WestMont: Mixed-Use Development Coming To Montrose

[Ross]

19 hours ago, cityliving said:

This Montrose marketplace is a joke, reminds me of a flea market in some third world country, the owners of the property didn’t even bother removing that crappy sign from the corner that was left there from the previous shopping center that was torn down, what an eye sore. 
Developers who purchase property should not tear down buildings if they aren’t going to develop something and leave the properties looking like this.

No one removes signs when buildings are demolished. Removing the sign makes it almost impossible to replace it later, given the Houston sign ordinance. There are vacant lots all over town with signs still standing.

Do you suppose that a couple of years of pandemic lockdowns might have delayed the proposed development?

[Naviguessor]

8 hours ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

IIRC, there WAS a Mattress Firm here... and across the street, and on the next block.... and a half mile away

Then Hanover built a mattress shaped building down the street, with mattress shaped windows and named it the The Hanover Mattrose, as a permanent reminder.   

[cityliving]

Usually when an empty lot sits undeveloped for more than two years means that the company who purchased the property may be having issues getting financing for their proposed projects.

Edited April 5, 2022 by cityliving

[hindesky]

42 minutes ago, cityliving said:

Usually when an empty lot sits undeveloped for more than two years means that the company who purchased the property may be having issues getting financing for their proposed projects.

Regent Square sat empty for almost 14 years before they built phase II where the Sterling is. Skanska has plenty of money they are just making plans for the right development for the block. Skanska paid $27 mil to buy the property and the flea market is just temporary until they start construction. I think it's better than just an empty block of concrete and asphalt.

[cityliving]

I sure would not want for this property to sit empty for 14 years, hopefully this project will get developed soon. 
 

Edited April 5, 2022 by cityliving

[thatguysly]

I've been to open markets with tents just like this in Helsinki and Bergen. If they were to build a long term open market then sure make it nicer but this is what a temporary one looks like. Dallas has one downtown near Deep Ellum that has a roof over it and makes it look a little nicer but that space isn't reserved for a larger build. For now this is fine and fits the area.

[clutchcity94]

1 hour ago, cityliving said:

Usually when an empty lot sits undeveloped for more than two years means that the company who purchased the property may be having issues getting financing for their proposed projects.

Has it been two years already?

[hindesky]

11 minutes ago, clutchcity94 said:

Has it been two years already?

January 2021 is when most tenants moved out.

[CREguy13]

5 hours ago, cityliving said:

Usually when an empty lot sits undeveloped for more than two years means that the company who purchased the property may be having issues getting financing for their proposed projects.

Fortunately, this will not be the case for site.  Skanska is going to build something amazing here, but with that, comes proper master planning and understanding the best overall use/market size for what will be a transformative project for Montrose.  Then factor in the Kroger site next door and its a lot to consider, all while engaging numerous community stakeholders.  

[clutchcity94]

19 minutes ago, CREguy13 said:

Fortunately, this will not be the case for site.  Skanska is going to build something amazing here, but with that, comes proper master planning and understanding the best overall use/market size for what will be a transformative project for Montrose.  Then factor in the Kroger site next door and its a lot to consider, all while engaging numerous community stakeholders.  

We might as well raze the ex-Chinese consulate while we’re at it!

[Luminare]

On 4/5/2022 at 8:53 AM, hindesky said:

Regent Square sat empty for almost 14 years before they built phase II where the Sterling is. Skanska has plenty of money they are just making plans for the right development for the block. Skanska paid $27 mil to buy the property and the flea market is just temporary until they start construction. I think it's better than just an empty block of concrete and asphalt.

I can understand how some are getting impatient, but if you are in the game or orbit it, then you understand how long it takes to even get a shovel in the ground. I have yet to work on any highrises (it remains one of the few main project types I have yet to work on), but I have worked on large schools, and the planning/design phases alone is around 6-8 months and those were typically CM@R (Construction Manager @ Risk) and packages could go out in pieces. I'd imagine they would do the same delivery method for a project like this, but with how many uses and floors would be in this I'd hedge a bet that the design phases alone would be 8-12 or even 14 depending on various approvals, and complications. Then add in city review which for Houston isn't that difficult, but even with an expediter I've seen small houses take a couple months. Then if you don't have comments (doubt it) then you can pull permits.

Also as you said in another post, tenants just left mid last year, and they just finished demo.

With all this being said (again this is speculation, but one based on my professional experience) we probably won't see anything happen on this site until 2024. Maybe we see some schematic design renders in the summer.

EDIT: I should probably add that this timeline is only possible if an Architect has been chosen already (No clue if this is the case). If they haven't then either they still need to find one, or solicit RFP/RFQ's which then adds more time onto what I just said. I also didn't factor time to bid because it seems to me that Skanska builds with their forces? Thats also more time as well.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Luminare

[swtsig]

On 4/5/2022 at 9:06 AM, cityliving said:

Usually when an empty lot sits undeveloped for more than two years means that the company who purchased the property may be having issues getting financing for their proposed projects.

It's almost as if you have no development experience whatsoever haha. I mean no offense, I could see why a layperson would think this but largescale developments take time and that's true in even the most stable of markets which this is most certainly not. 

[editor]

On 4/4/2022 at 12:37 PM, Luminare said:

this is merely a temporary installation until something actually happens with the property,

On the surface, this seems ok. But when a property generates "just enough" revenue, there's no incentive to make it into something better. That's why downtown has so many surface parking lots. 
 

If the property didn't make enough money to pay the taxes, the owners would have a reason to develop it, rather than sit on it trying to time the real estate bubble. 

