UtterlyUrban Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 34 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said: Is the document in Chinese? Can anyone read it? My next door neighbor is Chinese. I may ask him if it is Chinese. Don't bother. I asked my (second generation) Asian-American friend. Answer: "yes. Those are Chinese characters." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 1 hour ago, Twinsanity02 said: Is the document in Chinese? Can anyone read it? My next door neighbor is Chinese. I may ask him if it is Chinese. Translated: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.famehall.biz/houston/2017/20170408101020.shtml&prev=search 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 (edited) Costar's mid-year report is out... downtown Houston has had almost 600,000 SF of Class A negative absorption this year, with a vacancy rate at 17%. Houston as a whole has its highest office vacancy since 1999. Would be a miracle if this building happened. That being said, for some reason Chicago has been able to build a steady stream of Class A+ office towers over the past 15 years despite vacancy hovering around 14% the whole time. I'd guess that is the result of the Class A+ market being a bit unique and hard to measure, as well as Chicago being a destination for foreign investment. Not sure if Houston could pull off something like that. I wonder if at some point this block could be considered for hotel/residential, with maybe a small office component, and of course retail. As the neighborhood takes off with the influx of new residents, this could start to look attractive. Edited July 14, 2017 by H-Town Man 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 1 hour ago, H-Town Man said: Costar's mid-year report is out... downtown Houston has had 600,000 SF of Class A negative absorption this year, with a vacancy rate at 16%. Houston as a whole has its highest office vacancy since 1999. Would be a miracle if this building happened. That being said, for some reason Chicago has been able to build a steady stream of Class A+ office towers over the past 15 years despite vacancy hovering around 14% the whole time. I'd guess that is the result of the Class A+ market being a bit unique and hard to measure, as well as Chicago being a destination for foreign investment. Not sure if Houston could pull off something like that. I wonder if at some point this block could be considered for hotel/residential, with maybe a small office component, and of course retail. As the neighborhood takes off with the influx of new residents, this could start to look attractive. I think of it like this. I want to live in a specific neighborhood... In this neighborhood, 16% of the homes are available for sale. I also could build new. If there are enough people out there, some will decide to buy existing while others buy new. Since Skanska's tower is U/C, this means there is some "spec homes" coming online... However, it just takes one domino to fall for a builder to take the plunge. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 We don't have to go as far as Chicago to see a market that builds office buildings in spite of high vacancy rates. Downtown Dallas hasn't seen vacancy rates below 20% in more than 30 years, and yet they've built new office buildings. Granted, nothing nearly as large as the proposed One Market Square, but the point remains. No miracle is required, just a significant tenant or two. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 26 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: We don't have to go as far as Chicago to see a market that builds office buildings in spite of high vacancy rates. Downtown Dallas hasn't seen vacancy rates below 20% in more than 30 years, and yet they've built new office buildings. Granted, nothing nearly as large as the proposed One Market Square, but the point remains. No miracle is required, just a significant tenant or two. I thought their new construction was more in the Uptown submarket? We've seen Skanska go ahead with a building with just a quarter of the space leased, but that was a unique situation where they had invested so much in demo, and already had a foundation poured. I am skeptical that we will see a procession of buildings going up with only a fraction of space leased in each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 4 minutes ago, H-Town Man said: I thought their new construction was more in the Uptown submarket? We've seen Skanska go ahead with a building with just a quarter of the space leased, but that was a unique situation where they had invested so much in demo, and already had a foundation poured. I am skeptical that we will see a procession of buildings going up with only a fraction of space leased in each. Yes, Dallas has had much more office construction in their Uptown submarket. But a couple things: (1) There has been some construction (3 multi-tenant buildings I can think of) in the traditional downtown in spite of 25% plus vacancy rates, and (2) if you combine the traditional downtown with Uptown (as Dallas likes to do when it tells the right story for them), the combined market is north of 20% vacancy and has been for 30+ years. I too doubt we'll see a procession of buildings going up with only a fraction of space leased in each and no one suggested such. The One Market Square tower seems to be developing in much the same manner as the Skanska development, so that "unique" situation could be playing out again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 27 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: Yes, Dallas has had much more office construction in their Uptown submarket. But a couple things: (1) There has been some construction (3 multi-tenant buildings I can think of) in the traditional downtown in spite of 25% plus vacancy rates, and (2) if you combine the traditional downtown with Uptown (as Dallas likes to do when it tells the right story for them), the combined market is north of 20% vacancy and has been for 30+ years. I too doubt we'll see a procession of buildings going up with only a fraction of space leased in each and no one suggested such. The One Market Square tower seems to be developing in much the same manner as the Skanska development, so that "unique" situation could be playing out again. I hope they get a tenant and build, but I don't think we should read too much into their decision to build a parking garage. The demand for parking is incredible and it makes oodles of sense to build a garage there. Freestanding garages are sprouting all over downtown Houston, as well as downtown Dallas. Also helps them deal with holding costs over a long hold. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 The amazing thing about downtown Dallas is that the vacancy rate has remained the same despite enormous amounts of square footage being converted to residential/hotel. We need a major tower (like the Exxon) to flip purposed to help this market out. Dallas has seen a handful of towers around that side converted. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 27 minutes ago, KinkaidAlum said: The amazing thing about downtown Dallas is that the vacancy rate has remained the same despite enormous amounts of square footage being converted to residential/hotel. We need a major tower (like the Exxon) to flip purposed to help this market out. Dallas has seen a handful of towers around that side converted. Flipping the Exxon building will help the overall vacancy rate but not the Class A vacancy rate, which is what developers look at. And converting it to residential might slow the pipeline of new residential construction, although it would let people live downtown at a lower price point. Might be popular among Rice students and Med Center residents. One of the few great things about the downturn though is that it saved that building from having its style and history erased. