ChannelTwoNews

"Houston-based Johnson Development has acquired 1,491 acres from The George Foundation in Fort Bend County for a master-planned community that could be expanded significantly in the future.

The property is located on the northwestern tip of the foundation’s George Ranch, off FM 2977 at Koeblen Road behind Lamar Consolidated Independent School District’s Randle High School and the new Steenbergen Middle School on land that also used to be part of George Ranch.

The developer has not yet announced details nor a timeline for the development of the property other than saying that it will have a mix of housing, natural and planned amenities, and mixed-use development."

First VWs arrive at Port Freeport | News | thefacts.com

"Volkswagen’s operation at Port Freeport is now in business.

37 minutes ago, editor said:

The stylized caduceus is interesting.  It doesn't match the rest of the building.  I wonder if it's an artifact from a medical building was at this location before the parking garage was built.

That had been the part of the branding for the TMC as a whole for a number of years - at least until they started using the new "TMC" logo that is seen at Helix Park and some of the newer developments, as well as on their website.

Not sure how far back it goes, but it was certainly part of their overall look back into the 90s... maybe earlier? The gray sign looks to be of that vintage.

Montgomery to prepare feasibility study for H-E-B site near Hwy. 105, FM 2854 | Community Impact

"H-E-B owns a 32.42-acre tract of land at the southeast corner of Hwy. 105 and FM 2854, according to the agenda packet. The grocer recently contacted the city about proceeding with the development of that site.

The feasibility study will analyze the city’s water, wastewater and drainage systems to see if any upgrades or utility extensions are needed."

What NASA's Houston development means for Space City identity - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

"She added that she did not see a separation between NASA’s efforts and developments at the Houston Spaceport, where Axiom Space and Intuitive Machines have infrastructure gearing up to produce spacecraft of the future.

“We are continuing to be that leader in Houston spaceflight and we will continue to be that leader,” Wyche said. “But we have to be doing it in a way that we’re collaborating with many different people while maintaining our strategic leadership. We’re getting ready to do flight tests for Boeing, we have the Orion spacecraft for Artemis. If that doesn’t make us Space City, I don’t know what does."

Houston area to open first certified conservation cemetery (chron.com)

"Waller County, northwest of Houston, was historically known for its agricultural and manufacturing work but has recently transformed into an urban area."

suburban maybe?

From the March/April city newsletter.

$16 Million in funding for the first part of a three-segment construction project to extend a taxiway from Ellington Airport to the Spaceport has been approved by City Council.

Taxiway Lima, roughly 2-mile stretch connecting Houston Spaceport to Ellington Airport, gets $16 million project approved - ABC13 Houston

"The taxiway will act as a general upgrade to the airport, said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System, which oversees the spaceport. However, because of where it's located, it will "open up possibilities for the spaceport," including 400 acres of land for future development."

Trader Joe's will take over the former Sprouts location.

Trader Joe's to open Sugar Land store - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

"The Monrovia, California-based grocery chain confirmed to the Houston Business Journal that it plans to open Trader Joe’s #430 in the University Commons shopping center at 13550 University Blvd.

The company did not provide other details or a timeline, saying it will share more as things develop. However, an announcement indicated the company aims to open the store in 2024."

Coming soon per Trader Joe's website...

Trader Joe's Sugar Land (430) | Grocery Store in Sugar Land 77479 (traderjoes.com)

Construction on Westbury's Dr. Shannon Walker Library continues | Community Impact

"While an official opening date hasn't been set, Houston Public Library officials told Community Impact the city of Houston has until March 31 to reach substantial completion in the construction stage."

14 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

I have questions about Houston's Life Science/Biotechnology sector.  Not sure if this is the right thread to discuss it.

Why doesn't Houston's biotech/life science sector take off? It's a perfect idea considering the Texas Medical Center is right next door.  I've heard people talk about politics. Most of the life science hubs are located in Democrat-ran states. I've also heard people say Houston's big medical center is non-profit, where biotech is venture capital and for-profit. It's a different type of business, where Houston is lacking.

* There are billions being spent in the TMC right now.  However, it's the already established Houston hospitals.  Different than recruiting life science companies from Boston to build a new tower.

