Reply With QuoteThat's great. Who is the developer?
Park Lane Place is to be built in Dallas near Northpark Mall.
That's great. Who is the developer?
DAGNABBIT!
Cpress Real Estate Advisors. They currently have two high density developments on board for Houston's Inner Loop. This one and Westcreek on Westheimer Boulevard. There is another one when you enter West Houston on I-10 on the old Town and country mall site. The architect for Hardy is the same for Victory Dallas, Elkus Manfredi of Boston.Originally Posted by hamiltonpl
Here is the layout.
Saw in the Houston paper yesterday that they have a "final plan" for the 12 acre downtown park in front of the convention center. They also noted that developers have bought up the land around the borders of the park and are planning high rise developments. If the plans come to fruition, this could be a really neat area. As of right now the area is devoid of any meaningful activity. When I was in Houston recently, I stayed at the Four Seasons which is in this general area and right across form the site of the Houston Pavilions project (I was extremely bored because there was nothing to do during the day while I was waiting for my buddies wedding), I hope all this gets built for Houston sake because it will go a long way in transforming this area of Downtown into the place to be.
http://www.houstondowntownpark.org/h...al_design.html
That is a beautiful urban park, very well designed. Congrats to Houston. Look at the list of contributors on their site, very impressive. Mabye Dallas philanthropists will see whats Houston is doing and increase support for the Woodall Rogers deck park.
Good idea for Houston. Houston's DT has way too many parking lots. This should take up some of that needless asphalt.
A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool because he has to say something. - Plato
yeah with the addition of this new park, 3 block Houston pavilions, and the various churches currently sprouting up will begin to eat away some of those nasty looking surface lots in downtown houston. this new park is supposed to have many amentities such: as water fountains, concert areas, 3 restaurants, and meeting space surrounded by hotels.
question though- in regards to the park that's supposed to cover the woodall rogers freeway, is that going to make the freeway go under the park via a tunnel? I'm curious to know how that will work.
H-Town and Big D all the way!! Baby! Baby!
aka C2H aka Stoneclaw in other forums
Woodall Rogers Park will be a "deck park". The freeway is below grade for most of it's length. The park will essentially be a green roof for the roadway.
pic of the new urban park downtown houston- found on HAIF
final plan
Last edited by ComingtoHouston; 13 May 2006 at 08:57 PM.
H-Town and Big D all the way!! Baby! Baby!
aka C2H aka Stoneclaw in other forums
That's a nice plan for the park. It has a variety of space types/sizes that can accommodate activities of all kinds. Hopefully the park will have sufficient maintainence and programming/marketing funding. Downtown Dallas could certainly use a very similar park.
I mentioned in the Downtown Park thread that developers were buying land around the new park for residential and today the Chronicle has info about the first announced project. The developer secured a 99-year ground lease on the property (from Hakeem Olajuwon no less), so these will be for rent units instead of condos. The proposed tower is 37 stories at a cost of $100 mil. The tower will have 22,000 sq. ft. of retail that will include a market, cafe and wine merchant. If you add this retail space to the Houston Pavilions and the Park Shops which are both within a block of the tower, this will probably form the retail district for DT Houston. Don't know much about the developer, but apparently he developed a wildly successful residential tower across from Hermann Park. I hope more developers follow because this could be a real urban paradise.
Chronicle Story
The Finger Companies
Proposed tower overlooking park
That looks great!
DAGNABBIT!
Some new photos:
http://www.discoverygreen.com/
Last edited by GuerillaBlack; 02 January 2008 at 03:52 PM.
Here is a better rendering:
A new photo:
Last edited by GuerillaBlack; 02 January 2008 at 05:20 PM. Reason: Added the rendering
Cool. How is the park coming along?
DAGNABBIT!
^^Check the park thread just below this one.
Ah ha! The park looks great! What is going to be in those buildings?
DAGNABBIT!
Construction shots:
Pavilions Tower
Those will be restaurants.
