Howard Huge Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 At least they made the sidewalk look nice....? SkyHouse Houston by marclongoria, on Flickr Shade awnings and oxygen giving trees, excellent.Now all we need is to fill up that retail and make this a neighborhood. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 The landscaping looks very nice. Thanks for all the great pics Triton! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonIsHome Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Agreed. Skyhouse isn't stunning, but it is a major plus in my book.1. Wiped out some empty space2. Added residential to downtown3. Room for retail4. Uplifted the street scape on main.Not every building needs to be an award winning Pennzoil Place (although one every few years would be nice), but pleasant buildings like skyhouse adds a lot to downtown even though they get many things wrong 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 To me, the less green space on the same site as the building, the better.Put it in an entire block or don't put it all.Go to NYC and you don't have green strips of grass in front of buildings. The less grass, the more urban it feels. Add some trees, but stay away from the grass. Keep out the flowers.Make the sidewalks bigger. Keep the parking lots out and build as close to the street as possible and you have the start of a great urban place. Agreed. the strips of grass next to the road are a suburban architecture element, that work to separate the building from the street level. I dont mind it as much if the grass hugs the building, but against the street, not a fan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 My opinion on greenspace is the opposite from Purdue and Lockmat. I love plant life of any sort. Trees, shrubs, flowers,grass; bring it on. Urban suburban be damned.Keep Houston Lush! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonIsHome Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I agree with larry. Up it up to the street, up on the walls, up on the roof..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 If we had the density and pedestrian traffic of Midtown Manhattan it would be different, but I feel the small tracts of green space are a benefit to an urban environment. They can always be removed or reduced if they become an impediment to heavy pedestrian traffic. The only downside I see is the potential for Grackles to use the mature trees as a launching point to attack pedestrians.http://www.chron.com/life/article/Aggressive-grackles-ruffling-feathers-downtown-1923981.php 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 If we had the density and pedestrian traffic of Midtown Manhattan it would be different, but I feel the small tracts of green space are a benefit to an urban environment. They can always be removed or reduced if they become an impediment to heavy pedestrian traffic.The only downside I see is the potential for Grackles to use the mature trees as a launching point to attack pedestrians.http://www.chron.com/life/article/Aggressive-grackles-ruffling-feathers-downtown-1923981.phpBeware of the GRACKLE. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htownproud Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Still no GFR (at least that I can see from the train). I assume that examples like this (and the 3 year wait at post midtown 3) is why developers are reluctant to include it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'm wondering if they are charging high rent/being picky on who to rent to, or if there really is no interest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 It's still somewhat of a barren location. As the hotel across the street, second skyhouse and block 334 come online it should become a lot more attractive to potential tenants. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdog08 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I'm wondering if they are charging high rent/being picky on who to rent to, or if there really is no interest Is it not doing well in terms of leasing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Exactly 0 of the spaces have been leased 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chi-Char-Hou-Dal Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 not good - not hating but certainly one of the GFR proponents is ready to step up with a concept here? In all seriousness, I hope it fills in fast. Lorenzo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Retail will follow once there is more residential. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Thought this was pretty hilarious! http://swamplot.com/appreciating-those-downtown-skyhouse-toilet-views-from-below/2015-04-07/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmitch94 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Funny I actually noticed this a few weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 (edited) - Edited July 8, 2019 by Timoric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxtethogrady Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 DC has Busboys and Poets - food, drink, extensive library, countercultural poetry slams on a regular basis. Houston could stand some of that - and not off Washington Avenue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asubrt Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/04/skyhouse-houston-offers-rebate-to-lure-tenants/#21137101=0 Not sure if this means much, but the existing SkyHouse is offering incentives to try to get more residents. Sounds like this is common these days, so hopefully it's not a sign that they are struggling to attract tenants. Apparently they are at 40% occupancy right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) I've said it before, I'll say it again. The downtown living initiative needs a marketing campaign on billboards and stuff in certain areas around town. Target the empty nesters, wealthy young professionals, and people just looking for a more urban lifestyle.We're about to almost triple the amount of housing in downtown. Yes there is some demand for it but they need to show people that downtown is an attractive, fun, hip area to live. Edited April 21, 2015 by cloud713 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 appropriate retail options, along with smart rates, would be the most captivating incentives. just saying..... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 The article saysthe board said 40 percent of the building is occupied but the vacancy rate is in line with the developer’s projections at this stage. that seems like good news to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxtethogrady Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/04/skyhouse-houston-offers-rebate-to-lure-tenants/#21137101=0 Not sure if this means much, but the existing SkyHouse is offering incentives to try to get more residents. Sounds like this is common these days, so hopefully it's not a sign that they are struggling to attract tenants. Apparently they are at 40% occupancy right now. The incentives are back. They had ended in 2012 when the market got really tight. Hard to tell if the 5% vacancy rate has become 10%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htownproud Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 That sounds pretty bad. Hopefully it is just a bleep, but there is some logic behind it. There is not much in close walking distance to that location, as compared to Midtown, Rice Village (although really only Hanover is there), or Washington Ave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 About 135 units have leased in a building that has been open for just a few months in a former no-man's land part of downtown with crazy high PSFs and the doom and gloom crowd thinks its all bad news? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I'm just saying if its taking this long to fill up one tower (apparently it's on average pace, but it's the first residential units downtown in how many years?), imagine what will happen when multiple residential projects start delivering.. I'm afraid that unless we raise awareness on downtown living, these apartments might not lease up as fast as some developers would like. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but if I'm about to have 4,000+ new apartments built in my downtown and the first project (which delivered in July 2014) is only 40% full, I would be a little concerned. Those apartments should be being snatched up left and right, but I don't think many Houstonians see downtown as a livable neighborhood yet. By this time next year another 1,400 apartments will be ready (by comparison, SkyHouse Houston added 336 additional units to the downtown market). But will we as Houstonians be ready?Sorry for the pessimistic post. Maybe I just need sleep, but that report kind of concerned me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nole23 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I'm optimistic the new apartment towers will fill up once they come on board and I'm sure downtown will begin a marketing campaign to promote a new downtown once they begin to deliver. Skyhouse was the very first one to open from the initiative and its in a part of downtown that still has a way to go. The two market square towers, Texaco building, and the two complexes next to Minute Maid I believe will fill up quicker since there's more foot traffic and things to do nearby. One Park Place opened back in 2008 and it has been full ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 The fact of the matter is that the housing is here. Yes SkyHouse isn't full but as demand increases and more developments progress downtown, these places will fill up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 No apartment building is full just months after fully opening. While Sky House opened in July, it opened in stages. Only folks on the lower floors could move-in originally. Again, 40% occupancy a few months after the entire building opened in a high-end tower isn't out of the norm. There's a reason why they've decided to build 330+ more units directly across the street and it isn't because they are stupid and love risking tens of millions of dollars. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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