JWW

Before we jump to conclusions, it might be better not to fan rumors about sales without someone actually getting verification before commenting.

When does the building close? I am posting this question on Development and Real Estate too - can anyone explain the process of a building closing (including receiving C/O, financial closings of units, etc).... ???

Anyone have info about the opening tonight?

Is there an opening event this week?

In most cities it has more to do with satisfying CCRs (Codes, Covenants & Restrictions) than anything else, but still managing to achieve the right amount of product and at the right cost so that the deal makes sense. Houston is a little different because we're so lasseiz faire about things. But even here, we often have strict deed restrictions, not only in subdivisions and master planned communities, but in business and industrial parks.

CCR's stand for Conditions, Covenants & Restrictions, not Codes, Covenants & Restrictions, I believe.

http://commerce.uli.org/AM/Conference/Conf...nferenceID=4936

Marvy Finger is coming to talk about the development of One Park Place at 630 today at One Park Place (530 starts checkin)

You do not have to be a ULI member to attend- rare chance to meet and listen to this guy.

http://commerce.uli.org/AM/Conference/Conf...nferenceID=4936

Marvy Finger is coming to talk about the development of One Park Place at 630 today at One Park Place (530 starts checkin)

You do not have to be a ULI member to join - rare chance to meet and listen to this guy.

Nice night shots again.

Does anyone know if the reason why DT is going up so much faster than MainPlace is because DT already has the entire building leased out? MainPlace has some, but not nearly all, right? And if so, are they just taking their time with construction to buy theirselves time to find some more tenants?

I would guess that Main Place is just larger and more complicated to build.

I'd really like to know this, as well.

Hess hadn't leased it when the thread was first started and most folks that were active on this thread probably still don't realize that the tower's name is going to be tied to Hess.

I'm willing to bet that Hess received a discounted rent on a square foot basis for having taken the whole building, making the terms of this lease incomparable to the terms offered for other multi-tenant office buildings nearby. Leasing activity downtown has turned sour, and already had been going that direction at the time that the Hess lease was signed. Also, Hess will be relocating from other downtown locations into its new tower, so the net impact on absorption won't ultimately be earth-shattering.

I would bet, as well, that Hess received discounted rent for becoming a single tenant. I agree that the terms of that lease, if the discount went down as we both believe, would make this project incomparable; I am just wondering about other class A rent per foot VERY nearby the discovery green after this deal was signed. You are right about little impact on absorption in the central business district (I think Hess moved from 5 Allen? And added between 100,000 and 200,000 sq ft to their offices with this deal?), so I guess I would be referring to comps solely in eastern downtown.

Aside from stadia, I'm not especially familiar with any deals where corporations have ever desired to put their logo on a building that they don't occupy. It would seem to me like they would only create confusion and also as though it wouldn't generate as much bang for the buck as traditional outdoor advertising.

The terms for naming rights are pretty fluid. Sometimes a building owner will offer naming rights for free to a tenant whose lease is coming up during a down market as an incentive to keep them from looking for cheaper space elsewhere. Sometimes a big tenant will demand naming rights as part of the deal as an up-front concession. Other times, naming rights are sold off, either to the high bidder or as a hybridized source of cash flow but also as a tenant retention strategy. You might talk to an office broker if you're seeking detailed anecdotes, but I've heard of all kinds of situations coming up.

I'd love to find examples outside of sports arenas ("stadia") where non-tenants buy name rights - I will post this on the Development and Real Estate Thread. I am sure, as I bet you are, as well, that companies would definitely do it if the price were "right"..but, as with most things, it's just finding that right price. Google would definitely love to slap their name on Williams Tower for $1mm, etc.

I am rather fond of the plan. It is certainly better than the old Compass Bank Building surrounded by surface parking!

Additionally, some of my favorite buildings in town include the Wortham Tower and the Exxon downtown. The lines of The Perennial seem to play homage to those two but with a new century twist.

I also have to say that this design, especially for what appears to be the 30 story hotel/residential portion, reminds me A LOT of some of the newer W Hotel properties that have risen...

Very much with you regarding similarities to several W properties...

it's called "renegging" or "retrading" and unfortunately, happens all of the time in our industry. theres usually either a loophole or not worth the legal fees / headache / etc forcing a party to their obligations.

with the exception of hud 221(d)4, 99.99% of all development deals today include recourse.

borlenghi will sell at the right price. unfortunately for him, i dont foresee anyone buying it.