This will be a 47-story tower along Main Street in Downtown Houston (in front of the Red Line). At 47 stories, this tower will be between 630-700 feet tall, or so. It will be a LEED Certified building.
The website: http://www.mainplacehouston.com/
Downtown Houston projects:
Some renderings from the Chron:
Last edited by GuerillaBlack; 02 January 2008 at 04:14 PM.
Site demolition:
I'll add this article from the Houston Chronicle (written back in August):
Hines project hits home
The Houston-based developer's 46-story office tower is one of four being planned for downtown
By NANCY SARNOFF
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Hines, the Houston-based firm that develops real estate across the globe, is planning its newest building in the heart of its hometown.
The new project, to be called MainPlace, will be a 46-story, 1 million-square-foot office building at 811 Main St. between Walker and Rusk, the company said Tuesday.
The modern glass tower will replace a series of worn-out structures, including the Montagu Hotel, situated on "one of the most blighted blocks in downtown," the company said.
"We believe there will be a tremendous outpouring of improvement on adjacent blocks," said Mark Cover, an executive vice president with Hines.
Plans call for the building to be completed by late 2010.
As the company begins to prepare its site this week for construction, at least three other developers are moving forward with plans for their own top-class office towers.
While none of the firms has secured a main tenant for any of the buildings — once considered a prerequisite to breaking ground — each has expressed confidence in its abilities to do so.
"There's certainly enough demand to fill more than one building," said Matt Khourie, president of the U.S. central region for Trammell Crow Co., which said it will break ground early next year on a 30-story tower near Discovery Green, downtown's new park. "Whether there's enough to fill all four buildings, the market's going to have to dictate that."
Expressing doubt
Some experts have doubts.
Given the recent credit crunch that has made it more expensive for companies to borrow money, "I think that some of these plans are being floated probably somewhat prematurely," said Ralph Howard, CEO of the Houston-based Situs Cos., a real estate consulting firm. "I would think if you had to speculate today, not all of those will get off the ground as soon as they were anticipated to."
Still, developers said downtown office buildings are running out of space, creating pent-up demand.
The vacancy rate for top-of-the-market buildings here has risen to 91.4 percent, according to CB Richard Ellis.
Trammell Crow said it will start construction in January on its two-block development at La Branch and McKinney, bordering Discovery Green.
Playing off the name of the park, the company's Discovery Tower will have 871,000 square feet of space. A parking garage will be built on an adjacent block to the north.
Designed by Gensler to attain a rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, the project will have retail space on the ground floor and is expected to have a sky bridge connecting it to another building with tunnel access.
"We really feel Discovery Green is going to be a difference-maker for downtown, just like Millennium Park in Chicago and Bryant Park in New York," Khourie said.
Downtown advantage
Despite Houston's strong economy, David Wolff, founder of Houston-based real estate firm Wolff Cos., isn't convinced that all four towers will be built, but developers with strong downtown tenant bases will have an advantage.
Paul Layne of Brookfield Properties said his firm has been meeting with companies that could be tenants in its proposed tower near its Allen Center complex.
And Crescent Real Estate Equities Co., the Fort Worth firm that was recently acquired by affiliates of Morgan Stanley Real Estate, is also moving forward with plans for a new tower at the Houston Center project on the east end of downtown.
The proposed 29-story building, designed by HKS of Dallas and to be named 6 Houston Center, will have 583,582 square feet of rentable space, said Joseph Pitchford, a vice president of Crescent.
Groundbreaking will occur in February with completion expected in the first quarter of 2010, Pitchford said.
While the national economy will be modestly affected by the tightening of credit, overall demand for energy and commodities will continue to rise, putting Houston in a strong position, Hines' Cover said.
The company is even looking into the future beyond MainPlace.
Hines is locking up a second location on Main Street, between Texas and Capitol, where it's considering another office building.
"It's a great opportunity, whether it's this cycle or the next," said John Mooz, a vice president for the company.
Meanwhile, its current focus is on MainPlace, which will be the company's "most sustainable effort in the city."