[clutchcity94]

36 minutes ago, editor said:

On the surface, this seems ok. But when a property generates "just enough" revenue, there's no incentive to make it into something better. That's why downtown has so many surface parking lots. 
 

If the property didn't make enough money to pay the taxes, the owners would have a reason to develop it, rather than sit on it trying to time the real estate bubble. 

There’s no way those food trucks and vendors are covering the entire tax bill for this property. Not even close.

[editor]

1 hour ago, clutchcity94 said:

There’s no way those food trucks and vendors are covering the entire tax bill for this property. Not even close.

It doesn't have to cover.  It just has to soften the blow enough to stall development.  Meanwhile, what should be the most thriving corner of Montrose looks like it's been half-abandoned.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

it's a Skanska property. They have a track record of doing what they say they will do. It may take a couple of years like the new BoA tower, but, when they came to town, they built, they sold, they built again.

[hindesky]

Not sure what to make of this but there is a crew removing the fence around the block right now.

[hindesky]

I asked the people running the Montrose Market Place on IG about the fence and they answered that they are just installing a prettier fence.

[tangledwoods]

Quote

it's a Skanska property. They have a track record of doing what they say they will do. It may take a couple of years like the new BoA tower, but, when they came to town, they built, they sold, they built again.

FWIW Skanska has been trying to develop the corner if Hardy and I-45 by Exxon for 7+ years now.... Its planned as a 3 building 850,000SF development that has sat there as a forest waiting for a tenant.  Skanska will only move as fast as the market dictates.  They might not need stellar pre-leasing but they are also not going to sit here and ignore the crazy cost escalation factors the industry is facing coupled with softening demand and a potential for economic collapse.

[Fortune]

1 hour ago, tangledwoods said:

FWIW Skanska has been trying to develop the corner if Hardy and I-45 by Exxon for 7+ years now.... Its planned as a 3 building 850,000SF development that has sat there as a forest waiting for a tenant.  Skanska will only move as fast as the market dictates.  They might not need stellar pre-leasing but they are also not going to sit here and ignore the crazy cost escalation factors the industry is facing coupled with softening demand and a potential for economic collapse.

I understand what you are saying. However, I would not compare a a 850,000SF speculative office building complex in Spring to a mixed-use development in the heart of Montrose at the intersection of Westheimer and Montrose Blvd. 

[Urbannizer]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:33 PM, CREguy13 said:

Fortunately, this will not be the case for site.  Skanska is going to build something amazing here, but with that, comes proper master planning and understanding the best overall use/market size for what will be a transformative project for Montrose.  Then factor in the Kroger site next door and its a lot to consider, all while engaging numerous community stakeholders.  

Have you seen the design? Is there a park along Westheimer? I may have come across a rendering but there isn’t enough in the background to confirm.

[BigFootsSocks]

1 hour ago, Urbannizer said:

Have you seen the design? Is there a park along Westheimer? I may have come across a rendering but there isn’t enough in the background to confirm.

Post it anyway to get us hype

[Urbannizer]

48 minutes ago, BigFootsSocks said:

Post it anyway to get us hype

Turns out it’s a project of theirs for Boston.

https://thebostonsun.com/2022/01/27/transformative-proposed-zoning-plan-for-simmons-longwood-campus/

[hindesky]

[dbigtex56]

Just to clarify things, if you're looking askance at the name of the website on the pen (DONOTBLOW.COM) it's for a lawyer who specializes in DUI cases.

[august948]

16 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

Just to clarify things, if you're looking askance at the name of the website on the pen (DONOTBLOW.COM) it's for a lawyer who specializes in DUI cases.

Ahhh....lawyers....who can forget Eric Dick's campaign sign when he was running against Annise Parker?

[editor]

On 5/13/2022 at 8:19 PM, dbigtex56 said:

Just to clarify things, if you're looking askance at the name of the website on the pen (DONOTBLOW.COM) it's for a lawyer who specializes in DUI cases.

Reminds me of how one of the big Chicago architecture firms uses BuildOrDie.com. 

[bobruss]

I was getting gas today at the Circle k $3.07 gallon and saw a truck across the street in the northwest corner of the lot taking soil samples. Maybe things are heating up. Montrose is becoming what I always thought it would become. Probably not in my lifetime but it will be solid highrise residential from the museum  district to Allen parkway. 

[Avossos]

12 hours ago, bobruss said:

I was getting gas today at the Circle k $3.07 gallon and saw a truck across the street in the northwest corner of the lot taking soil samples. Maybe things are heating up. Montrose is becoming what I always thought it would become. Probably not in my lifetime but it will be solid highrise residential from the museum  district to Allen parkway. 

Yes - linking Neartown (which is what I call the highrise cluster South of Buffalo Bayou) to museum district / TMC. I think as long as the residential neighborhood remain just off Montrose, that will be the best destiny.

 

I go to church at the Greek Church off Montrose. I have noticed that the amount of transient people and homeless has really increased - or seems to be worsening in terms of impact. More graffiti, more trash, more grit...

 

Perhaps I thought that quality development here would lessen this... but it seems it has intensified it. Is that how this area will always be? Is it just too central that people of all tracks of life merge into the montrose scene? I am disappointed that we see graffiti and trash / pollution so often in this neighborhood.

[skooljunkie]

1 hour ago, Avossos said:

I have noticed that the amount of transient people and homeless has really increased - or seems to be worsening in terms of impact. More graffiti, more trash, more grit...

My two cents: vacant lots, vacant buildings, and general lack of human presence causes a lot of this activity. The number of vacant spaces in this area is very high at this moment in time compared to just 3-4 years ago.