One Park Place: Multifamily At 1400 McKinney St.

[marc]

i often wonder if the design was approved because it purposely looks like an older building in design. You know to give a more historical look to the area, instead of the OMG two years ago there was nothing here and now, presto, the new DT.

i don't know, just a thought. i am hoping that another residential highrise will break ground in the next couple of years that has a more post-modern look (ie. more like Austin's towers, Mosaic or Kirby). i like the design, but am sort of perlexed as to why such a prominent building in such a prime location is not the showcase it could be. Make sense?

m.

[totheskies]

^^ I love the "older feel" of the design, and in a skyline like Houston's, it makes OPP look all the more special. These post-modern residential structures are ok, but they look very repetitive. How many flat topped, all glass structures can you have in one place?

We've got our fair share of post-modern residential towers in Houston. They're just not being built in downtown (which is fine by me).

Edited January 13, 2009 by totheskies

[capnmcbarnacle]

^^ I love the "older feel" of the design, and in a skyline like Houston's, it makes OPP look all the more special. These post-modern residential structures are ok, but they look very repetitive. How many flat topped, all glass structures can you have in one place?

We've got our fair share of post-modern residential towers in Houston. They're just not being built in downtown (which is fine by me).

I think this building turned out great so far. From vantage points within and outside of downtown I think it certainly catches your eye becase of the distinctive red brick and roof. It manages to look like an older and more traditional residential building without crossing over into the bad knockoffs of classics that we see so often. When I see it along with the other towers it immediately stands out as a residential building -- the balconies, the brick, the roof -- they all let you know right away what it is, and do so without confusing it for a hotel. I really enjoy catching glimpses of it from downtown and noticing how dramatically different it is from the glass and steel office buildings around it. Kudos on this one.

[uhlaw09]

It manages to look like an older and more traditional residential building without crossing over into the bad knockoffs of classics that we see so often.

Well said.

[marc]

^^^^ All terrific points in the last 3 posts and i did look at some NY beauties which definately add to the skyline and are obviously older residential highrises. Please, don't misunderstand me, i like the design a great deal. i especially think the crown gives it distinction and salvages what could have been a boring block of stone. i was just surprised because it is so out in the open and hasn't been surrounded (YET) by other scrapers, that a more cutting edge type of design wasn't chosen. i am thinking specifically like Aqua in Chi-twn or some Melbourne and Sydney beauties. Or even London for that matter. Does my question make sense? i am just curious.

Give me your thoughts,

m.

[BigSky]

Heard a rumor that Central Market is looking to move into the location on the ground floor. Also, heard another coffee shop from NYC is planning on moving in as well. Not finalized, but close.

If any of this is true, this thing might be a slam dunk for Residential downtown houston. In addition, with other fingers development more than likely not getting off the ground off of dallas st. it makes perfect sense.

[uhlaw09]

In addition, with other fingers development more than likely not getting off the ground off of dallas st. it makes perfect sense.

I'm don't follow you on this statement. What do you mean about the relationship between the W. Dallas project and the One Park Place tenants?

Central Market and the coffee shop would be great news, if it happens.

Edited January 14, 2009 by uhlaw09

[KinkaidAlum]

There's a smaller Whole Foods near Symphony Hall in Boston. It's got everything you need but on a smaller scale. The size would be perfect for downtown.

Think of how much money a Whole Foods downtown on the park could make... nearby residents will be chump change compared to workers shopping before heading home or grabbing multiple lunches from the prepared foods counter or salad bar all week long. Cha-ching. Will also be an easy alternative for the hotel guests at the Hilton and Four Seasons.

[lockmat]

The mailing reads like a finely produced marketing brochure, touting the opening of a new downtown apartment tower and urging Houstonians to consider moving there:

[fatesdisastr]

thats an interesting article. I am surprised mayor white is doing something like this. that is pretty big

[crunchtastic]

Quite inappropriate, IMO. The last thing the mayor needs to do is pimp Marvy Finger. He could have written a perfectly good letter about all the great new development in downtown without going there. That's pretty greasy of you, Mayor White.