Going green
Hines said the building will be pre-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council with a silver rating through the group's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — Core and Shell program. The council awards points to buildings with features such as air-cleaning systems, individual temperature controls, recycled building materials and purified water systems.
The tower will be clad in horizontal sunshades of glass and aluminum that will wrap around the buildings' curved north and south facades. The west facade will be shaded from evening sunlight by vertical glass fins, which will soar 630 feet from Main Street's sidewalk to the building's crown.
It will also have a recessed "sky garden" on one of the top floors and a parking garage with a "green" or landscaped roof.
"We want to make sure this building serves as a benchmark of what urban architecture should be," said Jon Pickard of Pickard Chilton, the building's architect.
Rental rates will be in the low $30-per-square-foot range, Cover said. Hines wouldn't reveal the project cost.
Spurring more projects
The company said it believes the project will spur further redevelopment in that part of downtown.
Wolff, who is also chairman of the city's transit authority, said the rail line has started paying off in terms of development along Main Street, which was not a "good business address" before the transit improvements.
"It was a very unattractive street, and it really divided downtown," he said. "Now it's the center of downtown instead of being a divider between east and west."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...s/5073679.html
Last edited by GuerillaBlack; 02 January 2008 at 04:18 PM.
What is this? HAIF II? I can see doing a Houston thread much in the same way there is an Austin thread that showcases all of the projects in Austin but do we need a thread for every project down there?
That may be a good idea, too. I'm really just reviving old threads. I have only made three new ones, and two of those were a couple of days ago.
New photos:
And some others...
Wow...looking good. Thanks for the photos.
“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”
Looking good Houston. I can't wait to check it out.
A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool because he has to say something. - Plato
The Bayou Plan:
Buffalo Bayou
This is a very exciting project/plan for Downtown Houston. They have started little by little with the gardening and new sidewalks/
Website: http://www.regentsq.com/indexFlash.html
Developer Unveils 24-Acre Mixed-Use Plan
By Amy Wolff Sorter
HOUSTON-A Boston developer will break ground in the fourth quarter on Regent Square, a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use project. Area sources estimate the all-in development cost for the 24-acre project could come in just under $200 per sf.
Regent Square, which will be constructed in two phases, will consist of 390,000 sf of retail and office space, 200-room boutique hotel and up to 1,800 residential units. The first phase will consist of 230,000 sf of retail and restaurants, 60,000 sf of office, the hotel and 740 residential units. The planned opening is 2010. The second phase's start will be based on market demand.
The project site contains the Allen House apartment complex at 3601 W. Allen Pkwy., which is bordered by West Clay, Tirrell and Rosine streets. "We originally bought this during the mid-1980s' oil bust as a wonderful piece of property with an income-earning asset on it," says John Darrah, vice president for GID Urban Development Group. "The notion of doing this type of mixed-use development on the property occurred to us a couple of years ago."
Darrah tells GlobeSt.com that escalating urban sprawl and growing commute times contributed to the decision to make Regent Square a residential and retail center. "We felt that, in the inner loop area, there's enough of a land constraint to make this dense of a development, one that will hold up and hold its value over the next 40 or 50 years," he adds.
Doug Childers, associate principal with Morris Architects in Houston, acknowledges building an urban mixed-use community such as Regent Square can cost more money up front than a standard mixed-use project. For one thing, the majority of parking needs to be underground to maximize pedestrian space and aesthetics.
But Childers, whose company is one of the architects for the project, says Regent Square will have an active retail component, which will help recoup costs. "I'd expect this would increase the market share overall of the River Oaks region. And, more people will come from out of the area," he says.
The list of architects include David M. Schwarz/Architectural Services Inc. of Washington, DC; Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York City; Aponwao Design of Miami; B&D Studio of Parma, Italy; Hartman-Cox Architects and Bowie Gridley Architects, both from Washington, DC. Free construction services are being provided by J.E. Dunn Construction Co.'s Houston team. NA Berkowitz Development Group Inc. of Birmingham, MI is handling retail leasing and GID will handle residential leasing.
Last edited by GuerillaBlack; 12 January 2008 at 10:27 PM.
