 32 and 34 is the penthouse level. Remember - 34N penthouse was sold as shell for $5,000,000 in 2001 and 34S sold for $7,000,000 and it was basically gutted and redone. Each of those spaces was under 6,000 square feet.

Even though there is only one existing large original shell space left at the Huntingdon, many of the older units are being sold either already gutted or to be gutted. 27S is one example of space in the building that was previously built out and then gutted before it was sold due to mold issues. I believe it sold in January 2005 for about $1,300,000 and it was about 7,000 sq ft. What a DEAL!!! There consistently continues to be quite a bit of construction in that building.

Turnberry is not asking anywhere near $900 per square foot. It's really in the $500 - $600 per square foot range before terrace space and less than $500 per square foot after terrace space. It's $800,000 - $3,500,000 for the bulk of the building at 1,830 sq ft - over 7,500 sq ft after terraces. The two tower suites are over 15,000 sq ft each for $8,500,000 which is about $566 per square foot - quite a deal, if you've got the cash. Seeing as how all of the other developers factor in the terrace square footage, I included terrace space in the sq ft quotes above. Feel free to review the plans at www.turnberrytowerhouston.com

$2,000,000 will actually get you about 4,500 square feet, after the terrace. The model unit at the sales center is about 2,600 square feet, after terrace, and ranges from around $1,100,000 - $1,400,000. I don't know where the $2,000,000 number on the 10th floor came from but it is completely erroneous. The 10th floor model unit would cost about $1,200,000.

The Huntingdon was orginally sold as SHELL - not even "to the white" with plumbing stubbed out and sheetrock installed - it was simply concrete floor, concrete ceiling and exterior glass and it required a complete build out, including plumbing, electricity, etc. Turnberry simply does not install flooring and the walls are primed, ready for paint. It's hardly shell or even "to the white." Further, the Huntingdon is a 25 year old building with no amenities to speak of. Never mind the $.70 per sq ft (including terrace sq ft) a month in maintenance - more than TWICE what you would pay at Turnberry for monthly fees for a building with full amenities.

Fence is up, so it should very soon.

There's no fence on the site and no ground preparations have been made. No construction activity will begin until the first quarter of next year.

Nice. Has construction started? And is there a definate completion date?

M.

Construction should start late in the first quarter of 2008. Expected delivery is the first quarter of 2010 for a 24 month +/- build. This isn't exactly Turnberry's first rodeo as they've been in business for nearly 45 years. They tend to put a building up pretty quickly. They started Turnberry Ocean Colony in South Florida after Trump started a neighboring building and Turnberry delivered first.

Regarding $8million - it's for a three level residence on floors 32 - 34 with over 15,000 square feet and a private pool. Freeways and parking garages will hardly be the views. It's actually a pretty damn good deal considering other penthouses on the market and other penthouses that have sold in the city (ie: a shell penthouse at the Huntingon in 2001 for $5,000,000. That's right - SHELL - nothing but concrete and glass and it was nowhere near 15,000 square feet, more like 6,500 square feet with exclusive use of a very rough roof deck).

This site has been tapped for a luxury high rise for at least 3 years and was not the site where the retirement community was going to go. The site is currently a 2-story wooden office park type development on San Felipe west of Voss and just east of the Bayou. There used to be a Kinkos on the east edge of the property.

Also - go to www.mapquest.com and type in 7703 San Felipe St, Houston, TX 77063 - you'll see where San Felipe and Woodway intersect.

www.turnberrytowerhouston.com

You can click "skip" to skip the intro but it's nicely done.

Doesn't look like they've done much.

The rain is the problem - it's rained nearly every single day for 2 months or so. The weather has been the only delay since commencement of construction.

Regarding Oak Lane - the main reason that project was purchased was to preserve the views for 2727 Kirby. When the 2nd phase was sold to Zom, it was conveyed with a 75' height restriction. MDA Companies are still involved with the sales of Oak Lane and the Broker who has both projects listed is an in-house Broker.

Looking at the sale center and it's location with respect to the final plans, are they going to tear it down. I don't see it in the final design anywhere.

I am guessing that it will remain, but the conceptual drawings reveal otherwise.

The Sales Center will indeed be torn down at some point during construction of the tower.

As to the question "what's new on this?"...

As of yesterday, the Sales Center is about 4 - 5 weeks from officially opening.

the article claims that this if the "first" residential high rise tower to be developed inside the loop in two decades. what about the royalton, 3333 allen parkway? or, mosaic?

3333 allen parkway was built as a rental building and was converted.

i believe 2727 kirby technically predates mosaic in that i think kirby presales started before mosaic's, even though mosaic broke ground first. the first kirby sales were in the fall of 2005.

The construction loan has funded, FYI. The project is real and is moving forward.

Does anyone know what the current status of this project is? Has it started? When it will start?

FYI, see page 2:

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/sto...ry7.html?page=1

This pic only appears to show the building at 33 floors. What's the deal? I want my 5 other floors!

As per the Director of Sales for the project, the building will actually be 36 stories...4 of which are parking. I'm not sure whether the penthouse units are duplex. If so, that's where you would get the 33 stories from.

There is a preliminary website at: www.turnberrytowerhouston.com

The structure in question is definitely a sales center and it won't be ready until early spring.

As I said earlier in this thread, the Sales Center will definitely contain a model apartment along with offices for the sales staff.

Expect to see information about the project within the next couple of months.

I wonder what's gonna go in the place of that former Shell station?

that corner is part of the gables plan for the mixed use project on kirby from westheimer south to kipling.

the middle fence was either on the property line or just south of the property line.

if you go to www.hcad.org , you can see the actual lot size which necessitated the narrow structure.

Turnberry is known nationally for having a huge "knocked out" sales center when they embark on a project. There will probably be a full blown model apartment inside. Additionally, there will be an area where materials selections can be viewed. Lastly, there will be an area where the sales and management team can conduct their business and sell, as well (translation: office areas). So, the size of the structure that is currently under construction does not seem large to me.

As far as living in a high rise is concerned, it's really a lifestyle choice. For people who travel a lot, it is very nice to not only have a turn key primary residence but it's also nice to enjoy the same 5 star amenities at home that you do when you travel. This is a luxury product and not only will it be expensive on the front end to purchase, the monthly carry on the units will be quite high as well.

Regarding the market, in addition to a lot of people who are moving to Houston from other cities with vertically dense housing areas, there is a very large Mexican National market in Houston. Many Mexican Nationals are very affluent and rather than staying in hotels when they are in Houston, they prefer to own a high-rise apartment. The Galleria area has a very deep Mexican National following, as seen in the four towers that Borlenghi has built over the last 20 years.