toxtethogrady

If this thing becomes more certain, they may decide to add some architectural touches that we haven't seen yet.

They have a cute stand alone store on San Felipe...

Hmm - for whatever reason, their ads in the airline magazines don't list it.

And the same sentiment goes for those Hawaiian jewelers, Na'Hoku.

If you've ever seen the Ballston section of Arlington, VA, you'll know that buildings like this are a dime a dozen. Only the brick is tan. 

But they are Houston-based. Just like Conn's.

Are they still calling it EaDo place when the Master Plan says East End?

Holy cow, i'm kind of shocked more people aren't going gaga over this announcement. I know that we kind of knew that this was coming but now that it's becoming reality and the details are showing that so many of these buildings are tall it's really impressive.

Also I'm assuming that's a typo and they meant four-star not four stories, am I correct?

Also I'm guessing the other towers that the article mentions are pasted in another thread?

The reason it's not gaga time is the name of hotel hasn't been announced (and I'd take another Valencia Group Hotel as a substitute), so it's not even certain this will happen or that it will be a W. And the four stories does indeed look like a typo; kind of hard to cram 300 hotel rooms in four floors. But four star is a downgrade from five stars.

I also think Houston needs to start turning up its nose at some of these newbies. W didn't see fit to bring in a hotel to Houston back in 2007 when they built one in Dallas? Screw them. Ritz Carlton? We're way beyond that. Bloomingdale's never opened in the Galleria when they had the chance? Tough luck - we want Raffles City or Harrod's now. Roche Bobois still not interested? There are better furniture designers who are. We're the most important city in Texas, and if you high-end retailers don't get it, we don't want you.

Actually, Target's kind of in the way. I wonder if they can be bribed to find another site in the vicinity (Much like MIcro Center was).

Meanwhile, a differing opinion: Houston may benefit from lower oil prices. The sweet spot is between $55 and $90 a barrel. Chevron Phillips is planning a second major expansion at Bayport, and they need cheap oil...

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2014/11/why-lower-oil-prices-are-good-for-houston/

I was just getting ready to comment on the same thing! Funny...

That's the Medical Center.

This is actually the time when the GHP is supposed to distinguish itself, by marketing Houston to businesses in other parts of the country (or the world) that are looking to expand. There is enough momentum in the petroleum industry to attract players from other places to the Houston area, but it's a harder sell to attract non-petroleum manufacturers, wholesale trade and service enterprises. Houston has a port and a medical center, both of which should be selling points for businesses looking to expand. And all the new petrochemical plants should support secondary manufacturing of products made with the plastics and related materials being produced. There could be opportunities.

And the overheated market for land and construction materials may get a chance to cool down.

While I'm bummed by the lack of bayou integration (can't say I'm overly surprised though), the rest of the plans seem nice. And some high rises! Heh.. I still think this site is too isolated from the rest of downtown to be much besides a stand alone development though.. Too bad. I had hoped that midway might come up with something creative.

It does not look like they're going to modify the existing streets.

Highrises on the site might be nice, especially residential, but we need to avoid the Jersey-City-across-the-Hudson-from-Manhattan look and feel.

That's not too bad a slippage. A lot of projects in this town are experiencing delays, possibly due to the permitting process being slow, possibly due to labor shortages, possibly due to materials shortages. I don't think it implies cold feet. Hines tends to be deliberate in its project starts. 

that latest rendition of the george r. brown is gorgeous!

Nicely framed. An it doesn't even show the Catalyst.

25 floors down to 23 now?

Color me surprised.

And check-in is still on the top floor? 

We'll have to see if the design has changed. That was the coolest part of the original proposal.

So did it break ground today?

The Chronic says they did. Off and running; in 3 to 6 months we can look for a crane.

I thought only airports did placeholder construction.

It's a layout that's got elements of that proposed Saudi Consulate, with a little MATCH mixed in. But it works.

I hope they decide against wood construction.

I didn't say the French look was necessarily the best (I'd go for the Dutch look, but that requires a canal. ) But there are options. Houston seems to favor the rowhouse, especially if it has industrial elements. Color would also be nice. For some reason everyone thinks that would bring down property values.

More schools and grocery stores needed.

Blah!   I would expect to see something like that in suburban DC, not Houston. Lofty ambitions brought down to Earth by escalating costs.

My thought of the day: what complimentary buildings do you think will be added once all these new residential mid-rise, high-rise buildings go up and are occupied?

 

1. Grocery

2. Restaurant

3. Shopping

4. Rail to get to those things

 

What is needed most say in Downtown for example?

 

It seems to me that retail has really not taken off yet - has been subdued and I wonder if we should expect a mini boom of complementary stuff for the denser core.

Groceries will definitely be sought - whether bodegas or something on the order of HEB. There's a food desert in a corridor from 288 through downtown up through the Northside, and with home prices increasing in those neighborhoods, the stores should see plenty of demand.

That will be gone before you know it. Someone will make a bid, and it will be move-out time.

This would be the W Hotel...?

It sounds like it will be someone's hotel, though not necessarily a W. Another Sorella would be a good addition.

As large as the current project pipeline is and as fast as construction is going up, Christmas 2015 is going to see quite a collection of hihgrises as it is.