See this HBJ cover:

I read the article when it came out a couple of months back and I would summarize it this way...

While this concern may specifically be tied to the biosciences field/industry in Houston - it's not a set of struggles that the field/industry is having ONLY in Houston. 

It pointed to the success of March Biosciences, whose CEO credited local, Houston/TMC-based funds that have only been created in the recent past to aid it's own positive growth. 

The space is there for lease should companies want to plant their flag in the Houston area, wherever that may be. More is on the drawing board assuming there is sufficient demand for an end user. 

What was also mentioned was a need for time for the ecosystem to continue to develop locally in this field. It was also stated that there was a lack of desire among those in the C-suite level to move from their existing spaces to somewhere new. This came up later in the piece when compared to an existing market like Boston which has an investor class that could return and invest in local developments - Houston didn't really have that at present. 

It also was summarized by TMC CEO Bill McKeon who basically said that the commercial development was moving at "hyperspeed", but with that would come the investor class that could add to the "brainpower" available in time. 

Another issue is the nature of what happens in the biosciences field itself: The piece stated it was more of a 90% failure / 10% success proposition. 

McKeon, in particular, sounded pretty optimistic about the long-game though. The piece ended this way.

“Most people think life science is not happening there because they don’t see Bristol Myers Squibb or whatever,” McKeon said. “But what we’re seeing is more strategic inbound discussions with investors and companies. Once you start seeing more shots on goal, that’s when you start seeing more investors take a look at us. And that’s happening at a more rapid pace than in Boston or San Diego.”

I really like the idea of this space. 

I also feel like I'm about the only person around that likes the design of the Family Law Center.

Wouldn't hate it if it could be repurposed into a learning space or museum/archive that could serve the purpose and mission of the surrounding park area. I won't be too terribly heartbroken if it comes down however.

After @TowerSpotter mentioned the possible redevelopment of the old Timberloch Tower site in The Woodlands, I went to the website they linked.

Saw this mentioned as a possible HQ or campus for Bridgeland. Conceptual of course.

12 hours ago, TowerSpotter said:

Decided to open a new a topic for the Timberloch Tower site since the old one was locked. I ran into these renderings from the Howard Hughes successlivesherehhc website. Not sure if it was posted before but I noticed it was a recent upload on google images. The renderings look great, there has been quite a decent amount of leasing activity in The Woodlands, leaving me to believe they could be planning to build more. Looks like it could be huge campus for an HQ relocation.

https://www.successlivesherehhc.com/texas/

 

I like that tower that's closest to the ramp from 45 onto Woodlands Parkway. Looks like an updated version or homage to the look of the First City tower in a way.

Houston’s Luxury Condo Market is Growing (therealdeal.com)

"Pelican Builders developed the first ever residential highrise in Houston, The Woodway, in 1974."

2016 Main says hi.

2016 Main – 2016 Main Condominiums (2016mainhouston.com)

"Completed in 1964, 2016 Main Condominiums enjoys the distinction of being the first high-rise residential (living space/building) in Downtown Houston."

Lamar Tower also says yo. (1965)

That doesn't even count some of the apartment highrises like The River Oaks (Originally - 1962), the Conquistador (1964), Houston House (1966), and the Cabochon (1966).

May have missed some...

Bringing Great Wolf Lodge to the what?

“Things are going really well on the construction side of things, and (we’re) just definitely excited to bring Great Wolf Lodge to the metroplex,” said Keith Furnas, general manager of Great Wolf Webster.

On 1/6/2024 at 12:08 PM, editor said:

The new Outlaw television network is now on KEHO-LD/Houston (on 32.7), and KUVM-CD/Missouri City (on 34.6).

it describes itself as "classic western movies and TV series."  So far, "classic" seems to mean "old, but new enough to be in color."

Between Outlaw on 32.7 and 34.6; Grit on KPXB/Conroe (49.8), and KFTH-DT/Alvin (on 67.3); GetTV on KPRC-TV/Houston (on 2.5) and KFTH-DT/Alvin (on 67.2); regular weekend western movies on KTXH/Houston (20.2); and the regular western shows on the KYAZ/Katy-KPRC-TV/Houston MeTV/MeTV+ melange, no one with a television should ever want for cowboy shows in Houston.

