The Great Hizzy! Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 You don't have to have a lot of construction equipment on site to have a ceremonial ground breaking. Not saying that things are a go, just that the lack of construction equipment might not necessarily be an indicator of anything not happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWW Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 You don't have to have a lot of construction equipment on site to have a ceremonial ground breaking. Not saying that things are a go, just that the lack of construction equipment might not necessarily be an indicator of anything not happening.Posting this in the Sonoma and Development and real estate threads , but we can we have a really brief conversation on what everyone knows or feels "ground-breaking" is, including on a site where there was a previous structure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Posting this in the Sonoma and Development and real estate threads , but we can we have a really brief conversation on what everyone knows or feels "ground-breaking" is, including on a site where there was a previous structure?A ceremony commemorating the fist day of construction of a building.What seems to NOT be going on here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWW Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 A ceremony commemorating the fist day of construction of a building.What seems to NOT be going on here...So would you still technically call a ceremony before a demo of a previous structure on the site one will develop out of the ground later a ground-breaking ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Went to the Gingerman yesterday evening, and can tell you that there was nothing at all going on at the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 From the newsletter:Heavy construction equipment should soon be moving to the site of Sonoma. A construction fence is wrapped around this ubiquitous site located at the corner of Morningside and Bolsover. The 7 story luxury mid-rise planed for Rice Village is in the final stage of financing - primary lender has signed and secondary lender is formalizing!An announcement for a Sky's the Limit ground breaking celebration to follow! The sales center is open 7 days a week. Mon-Fri 11-5, Sat 11-5, and Sun 1-5So would you still technically call a ceremony before a demo of a previous structure on the site one will develop out of the ground later a ground-breaking ?Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnmcbarnacle Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 ...this ubiquitous site located at the corner of Morningside and Bolsover. . .I love developers. Someone explain to me how a static location like the corner of Morningside and Bolsover can be ubiquitous, meaning that it also exists everywhere else at the same time. But I have to admit it makes the intersection sound really important. More important than just saying "where Nit Noi used to be."I think I'll file this away with the realtor description of a house in Encino, CA, and how it "looked down on the twinkling lights of the townspeople." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt16 Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I love developers. Someone explain to me how a static location like the corner of Morningside and Bolsover can be ubiquitous, meaning that it also exists everywhere else at the same time. But I have to admit it makes the intersection sound really important. More important than just saying "where Nit Noi used to be."I think I'll file this away with the realtor description of a house in Encino, CA, and how it "looked down on the twinkling lights of the townspeople."capn - I noticed this as well. To me "ubiquitous" is almost contrary to the description of an exclusive property. I guess it just sounds like a fancy word, and the developer assumes most will gloss right over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longcat Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Update from the chronicle LINKApparently they are going to try and get financing to build the second phase 1st. Since phase 2 is located on the Walgreens site and their lease is not up until January, it sounds like construction won't start until early 2009. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 It's sad that so much was flattened and now they're scrambling around to get anything done now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Skirting my way to downtown through side streets this morning, I noticed that they have the sales office building installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longcat Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Skirting my way to downtown through side streets this morning, I noticed that they have the sales office building installed.They've had a sales trailer up from the start, so I'd guess that is nothing new.If they couldn't finance this thing before the last few weeks of credit market turmoil, I can't imagine it'll get done anytime soon. The least they could do would be to plant some grass and turn in into a park in the meantime. It's a big piece of land - people could bbq, play soccer, fly kites...etc. I guess I'll stop daydreaming and get back to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 They've had a sales trailer up from the start, so I'd guess that is nothing new.If they couldn't finance this thing before the last few weeks of credit market turmoil, I can't imagine it'll get done anytime soon. The least they could do would be to plant some grass and turn in into a park in the meantime. It's a big piece of land - people could bbq, play soccer, fly kites...etc. I guess I'll stop daydreaming and get back to work.What a great idea! To bad Davis wouldn't donate the land to the city for a park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc281 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 What a great idea! To bad Davis wouldn't donate the land to the city for a park.This isnt candy land. Why would any sensible business man do such a thing? Unless there were some kickbacks involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 This isnt candy land. Why would any sensible business man do such a thing? Unless there were some kickbacks involved. I understand that it's not smart business my friend, but why can't a guy who's filthy rich give a tax deductible donation to a city he loves? Anyway, it was just a comment about how cool of an idea it would be to have a park in that location. Don't take it so seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I understand that it's not smart business my friend, but why can't a guy who's filthy rich give a tax deductible