[LTAWACS]

That struck me as odd but given the level of corruption in city government I am not surprises in the least.

[emirate25]

Interesting article...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6231479.html

“One Park Place will be the residence of choice downtown because its 346 residences offer 14 floor plans with finishes typical of high-end condominiums, spectacular views, a nearly one-acre resort-style pool area, a grand terrace overlooking the park and retail spaces.”

Except it is not a marketing brochure. It is a Jan. 16 letter, penned by Mayor Bill White on city letterhead and sent by the developer of One Park Place to hundreds of people and human resources representatives at businesses and organizations across Houston.

[kylejack]

Bill White, nooo, stop, don't do that. You've been such an awesome mayor. Don't ruin it for me.

[TheNiche]

Quite inappropriate, IMO. The last thing the mayor needs to do is pimp Marvy Finger. He could have written a perfectly good letter about all the great new development in downtown without going there. That's pretty greasy of you, Mayor White.

I agree. He could've described in flowery language how nice OPP is and how it benefits the City (as any mayor might at a ribbon cutting speech), gone so fare as to cite One Park Place foremost on a list of examples of downtown amenities, and then gone on to promote that people ought to want to live downtown.

He crossed a line.

I used to like Bill White, but I think that he has overstayed his welcome in the political arena. Riding on perpetually high poll numbers and weak challengers to his office, he's gotten overconfident and perhaps a bit complacent, even as he relaxes his own ethical standards. In the last couple months it seems like the Chronicle has turned on him. I'm hoping that he takes this as a sign to tone down his ambitions a notch.

[tanith27]

I remember when I lived in Calgary, the mayor there would go on these whirlwind trips to Asia to promote Calgary as a great city to do business in. In the end it worked tremendously. Calgary went though a major boom that certainly preceded the influx of oil money and I can't help but think it was due in large part to the jobs he was able to bring to the city by touting the benefits of the city as a whole.

As a result of the jobs, certain areas began to prosper and the trickle down effect eventually made its way through the whole city.

So, I certainly applaud Mayor Bill in his desire to bring a focus to the downtown core, but question whether open support of a single building is the way to do it. If his motive was to bring excitement to the Discovery Green area, or to downtown as a whole, I think there are smarter ways to do it.

[JWW]

The article and the news yesterday stated this:

White said the letter was part of a longstanding agreement he made with Finger to promote the 37-story tower, which is scheduled to open in March.

[TheNiche]

Now, as much as I've disagreed with many of Mayor White's decisions over the last few years (and his stance on 'Ashby highrise', in particular), I do not see the specific language in this letter as any more 'innapropriate' than other incentives a municipality can give a developer; specifically, property tax abatements.

The letter states, among other things:

One Park Place will be THE residence of choice...

The capital letters in the word "THE" were printed out as such in the letter.

I object to that statement specifically. It is an example of White acting in the capacity of a City official who is showing favoritism to a specific developer to the categorical exclusion of all others.

Moreover, the statement is not factual. These are the priciest apartments in downtown; a lot of people who would choose between downtown apartments may disagree that One Park Place is "THE residence of choice" as evidenced by their preference to lease a unit at the Post Rice Lofts, Hogg Palace, Houston House, or other options. I myself would much rather live in either a genuine historic building or a shiny new modern-looking apartment building than a new apartment building unconvincingly made to look old, so it is in fact not "THE residence of choice."

Randall Davis, a near-competitor- applauded White for supporting Finger

[LTAWACS]

This does not sit well with me.

[JWW]

The letter states, among other things:

The capital letters in the word "THE" were printed out as such in the letter.

I object to that statement specifically. It is an example of White acting in the capacity of a City official who is showing favoritism to a specific developer to the categorical exclusion of all others.

Moreover, the statement is not factual. These are the priciest apartments in downtown; a lot of people who would choose between downtown apartments may disagree that One Park Place is "THE residence of choice" as evidenced by their preference to lease a unit at the Post Rice Lofts, Hogg Palace, Houston House, or other options. I myself would much rather live in either a genuine historic building or a shiny new modern-looking apartment building than a new apartment building unconvincingly made to look old, so it is in fact not "THE residence of choice."