It feels GetTV is getting away from that genre somewhat. I work for a station that runs them on our .2 subchannel and we would get weekly promos sent from them for their weekend slots that were exclusively western themed up until maybe a year ago or so. It was called "Weekends Under the Big Sky". They were actually bringing in some fairly obscure stuff for a while like Casey Jones, Barbary Coast, Paradise/Guns of Paradise, and a few others that were short-lived mixed in with better known shows.

The network was rebranded last year to emphasize it was more of a general-entertainment (or in their case "Great Entertainment") Television network, so that seemed to indicate that move away was increasing. 

They're re-launching their programming block for weekends starting tomorrow and it looks like it's effectively the weekday lineup. Walker: Texas Ranger has a 5-hour set each weekday and 4-hours on weekends with the Lazarus Man taking the 5th hour on Saturdays & Sundays. Whether or not anyone considers Walker to be a western is one of those YMMV situations, but the programming isn't nearly as genre specific as it used to be. I know we've gotten a few calls and emails about it on occasion from our older viewers, but not a ton overall. 

DeLorean Motor Company ends agreement with Bexar County (sanantonioreport.org)

"Nearly two years after announcing plans for a new company headquarters at Port San Antonio, the DeLorean Motor Company has requested to end its economic development agreements with Bexar County and the City of San Antonio."

Port Houston surges to 5th place among U.S. container terminals - BIC Magazine

"Port Houston has leapt from being the number seven container terminal in the country to number five and it is continuing to grow with key exports including plastics and petrochemicals, along with 60% of the polyethylene resins produced in the U.S."

Former HPE, Compaq campus rebranded, signs first tenant - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

"The 94-acre complex at 11445 Compaq Center West Drive, off state Highway 249 south of Louetta Road, is now called Viva Center.

The owner, Houston-based Morales Capital Group, signed a 10-year headquarters lease with hormone treatment and weight loss company SynergenX in October, and the company expanded its space to a total of 54,247 square feet in January.

Morales Capital Group is headed by Eduardo Morales, who is also the CEO of alcoholic beverage distribution company Mexcor International and several other entities under the Morales Capital Group umbrella. It is headquartered at 11177 Compaq Center West Drive, which is part of Viva Center. The 250,000-square-foot building also serves as a distribution center for Mexcor.

The group envisions turning the campus into a mixed-use tech hub with public gathering areas, events and apartments."

Sugar Land approves next steps for Lake Pointe Plaza | Community Impact

"Sugar Land City Council approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and Sugar Land-based developer Planned Community Developers for the redevelopment of the Lake Pointe Plaza area in a Feb. 27 meeting."

HBJ Profile of Color Factory and its CEO Tina Malhotra. The company also has locations in New York and Chicago. The headquarters is in Houston.

Color Factory CEO expects growth in experiential concepts - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

"Malhotra said the decision to make Houston the company's headquarters — which became official in 2023 — came down to the Bayou City having the largest location, spanning 20,000 square feet, twice the size of the New York location's 10,000 square feet.

That size alone makes it easier to test out new ideas, Malhotra said. And it doesn't hurt that she also lives in Houston.

"I think Houston could be a destination for those types of businesses," she said. "It just proves that this is an industry and a model that is working and will continue to stay in our lives."

54 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

What is Catch?

About | Catch Restaurants in NY, LA, CO, NV

NASA Selects ACMI as Second Approved Exploration Park Facility - NASA - Press Release

"NASA and the American Center for Manufacturing and Innovation (ACMI) signed an agreement Thursday, Feb. 29 to lease underutilized land in a 240-acre Exploration Park at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. ACMI will enable the development of facilities to enable commercial and defense space manufacturing.

The agreement is the second such public/private lease agreement to allow industry and academia to use NASA Johnson land to create facilities for a collaborative development environment that increases commercial access and enhances the United States’ commercial competitiveness in the space and aerospace industries. NASA signed a similar lease with the Texas A&M University System earlier this month.

Calling it the Space Systems Campus, ACMI plans to incorporate an applied research facility partnered with multiple stakeholders across academia, state and local government, the Department of Defense and regional economic development organizations."