St. Regis Residences & Future Multifamily On Asbury Pl.

[elecpharm]

It's official.

Tarragon JV Breaks Ground on $425M Residential Towers

By Jennifer D. Duell

Last updated: December 9, 2004 07:18pm

HOUSTON-New York City-based Orion Towers Tarragon LLC, a partnership between Asbury Place Development and Tarragon Corp., has broken ground on Orion, a $425-million residential project in the River Oaks neighborhood.

Situated on 10 acres along the Buffalo Bayou at Asbury Place, Orion will consist of two 37-story towers. The first tower will have 180 residences while the second one will be designed with 150 to 180 condos, says Robert Day, co-owner of Asbury Place.

Day tells GlobeSt.com that 106 units already have been pre-sold for a total of $100 million, including the $5.3-million penthouse. The first tower is slated for completion in the late spring 2007. The second tower will break ground in winter 2005.

Orion is Tarragon and Asbury Place's first condominium project in Houston although they've worked together on a condo project in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Days says he pursued a relationship with Tarragon to built Orion because "a financial powerhouse" was needed for the development.

Day says Asbury Place purchased the acreage from Fred Welling and Ede Nemeti earlier this year. "With such a phenomenal piece of land, we knew we had to build the most spectacular high-rise towers that Houston had ever seen," he says.

Tarragon and Asbury Place have contributed $30 million in equity to Orion. Although several lenders have lined up to provide the partnership with construction financing, the partnership has not yet selected one.

Orion was designed by world-renowned architect, Ede I. Nemeti, president and COO of Houston-based Architectural Services International Inc. The building's facade will feature a Pegasus between art deco spheres. The project team includes the Tulsa-headquartered Manhattan Construction Co., locally based CBM Engineers and Houston landscaper, Keiji Asakura.

The towers will have six floor plans with two- to five-bedrooms, ranging from 1,687 sf to 8,200 sf. Each condo will have a balcony, European-style loggia, French doors, travertine marble-clad baths, private and semiprivate elevator foyers, Delacassa cabinetry, Viking appliances, custom-cut granite counters and an outdoor summer kitchen with a Viking gas grill. Orion's amenities will include a around-the-clock manned front desk, concierge services, 24-hour valet parking, hotel-style property management services, residents-only clubhouse, business center, library, Olympic-size pool, fitness center and aerobics studio.

[111486]

I know the Orion will be 37 stories, but how tall will it be in feet?

[houstonsemipro]

Great news for Houston. Now let's hope Shamrock Towers get built.

[YakuzaIce]

I know the Orion will be 37 stories, but how tall will it be in feet?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you take the same floor heights as the Huntigton considering they are both upscale, thus higher ceilings. Then with the around 30 foot crown, it would put the height around 580ft. Which would also make it the tallest res. towere in Texas.

[Guest danax]

I think it looks awful- like some nouveau riche dreamland.  The entry way is so overblown with the fake "island waterfall and rocks.." Looks like something Donald Trump or our own Tilman Fertitta would have built (but without the neon). Yikes!

I don't know about you guys, but when something has this many bells and whistles it makes me wonder what they're hiding.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is the first I've seen of this and, 20's girl, I agree with your analysis. However, I like it. I think it's unique, yes, garrish and pompous, and my tastes are usually more minimalist, but this reminds me of some of the buildings from one of my favorite styles, so-called Art Deco.

I think we've all noticed the similarities between city skylines. Nothing but long, tall Sallys, flat rectangles of varying heights. Time for a change.

1500 Louisiana (Enron now Chevron, right?) is my favorite newer building downtown. I think its gorgeous, our crown jewel. The gleeming curves are straight out of the fantasies that every kid who grew up in the 50s and 60s thought of when we imagined 21st century cities looking like.

A new style could be emerging, and Houston could be on the cutting edge.

I think the Orion is cut from the same cloth.

[citykid09]

I saw a commerical for the Orion Highrises buildings this morning on Abc13. It should a rich woman step out of a Maybach car and in to her luxury highrise Orion estate in RiverOaks. Those buildings are going to look amazing when they are built.

