DrLan34

what's the word on scott gertner's?

i was talking to a friend from a CE company and they said they had been contracted to begin re-doing a large number of sidewalks in the heights area.

would be excellent if they did.

http://houston.cultu...-new-complexes/

"Archstone has broken ground on a new complex that will contain 474 units on the northeast corner of North Braeswood and Brompton Road. It's on the site of the former Houston Scottish Rite Temple, which was demolished in 2008 in order to make room for a developer.

Already Hines has announced plans to build a mid-rise apartment complex near the Galleria, part of its new focus on multi-family real estate.

Apartment giants Greystar Real Estate Partners and Camden Property Trust are also said to be in the planning process on new developments.

Post Properties announced last week that the company will break ground on the third phase of the Post Midtown Square, a mixed-use mid-rise development. One hundred 24 new apartments should be ready to add to the existing structures in the second half of 2012.

The Dinerstein Companies is expected to break ground by July 1 on its third Millennium apartment complex in Houston, a "boutique" complex with 237 units on McCue, just north of the Galleria. Partner Brian Dinerstein told the Houston Business Journal in April that the complex will be pedestrian-friendly and should be certified LEED Silver. The Millennium Galleria apartment are scheduled for completion in 2013.

Tell us: do you think the influx of high-end apartment complexes a good thing or a bad thing for Houston?"

http://houston.cultu...-new-complexes/

"Archstone has broken ground on a new complex that will contain 474 units on the northeast corner of North Braeswood and Brompton Road. It's on the site of the former Houston Scottish Rite Temple, which was demolished in 2008 in order to make room for a developer."

http://www.ultimatem...ect-to-be-green

"In addition to improving the pedestrian experience through Midtown with well-placed wider sidewalks, including a shaded boardwalk between Gray and Hadley, the Bagby Street design includes a series of rain gardens, special street-side landscaping features that will help filter storm water runoff, Daza said."

"Preliminary engineering for the project was completed last month, and construction, expected to take one year, could begin in September."

"Estimated to cost $12 million, the project will rebuild Bagby with two southbound lanes and turn bays at Pierce, Gray, and Webster, providing parallel parking on both sides and using bulb-outs to aid pedestrian crossings. The design allows for a third lane to be added to accommodate future traffic volumes."

"bulb-outs" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_extension

http://www.chron.com...le/7555826.html

something interesting...

"New Era Hospitality Inc., an investment group, purchased the building with hopes of renovating it into to a high-end hotel in 2008, but construction stalled over money woes.

"After we bought it, the financial market immediately crashed. We couldn't get a construction loan," said Ray Mohiuddin, the president of New Era Hospitality. "But we are getting close to one." "

"A four-story building at 500 Fannin has been purchased by Robert Fretz, who owns a construction company, with plans proceeding for its renovation into retail and office space. "

http://www.chron.com...ss/7614443.html new story about the green features

"Whole Foods said the Montrose store is its greenest in this market."

"The company initially considered building the store above two levels of parking, which would have reduced the size of the lot out front and created a denser development on the 5-acre site. But the grocer decided against it because the amount of concrete required for that type of construction would have created a "huge heat island" Shaw said.

"All that concrete absorbs heat all day and radiates it at night," he said. "It's a huge energy load."

Green space also reduces that heating effect. Trees placed strategically throughout the parking lot will create a better aesthetic while shading the cars, Shaw said."

another old atcile on the subject http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3638251.html

Disney store opening up in galleria

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110523005879/en/Disney-Store-Accelerates-2011-Store-Opening-Schedule

Not sure if there is a thread on this already... my apologies if there is...

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110615005181/en/Archstone-Starts-Construction-Houston-Apartment-Community

some stuff of the new permitting office next to 45

http://www.g2ld.com/wordpress/?tag=city-of-houston-central-permitting-center

http://www.smartapar...onstruction.pdf

some intersting information from a new presentation

Developer: Camden Property Company

Developer: Camden Property Company

Developer: Post Properties

Developer: Gables Residential

Developer: Oxberry Group"

This project has been delayed for quite some time so take this with a grain of salt.

I spoke to who I thought was the developer or someone close to the developer today over the phone.

I asked him when he thinks the project would be completed. He said 12-14 months until it is completed, and then when he said - are you talking about retail or office, i said office... he said more like 14 months.

He said they were finalizing the desing and in 1 months time there will be more information at the physical site.

So, if the statements above are true, groundbreaking should be somewhat soon.

yeah i think it is for vines.

That's a different site. The Turnberry site is just south of the Galleria.

Here's the thread for it:

http://www.houstonar...828-2525-mccue/

agreed... going to be a lot development in this area!

I saw this on the comments tab from Culture Map... http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2011/04/29/dinerstein-cracks-galleria-area-with.html

we could have a decent cluster of buildings in this area once Travis Stree Plaza, Richmond Landing, and M Fifty Nine take off

I noticed a "Rent a Fence" around the lot next to whole foods today during lunch. I don't think I have seen this there before... could it be the housing project they had mentioned earlier?

Anyone have any details on the liklihood of Camden City Centre II moving forward this year? The presentation makes it sound like 2011 might be a likely year for the project to start.

http://www.snl.com/C...&FID=1001157718 from March 14, 2011

Slide 27

______________

Potential 2011 Development Starts

Camden City Centre II - Houston, TX - 260 projected homes - 36 million projected cost

______________

Older news about the developments, I assume the other block they are talking about is the superblock

http://blog.chron.co...llion-offering/

From a late April Press Release...nothing detailed yet but there are some projects in the pipeline, just don't know if Houston is one for sure or not.

"Development Activity

Lease-up continued during the first quarter at Camden Ivy Hall, a $17 million joint venture community owned by the Fund which is currently 85% leased. Construction continued during the quarter on two wholly-owned development communities: Camden LaVina, a $61 million project in Orlando, FL; and Camden Summerfield II, a $32 million project in Landover, MD. Initial occupancy at these communities is scheduled for mid- to late 2011, with construction completions expected by early to mid-2012. In addition, the Company began construction during the first quarter on Camden Royal Oaks II, a $14 million project in Houston, TX scheduled for initial occupancy in late 2011 with construction completion expected in early to mid-2012.

Subsequent to quarter-end, the Company began construction on three additional wholly-owned development communities comprising 978 apartment homes for a total cost of $141 million: Camden Montague in Tampa, FL, a $23 million project with 192 apartment homes; Camden Westchase in Tampa, FL, a $52 million project with 348 apartment homes; and Camden Town Square in Orlando, FL, a $66 million project with 438 apartment homes.

In addition, Camden sold a land parcel in Washington, DC to the Fund for approximately $9.4 million subsequent to quarter-end, and the Company was reimbursed for previously written-off third party development costs, resulting in a gain of $4.7 million that will be recorded in the second quarter of 2011. Construction on this community - Camden South Capitol, an $88 million project with 276 apartment homes – also commenced subsequent to quarter-end.

The Company has four additional development communities expected to begin construction later in 2011 or during 2012. "