wxman

Where are we at on this building? Are we getting close to topping out?

Has anybody seen the blue lights on the new highrise just south of HCC? Man, it looked awesome tonight! Every balcony was lit up in blue lights and really made it stand out. I wish I could have snapped a pic but I was driving.

Gorgeous building. Damn it's big. 

Where are we at on this building? How many more floors? I know it's early but it doesn't look as imposing as it does in some of the early renderings to me. Is it just me?

Oh man, what are the chances that Williams will have some competition soon? 

Hey, it’s not ghetto! 😂 I think it’s really nice. Great addition. 

The quintessential Houston treatment. Ghetto.

That is a 1983 office building, straight up. Next

4 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

I can now confirm they have completed the demolition of old Terminal C North.   See photos in the attached, along with a bunch of new renderings of the upcoming replacement concourse and new terminal facilities.

 

http://www.houstontx.gov/council/committees/econdev/20200617/ITRP.pdf

Wow, well, the new renderings are nice and it'll be a major upgrade over what we have now. Too bad the entire thing won't be needed for quite sometime. 

While I think the new renderings are nice and clean, I still think our airport (as well as most airports in the US) lack a 'wow' factor like DXB, SIN, ICN, PEK or SZX. I wish our cities, airports and railways were the envy of the world the way we were in the 50s and 60s. Oh wellz

Anybody have any updates on the terminal? Have they completed the Terminal C north demo? I know it seems dramatic but I wonder if IAH will ever return to the air traffic we once had. If so, it'll be years I bet. Are we in danger of losing any foreign flags over this pandemic?

This is going to be a very imposing building. Already is actually.

Btw, I noticed yesterday for the first time that the rebar sticking up for the next floor is now visible from I-45 as you pass the aquarium. 

Yikes, this thing got a pretty significant hair cut. Not nearly as dominate first proposed. Looks like it got the quintessential Houston treatment.

What are the benefits for a developer being confined to such a small, confined lot? At first glance, it's hardly big enough for a row of portable potties much less a highrise. It seems like if I was the developer, I'd want a full city block or at least half of one. Is it as simple as the price of the lot?

Nice edition but will be cloaked from view from all sides of downtown except the east side. In-fill is still good tho.

It's sad that our state's tallest building is also one of the ugliest. There is nothing special about this building at all. Just a tall, gray, bland, box. 

So I haven't been following this thread at all and jumping in the middle of the convo here, would somebody be willing to sum up where we are here? The only thing I know is that they'll be:

-widening it by one lane from the beltway into downtown

-reroute the 45 around the east side of downtown

-bury the freeway near GRB

-add 24/7 express/toll lanes in each direction like the katy freeway

Is the gist of it? When is this supposed to break ground? The north freeway clear out to The Woodlands needs about 5 lanes added in each direction. That freeway is a death trap. Way too small for the volume it's trying to carry.

I wonder if this will be the 'Heritage Plaza' of today's times--as in the last major office skyscraper downtown for the forseeable future. With the pandemic and so many people working from home, it seems things may 'never' go back to normal and many people will continue working from home. It was a forced experiment that seems to have worked in that people working from their living rooms are equally, if not more, productive than when at the office. Translation: no need for abundant office space. 

I'm only talking office skyscrapers, not condo or apartment towers.

4 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

Are you telling me this...

 

 

Looks better than this?

 

Did I, at any point, mention the new concrete or trees? No. The new pavement and trees is quite the improvement actually. Buses are not sexy and giving them a designated lane is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig. A bus is a bus is a bus and I highly doubt these BRT lanes will move the numbers of people being projected. Most people don't ride buses -- especially in a city built for the car. Why we don't focus our attention on commuter rail is beyond me. I'm really not even a fan of light rail. God knows the one from downtown to the dome will shake the dirt from your shoes. I realize it's not financially savvy to sell commuter rail but putting in a useless lane for a rolling eyesore is a shame. Of course, many of you won't agree and that's okay. Personally, they should stop why they're ahead and transition these designated lanes into bikes and foot traffic areas. 

Those BRT lines are a waste and a blight. The end.

3 hours ago, Big E said:

Another building that became another massive disappointment and stopped being remotely interesting. The one building planned that had some vision to it. At least it doesn't look preposterously ugly like many other "value engineered" buildings in Houston. But it will hardly standout against the rest of the TMC skyline now and nobody will remember this building two years after its finished. I mean, does the TMC really need another hospital. Being the largest collection of hospitals in the world still isn't enough? They have to lap every city on Earth two times in the number of hospital beds? The original idea at least added much needed medical office and lab space and a nice residential component.

I may be going out on a limb here but I don't think the developers of these buildings are looking to make a statement. They have a certain amount of needed space with a certain budget cap and they build the best they can with what best meets their needs. I'm fairly sure the idea of a landmark trophy tower never crossed the minds of those building this or designing it. 

It'll still be a fairly nice addition to the TMC skyline and will be a signature tower for that area--even at 35-stories. It's a good looking building. 

Bottom right by far outshines the others but it’s a moot point. The building, despite being 42-stories, won’t even reach the height of Hess Tower next door which itself is hardly noticeable on the skyline. It’ll be good for infill but that’s about the extent of it. It’ll hardly be a staple of the skyline. Welcome addition tho!

Who was going to build this building anyway? Was it a Hines product?

I wish there was something we could do to get them to build this building. It NEEDS to be here. For as large as Houston is, our tallest building is a squatty 1,000 feet and it's not even a pretty building. 

Is there an updated rendering for this project?

6 hours ago, hindesky said:

Drive Thru Menu board.

Looking at that, 830,000 sq feet doesn't go as far as it used to -- that or they stuffed 10 lbs of shit into a 5 lbs bag. Either way, this development is pretty underwhelming