[kjb434]

I saw the commercial too, but I saw it last night. I guess its reall serious now. I know they build the offices and entry driveway, but even that doesn't mean it is a go.

But now they are advertising, it would be fairly embarrasing to pull out now.

[citykid09]

I just saw an article that said construction has started. And in just a few months we will see it going up (Spring). The secound Orin will start I think they said in 2006 or 2007??

[kjb434]

cool, another landmark in the Houston sky.

[111486]

The website is now up. The music is really funny. How lucky will those rich bastards be lving up there.

Orion

[VelvetJ]

According to the site, the average ceilings will be 9 feet 8 inches, so I'm thinking these buildings will definitely hit the 500 ft mark when everything is considered.

[UrbaNerd]

Nice! Im loving this little piece of Dubai in Houston!

[Guest danax]

Nice!  Im loving this little piece of Dubai in Houston!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's nice when, not only the residents get to enjoy it but everyone does, due to it's external beauty. Bland condo towers inspire no one.

If this turns out to be successful, I think it could spawn imitations in less swank locales and, who knows, could light a fire for a architectural style-fest/competition that might elevate our fair city to, if not the level of Dubai, at least to being one of the most futuristic skylines in the country. Once someone takes a chance in terms of style and is successful, the less bold jump in.

I really like this 21st century/Art-Deco offshoot style. I think it has potential to be popular as it combines the already popular art-deco with a fantasyland, dreamworld look.

The building reminds me of an Estes model rocket I remember as a kid in the 60s, the Trident. Anyone else get into those things?

[Talbot]

I wasn't alive during the 60s, but I did like the rockets that you could build in the early 90's, that came in the little packages. Don't know if we're talking about the same thing though?

[citykid09]

Who thinks both of them will get built?

[citykid09]

The song on the website was the same one as on the commerical.

[houstonsemipro]

Hey that music sounds tight. I like it. It's a hip jazz type.

[Lowbrow]

Kenny G "jazz".

I love jazz and you couldnt get me to listen to that.

[UrbaNerd]

Kenny G jazz sucks. It sounds boring and cheap.

[UrbanLandscape]

Kenny G jazz sucks.  It sounds boring and cheap.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It doesn't just sound that way, it is. It's not even jazz. It's not really music.

[UrbaNerd]

It doesn't just sound that way, it is.  It's not even jazz.  It's not really music.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL, good point. Its just...an audio disturbance...

[Sooner&RiceGrad]

If only my homwtown could get towers like this, ha! LOL.

Actually, it reminds me alot of architecture as in those Las Vegas casino resort things.

[citykid09]

Can someone tell me the exact location of the Orion Towers?

[YakuzaIce]

Well I know that the actual towers are going to be built somewhere on Asbury Place. The address to contact them is

8 Asbury Place

Houston, Texas 77007

713-880-1616

That could be the address of the actual building, or at least close.

[kjb434]

The site is located just south of Memorial Dr along Buffalo Bayou. If you are heading east on Memorial Dr after leaving Memorial Park, you take a right just past the Shell Gas Station. That street is Asbury Pl. At the end of the street is the entrace road for Orion. at the end of the entrance road is the sales office. Currenly the foundation is being worked on. It's fairly hidden in the trees.

[brijonmang]

does anyone have any pics of the site actually UC? im in lubbock so i really dont have a chance to check out the area so i was jw if you can see any activity really yet...

[Hunter]

I recently saw a commercial on this place the lady pulled up in a Rolls Royce. if I had that kind of money I would still choose some place else to live. But I do like the design.

[danes75]

i doubt both will ever be built. all metropolitan areas have rich histories of "twin tower" developments, rarely do both of them ever get built unless they are both started at the same time, or are small developments to begin with.

[Sunstar]

all metropolitan areas have rich histories of "twin tower" developments, rarely do both of them ever get built unless they are both started at the same time, or are small developments to begin with.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the case of the Mercer, that was actually a good thing.

[Subdude]

In the case of the Wedge Tower, that was a bad thing.