GreenStreet: Mixed-Use Development At 1201 Fannin St.

[monarch]

Here is a phot of the blue lights on Greenstreet (right, top of photo). Note the absence of the blue lights on the site where the future Hotel Alessandra is being built.

Exciting times. Go Coogs!

great shot!  props for sharing.

[UtterlyUrban]

Is it just me or, SO FAR, are the changes to Pavilion Street, decidedly underwhelming?

The renderings that hit the press a year or so ago announcing Green Street seemed to hold a lot of promise. SO FAR there are new paver stones and a couple of humps. To me, Green Pavilion has a long way to go before it even approaches it's own PR launch hype. Perhaps the hotel will help do this. But, would the space taken by the hotel not be a perfect spot for a two story H&M or Target or Whole foods?

Pavilion Street has their "lawn" for concerts, I guess. It struck me as an odd idea when I first read about it and it strikes me as an even more odd idea now that I have seen it. There have already been concerts there. Who has gone? Feedback?

I am pondering this: what will Green Pavilion Street feel like in 2 years? There will be a hotel, a few restaurants, two stores, a bowling alley, HOB, a "lawn", and a few offices. Quite the hodgepodge?

Maybe the hotel will bring it all together. Smarter minds than me have already decided it will. But, for now, I remain underwhelmed and a tad confused by the final vison.

[tigereye]

Is it just me or, SO FAR, are the changes to Pavilion Street, decidedly underwhelming?

The renderings that hit the press a year or so ago announcing Green Street seemed to hold a lot of promise. SO FAR there are new paver stones and a couple of humps. To me, Green Pavilion has a long way to go before it even approaches it's own PR launch hype. Perhaps the hotel will help do this. But, would the space taken by the hotel not be a perfect spot for a two story H&M or Target or Whole foods?

Pavilion Street has their "lawn" for concerts, I guess. It struck me as an odd idea when I first read about it and it strikes me as an even more odd idea now that I have seen it. There have already been concerts there. Who has gone? Feedback?

I am pondering this: what will Green Pavilion Street feel like in 2 years? There will be a hotel, a few restaurants, two stores, a bowling alley, HOB, a "lawn", and a few offices. Quite the hodgepodge?

Maybe the hotel will bring it all together. Smarter minds than me have already decided it will. But, for now, I remain underwhelmed and a tad confused by the final vison.

As someone who's worked in the area since 2010, I'm not underwhelmed at all. The recent renovations add a great contemporary look compared how bland the complex used to look before. This is how this complex should've looked in the beginning. And the only detail I can recall missing from the renovation renderings are the LED screens on the San Jacinto facade by CSN Houston.

My only gripe the Dallas St side not adding more street presence, although Hotel Alessandra may add that street presence in a big way on its own. The other big question marks are the old Scott Gertners Skybar spot and the Books-A-Million spot.

[cloud713]

As someone who's worked in the area since 2010, I'm not underwhelmed at all. The recent renovations add a great contemporary look compared how bland the complex used to look before. This is how this complex should've looked in the beginning. And the only detail I can recall missing from the renovation renderings are the LED screens on the San Jacinto facade by CSN Houston.

My only gripe the Dallas St side not adding more street presence, although Hotel Alessandra may add that street presence in a big way on its own. The other big question marks are the old Scott Gertners Skybar spot and the Books-A-Million spot.

Will they be adding the outside cafe stuff along Dallas when they redo the street? And yeah I was thinking that "2 story ______" could go where Books a million was.

[monarch]

haif mates, let us please recall, just who the new owners of this aspiring complex are... midway cos., owners of the wildly successful city centre.  trust me, i am most certain that they have taken all of your concerns to heart.  patience, is indeed a virtue.    

[tigereye]

Will they be adding the outside cafe stuff along Dallas when they redo the street?

In my opinion, it's unlikely. The only opportunities they have for sidewalk seating currently are McCormick & Schmick's & Guadalajara. McS added its sidewalk seating on the interior cutout portion and Guadalajara's sidewalk is next to HOB's loading dock, not a desirable location for sidewalk seating.

The only way I see sidewalk cafe seating happening on Dallas St is with either III Forks or if new cafe/restaurant space is on the ground floor of Hotel Alessandra.

Edited August 21, 2014 by tigereye

[swtsig]

Did someone really just wonder aloud whether or not the addition of a 26-story luxury boutique hotel with a groundbreaking design (a first for Houston) would really improve green street all that much???

[Avossos]

Did someone really just wonder aloud whether or not the addition of a 26-story luxury boutique hotel with a groundbreaking design (a first for Houston) would really improve green street all that much???

 

No doubt tha this hotel will be an amazing addition for Green Street and Houston.

[toxtethogrady]

I think they find the redo of the existing buildings is a bit underwhelming. The hotel will definitely be eye-popping.

[Mab]

With the falling of Comcast Sports Net what is the future of the space they are using at GreenStreet? hopefully rootsports will move somewhere else so they can put something more useful in that space 

[toxtethogrady]

I can't imagine that Comcast is going to give up entirely on CSN, though that may be why the local sports teams are bitching.

[Moore713]

With the falling of Comcast Sports Net what is the future of the space they are using at GreenStreet? hopefully rootsports will move somewhere else so they can put something more useful in that space

like what dude..So far midway has brought a software company and a up scale salad bar...not exactly the fashion or entertainment nexus this place was supposed to be when it was proposed...right now midway seems more concerned with filling space not with what in that space

[Moore713]

I can't imagine that Comcast is going to give up entirely on CSN, though that may be why the local sports teams are bitching.

sorry man but I think can Houston is dead..they have already fired 75 of their 115 man staff and the rest have had their contact picked up by root...