I guess the free rent deal was not big enough of a deal to Mandola to go after Interfin.....

Sucks sucks sucks about recourse....I just figured w 40 percent equity down, the deals would just be collateralized with the land and improved structure under construction and no personal liability on top....talk about a deal killer.

Again, maybe a very obvious question, but you don't see value at that site at 50 a ft or something near that? Are you saying you don't forsee people seeing value in that site or just many sites with current market conditions?

Kirksey puts out a document like that every few years. Contact their PR person and they'll provide you with the most recent figures, probably from 2006 or 2007.

Lockmat's document was from Kirksey, I BELIEVE.... I will see if I can post it..

Thread is back. Lockmat, do you still have the document that....documents average building costs currently in the Houston area?

...probably b/c the thread creator, ethanra, hasn't changed it, and the mods tend to leave thread titles alone.

Thank you, Lockmat...

Is Hess Tower the official name? Or is it Discovery Tower that just happens to be leased out by Hess? How does the naming thing work?

As far as I have read, 'Hess Tower' will be the official name of the building. I'd really like to have a discussion on the Development and Real Estate thread about this to get other HAIF readers into that conversation - I'm interested to learn specifics and common prices on naming rights.

From my understanding, if someone signs up for a significant portion of the building, they might negotiate to rename the building.

Sorta' like Heritage tower was "Texaco Heritage Tower" at one point.

I would assume someone/some entity could have a building named after him/it just by paying a fee (not sure what the title is for "naming fee") and not even be a tenant of the building....probably unlikely but I would think there is a certain price that a party pays to advertise whatever name they choose. Anyone remember the price/deal AIG paid for the name/signage rights on the high rise on Allen Parkway?

problem is, there really isn't a "fair" price because of the current lending environment and the huge gap between bid/ask. heck, mandola didnt want to sell but was made an offer they couldnt refuse. interfin overpaid and is now stuck holding the bag.

total hypothetical...

say a STRONG buyer wanted to move forward. to get a loan, they probably put down 40% equity of what the bank values the deal at (probably 25%+ less than what it would have been a year ago). top that off with personal guarantee on the outstanding loan. probably need to JV and use the land as collateral. if i were to guess, think a bank would put a value of $50 psf on the dirt today.

Thanks for the effort of estimating a "fair price." Also, are you talking about a "strong buyer" wanting to develop a vertical project here, that the bank values the deal at 25% less than pro forma estimated value of the developed project? 40% SUCKS but I am surprised the development loan would be a recourse loan....

Does Borlenghi want to get rid of the land (anyone know?) or hold out?

for a little background, mandola got a really good deal when he purchased the property, even worked out of the back offices. when interfin offered terms where mandola could continue operating with free rent, figured it was too good to be true. which in hindsight, unfortunately, was the case.

interfin reneged, demoed the site, and now here we are.

Correct my slow understanding of your story, but are you stating that Interfin broke a contract offering free rent for the restaurant?

Whatever pal. You need to step off. I don't have to answer your question. I posted some thoughts on this thread on the naming of this building and if I want to do that I will, at any time.

Your over the top response to my harmless musings was rude and offensive, but lets just leave it at that as I've better things to do than go back and forth on this.

Good evening.

Your frustrations are noted, however, the main reason I jumped in was because there are a lot of Guests who see these new projects going up, and in searching for information about them they find their way to these forums. Many of them see replies worded such as yours and rethink any prior thoughts about joining the forum. We lose potential contributing members, as well as develop a reputation as not being a friendly forum. Whether you don't care or do, That's the other moral of the story.

And in referring to Hess as the buildings owner was a brain flub on my part. I meant the leasing tenant of the building.

I think our points are made and this thread can get back on topic. If you want the last word on the matter you can have it.

So, does anyone who is not an invalid know why this thread is not named 'Hess Tower' currently? Same simple question...

Also, on the commercial real estate leasing side, how much effect on this project's comps was made due to the single-tenant leasing deal to Hess here? Did prices rise much (any)??

May have missed a previous conversation about this, but why has this thread not been renamed "Hess Tower" ?

Whoa JWW, take a chill pill! Attacking him for his opinion, and misunderstanding your question is wrong on so many levels. Personally I think the name Hess Discovery Tower does sounds better based on its location, but that's just my opinion too. Extra dollars get spent on Extra letters, so I can understand why the owner would totally throw that opinion out the window and just name the building he is moving into what he pleases.