Randall Davis is a smart guy. Even if he is pissed off, Davis knows better than to go on public record as opposing someone as powerful or popular as Mayor White because that's the kind of thing that will come back to haunt him one day.

I also do not agree with "The" being used. I do not like the favortism shown and would like that article removed from the letter. However, it sure seems favortism is shown when tax and other financial incentives are given to different developers for all kinds of reasons, including developing in government-preferred areas of town. I'd take the "the" out but I can deal with the rest of this.

Regarding Davis, he has spoken his piece about many officials in government currently and recently out of power. Yes, he is very smart, but I actually think he'd prefer any high government official going on about a downtown residential development just to get people down to the area to look and when they find out the rent is $2.20, $2.15 a ft or whatever it will be, the prospective renters might look at other developments in downtown (Hogg, etc.).

[ToryGattis]

I don't know. Part of a mayor's job is promoting economic development. On the one hand, if he doesn't do all he can to help this landmark development and it falls into bankruptcy with this economy, it will freeze downtown development for years. He's prudently watching out for the city's long-term interests. On the other, any time a mayor can say to a major developer, "no taxpayer subsidies or tax abatements, but I'll write you a nice letter" - that's a pretty big win in my book.

[crunchtastic]

In theory I agree with Tory Gattis and others that the Mayor should be a steward of economic development. That said, how to justify certain developers and certain projects over others--there are surely other pimp-worthy projects in Houston. It's all about perception.

Cheesy ad copy aside, if OPP fails (in this economy or any other) it becomes another data point which says that the downtown Houston real estate market is not yet able to sustain residential in the numbers that developers and the mayor would like.

I must admit the idea of offering a nice marketing letter instead of financial incentives is intriguing. Too bad no one tried this tactic when it came to the poor, struggling professional sports franchises wanting public handouts.

Edited January 28, 2009 by crunchtastic

[editor]

I don't think it's as scandalous as it sounds. I think Houston just isn't used to this sort of thing. A lot of big city mayors spend a lot of time doing this sort of thing. In fact, I think more mayors should spend more time doing it. If the mayor isn't going to be the face of his city, then who is?

Houston has been blessed to be able to look inward for most of its history. That tradition of self-reliance makes this kind of external promotion seem strange and unnecessary.

The mayors of cities around Houston's size spend weeks, even months, overseas promoting their city to the world. I get Mayor White's daily schedule e-mailed to me, and I really can't tell you the last time he went farther than Port Arthur.

[crunchtastic]

I don't think it's as scandalous as it sounds. I think Houston just isn't used to this sort of thing. A lot of big city mayors spend a lot of time doing this sort of thing. In fact, I think more mayors should spend more time doing it. If the mayor isn't going to be the face of his city, then who is?

Houston has been blessed to be able to look inward for most of its history. That tradition of self-reliance makes this kind of external promotion seem strange and unnecessary.

You make some very good points that are obvious to an outsider, and less so to a Houstonian. I would agree that there is a certain inwardness and naivete in politics here, and in Texas generally. Provincial is a word which comes to mind. The perception problem is very real, though. Correctly or not, many native Houstonians and Texans of a certain age have ingrained in them the conventional wisdom that our political machine is bought and paid for by developers and builders. To openly acknowledge that relationship, even in seemingly disparate ways (the mayor's intereference in the Ashby proejct, then this letter) is tantamount to rubbing our noses in our dirty business.

[TheNiche]

The mayors of cities around Houston's size spend weeks, even months, overseas promoting their city to the world. I get Mayor White's daily schedule e-mailed to me, and I really can't tell you the last time he went farther than Port Arthur.

The Mayor has already done these global economic development trips you speak of in his earlier terms in office. As far as I know, nothing came of it except for a momentary blip of press. I'm sure that he would've taken credit for anything that he was able to bring in, but I never saw any followup to that effect. He may have just concluded that it wasn't a very effective use of time or resources.

