Camden Midtown: Multifamily At 2303 Louisiana St.

[UrbaNerd]

Info on this will go here.

[SpaceCity]

Camden puts planned deals back on front burner

Jennifer Dawson

Houston Business Journal

Camden Property Trust is poised to move ahead with several apartment developments that were put on hold last year because of a glut of multifamily units in the Houston market.

Ric Campo, Camden's chairman and CEO, expects much of the local rental units to be absorbed in 2005, creating a decent rental market in 2006 and 2007.

"You've had supply starting to abate, and job growth starting to pick up," says Campo. "We believe that 2005 will have twice as much absorption as completions."

Campo projects 14,600 apartment units will be completed this year in Houston, with 11,800 absorptions. He expects only 9,400 units will be completed in 2005, while 18,000 units will be in demand.

To be ready for that anticipated demand, the Houston-based real estate investment trust is planning to break ground on at least three apartment complexes next year, some of which have been in the works for years.

Camden will likely break ground in mid- to late 2005 on the superblock project in Midtown. The mixed-use development is in position to move forward after Camden recently purchased the last two acres it needed of the five-acre site. The Midtown Redevelopment Authority and Camden each own part of the site, which is bounded by Main, Anita, McGowen and Travis.

F. Charles Le Blanc, executive director of the Midtown Redevelopment Authority, says it took seven years to acquire all of the superblock land, so this last purchase is significant.

"All the pieces are now together," he says.

Design work is in motion on a high-density, urban development on the site. Campo envisions the superblock having 400 to 500 apartments in a six- to eight-story midrise. The ground floor will likely have retail space or space where an artist could live and work, he says.

In another deal that took three years to piece together, Campo says Camden will probably break ground in early to mid-2005 on a multifamily complex in the Fourth Ward. The 9.1-acre site that encompasses seven blocks is roughly bounded by Valentine to the west, Ruthven to the north, the Interstate 45 feeder road to the east and St. Joseph Parkway and Baldwin to the south.

Click here for the rest of the story

[UrbaNerd]

Cool, thanks.

[Houston Retail]

(heres the rest of the story)

Camden plans to construct 618 apartments in two phases, the first containing 355 units. Total development cost for the four-story, urban complex will be north of $70 million, Campo says.

Also in the works, Campo says Camden may start phase two of Camden Oak Crest in west Houston in 2005.

Camden Oak Crest is located at the corner of Richmond and Kirkwood. The 300 new apartment units would be built on part of the 60 acres Camden owns in the area.

The REIT holds land bounded by Kirkwood, Old Westheimer Road, Westpark and Richmond. In addition, it owns property roughly bounded by Kirkwood, Richmond, Meadow Glen and Royal Oaks Boulevard.

Camden's Greenway Plaza property might be in the mix soon as well. The company owns the green space between the old Compaq Center and the Mercedes dealership on Highway 59.

Campo foresees building a four-story urban infill project with roughly 266 units on the back of the site. A retail site on the front part of the property will likely go under construction in 2005, but details are not yet available on that project.

As of June, Camden owned and managed 145 properties containing 51,882 apartments in Sunbelt and Midwestern markets. The REIT has 4,400 apartment units in its development pipeline.

"We have a lot of activity in Houston," Campo says. "Clearly there's still a big market for rental when we look at Houston going forward."

[UrbaNerd]

Wow, they are adding retail to the Greenway one! Too bad the area isnt "urban" enough. It is essentially an office park. oh well. Hopefully other stuff pops up.

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

Greenway could have a boom soon. I like the area and it's not to bad for retail and shops at all. It won't be a Galleria, but it could be something different.

[midtownguy]

Ooooh, if camden develops the Superblock as they claim, I am THERE. Don't get me wrong, I like Post Midtown Square, but the superblock is primed next to the rail.

[largeTEXAS]

Houston Retail,

Let's make sure Camden's feet are held to the fire on this one. It's got to have pocket parks and be designed to last. Wide sidewalks and real windows - none of those press-on style, fake windows. This project has to be done right.

[Dream]

I wish Ric Campo and Charles Le Blanc would go to the newly re-developed and urban planned Pearl District in downtown Portland and take a look around. This was a blighted and run-down area of Portland for years. Sound familiar? Today it is a model for urban planning and redevelopment. There is light rail, pocket parks, regional parks, boardwalks, huge sidewalks, farmers markets, 6 to 8 story residential with ground floor retail, and people everywhere. I saw all of this during a trip to Portland two weeks ago. I was blown away. I was only in the Pearl District for about one hour and as I walked around taking it all in, all I could think about was Midtown Houston.

I hope and dream that Midtown Houston will one day be like the Pearl District or the NY neighborhood around Washington Square Park in the Village. This is my Dream for Midtown.

