sevfiv Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 For now, it might be green space and parking:For its part, owner Lamesa would much prefer to be building its complex, complete with plaza. Company representative Julie Tysor said that while construction is on hold, the firm is open to ideas for the site to have some “long-term benefit to the community.” For now, plans are under way to make the unpaved area a green space, and the paved area may be used for much-needed Village parking.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/6235599.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totheskies Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Such a shame... this was a really cool development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdog08 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Indeed, but I wouldn't expect this to go undeveloped, given it location, for too long. Seems it just really depends on the economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Well there is a trailer and a couple of a bulldozers on the site now. Along with a little gravel.They also put up a permanent wooden fence along Morningside. I don't know what any of this means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Now there are even more equipment and bulldozers on site. Does anybody have some surprising good news? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Now there are even more equipment and bulldozers on site. Does anybody have some surprising good news? I thought I heard something about an "Equipment and Bulldozers Expo" going on this weekend. On the real...I hope it's good news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Now there are even more equipment and bulldozers on site. Does anybody have some surprising good news?With construction costs down right now, it'd be a really good time to build... if they could finance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgr Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 dirt has been moved on the east side of the fenced-in area since i last passed the property, maybe a week or so ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I stop by the Original Antone's quite a bit, and they've been working on that lot for at least 3 weeks now. I assume it had to do with the street closing but maybe there is something else going on??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjb434 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I would be surprised that they may try to move forward with construction cost going down so much.The city of Houston is noticing a lot of a contractors coming in with really low bids for jobs with concrete being the major component to cost reductions. Concrete for paving going to for $32/SY versus $46/SY. It dropped a million dollars from the construction estimate.Steel and wood prices are dropping also. Looking at this project, it'll be mostly wood with a concrete/steel structure for the first one or two floors. The other extreme it could be like West Ave and be all steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I would be surprised that they may try to move forward with construction cost going down so much.The city of Houston is noticing a lot of a contractors coming in with really low bids for jobs with concrete being the major component to cost reductions. Concrete for paving going to for $32/SY versus $46/SY. It dropped a million dollars from the construction estimate.Steel and wood prices are dropping also. Looking at this project, it'll be mostly wood with a concrete/steel structure for the first one or two floors. The other extreme it could be like West Ave and be all steel.Construction costs are coming down, but they'll have a bit further to fall yet until capital markets resume some semblance of equilibrium.If something is happening here, it is not what was proposed. That project is dead and has been for some time. Condos don't work anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 It seems like a lot of projects are going forward now. The new hotel downtown, Regent Square. So the tax incentives really work. The city should do it for all of its proposed developments. Even the Randall Davis Sonoma development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 It seems like a lot of projects are going forward now. The new hotel downtown, Regent Square. So the tax incentives really work. The city should do it for all of its proposed developments. Even the Randall Davis Sonoma development.Incentives with an expiration date can be used to encourage particular projects, however if these were implemented uniformly to all projects then market prices for land would only rise on order to restore market equilibrium. The subsidy intended for all developers (on its face, a bad idea) would be captured by all owners of developable parcels. Depending on which parts of the City were or were not considered eligible for such a program, there would probably also be supply-side market distortions resulting in some pretty bizarre patterns of urban growth.As for the Sonoma project (which Randall Davis is no longer involved in, btw), I don't believe that the City ought to be subsidizing housing for wealthy people. The retail component, maybe, depending on the net fiscal impact. But the retail component doesn't represent the bulk of the taxable value of Sonoma as it was proposed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Incentives with an expiration date can be used to encourage particular projects, however if these were implemented uniformly to all projects then market prices for land would only rise on order to restore market equilibrium. The subsidy intended for all developers (on its face, a bad idea) would be captured by all owners of developable parcels. Depending on which parts of the City were or were not considered eligible for such a program, there would probably also be supply-side market distortions resulting in some pretty bizarre patterns of urban growth.As for the Sonoma project (which Randall Davis is no longer involved in, btw), I don't believe that the City ought to be subsidizing housing for wealthy people. The retail component, maybe, depending on the net fiscal impact. But the retail component doesn't represent the bulk of the taxable value of Sonoma as it was proposed.Randall Davis is not a part of the Sonoma project anymore? Has the scale or plan changed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Incentives with an expiration date can be used to encourage particular projects, however if these were implemented uniformly to all projects then market prices for land would only rise on order to restore market equilibrium. The subsidy intended for all developers (on its face, a bad idea) would be captured by all owners of developable parcels. Depending on which parts of the City were or were not considered eligible for such a program, there would probably also be supply-side market distortions resulting in some pretty bizarre patterns of urban growth.As for the Sonoma project (which Randall Davis is no longer involved in, btw), I don't believe that the City ought to be subsidizing housing for wealthy people. The retail component, maybe, depending on the net fiscal impact. But the retail component doesn't represent the bulk of the taxable value of Sonoma as it was proposed.Thanks for explaining! I should have paid more attention the economics courses. Are you a economics major? or marketing, management? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Randall Davis is not a part of the Sonoma project anymore? Has the scale or plan changed?The plan as presented is dead. Rigor morits has set in and maggots have partially consumed its flesh.It was around late summer of last year that Randall Davis began complaining that he'd hit reasonable pre-sales figures but that the terms of the debt kept on becoming more stringent. As time passed, the more he pre-sold, the higher the requirement ratcheted up. Finally, they had to give up on the condos because even if they could get something ridiculous like 80% of the units pre-sold, the cost of the debt was outrageous. This all hasn't exactly been a state secret, either.The owners of the land and the original developer was Lamesa Properties, and Randall Davis was just the fee developer they brought on for his experience and connections. I doubt that Davis has the land on his books, and that circumstance is very good for him. I'd be willing to bet that Lamesa's land is currently worth about 55% to 65% of whatever they paid for it (if they absolutely positively had to get rid of it right now). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Thanks for explaining! I should have paid more attention the economics courses. Are you a economics major? or marketing, management?That little tidbit came out of an Urban Economics class I took at UH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Nancy's been trolling HAIF for stories again:...Recent activity on the Rice Village tract slated for the high-end Sonoma residential and retail project had some observers wondering if it might be back on, but the owner said it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 That sucks. I definitely saw them digging on the lot yesterday though. Why would they be digging if they are just storing equipment there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Well, I drove by there a few days ago; it seems that they are putting up a nice wooden fence around the property. Someone else buy the property or are they just hunkering down until they can get financing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Hmm, I was just in the vicinity a couple of times recently, and there has been construction work going on, with backhoes and the like. Are they doing the park thingy already, or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieEric Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Hmm, I was just in the vicinity a couple of times recently, and there has been construction work going on, with backhoes and the like. Are they doing the park thingy already, or something else?I walked through a few weeks back and was under the impression that the construction equipment was related to the road work on Kirby. Maybe they are just using the lot for storage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I walked through a few weeks back and was under the impression that the construction equipment was related to the road work on Kirby. Maybe they are just using the lot for storage?Nah, they were actually tearing the dirt up there or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longcat Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 It looks like this may stay an empty lot for awhile - the village news has a story about an agreement being reached to turn part of the lot (I assume the already paved portion around the old sales office) into a paid parking lot for the rest of the village and installing pay stations etc. For some reason it's not letting me post the link, but here is the site http://village-southwest-news.com (then choose the 'village news' option) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Explains the recent construction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longcat Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Village news is reporting that the site was acquired by Hanover who is proposing a new luxury apartment complex with 14k sq foot of retail and public park space...etc. It'll be nice to see something go up on the site, but the reduction in retail space is pretty considerable.http://www.village-southwest-news.com/register.aspx?sec=1Click on "village news" and see page 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 (edited) Village news is reporting that the site was acquired by Hanover who is proposing a new luxury apartment complex with 14k sq foot of retail and public park space...etc. It'll be nice to see something go up on the site, but the reduction in retail space is pretty considerable. http://www.village-s...ster.aspx?sec=1 Click on "village news" and see page 1 Groundbreaking is scheduled for JULY? Whoa! Edited December 29, 2010 by lockmat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Village news is reporting that the site was acquired by Hanover who is proposing a new luxury apartment complex with 14k sq foot of retail and public park space...etc. It'll be nice to see something go up on the site, but the reduction in retail space is pretty considerable.Yes. See, now this is a realistic development for this business environment. For-rent multifamily in an irreplaceable location picked up at a deep discount by a highly-reputed developer that specializes in exactly this type of product. Everything about this deal looks rock solid. No lingering question marks. Nothing marginal or experimental. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdog08 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 (edited) Great news. Edited December 29, 2010 by kdog08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C2H Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 yes great news, except for the reduction in retail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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