[xsatyr]

I can't imagine that Comcast is going to give up entirely on CSN, though that may be why the local sports teams are bitching.

 

It's not their baby anymore. It's going to be up to DirecTV and AT&T.

Edited September 18, 2014 by xsatyr

[Nate99]

Yep, the CSN Houston model was to have in-studio production and local reporting, the root sports model shows the games and centrally or externally produced content. I would be surised if their lease survives the bankruptcy proceedings.

[mollusk]

Part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy is that the debtor has the option to either accept or reject ongoing contracts (such as leases) as a part of how it is reorganizing.  BTW, "reorganizing" does not necessarily mean that the business will actually continue - perhaps the better way to think of it is as reorganizing who gets paid, how much, and when.  I haven't dug through the bankruptcy docket, but I wouldn't be surprised if this lease ends up being rejected.

[toxtethogrady]

That was my point. Just more proof this is getting built.

 

BisNow says the Alessandra is still scheduled to open in late 2016.

 

One of the hold-ups is the same thing that is affecting all Houston projects - it's taken longer to get started because of higher costs and labor shortages. That may only get worse.

[Triton]

BisNow says the Alessandra is still scheduled to open in late 2016.

One of the hold-ups is the same thing that is affecting all Houston projects - it's taken longer to get started because of higher costs and labor shortages. That may only get worse.

Midway needs another component to make their project more successful. Sure there is a lot of foot traffic that may come from all of this residential development, but Midway realizes that they need something inside Greenstreet itself besides retail.

[BigFootsSocks]

Midway needs another component to make their project more successful. Sure there is a lot of foot traffic that may come from all of this residential development, but Midway realizes that they need something inside Greenstreet itself besides retail.

Like what?

[Grizzly46]

I was thinking that too...make the top level residential.

[swtsig]

having retail, office and hospitality should be plenty

[Triton]

Like what?

I'm talking about hospitality itself (the hotel).

[nate4l1f3]

Like what?

Top golf on the roof?

[htownproud]

Like what?

I thought I saw that the Men's Club was looking for a location in the heart of town.  

[UtterlyUrban]

having retail, office and hospitality should be plenty

I agree ....

But....

As of now they don't have much retail. What they have is dining and entertainment. There are only two retail stores in GreenStreet (F21 and that BCGmax thing). Much of the space that I thought that they would convert to retail will now be the hotel. Perhaps the hotel will have that space turned into retail on the street.

F21 seems always busy. There does not seem to be a shortage of shoppers who are buying.

GreenStreet has a lot of promise. Hopefully it will be realized but, so far, other than cosmetic changes, nothing more has been improved.

[cloud713]

I agree ....

But....

As of now they don't have much retail. What they have is dining and entertainment. There are only two retail stores in GreenStreet (F21 and that BCGmax thing). Much of the space that I thought that they would convert to retail will now be the hotel. Perhaps the hotel will have that space turned into retail on the street.

F21 seems always busy. There does not seem to be a shortage of shoppers who are buying.

GreenStreet has a lot of promise. Hopefully it will be realized but, so far, other than cosmetic changes, nothing more has been improved.

The hotel is supposed to have like 7,000 sq ft of retail I believe..

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

it's scheduled to start in March

[UtterlyUrban]

The hotel is supposed to have like 7,000 sq ft of retail I believe..

Great! But I am always skeptical of this..... What "retail" does the "typical" hotel offer? Do they typically offer clothing stores? Maybe. Jewlery stores? Maybe. Discount department stores? No. High end leather goods store? Doubtful. Men's clothing store like Norton Ditto or Sid Mashburn? Maybe, but I doubt it. ...

What hotels tend to offer is..... Wait for it...... Wait for it...... Restaurants, Starbucks, and bars....... Downtown, and Greenstreet in particular, don't need more of that......

Time will tell what this 7,000 sq ft of retail at the bottom of the hotel will be fitted for.

[LarryDierker]

it's scheduled to start in March

 

Doesn't seem like enough time to finish by the Super Bowl.

[cloud713]

great points utterly urban.. considering the hotel will already have a bar and restaurant, maybe this will actually be real retail/shopping.

 

A few more details on the hotel:

 

http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=7309

 

 

“Iconic” is the word that design architect Kap Malik of Gensler emphasized while describing Hotel Alessandra, the latest luxury accommodation set to rise in downtown Houston. Developer Midway

 

Companies commissioned the 25-story, 225-room hotel, which will also feature retail, residential, and entertainment space. Slated for completion in time for Superbowl LI in 2017, the project’s sleek design “looks toward the future,” said Malik.

Client check-in is in a 24th-floor sky lobby. A wine bar, pool deck with a retractable roof, and fine dining restaurant on the 25th floor immerse guests in both luxury and a panoramic view of the city. The ground floor boasts conference facilities. Malik designed the hotel with “something on every level” and each room will be decked out with the latest technology.

Glass ceilings permit guests in the lobby to see through to the top floor restaurant. Visual continuity is a motif that Malik incorporated throughout the design, most noticeably with the use of the “eyebrow,” a unifying design element that stretches from the top of the hotel to the bottom. The swooping line, highlighted at night by LEDs, seeks to communicate elegance and luxury.

Malik’s use of exterior materials dovetails with the eyebrow’s profile, with rough textures graduating to more delicate surfaces up the elevation. The base of the building incorporates stone, glass, and metal, while the tower skin features dichroic glass that emits colored hues when struck by light. The result is a unique pattern that changes throughout the course of each day—a kaleidoscopic effect that offers a uniform brilliance to the whole design.

Edited September 25, 2014 by cloud713