The Super Block is ground zero, this is where the battle for Midtown is going to be won or lost. I hope they get it right! The future of Midtown and our quality of life depends on it. I liked the idea of the McGowen Green proposal but I understand why it never happened. Hopefully local Houston boy, Ric Campo, does his hometown proud and makes Houston re-development history in Midtown for the right reasons.

Dream

[Subdude]

Article in today's Chronicle:

Aug. 31, 2004, 12:08AM

Ideas filling vacant block

Some see park, others see urban oasis in Midtown

By MIKE SNYDER

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Like a blank canvas, a long strip of prime real estate lies vacant in the heart of Midtown while planners, developers and community leaders debate its future.

The company that owns most of the property has unspecified plans to build a mixed-use project combining shops, apartments and other components.

A few self-described dreamers, however, cling to hopes of using at least part of the site for a park they say would enhance life for Midtown's growing population.

Despite the competing visions for the property, there is broad agreement that decisions about its use and design will have enormous influence over the shape of development throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

"It's the centerpiece of the overall Midtown development," said Charles LeBlanc, the executive director of the Midtown Redevelopment Authority.

Interest in what happens in Midtown extends beyond the people who live and work there.

Because of its location near downtown, proximity to Metro's light rail line and extensive vacant property, architects and planners say the neighborhood represents Houston's best opportunity for urban-style development where people can walk among homes, offices, restaurants and shops.

The 270,000-square-foot site, known in Midtown as the "superblock," is uninterrupted by cross streets and is vacant except for a small strip center on one corner. A Metro rail stop at McGowen, on the northern end of the property, would provide transit riders with convenient access to whatever is built on the site.

Last year, David Crossley, the president of the nonprofit Gulf Coast Institute, proposed that the superblock be used for a park, possibly with a parking garage beneath it.

Crossley and others who embraced his idea said the park would be an enormous long-term asset to the neighborhood.

"The area would double in value," said Dan Barnum, an architect and board member of the Midtown Management District.

Supporters drew up a preliminary design for the park and gave it a name: McGowen Green. They estimated costs of $12 million for the land and $65 million to build the park and underground garage.

High costs may shrink park

Leaders of the city-chartered Midtown Redevelopment Authority, which owned most of the superblock when the park proposal surfaced, said using the entire site for a park was impractical because of the high cost.

The authority began conveying the land to Camden Property Trust through sales and land swaps several years ago after choosing the firm's submission from several proposals for development of the property.

"I think everyone would agree it would be wonderful to have a park with urban, high-rise development surrounding it," said Robert Sellingsloh, the authority's board chairman.

But he said the most likely use of the property is a mixed-use development surrounding a park of undetermined size on land that the authority would retain.

Funding up against time

Ed Wulfe, chair of the Main Street Coalition, which is overseeing redevelopment along the Main Street corridor, said he is looking for money from foundations or other sources to help develop a park on the site.

Wulfe said Houston's apartment market is "moderately soft," giving park backers six to nine months to try to raise money before the developer starts construction.

Ric Campo, the chief executive officer of Camden Property Trust, which owns about 60 percent of the property, said the company does not expect to begin work on its project until next year.

The redevelopment authority owns most of the rest of the property, but Sellingsloh said he expects Camden ultimately to acquire all but a small part of the site.

Vision not becoming reality

Campo said he envisions a six- or seven-story project, perhaps with apartments over shops. The project also might include a public facility such as a library or museum, Campo said.

"We're working on a conceptual design and working on costs," Campo said.

The debate over the best use of the superblock underscores an ongoing discussion about the form of new development in Midtown.

A number of architects and planners say recent projects have been designed in suburban styles inconsistent with the vision of an urban, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood promoted on the redevelopment authority's Web site.

The most prominent example, they say, is a store at Gray and Bagby designed with a large parking lot in front. Midtown leaders' efforts to persuade the company to change the design were mostly unsuccessful.

"So far, much of the redevelopment of Midtown has been a great disappointment," said Houston architect Larry Albert, who recently helped organize a design competition for a hypothetical mixed-use project in Midtown.

Building for 'creative class'

Guy Hagstette, Mayor Bill White's special assistant for urban design, said plenty of opportunities still exist to create an urban environment in Midtown.

Supporters say such designs

[H-Town Man]

The fact that people are already talking about "hanging [their] head in shame" is verrrrrrrrry telling. Notice this article mentions nothing about the much-ballyhooed "Area Plan Ordinance," which the Chronicle devoted several articles to last year and which would have all but guaranteed urban development along Main Street. When will Houston get something right?

[jtmbin]

I guess this would be the "McGowen Green" Property? Apparently dreams of a midtown super park/new central library on the Sperblock have given way to drumroll please, yet another giant apartment complex. YeeHaw! Maybe it's old news, but it's news to me that construction is iminent.

