Geoff8201

The north crane got a boost in height yesterday.

I hope in 30 years or more the people who live in this building and others like it appreciate all the photography of its construction we are providing, as documentation of the urban growth and ever changing skyline.

Taken this morning.What a difference 30 minutes makes when the sun is rising. Caught a the tail end of Willowick Place in these shots as well.

ps, my 7.2mp camera that was top of the line in 2005 officially sucks now. Wish I had sharper images.

I'm pretty sure a crane just went up on this site today.

Yup, the south crane got a raise... actually I think it all happened today, this morning it was a lot shorter then it was this afternoon.

I feel it may be pertinent to mention that work has resumed, actually cranes were swinging again back on Tuesday morning (9/3). The floor they began working on when the accident happened is nearing completion.

Is that view from the Lamar tower?

Is the angle that obvious? Hmm, And to think, I figured people wouldn't catch on until I started posting pics of the Richmond and Buffalo Speedway developments, when they start.

I've always heard the definition of a highrise is a building where the floor of the top floor exceeds 75 feet. This is the point where the reach for ladder trucks is exceeded.

Depending on floor heights a 5-7 story structure can easily be considered a highrise. 12 is no question.

When you drive by this thing, with how close it is to the street corner it looks huge, and it's only 5 floors high... 35 to go!

And I'll get some shots soon from a completely different angle atop another nearby building, where you can really see it impact the skyline (not the AT&T building unfortunately, haha)

OK, now that I promised I'd do this, hopefully that'll lock me in to actually getting it done!

Two cranes are better then one, afterall.

SOLD. Well, almost... Saw this a few days ago in the Chronicle City & State section. Found these two links on a Chron.com search.

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2012/12/report-dallas-firm-to-buy-houstons-iconic-williams-tower/

http://www.chron.com/default/article/Williams-Tower-deal-pegged-at-about-420-million-4091505.php

Drove by today... we have a giant hole... this is one I'll try to snap some shots of as it comes up since I'm not to far from it...

So are they tearing down the office building on the site?

From my understanding the order of things to come will be:

1. Build new office building

2. Teardown existing building

3. Build hotel/apartments where the old building sat

The Front page Chronicle article was very informative... So there will be TWO buildings, an 18 story office (coming first), and the 20 story hotel/250 upper level apartments (thats a lot of units) ... plus they are going to preserve most of the oaks on the NW corner of the site. Don't think we can ask for more here...

This one gives me mixed feelings...

On one hand you have a new 20 story property... would be nicer if it were 30 stories... if you're going to build it make it stand out. Hopefully it will in the architecture.

But then on the other... this is a nice little green space that would be lost. What is the driving factor to warrent the need for another hotel in this area?

I count 40 floors on that rendering. 40>35!

Good eye, you called it months before any of us knew the floor count was going to increase! Never dismiss subtle clues!

I can't recall ever seeing a project such as this make the FRONT PAGE of the newspaper before. Maybe I'm not going back or thinking hard enough, but now everyone knows it's coming.

And I think Blanco's is ON the Taub site. It's likely if this site gets developed, Blancos would go away, which would be sad. It's a side note to this thread, but I'm curious, what exactly is Hines planning?

When a sign says ''coming,'' does that mean it will be finished by Summer 2014 or does it mean construction starts Summer 2014?

This has been debated on this very same thread. No one is clear on an exact definition thus far.

To me, "coming" means the same as groundbreaking in the case of buildings... but thats just what I understand it to mean.

Summer of 2014, assuming June, gives them 21 months, on an already clear site to dig a big hole, erect a crane, and start coming out of the ground. Once they get to the more typical floorplan these things usually rise at about a floor a week, keeping in mind the first several levels if retail, parking garage and mecanical areas will not be typical and rise much slower. It's not impossible, but would be a very fast build, and theres no way the interior would be finished and move in ready... this is why I see it being more feasible that we will see the starts of a crane in summer of 2014 rather than an entire building. If they plan on topping off the structure in 2014 then they need to get building...like right now.

I was off on the month... it wasn't a month at all, It was a season. The sign says Coming Summer 2014. Address / initial title will be 2929 Weslayan.

Now the sign has changed... Coming September 2014... I drove by at night with distractions, so I may be off on the month, but the year definately said 2014.

Then we'll get you liquor and gift cards... should fix both problems.

Topic Title says it all. Drove by the other day to see it's almost ready to open. I'm excited to be able to go here without having to go all the way to the Woodlands Mall or CityCentre.

Opens August 16th.

http://urbanswankblog.com/the-buzz/item/399-brio-opening-in-upper-kirby-august-16th

Sadly, the Dome was built to be used as a sports stadium, That's its design and only practical use, if that use cannot be fulfilled, then it needs to be torn down.. which in itself isn't cheap either... but I think inevitable.

And once that happens then it wont be what the dome should be used for anymore, then it will be what will that plot be used for. Hopefully not to sit like the astroworld plot has.

If it says Coming 2013, that's the projected date for the building to be completely finished.

"Coming 2013" seems unrealistic for a 35 story building to be completely finished when as of now there is still an untouched plot. I believe Coming 2013 simply means this is when it will start, not when it will finish. 2727 Kirby as a comparison took over a year and a half from foundation to top off and almost another year for a finished exterior. That was 30 floors, this one is 35. I'd expect to see goings on picking up as this year goes on, and the beginnings of a foundation late this year at the earliest.

Cool video, but it's copyright 2011, and since hasn't the condo tower idea been scrapped?

Although I'm sure there are those who believe a residential high rise right within walking distace of everything would be a great addition and they wouldn't be wrong. For this reason I don't fully believe that idea is dead.