Ion District In Midtown

[toxtethogrady]

On 12/13/2020 at 2:10 PM, clutchcity94 said:

How amazing would it be if Elon buys out all of the existing pre-leases at the Ion and turns the entire building into Tesla’s new headquarters! Smack dab in the middle of the energy capital of the world.

 

Would take some major balls, but I can see Elon doing something like that now that he has moved to Texas officially.

Musk seems to be much more interested in Austin. I guess the return of Compaq (now known as HP Enterprise) is the most Houston can expect, at least until some serious VC money starts being made available for industries outside of oil and gas...

[hindesky]

They have cut out the walls for windows at the old Fiesta.

Adding new siding to the entrance.

Running conduit for the parking garage build.

Porch floor is going in.

[hindesky]

I drive by this east side on Caroline St. every day I go to work in order to get to the San Jacinto on ramp. I don't recall these glass blocks. I think they uncovered them.

[phillip_white]

22 hours ago, hindesky said:

I drive by this east side on Caroline St. every day I go to work in order to get to the San Jacinto on ramp. I don't recall these glass blocks. I think they uncovered them.

The glass block windows have been there the whole time.

[Montrose1100]

The Lighting is cool around the rim of the "crown". Hopefully it circle the whole building and not just the 3/4ths that is lit now.

[dbigtex56]

The goal of Rice U. and the architects seems to be to create an active lively urban scene with amenities to attract people and promote interactions. 
Half-Price Books would fit in admirably with this scheme. Its inclusion would be mutually beneficial.

[H-Town Man]

17 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

The goal of Rice U. and the architects seems to be to create an active lively urban scene with amenities to attract people and promote interactions. 
Half-Price Books would fit in admirably with this scheme. Its inclusion would be mutually beneficial.

Couple of problems.

1. Techies hate used books. They think they're silly. They think Steve and Jeff ended the need for books for intelligent people.

2. Used book stores generally cannot afford rent in newly constructed/renovated buildings. They like older shopping centers.

[dbigtex56]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

Couple of problems.

1. Techies hate used books. They think they're silly. They think Steve and Jeff ended the need for books for intelligent people.

2. Used book stores generally cannot afford rent in newly constructed/renovated buildings. They like older shopping centers.

I see what you're saying, and you make valid points. 
My impression is that one of the goals of this facility is to integrate it into the surrounding community, so that the developers and techies could draw inspiration from other sources. There's a tendency for people who surround themselves with others much like themselves to become stale. A couple of well-worn cliches seem applicable ("Echo chamber" and "thinking inside the box").
A bookstore would provide a break from their routine, and allow for socializing and the exchange of ideas that could provide different perspectives and lead to unexpected insights.
This is not a typical investor and developer driven project. The techies are being subsidized. Many tech companies were started literally in someone's garage, because that's all they could afford. It's not as if they're going to be paying market rates here.
This is a large project. I don't have the square footage available, but it's sizable. I'm suggesting that setting some aside for Half-Price Books is an idea worth examining.

[Texasota]

I think Rice (or anyone really) should buy 1700 N Main, restore it, and make it a Half Price Books. 

[Houston19514]

 

I think Rice (or anyone really) should buy 1700 N Main, restore it, and make it a Half Price Books. 

Not sure there is much salvageable in that building, unfortunately.  Have you seen it from above?

[clutchcity94]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

Couple of problems.

1. Techies hate used books. They think they're silly. They think Steve and Jeff ended the need for books for intelligent people.

2. Used book stores generally cannot afford rent in newly constructed/renovated buildings. They like older shopping centers.

The problem is Half Price Books wants to pay Half Price Rent. Not going to work.

Edited January 7, 2021 by clutchcity94

[clutchcity94]

20 minutes ago, Texasota said:

I think Rice (or anyone really) should buy 1700 N Main, restore it, and make it a Half Price Books. 

Or how about 368 Fairview? It’s a beautiful building (albeit very dilapidated), but I could totally see a HPB in there. That way they can stay in the neighborhood (Montrose) as well.

[H-Town Man]

18 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

There's a tendency for people who surround themselves with others much like themselves to become stale. A couple of well-worn cliches seem applicable ("Echo chamber" and "thinking inside the box").

Those of us observing the tech revolution from the outside can see this problem very well. But from inside, it's invisible/not a problem. They think they are on the frontiers of thinking, the Leonardos and Galileos of today's world, even though most of them are just finding clever ways to sell ads and keep people scrolling. 

So you're in a position of trying to give them medicine they don't think they need. And although the project is subsidized, the reason for the subsidies is Houston's desperate need for tech industry. If you're trying to get them to come to you, it's not really the moment to tell them they should try out new interests.

 

[zaphod]

I don't agree, I don't think the web delivery app types are what this intends to attract. Everything I've read suggests this is more about cloud and data science type stuff as applied in health care, industry, etc.

[H-Town Man]

3 hours ago, zaphod said:

I don't agree, I don't think the web delivery app types are what this intends to attract. Everything I've read suggests this is more about cloud and data science type stuff as applied in health care, industry, etc.