[TheNiche]

I don't know. Part of a mayor's job is promoting economic development. On the one hand, if he doesn't do all he can to help this landmark development and it falls into bankruptcy with this economy, it will freeze downtown development for years. He's prudently watching out for the city's long-term interests. On the other, any time a mayor can say to a major developer, "no taxpayer subsidies or tax abatements, but I'll write you a nice letter" - that's a pretty big win in my book.

Is it really in the City's long term interests to promote downtown over any other neighborhood? I'd rather see the City promoting the City (the whole City!), not the City promoting only the favored part of the City.

I don't tax abatements which must be approved on a project-by-project basis.

I don't like the language in White's letter which promotes one developer over another.

[stjnky]

Is it really in the City's long term interests to promote downtown over any other neighborhood? I'd rather see the City promoting the City (the whole City!), not the City promoting only the favored part of the City.

I don't tax abatements which must be approved on a project-by-project basis.

I don't like the language in White's letter which promotes one developer over another.

More people living downtown = fewer cars on the freeway, so you're also getting traffic and environmental benefits. I think it IS beneficial to the whole city to promote downtown over other neighborhoods.

[totheskies]

The mayor probably doesn't support the project as blindly as his letter (written very hastely without any thought to the ramifications) conveys. I think he, like most of us, is just anxious to see this long-awaited transformation in downtown... and he's willing to do just about anything to make that happen. This is certainly not Bill White's proudest moment, but he's done a really tremendous service to the city of Houston.

Remember This??

"Mayor Sees Houston Revitalization as Model for Other US Cities

By John Salustri - Last updated: May 28, 2004 01:34pm

http://www.globest.com/news/41_41/houston/122927-1.html

HOUSTON-What do synchronized traffic lights have to do with commercial real estate growth? They're a small contributor to a larger picture, a tiny piece of the quality of life that separates a city's success from its failure. That was the message more than 100 reporters heard here recently at the National Association of Real Estate Editors convention.

The vehicles of that message were Houston Mayor Bill White and a subsequent panel of experts who addressed the city's rebirth. White, for his part, told the crowd that the city over which he presides has enjoyed a record-breaking 700% growth in population since the 1930s. Clearly, he noted, "people are voting with their feet." He added that, of the population's current 60% immigration rate, three-quarters of those are foreign immigrants.

Houston has had its problems, including a weighty 20% office vacancy rate, but answers are still coming from both the private and the public sides, speakers stated. In addition, both the mayor and the subsequent panel enumerated the woes of the early '90s recession. But Houston has rebounded with a vigor based on key areas of focus, White said. These included economic development, quality of life and efficiency of government operation.

In terms of economic development--and an answer to the vacancy question--White confessed that the city fathers have aggressively sought CEOs searching for a new home, and their efforts have paid off in recent months with the additions of Chevron Texaco and Citgo as tenants here. In fact, White characterized the two deals as the largest in the city's history. Furthermore, one of those deals turned a negative--the collapse of Enron and the subsequent loss of jobs--into a positive. Chevron bought the built-but-never-occupied building here that Enron was to fill.

In terms of the quality of life, White mentioned such initiatives as the traffic-light synchronization, the creation of more park space and the raising of funds to develop neighborhood drainage programs. The efficiency of city operations came in the town's vigorous attempts to reform the municipal pension system.

In the following seminar session:

Edited January 28, 2009 by totheskies

[kylejack]

I wouldn't mind so much if it were a generic "OPP seems like it will be a great place" type thing, but when he gets into talking about the different floor plans, he's gone beyond helpful mayor into salesman territory, and the fact that they contributed to his campaign sets off another alarm bell for me.

[editor]

Is it really in the City's long term interests to promote downtown over any other neighborhood? I'd rather see the City promoting the City (the whole City!), not the City promoting only the favored part of the City.

Why can't he do both? Promote the entire city and also promote those areas that have the most potential in his view?

I don't like the language in White's letter which promotes one developer over another.

It was probably written by some PR person and just approved by the mayor's office. When the next developer comes along to be promoted it will have flowery language about that developer, too. Everyone is special and no one is special.

he's gone beyond helpful mayor into salesman territory,

In some cities, especially New York, the mayor is seen as a salesman for the city. Nothing wrong with that.