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Let's blame it on Covid...

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2021/10/26/the-paramount-canceled-randall-davis.html

 

A 25-story luxury condominium project that was expected to break ground in River Oaks late last year has been canceled, its developers confirmed to the Houston Business Journal.

Houston-based Randall Davis Co. planned to build The Paramount near the corner of Westheimer Road and Willowick Road, just past Highland Village. The high-end condo tower was designed to house 44 standard units and six penthouse units, with advertised prices ranging from $1 million to $5 million.

However, company CEO Randall Davis told the HBJ in an interview that the project has been shelved as a result of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

“We opened the sales center (at 3723 Westheimer Road) in January 2020 and were supposed to break ground right before Covid hit,” Davis said. “But Covid killed the momentum. We decided to take our lumps and move on.”

Davis said the property where the development was to be built has already been sold to the owners of a Mexico-based furniture importer, who paid over $300 per square foot for the nearly half-acre parcel. Based on those figures, Davis’ company likely received more than $6.5 million for the property, though he declined to comment on the exact sales price.

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Some buildings did relatively well in Covid like the Revere, while others didn’t like the Giorgetti. The London House location, like the Paramount, is off a busy street. But in my option the LH has a better location than the Paramount. But they are both Randal Davis buildings, whatever that means to someone.

I just don’t know if demand will be there. Mimosa Terrace is a few blocks away and supposedly breaking ground soon even though it’s only 30 percent sold. I like these infill projects but it’s costly to run a building with 16 (MT) or 23 (LH) units.  And the Revere still has some units left despite being open for a year.

I also wonder if the neighbors will organize against LH like they did with Paramount. The 17 story San Felipe office tower sort of paved the path for fall buildings on this block but I’m sure the SFH in River Oaks across the street will not be happy.

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15 hours ago, db650 said:

The London House location, like the Paramount, is off a busy street. But in my option the LH has a better location than the Paramount.

I can't decide which location I would like more. Paramount would have been a block away from Central Market and pretty close to Costco and also near Highland Village and River Oaks District (Central Market being most important). And though I don't like that stretch of San Felipe much, and am especially not overly smitten with Shepherd Drive, being closer to Downtown and near(ish) to Buffalo Bayou might afford some great views from the northeast side corner of the building. Plus that neighborhood behind it would be great for dog walking.

Edited by MidCenturyMoldy
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Funny… you would think that with oil over $80 and not likely to drop anytime soon that they could tough it out a little longer. Big oil companies are starting to loosen their purse strings although cautiously. Economy overall seems pretty strong right now. Job demand is at all time highs… rising wages, etc. Of course, construction costs are likely to remain elevated too. 

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On 10/26/2021 at 8:34 PM, db650 said:

Some buildings did relatively well in Covid like the Revere, while others didn’t like the Giorgetti. The London House location, like the Paramount, is off a busy street. But in my option the LH has a better location than the Paramount. But they are both Randal Davis buildings, whatever that means to someone.

I just don’t know if demand will be there. Mimosa Terrace is a few blocks away and supposedly breaking ground soon even though it’s only 30 percent sold. I like these infill projects but it’s costly to run a building with 16 (MT) or 23 (LH) units.  And the Revere still has some units left despite being open for a year.

I also wonder if the neighbors will organize against LH like they did with Paramount. The 17 story San Felipe office tower sort of paved the path for fall buildings on this block but I’m sure the SFH in River Oaks across the street will not be happy.

It really depended on the phase of design, building type, use, and type of construction. Paramount seems to have been finishing up design and was beginning leasing on the tail end of what one could argue was one of the best economic years in history (it certainly was for me, and the firm I used to work for in Houston), but on the eve of Covid. Condo's are a different animal than apartments since you are buying that floor outright, and sometimes units are custom to each client. When you get to above the $1 million dollar range of a residential project you often are working with very particular clients, and they aren't the kind of people that just order something on Amazon and hope it is what they saw on the image. These are the kind of people that want to go to showrooms and see first hand materials, finishes, furniture, and appliances. On the eve of Covid, and during the first few months of Covid, most showrooms were either restricted, closed, or operating at a reduced capacity, and any project that was in that phase of design, or was at the point of selecting interiors, or getting everything ready for leasing was either put on hold, substantially redesigned, or canceled. If your project was under construction then Covid didn't matter much. Covid was just an inconvenience for contractors. Paramount was simply design at a price point that just didn't work for the new economy we have post-Covid. Mimosa isn't as tall, isn't as lavish, and as probably at a stage of design where they could stomach a minor loss or afford to wait a bit. Same with Revere. Giorgetti got hit hard because its the same with Paramount, but at least it was finished building out. So they had a different problem which clearly people were not preoccupied with shell out millions for a condo with the Covid economy so uncertain. I think with the Houston economy getting back on its feet so quickly, and so many people with money relocating to Houston it will do fine, same with the Revere, and Mimosa. Paramount was a product of its time, and thats that. I'm sure at some point RD thought to himself...is this really worth it when I have other opportunities that won't require me to take a loss, and then say...yes I do, so lets just cut our losses. Whether it was Covid related or not doesn't matter. It probably did play a factor and that is enough to all things considered to scrap things and move on.

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  • The title was changed to The Paramount: Condominiums At 3723 Westheimer Rd.
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