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I think the plans to re-clad it are still on going 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxman Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Stupid question here but was the slab engineered to hold a 40 or 50 story skyscraper or just the garage? I would assume it would be far cheaper to build a foundation just for a garage than a skyscraper. Therefore maybe its an indication that eventually there will be a skyscraper here? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towerjunkie Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 ^I think the tower is supposed to go on the other half of the block if it ever comes to fruition (???) so I think it was only designed for the garage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 17 hours ago, cspwal said: I think the plans to re-clad it are still on going I'm sure Shorenstein still has those plans officially on the books, but I don't think it's going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 2 hours ago, H-Town Man said: I'm sure Shorenstein still has those plans officially on the books, but I don't think it's going to happen. Lets hope not.. convert the fins to balconies with glass railings for a residential conversion if they must, but don't turn it into another boring tower with a bland facade. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 That actually sounds like an awesome idea It would rival Houston house in balcony size for each unit. I wonder how well a Commercial -> Residential conversion would go - they'd have to plumb in a lot more bathrooms and kitchens 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 It has been discussed a bit, but I don't think those things are designed to hold anything other than their own weight. The look could be replicated with balconies in a retrofit, but who knows how much that would cost. That would be a massive residential building. The old Petroleum Club at the top would make for something pretty special too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post hindesky Posted July 15, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 15, 2017 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Good morning! Anyone have paywall access? https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/07/24/downtown-houstons-top-office-buildings-show.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonfella Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 2 hours ago, H-Town Man said: Good morning! Anyone have paywall access? https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/07/24/downtown-houstons-top-office-buildings-show.html At 19.5 percent, downtown Houston's vacancy rate is still well-above the national average of around 14 percent. But since 2016, downtown Houston's trophy towers have been home to 64 percent of signed leases in downtown greater than 20,000 square feet, per the report. This is despite those towers comprising 36 percent of downtown's office inventory. Among those deals is Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP), a Houston-based energy company, signing a 127,734-square-foot lease in 811 Louisiana in March. And though this tower is still under construction, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp.(NYSE: BAC) preleased 210,000 square feet in Capitol Tower in the second quarter. The building's underway at 800 Capitol St. The healthy activity in downtown Houston signals an ongoing flight to quality, per the report. Among the submarket's top Class A towers, which includes Hines' new tower 609 Main, rent rates are 28.8 percent higher on-average than other Class A buildings in downtown. The average asking rent in top-tier Class A buildings in downtown is $46.46 per square foot gross, per the report. Throughout Houston, the average Class A asking rent is $33.04 per square foot gross. “Despite ongoing headwinds in Houston’s office market, many tenants in the market are still seeking trophy and Class A+ space,” said JLL's executive vice president John Pruitt in a statement. The steady rent and healthy leasing activity among downtown's top-tier buildings is attracting investors, too, per the report. Discrepancies in seller expectations versus the realities of what buyers were willing to spend hindered investment activity in 2016. But things are starting to pick up in that sphere. In 2017, Houston's seen roughly 1.3 million in total investment volume, a stark increase from the $330 million in investments that closed throughout all of 2016, according to the report. “Cautious optimism and the belief that the worst may be behind us has investors feeling more positively about Houston," said Rudy Hubbard, managing director of JLL's capital markets group, in a statement. "Many groups who have been on the sidelines waiting for the right opportunity and the right time are beginning to look again.” Several new investors have entered the Houston market this year. Earlier this month, Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners made its first Houston purchase by acquiring the property 1700 West Loop South. It won't be the last Houston acquisition from Lingerfelt, a company executive told the Houston Business Journal. San Francisco-based Spear Street Capital purchased three Houston properties– 5 Houston Center, Energy Center I and 515 Post Oak Boulevard – in a 1.2 million-square-foot deal valued at $272 million. That deal closed in January. Shortly after, Spear Street acquired Exxon's former 16.88-acre campus in the Greenway Plaza area. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 ^^ That sounds positive. I hope they can sign someone so we can see it go up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post hindesky Posted July 31, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 31, 2017 This garage is way behind the one for the Lyric Center. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post hindesky Posted August 13, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted August 13, 2017 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 Above grade. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 (edited) - Edited July 11, 2019 by Timoric 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbates2 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 My hope is that they still add in some more mixed-use with residential and hotel due to the location. That would allow for it to better bridge the gap from the office building sector to the more residential northside. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 9 hours ago, Timoric said: A great feel-good clip highlighting Downtown Houston and likely the next tower to get out of the ground in Downtown when the market is ready. How quickly can the market re-balance to allow construction? My hope - the desire for a more urban experience from both retiring and millennials will make that time shorter than the current vacancy rates indicate. The market does not have to re-balance to allow construction. All it takes is one large tenant (see, for example Capital Tower.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREguy13 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 59 minutes ago, Urbannizer said: Could this be referring to International Tower? Or is it something else altogether? https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/office/hints-of-houstons-next-skyscraper-79679 Chronicle Site - Hines 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREguy13 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 1 hour ago, Urbannizer said: Could this be referring to International Tower? Or is it something else altogether? https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/office/hints-of-houstons-next-skyscraper-79679 Chronicle Site - Hines 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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