donation to a city he loves?He doesn't own that land by himself. He's probably only even a minority equity partner on land that was financed for four times more than was put down on it.Besides which, being a condo developer right now means that you're taking it in the ___. ...and he's got a project in Vegas, of all places! And one at the end of the seawall on Galveston! I like the guy on a personal level, but I'm not sure that he's going to qualify as filthy rich when all is said and done. He may have to effectively start over from scratch, like he has in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 He doesn't own that land by himself. He's probably only even a minority equity partner on land that was financed for four times more than was put down on it.Besides which, being a condo developer right now means that you're taking it in the ___. ...and he's got a project in Vegas, of all places! And one at the end of the seawall on Galveston! I like the guy on a personal level, but I'm not sure that he's going to qualify as filthy rich when all is said and done. He may have to effectively start over from scratch, like he has in the past.Exactly. My understanding is that Randall is a "fee developer" on this project. Meaning he is doing the development work for a fee... someone else actually owns the land and the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Exactly. My understanding is that Randall is a "fee developer" on this project. Meaning he is doing the development work for a fee... someone else actually owns the land and the project.Lamesa Properties, led by Julie S. Tysor, is the developer, technically. At least, they initiated the project and called Davis in after the fact. Initially, I think that there was talk about just using him for marketing purposes, sort of as a branding strategy. But I think that his involvement was ultimately that of the fee developer, having taken on more responsibilities. In person, he certainly talks about it as though it were his project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longcat Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Swamplot post today referencing an examiner story about some conditions to the sale of Bolsover Street that must be completed soon (otherwise it could revert back to the city):linkPerhaps this will finally spur something to happen to the site... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Swamplot post today referencing an examiner story about some conditions to the sale of Bolsover Street that must be completed soon (otherwise it could revert back to the city):link Perhaps this will finally spur something to happen to the site... You beat me to it... I sure hope this financing mess doesn't take the joy of new projects out of our lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 I sure hope this financing mess doesn't take the joy of new projects out of our lives. When banks stop lending money there does tend to be a dampening effect. It won't be permanent though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sowanome Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 An update about Sonoma from an email that I received from their sales team:Thank you for your interest in Sonoma. Just a friendly follow-up to inform you the developer has obtained financing for the property. We anticipate ground breaking February of 2009 when Walgreens lease expires.Our sales center is up and running again after Ike, and we invite you in for the latest information on Sonoma. Our hours are Monday - Friday 11-5, Saturday 11-5, and Sunday 1-5. We are elated of the progess, and would love for you to make Sonoma your new home.Please contact us if you would like us to email you floor plans, floor plates, or a price sheet. We look forward to working with you.Have a great weekend!Sincerely,Gloria/ KeithSonoma Sales Team713.524.0444713.822.3163 (cell)2401 1/2 Bolsover Houston, Tx 77005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 schweet. thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieEric Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Another update from the chron, and it's not good news for Sonoma:link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnmcbarnacle Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Another update from the chron, and it's not good news for Sonoma:linkI can't beleive they got the utilities in under Bolsover. But at least they have 4 years to get a crosswalk done. At this pace that sounds rather ambitious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longcat Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 I can't beleive they got the utilities in under Bolsover. But at least they have 4 years to get a crosswalk done. At this pace that sounds rather ambitious.Anyone care to revisit my option of turning it into a park in the meantime? If someone cuts a whole in the fencing, I'll walk around the site and sprinkle grass seeds from my pocket! It's really depressing that it is just going to sit there as an empty lot for so much longer in the future. I really liked Nit Noi and the Cafe Rabelais wine bar that were in the building they tore down too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 That building was a good citizen. And not insignificantly, it had wonderful deep awnings well above the sidewalk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff8201 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Anyone care to revisit my option of turning it into a park in the meantime? If someone cuts a whole in the fencing, I'll walk around the site and sprinkle grass seeds from my pocket! It's really depressing that it is just going to sit there as an empty lot for so much longer in the future. I really liked Nit Noi and the Cafe Rabelais wine bar that were in the building they tore down too.It wouldn't be the first empty lot to sit there for an extended period of time... a shame this particular instance has to be in the Rice Village.I completely agree with your idea to make it a green space, if the development is going to be on hold for so long. An empty grass lot looks better than an empty mud lot, not to mention the affect it has on adjacent businesses. Who wants to have directions given to their business that go "Yes, we're located in the village, a block east of Kirby Drive, next to the big empty dirt lot" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I would imagine surface parking is the more likely outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Article posted in another thread, but a quote about Sonoma:In November, Lamesa Corp. said the retail and condo project in Rice Village was off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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