SkylineView Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Is there any news / rumor on the remaining sites? Even with Apache on hold (or out... or whatever), there's still quite a bit of acreage left for development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Is there any news / rumor on the remaining sites? Even with Apache on hold (or out... or whatever), there's still quite a bit of acreage left for development.Yep, still plots for 3 other towers.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intencity77 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I've heard that the new Whole Foods flagship store isn't doing as well as expected and that they have even gone as far as warning employees about possible cuts. Can anybody substantiate or add to this? Geez, it's only been open a little over 2 months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernz Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 How long before they stop the beercycle? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I've heard that the new Whole Foods flagship store isn't doing as well as expected and that they have even gone as far as warning employees about possible cuts. Can anybody substantiate or add to this? Geez, it's only been open a little over 2 months. I can attest to that! I live and work on post oak, so I go there daily and at different hours (open for breakfast, midday for lunch and night after work or just before close to grab something quick) etc and there are never more than 1 to 4 checkout lanes open and its always dead compared to any other store I have or do go to. honestly I am shocked but maybe we are more of a Randall's and HEB community than I thought! wow (for the record I love my whole foods!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 How long before they stop the beercycle? haha! ps...I have only seen the cycle in use ONCE since it opened!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 honestly I am shocked but maybe we are more of a Randall's and HEB community than I thought! wow (for the record I love my whole foods!) Many people don't want to deal with a parking garage to get groceries. My guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 My guess is it may just take time to catch on. It's a high traffic area, and when Eatzi's was there it was always busy. On the other hand, some people may be like me and avoid the area specifcally because of the traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Possibly Barracuda. Hopefully WF isn't hurting so bad they don't last until the other 2 residential towers come to BLVD Place, and more people move into the current Hanover tower. Too bad work isn't happening (yet) on the Uptown BRT line. That would bring more people to the area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Unless you work within walking distance, why would anyone shop there? Traffic is terrible at all hours of the day and there's garage parking? No thank you. It's only going to get worse when the Whole Foods on Voss opens in the former Randall's space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 tony food store, located upon one of the more toniest districts in houston... not doing well financially? something's amiss... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 tony food store, located upon one of the more toniest districts in houston... not doing well financially? something's amiss... If you live on the other side of 610 (River Oaks/Afton Oaks), chances are you'll shop at the WF on Kirby or Waugh. If you live in Southampton/West U/Bellaire, you're likely to shop at the Kirby or Bellaire locations If you live in Memorial, Briargrove, or Western Tanglewood, the Woodway store (soon to be replaced by Voss location) is a better bet than dealing with Galleria area hassles. The only way this store was going to draw folks was to go BIG. That was the original plan. Then they scaled back. The new store doesn't offer enough to make people want to grocery shop there. It simply isn't worth the hassle. I was curious to try it out but 100% of the reviews were along the lines of "it looks pretty cool but there's no way that could become my go-to grocery store." My curiosity died within a week and I likely will never step foot in that store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think this is reason enough to fill up the rest of BLVD Place with five more condo towers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 lmao. right? with Apaches CEO stepping down i wonder if they will get bought by someone else or change their 2 tower BLVD Place HQ plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtsig Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I don't get how the parking garage is a negative.... Similarly to the flagship whole foods in Austin, the garage makes parking infinitely more convenient. It's dedicated to the store, it's covered and climate controlled, it has parking space indicators and you're rarely more than 100' from the entrance. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernz Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I don't get how the parking garage is a negative.... Similarly to the flagship whole foods in Austin, the garage makes parking infinitely more convenient. It's dedicated to the store, it's covered and climate controlled, it has parking space indicators and you're rarely more than 100' from the entrance.I hear you...sometimes it seems like there's a special constitutional amendment for Houstonians protecting their rights to surface parking. And no liberal company from Austin can take that away from us!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Um, the Flagship Austin store is a destination. It's 25,000 square feet larger than the BLVD Place store. It's also located on downtown Austin's street grid making it the go-to store for the thousands of folks who live just blocks away and for the tens of thousands who work and play there daily. This isn't about Houstonians not wanting to park in garages; it's about Houstonians having the option to avoid the hassles of Galleria area traffic and doing so. I'll say it again, this store's only chance was to go-big. That was the original plan. It was scaled back in size drastically making it essentially the same as several other Whole Foods Markets located nearby that aren't so intimidating. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontiger Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think even something on the scale and glitz of the flagship store in Austin would fail in this location - this was a real head-scratcher to me from the very beginning. There is no market for this type of store here, at least not right now, and the nearby WF's serve to only cannibalize what little market this thing has... that said, I have no doubt that dropping this store in the Waugh location and it'd be a huge success. I fear this WF will be gone in 12 months unless the foot traffic in the overall BLVD place development picks up exponentially, like on the scale of City Centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I guess if WF closes a much smaller Trader Joes can move in, and use the rest of the space for other shops to make BLVD place more of the retail destination it was originally planned to be. It seems to be becoming more obvious that this area is not the best location for a major grocer. Post Oak isn't residential enough for something that big. As others have pointed out, this WF is bookended by other WFs to the east and west. Not to mention there's a Target half a mile down San Felipe, across 610 that sells most of your typical groceries, for residents of Highland Creek District and River/Afton Oaks. And a brand new HEB Plus opening up a mile down San Felipe to the west of WF Post Oak, to serve the people who live in the more residential parts of "Uptown". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) I guess if WF closes a much smaller Trader Joes can move in, and use the rest of the space for other shops to make BLVD place more of the retail destination it was originally planned to be. It seems to be becoming more obvious that this area is not the best location for a major grocer. Post Oak isn't residential enough for something that big. As others have pointed out, this WF is bookended by other WFs to the east and west. Not to mention there's a Target half a mile down San Felipe, across 610 that sells most of your typical groceries, for residents of Highland Creek District and River/Afton Oaks. And a brand new HEB Plus opening up a mile down San Felipe to the west of WF Post Oak, to serve the people who live in the more residential parts of "Uptown".I think the recession is to blame. Blvd Place was supposed to hold on to Hermes, have a +700ft Ritz Carlton, and probably trying to draw in the retaiers River Oaks District is now boasting. It's still a nice project but far from its original glory. ROD also suffered the same fate but it didn't turn out to be the nicest strip center in the city (like Blvd Place).Edit: I don't know if a trader joes would do well here. It's a less expensive WF. Edited January 23, 2015 by Montrose1100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Yeah the recession definitely messed things up. RODs success drawing in all the big name tenants isn't helping..It's not so much that a Trader Joes is a less expensive whole foods (of course that trendy factor is part of the allure), it's that their stores are 10-15,000 sq ft, vs like 80,000 or w/e WFs is. There obviously don't seem to be enough people to sustain an 80,000 sq ft grocery store, but maybe one substatially smaller could work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intencity77 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) I'll say it again, this store's only chance was to go-big. That was the original plan. It was scaled back in size drastically making it essentially the same as several other Whole Foods Markets located nearby that aren't so intimidating.Not only that but the original master plan of the whole complex became smaller and very disjointed. And to me, disjointed is the way it appears today. I mean a very sleek looking grocery store here, then a nice but rather random high rise next door (is it, is it not part of the center) and a smaller random strip across a vast empty lot. There's a severe lack of connectivity. The developer probably would have been better off building the majority of the complex all at once, much like River Oaks District is doing. High rise residential towers may help to bring in some much needed pedestrian retail traffic but without cohesion (like the Hanover Tower), the center as a whole will suffer. If the once proposed (probably now dead) Apache Tower(s) were to have been built without integration into the complex as I last saw on the master plan, then I'm glad those tower(s) won't be built. This complex could have been similar to City Centre especially being at such a prime intersection, something that ROD lacks IMO. Edited January 23, 2015 by intencity77 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernz Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Wow, all of these comments based on a rumor. Does anyone here know for sure that the store is doing worse than projected? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I drove by one time and i was on post oak and i looked inside because it was night time and the lights were on and i only saw 3 cashiers!!!!!! also it was like 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 This area needs more residents and entertainment options IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortune Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I'm sure once the 7+ residential highrises planned along Post Oak are built the store will have a larger customer base. The residential buildings planned for Uptown Park (not sure how many residences that will be once it's redeveloped and built out), Astoria, The Bellfoire, the 40 story highrise planned across San Felipe from Whole Foods, the 2 other residential highrises planned for BLVD place besides the Hanover tower which isn't at full capacity, the multifamily highrise planned for Ambassador Way & S. Post Oak Ln, the Gables high rise planned next to the BBVA building, the Galleria residential tower. Just give it some time, I'm sure the future urban dwellers of these towers will shop at the store and keep it packed, eventually. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaderJF Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 When the heb on fountain view opens it will hurt them even more, it looks really nice, can't wait till it opens 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehoustonion Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I talk to employees at the Whole Foods off W. Alabama they said the Post Oak location it not very busy, but starting to pick up. They said the bar is very busy. They have heard any layoffs. Once all the high rises are completed business will definitely pick up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 update...the whole foods has been jam packed lately at lunch with just about every register open! its been awesome to see more business there.and in other news the Italian restaurant on the south side of the building looks ready to open any day now! (behind the new Verizon Wireless super store at Blvd Place) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 update again, stopped by North and while it looks like it could open today, they said they are still training staff etc so look for the grand opening to be March 6th! not only does it look amazing inside (cool, casual and great lighting and style) there is a huge bar inside and on the outside of the building they have a long counter set up with barstools where windows will open up to the bar! so you can sit at the bar but outside on nice weather days! super smart and cannot wait to frequent this spot! (they are handing out menus as well (lunch, dinner and brunch with pricing between 6 to 10 for appetizers, 10 to 18 for pizzas/entrees and then 16 to 24 for specialties) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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