The Luxury Highrise and the Drive-Thru: They’re Lovin’ It!

Future Site of the Titan on Post Oak Blvd., with the Cosmopolitan Tower in the Background

Future residents of the Titan, the latest cartoon-themed condo to be announced by Randall Davis, will be pleased to learn that the two-story McDonald’s currently sitting on the tower’s proposed site on Post Oak Blvd. is not going away. It’ll just scoot over slightly—so that the 26-story, 80-unit luxury highrise can share the 50,000-square-foot site.

And just how prominent will those golden arches be at the Titan’s entrance?

Sure, it’s easy to poke fun of the luxury highrise next to the Mickey D’s, but think about it: If McDonald’s hadn’t been willing to risk its reputation by redeveloping next to a Randall Davis project, the Titan would never have had a chance:

The prime real estate, located across Garrettson from Willie G’s Seafood & Steak House, has been sought-after by developers for more than a year.

“We’re approached every day of the week,” says Kathy Burns, McDonald’s regional real estate manager in Houston. “We have brokers calling us all the time.”

Davis — who is replacing the former James Coney Island restaurant a block away with the Cosmopolitan high-rise — was able to strike a deal with McDonald’s because he was not set on a super-sized development.

“I was like everybody else. I wanted to buy the whole site,” Davis says. “But they didn’t want to give up the store.

“I figured out how to divide the site,” he adds. “I managed to fit my building on there, and leave them enough room for their prototype new store.”

Davis has once again demonstrated a remarkable talent for negotiating with fast-food restaurants. Only a few years ago, he was able to convince the owners of the lot across the street that his 20-story hot-dog Cosmopolitan tower (now under construction) would be a worthy successor to the James Coney Island that stood there. Of course, turning over a big bite of the development to the James Coney Island folks didn’t hurt his prospects either.

Expect the cars to be lining up in front of the newly recycled Titan sales trailer already on the McDonald’s lot. Okay, so maybe they’ll just be battling to get to the drive-thru, but there’ll be traffic!