From http://www.nreionline.com/mag/real_estate_...ouston_ignites/

"Houston-based Camden Property Trust, a multifamily real estate investment trust (REIT), is planning a 500-unit development on a 5.5-acre parcel in the center of the neighborhood. Developer Yancey Hausman, in partnership with Point Center Partners, has announced plans for a 100,000 sq. ft. mixed-use development that will include 27,000 sq. ft. of first-floor retail and 75,000 sq. ft. of commercial office space. Occupancy of Point Center Midtown is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2005."

[MidtownCoog]

These apartment complexes are going to spell DOOM for Houston.

What a shame.

[ssullivan]

This has been mentioned in a couple of other posts on here, but this is the first sign that construction will be starting very soon.

[houston-development]

These apartment complexes are going to spell DOOM for Houston.

What a shame.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

it already has. notice "c" quality apartment complexes offering up to three months free rent? it's a blood bath with no end in sight.

if the lenders continue to lend, the builders will continue to build....

[midtown_resident]

silver lining on this is the mixed-use...

i somehow imagined that houston and midtown specifically, would grasp the idea that this parcel of land represents the future flagship of midtown...it sounds like another run of the mill complex to me...

i'll wait and see...

[Talbot]

Wow the thing that the developers were cooing about to be a catalyst for midtowns urban renewal is going to be apartments? Geez I am having a love-hate relationship with this city.

[guess]

[jtmbin]

Wow the thing that the developers were cooing about to be a catalyst for midtowns urban renewal is going to be apartments? Geez I am having a love-hate relationship with this city.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

welcome to the club. If you never leave Houston and never read about anything happening anywhere else, Houston seems like a great place. I was born and raised here, but I travel extensively and the reality can be a bit harsh. There are lots of good intentions here, but the populace never demands excellence. Mediocrity in the development of public spaces is not only the norm, but considered good enough - as long as something happens, people seem to be satisfied. Note: It's not about money. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars in Houston on public infrastructure, but I would argue that it's money not very well spent. Minute Maid, the Toyota Center, Reliant 'world", the expansion of I-10 West, the Montrose bridge over US59 etc. etc. all come to mind as missed opportunities to do great things. Likewise the private developers simply follow suit and do just enough to get by and make a few bucks.

Not since Jesse Jones, Roy Hofheinz, or the expat Gerald Hines has this city had a visionary developer. You'll excuse me for not including Tilman Fertitta, but the jury is still out on whether his legacy will be one of greatness or not.

[jtmbin]

it already has.  notice "c" quality apartment complexes offering up to three months free rent?  it's a blood bath with no end in sight.

if the lenders continue to lend, the builders will continue to build....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Builders keep building at a furious pace for the same reason that individuals keep buying single-family homes at a furious pace - low interest rates. Most of the big apt. developments are flipped to apt. management corps. or REITs within a year of their completion. These projects are still considered to be good long-term investments because they are being financed at incredibly low interest rates which allow the owners to weather low occupancy and to afford the "free months" promotions in the short-term.

When interest rates do rise, single-family home sales will drop and these apartments will benefit from an increase in non-home buying renters.

[MidtownCoog]

How long until it goes Section 8?

[2112]

I grew up in section-8 housing. Pretty much from my elementary school years until I was 20 years old, starting out in college. I didn

[Guest danax]

The rendering doesn't exactly look like a potential crack-selling environment at least. I can't see utilizing prime land in Midtown for a library since, I'm thinking, 90+% of the residents in Midtown are childless, so they're appealing to the apparent market, childless apartment dwellers. I too would love to see that area developed as a master-plan. We all know the results could be stunning, such a great location. Not much chance of that, I suppose.

[111486]

Here is another smaller rendering for Point Center. Why so different than the first pic?

[guess]

Here is another smaller rendering for Point Center.  Why so different than the first pic?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because Camden's apartments and Point Center Midtown are two different things.

[largeTEXAS]

These apartment complexes are going to spell DOOM for Houston.

What a shame.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Apartments sure spelled DOOM for New York...and Chicago...and San Francisco...and Vancouver... not to mention Madrid, London, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm and Amsterdam...

[rhettsky]

Last I saw, the "superblock" still had no trace of development, while a large block -- or series of them -- along Heiner Street on the east side of Freedmen's Town sported several Camden signs. I'll bet that's where this is going to be.

And anyone who wants to live right on 45, well ... that's their problem.

[ssullivan]

Last I saw, the "superblock" still had no trace of development, while a large block -- or series of them -- along Heiner Street on the east side of Freedmen's Town sported several Camden signs. I'll bet that's where this is going to be.

And anyone who wants to live right on 45, well ... that's their problem.

The superblock on Main at McGowen has Camden signs on it as well advertising a mixed use development coming soon. And the rendering above clearly shows the median on Main St. and the light rail tracks.

[jt16]

apartments mean an abundance of a young professional crowd, that hasn't saved enough for a home. Do we want these people moving out of the city?

[MidtownCoog]

Of course not, but do we want all the prime lots to be apartments?

Allen Parkway is about to be Apartment row.

How tacky.