And a larger image to get a better feel of what the overall development will look like:
I like the design on this better than the faux "30's style" of West Village.
The Montagu is the next to go. Implosion set for next weekend (1/20)
He's gone on a bit of a Houston rampage ever since he got spanked by an admin for getting into a pissing match with MisterNifty.
Jason
When did that happen?
Go back to your first in this string of Houston threads, then go back 12-24 hours before that. It was night and day.
Jason
Well, I never got a PM from any moderator, so don't know what you are talking about (you have no idea either).
I was able to hang out in the area this weekend thanks to the Houston Marathon and such. The Grove (the restaurant that's part of the park) offers a really nice bird's eye of the newer development going on in the area. It also seems like it'll be a good hangout point for people who are in town for conventions and are staying at the Four Seasons or the Hilton.
But we'll see. We all know how these things can sometimes fall short of expectations in newer cities.
Celebrating the urban greatness of Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, El Paso and Fort Worth.
The West Building is completely gone! Ding-Dong the witch is dead! The witch is dead!
Celebrating the urban greatness of Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, El Paso and Fort Worth.
Individual downtown Houston development project discussions merged into one thread. Titles of threads consolidated this morning was Main Place, Buffalo Bayou Master Plan, Houston Downtown park, Houston Pavilions, Park Tower, Houst of Blues and American Apparel.
Last edited by tamtagon; 14 January 2008 at 12:52 PM.
Thank you St-T!
Your welcome. I pm'ed Tamtagon the topics to merge together. Same for Uptown. Next it is the other individual projects within the loop, including those in the TMC and others like Regent Square.
Well then thank you GB. It will be much easier to look up the Houston info in the future. I assume you will keep us all updated on projects going on down there.
ApeBoy,
When will you be moving back to Houston?
Why does that matter?
Why does it matter? Because your endless tirades on Houston vs. Dallas are just pointless after awhile. Pointless, because no one really cares or should care to be drawn forever and a day into an argument of comparisons that is as old as the two cities themselves--an argument that no one ever wins and that only little boys in a pissing match would ever indulge in in the first place. If Houston or Dallas built the tallest buildings in the world, surpassed New York, London, and all the other great cities in population, people of your mindset would still be ranting on and on. Get a life or get off our forum! You love Houston--great--have the balls to go back home, do your thing there and be a part of that great city..... Nobody likes a whiner. Obvioiusly you are a "prisoner in disguise," trapped in Arlington or somewhere unable to return to the land of your dreams and so you found this forum which is supposed to be about Dallas and Fort Worth and instead, you constantlly exorcise your home sick demons!
God how I miss Rosewood....at least he/she was informitive as well as entertaining. Please, dear God, someone start another DFW forum that does not allow this Houston--Dallas BS.
FYI--I live and work in both cities, and there are great things about each place that I trruly love, respect and enjoy but I pick and choose from each and disregard those people, places or situations that don't meet my own particular tastes. I also, when in Houston, do not confront everyone who crosses my path with 'news of Dallas and North Texas' in an attempt to prove to my Houstonian compadres and associates how much better Dallas is than their town.
There's a word for doing something like that to others--it's called being RUDE.
:2lol:
Oh wow. You can't be serious. I'm only in high school (junior) actually, so I can't just leave on my own accord. My mom wanting to go to UTA so badly because they gave her a scholarship for her masters degree is the reason why I am up here.
I fail to see how a posting developments about Houston in a TX + Region section is somehow an attempt to prove how much better Houston is than Dallas. This section was just dead, and I updated it with a lot of projects that are currently under construction, about to go under construction, and proposed.
Now, if people didn't make false comments about Houston that were so far-fetched in the first place (in the other sections), I wouldn't have said anything about Houston (it is mainly just one guy, who thankfully isn't posting much lately).
And thanks for letting me have a great 500 post!
GuerillaBlack-
I have found your posts to be informative and appreciate the pics -- please keep them coming!
Your pride of Houston is admirable, and this is a thread about Houston afterall!
