roadrunner

I just checked some properties on their website and they do have some mixed use properties. Here's one I found

http://www.hines.com...ail.aspx?id=144

Judging from the importance of the site (both historically and today. I hope they consider something more ambitious than the bland 30 story office building. I'm sure the leasing levels for the Rice across the street prove that that location can support residential and the magnolia not too far proves a hotel can compete. Combine either of those with offices and retail and they can add something to Main Street because the current trend is to move towards discovery Green and the improvements there.

I don't think they have final drawings, but the last rendering I saw was a lot different than the one being thrown around in this thread.

Maybe it has been quiet because everyone in the real estate industry is busy right now.....

Things are looking good for Houston right now. This project is going to happen (although it looks as if Skanska won't), and Downtown is gaining steam. I wouldn't be surprised if Skanska makes a play downtown or somewhere else in the city. That company has a lot of money and is dedicated to making a move in the Houston market. We all know Hines isn't shy about developing in Houston, and I think that second tower on Main will happen within the next 12-18 months.

Everyone needs to stop the pity party.

Wow so they put in a surface parking lot on the portion of the lot facing the park. What an awful development and a waste of a prime block. The lot is too small to build anything else. It is embarrassing (but not surprising) that the city decided to support this.

Not particularly impressed by the retail lineup thus far.

What? Why? Fashion boutiques are exactly what this development was aiming for.

Pub Fiction v2.0 looks good, but what is going in the old Pub Fiction? Anything or are they just vacating?

When is it all supposed to be completed?

Fortunately, I don't see this happening. In the short term it is an exciting project, but does Houston really need a hotel on the east side of 59? The answer is no. It wouldn't be successful and if the city is going to support a new hotel it needs to fill in the empty lots between Minute Maid and Disco Green.

This all sounds like fluff anyways, so I'm not too worried.

Somewhat related...what ever happened with Magic Johnson's group and the Icon Hotel?

I think that should do well. If they advertise properly, they would probably get quite a bit of traffic from the nearby apartment complexes.

This will be an interesting test for the Almeda market. There are a surpisingly large amount of young professionals who live along that corridor in those apartment complexes. It's a relatively untapped market. If this does well I think we'll see more business take a chance down the street.

I know people whisper that Almeda is the "next Washington", and I don't think that's going to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a more active strip in the next 10 years.

I'm the eternal nightlife optimist but.....

Opening all four of these clubs on Washington (the hot spot these days) would probably bat .250.

Opening all four of these clubs in downtown? Next to the theaters? I mean, it's just dumb business. How do these people get financing? They must have a year free rent or something.

Is this on track to be ready for the Final Four?

Can anyone tell just from looking at it?

Yeah I don't see this happening.

Finally went to Natachee's and it's really awesome. Can't really explain it, but there's definitely not a place like it in Houston. The owner is very friendly and cool, too.

I recommend you go. Now.

If this turns out to be a high end restaurant then that's kind of cool. That stretch of Montrose is turning into quite the restaurant-row. Too bad the actual intersection of Westheimer and Montrose is still terrible.

If you click on the Central Square flyer it says "one of the eye sores in this location has been the Grey Hound Bus Station, which has just gone up for sale as they are relocating." Can anyone confirm this to be true?

I did read somewhere that a new facility was built on the east side and the Mexican bus station would be relocated there...and maybe the Greyhound?

My memory is failing me.

edit: found it http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7281999.html

Wow this looks awesome. Will have to check it out this weekend.

Between this and Antique, it's nice to see a little movement on Main St.

But CityCentre is about to build two more office buildings, so maybe things are getting better?

I don't think they're getting better. The CBD is about to add an almost completely vacant building. This Skanska project is a huge roll of the dice.

CityCentre is a unique concept that the developers truly hit a homerun with. The demand for 2 buildings in that complex is real, but that is not indicative of the rest of the Houston market.

This is Houston. Companies will care much more about freeway access than walkability.

The only tenants that would lease this building are small companies whose CEOs live in that neighborhood. That won't fill up the whole building, so they would need some boutique architecture or advertising firm or something along those lines to take 1-2 floors before this thing is even considered to get off the ground.

I may be skeptical, but I just don't see this thing happening. There is a much better chance of that Galleria building being built, in my opinion.

Nice design, interesting location....

The freeway access is absolutely terrible/nonexistent at that corner. I would be surprised if this gets built unless they secure a large tenant pre-construction.

New addition coming to CityCentre - 7,000 sq. ft. Tasting Room with a 6,500 sq ft patio. Nice!

That is an excellent fit for the complex. It could still use a little more retail, but this is good news nonetheless.

There has been a lot of activity at the abandoned concrete warehouse building on the north side of Washington between Knox and Birdsall, just east of Benjy's. About a month or so ago, they spruced the place up, put in canopy's and spotlights and had some sort of late-night event/party... Since then they poured a concrete parking lot on the front of the site (used to be an old wood frame commercial property "The Thomas Collection" which you can still see on Google StreetView. I spoke with a guy who seemed to be overseeing things there last week and he said they are putting in a new Sushi restaurant on the first floor and I thought he said a wine cellar upstairs. Hopefully a a great, sustainable, addition to the Washington Corridor!

Some other news after some snooping further east on Washington. According to the realtor marketing the properties, those modern four story townhomes, the ones they wanted 600K for just east of Reign Lounge at Jackson Hill (they were abandoned mid-construction and the exposed insulation blowing in the wind has been an eyesore for months now) are finally going to be finished. In fact, the two on Washington will be torn down. The middle one will be a lawyer's office, with the rear two units now being finished for sale. The front will be parking for the lawyer's office. Makes sense for the lawyer's office in the middle one -- who would want to live right next door to Reign lounge and look down on Washington Ave for 600K+???.

I thought that thing next to Benjy's was wine storage.

According to some code (maybe a fire code), a certain number of lights on each floor cannot turn off. That, cleaning crews, and investment bankers are why you see all of those buildings lit up.

I'll live with the 3rd person if the pizza is any good. It is way too hard to find good pizza in this town.

What I heard was that eventually it would find it's way to nearly Memorial City mall and spread north of I-10. The whole area would hope to provide pedestrian friendly modes of access so that cars would not be needed beyond arrival.

Are they going to put a pedestrian bridge over the I-10 Beltway interchange?

It really wouldn't make sense for Midway to expand north of I-10. They might as well go tap into a completely new market if they were to do that.

I'm sure if they have thought of anything it would be acquire the land between CityCentre and I-10, tear down those Class C office buildings and redevelop that land and make it all contiguous with the CityCentre that exists today.

That is probably decades from happening, though. CityCentre does seem to be a success, and from what I've heard Midway is looking into other submarkets around town to redevelop, which is exciting considering the kind of product they delivered with CityCentre.

does anyone know how effective these types of windmills are or what the expected output is supposed to be? To me they look a little skimpy.

I think it's supposed to power like 10% of the building or something.