In response to your question, I haven't seen any posts by the mods in this thread, so perhaps they aren't looking at this thread as often to know to make the change. I'm sure if they were they would certainly remind you not to call your fellow Haif'ers Ignoramuses based on an opinion. I'm sure a simple PM to one of them would clear the need for renaming the thread right up, if you feel the thread title has become outdated or inaccurate. I'm gonna request right now that when the title gets changed that for familiarity's sake the mods add a thread description stating: "Formerly known as Discovery Tower". Thank you drive thru.

Geoff, "attacking him for his opinion, and misunderstanding your question" is "wrong on so many levels" ??? Do I even respond to that? I do.not.care.what.anyone.thinks.it.should.be. Hess will not be owning the building, either, so that comment of yours made no sense.

"I'm sure if they were they would certainly remind you not to call your fellow..." - Thank you for projecting an opinion for a moderator, but, again, I could not care less what you think. In case you need it explained to you, I did not call a "fellow Haif'er" an ingnoramus due to his opinion ; I called him an ignoramus because he is not answering the question and is repeating the hackneyed waste of time of throwing out an opinion of the name of a project when that had nothing to do with my question. Stop wasting people's time by giving an extraneous answer that does not answer the question. That's the moral of this story.

Cause that name blows?

Why not just call it Hess Discovery Tower?

1000 times better, and actually a fantastic branding opportunity for Hess IMO.

To associate Hess with theme of "discovery" etc...and to the park itself....good PR / sponsor park events etc...

Ignoramus, I asked why the thread had not been renamed Hess Tower yet as Hess negotiated THAT NAME. NO ONE CARES what you think it should be, got it?

'Save the day' and go beg Hess and T.Crow to reconsider/renegotiate on your own time since you are such a savvy marketer. Until then, does anyone with a brain know why this thread has not been renamed that. Even if the name could be "1000 times better" being something else.

May have missed a previous conversation about this, but why has this thread not been renamed "Hess Tower" ?

Pretty naive question here -

What are your thoughts on adding large (multiple story) signs/advertisements on the corner of the facades of developments such as BLVD Place? I can't post this on Development and Real Estate as the moderators are insisting on removing that from "Going Up", so I'll just post it on this project's thread.... I am referring to advertisements in Hollywood, CA and along Sunset Blvd., etc.... just to add to a more cosmopolitan feel and more retail oriented.... a large Ralph Lauren ad or Mikimoto or things like that...just wondering how that would impact and possibly 'spice up' Post Oak.

More importantly, is anyone aware of local restrictions precluding ads such as my previous example?

good luck trying to sell that site.

1) they paid $95 psf pretty much at the market peak

2) the site is only suitable for a vertical development, especially because of the size and that price

Any valuation out there what "fair" price would be right now?

since march yeah. i will clarify though, the martinis are $1 (gin, vodka based and similar drinks like cosmos), other drinks aren't so cheap. shiner was $8. been a couple of times. the kobe burger/fries was $16.95 good the last time but service was slow. hrs are 11-2, not 11-1 like i stated earlier.

Wrong, before March.

Martinis are $1 ????????

I noticed that the estimates for construction have changed from around $55M in earlier articles to $34.5M in the most recent one. Is that a reasonable figure based on declining prices related to construction or is it just wrong?

It certainly doesn't have anything to do with construction price deflation. My bet is that the costs were quoted differently, one figure reflecting only hard costs, while the others include the soft costs and/or land price.

Can anyone find out the story? I am a little panicked.

I noticed last night on my way home from work that they started putting the glass cladding on the building. One floor has gotten the glass installed.

I posted this question before on the Development and Real Estate thread, but apparently the moderators have decided to remove that thread from "Going Up" as ridiculous as that is.... so I'll ask it only to people who happen to read this thread - Does anyone have suggestions or answers why glass curtain facades are hung at different times in different construction sites? Sometimes after a building is topped off, sometimes when the building is only half its final height, etc. In fact, please let that question apply to any facade, not just glass.

they are now opening the HOB foundation room to anyone during the hours of 11a-1p for cheap drinks. i think it's only weekdays.

Old news, it's been that way. For lunch as well as the drinks.

any idea how much memberships to the Foundation Room cost?

I believe all are over 1k but there are other ways to go to the bar or for dinner without a membership.