But it is probably wise to be aware that this is semi-hostile territory for Houston pride and backlash should be expected from time to time.
I hope you will keep the info coming for the rest of us.
Yeah GB, ignore what metrosteve said and keep posting. People from Dallas come and post things about Dallas all the time on HAIF. In fact, HAIF, has an entire sub section dedicated to Dallas/Ft. Worth projects. It would kind of be nice if some Dallasites on this forum were a little more open minded as to things going on in other Texas Cities as well. That's why I think Metrosteve was a little harsh and way off base over Guerilla's motives. I think he's the one trying to start trouble!
H-Town and Big D all the way!! Baby! Baby!
aka C2H aka Stoneclaw in other forums
I don't have an issue with the Houston threads. I like having all these developments in a few easy places to look plus one person on the forum that seems to work hard to keep them all updated.
Houston sees room for another big hotel
Plan could put downtown on the conventions map
By NANCY SARNOFF
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/5473167.html
The city is considering plans to bring a second convention center hotel to downtown, in an effort to take Houston one step closer to becoming a top convention destination.
Officials involved said Houston gets scratched off the lists of a lot of convention planners because it has a limited number of downtown hotel rooms.
"The current convention center hotel is filling up, and Houston can attract more conventions if it had more hotel rooms in the Central Business District, and specifically, close to the George R. Brown Convention Center," Mayor Bill White said Monday.
The plan is in its early stages, with input being collected from groups that include the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city's Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department and the Houston Convention Center Hotel Corp.
"We're trying to figure out what it would cost and how it would get financed," said Richard Campo, board chairman of the hotel corporation.
The nonprofit group developed the city-owned $316 million, 1,200-room Hilton Americas-Houston convention hotel.
A possible site for a hotel would be a parcel just north of the new Discovery Green park, bordered by Rusk, Crawford, Walker and Avenida De Las Americas. The hotel would essentially mirror the Hilton Americas.
White said other sites in the area would be considered, including city-owned property.
The project, White said, would be "one of the larger hotels in Houston," with a "first-class national flag."
Houston Endowment, which owns about 60 percent of the parcel adjacent to Discovery Green, said it would consider selling its land for a convention hotel. "We don't have an interest in holding this forever," president Larry Faulkner said. "We would like to see it used in a way that furthers the well-being of this city."
Such a hotel could have an economic impact of $250 million annually, said Campo, explaining that another big hotel would attract larger conventions attended by more people who would dine in restaurants and rent cars. Other hotels would benefit from spillover.
"This would be a great thing," said Nick Massad, president of American Liberty Hospitality, which is planning to build a 250-room Embassy Suites near Discovery Green, at the corner of Dallas and La Branch. "We've been a proponent for additional rooms, especially near the George R. Brown, for a long time."
Hotel consultant John Keeling said five new 200-room hotels wouldn't have the same impact as one 1,000-room property because conventioneers like to put their delegates in as few properties as possible. Full convention hotels help other hostelries raise their rates.
Downtown hotel occupancy was 66.1 percent through November of last year. It was down slightly because 2007 was not a strong convention year, said Keeling of PKF Consulting.
The Hilton Americas has been performing well, Campo said. But for a new hotel, the ideal scenario would be for a private developer to build it.
The mayor said there are "significant pools" of private capital available that did not exist when the Hilton Americas was financed.
Greg Ortale, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the Chronicle on Monday that some type of public support would be needed.
Owners prefer to build 200-room hotels that typically return a profit of 15 percent to 20 percent a year, he said. Large hotels earn closer to 10 percent to 12 percent a year, he said.
Does Houston have a plan for the inundation of water coming within the next 50 years?
Socialism - bringing a greater good to a greater many, one golden parachute at a time.
Nah, because water won't be coming to Houston at all. Where did you get this from? You upset?
:2lol: ANd you were the one whining and crying about this forum's etiquette in the license plate thread, yet make a dumbass comment that has nothing to do with this thread.
Last edited by GuerillaBlack; 09 February 2008 at 11:25 AM. Reason: I had to
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