I was generalizing about the overall tech industry and its culture. Even if the companies we get are different, the culture follows a larger pattern for the entire industry. An example is casual dress. This was pioneered by Silicon Valley companies like Google and now any tech company in the world just about will have its whole workforce coming to work in faded jeans and t-shirts. You could offer one of them an Armani suit and they would frown and shake their head. The slouchy clothes are a symbol of elite status (because great innovators wear slouchy clothes, not suits) and indicate their membership in the guild.

 

[hindesky]

[Andrew Ewert]

On 1/8/2021 at 1:32 PM, H-Town Man said:

An example is casual dress. This was pioneered by Silicon Valley companies like Google and now any tech company in the world just about will have its whole workforce coming to work in faded jeans and t-shirts. You could offer one of them an Armani suit and they would frown and shake their head. The slouchy clothes are a symbol of elite status (because great innovators wear slouchy clothes, not suits) and indicate their membership in the guild.

Counterpoint, this is because suits are expensive and uncomfortable, and are and always have been dumb.

[H-Town Man]

2 hours ago, Andrew Ewert said:

Counterpoint, this is because suits are expensive and uncomfortable, and are and always have been dumb.

Many articles of clothing that people find pleasing are expensive and uncomfortable. You are applying reason to fashion, which... well, good luck.

 

[zaphod]

As a lower middle class slob I wish I had more opportunities to wear a suit sometimes. I happen to think I look good in one.

But yeah, going to work everyday like that would be awkward. It's nice to look good in the office though, I have co-workers who come in with t-shirts with holes in them and I'm like, really?

Edited January 16, 2021 by zaphod

[Highrise Tower]

Ion - Tenant Infrastructure

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

suits are dumb in Texas where it's 100° and 100% humidity at midnight. In places like NYC and London where a hot summer day is 70°, they're ok.

[Houston19514]

56 minutes ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

suits are dumb in Texas where it's 100° and 100% humidity at midnight. In places like NYC and London where a hot summer day is 70°, they're ok.

Not that facts matter, but Houston doesn't actually hit 100 degrees that often and it safe to say it has NEVER been 100 degrees at midnight and it has certainly  NEVER been 100 degrees with 100% humidity.  That does not happen.  Nor do we have 90 degrees  with 90 % humidity as is often (falsely) claimed.

And anyone who thinks 70 degrees is a hot day in NYC has apparently not spent much time in the summer in NYC.  It can be every bit as miserably hot and uncomfortable as Houston (worse actually, because there is little escape from it... they don't do A/C nearly as well as we do.)

Edited January 17, 2021 by Houston19514

[Twinsanity02]

54 minutes ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

suits are dumb in Texas where it's 100° and 100% humidity at midnight. In places like NYC and London where a hot summer day is 70°, they're ok.

The majority of people prior to the 1960's lived in the northern parts of the US where wearing suits is fine. Here in Houston prior to AC I can't imagine how people survived in suits during our 6 month summers. With AC its no big problem anymore as long as your indoors. 

[BeerNut]

1 minute ago, Houston19514 said:

And anyone who thinks 70 degrees is a hot day in NYC has apparently not spent much time in the summer in NYC.  It can be every bit as miserably hot and uncomfortable as Houston (worse actually, because there is little escape from it... they don't do A/C nearly as well as we do.)

NYC in summer is gross.  Hot garbage piled as high as they can, subway funk that will take your breath away, and no place has proper AC.  

[hindesky]

 

[dbigtex56]

On 1/17/2021 at 2:12 PM, BeerNut said:

NYC in summer is gross.  Hot garbage piled as high as they can, subway funk that will take your breath away, and no place has proper AC.  

Especially during an inversion (when warm air gets trapped under a dome of cooler air, and circulation stops).
I've literally seen the filthy smog swirling behind city buses.  Every breath is unpleasant, and suddenly a realization: so this is why New York women are so fond of wearing lots of perfume.
Anything to distract from that horrid stench.

[samagon]

On 1/17/2021 at 1:11 PM, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

suits are dumb in Texas where it's 100° and 100% humidity at midnight. In places like NYC and London where a hot summer day is 70°, they're ok.

linen is light and breathable.

you can find linen suits usually in spring/summer, as most of the world except us experiences a season where a wool blend is appropriate suit material.

even in fall/winter, you can typically order a linen suit, if you don't need one by this weekend.

only negative is that they wrinkle very easily, and are going to be considered more casual suit among people who like to distinguish between when to wear a specific type of suit.

[Houston19514]

43 minutes ago, samagon said:

linen is light and breathable.

you can find linen suits usually in spring/summer, as most of the world except us experiences a season where a wool blend is appropriate suit material.

even in fall/winter, you can typically order a linen suit, if you don't need one by this weekend.

only negative is that they wrinkle very easily, and are going to be considered more casual suit among people who like to distinguish between when to wear a specific type of suit.

Also, linen-wool blends, tropical wool, seersucker.  There are plenty of suit options for hot weather.  And as others have mentioned, it's not as if one hangs around outside on a summer' mid-afternoon, wearing a suit.  

[H-Town Man]

On 1/17/2021 at 2:08 PM, Twinsanity02 said:

The majority of people prior to the 1960's lived in the northern parts of the US where wearing suits is fine. Here in Houston prior to AC I can't imagine how people survived in suits during our 6 month summers. With AC its no big problem anymore as long as your indoors. 

And yet, somehow they did it. I don't think the 8F club met wearing sleeveless undershirts and cotton britches. 

 

[BeerNut]