Here’s some evidence that Hines Residential is ready to go ahead with construction of its 33-story apartment tower at the corner of Travis and Preston, catty-corner from Market Square: The surface parking lot on that site closed down over the weekend. “The lot’s money machine and parking lot signage are gone,” reports the reader who snapped these views. “I’m sure better fencing and gates will soon arrive.” In the meantime, newly installed curbstops are blocking the driveways.
***
No need to mourn any loss of parking spaces: Eight levels of parking will be housed in the belly of the new half-block block.
- Previously on Swamplot: The Best Views Yet of Hines’s Market Square Apartment Tower and Its Downtown Headlight, A Few New Views of the 33-Story Apartment Building Hines Wants To Build in Market Square, A First Look at Some of the 33-Story Apartment Tower Hines Wants To Build in Market Square,Hines Interested in Building Residential Tower on Downtown Block Near Market Square Park
Photos: Swamplot inbox. Rendering: Ziegler Cooper Architects
Unpaving Paradise, Putting Down a Parking Lot
This is not a good circumstance for those tenants at 402 Main St. (Citizens National Bank Building). Parking was difficult enough before the parking lot closure. Also, half of the lot across Main St. (next to the Scanlan Building) is closed.
Downtown housing next to a park and a train. Wow.
this will actually be 32 stories.
Awesome…I hope this starts building soon
It’s a “good circumstance” for the city of Houston. Every livable city has “difficult enough” parking. It’s a good problem to have. I can’t wait until downtown has no more surface lots.
Welp…. I enjoyed Market square a little before this. Now its time to contend with baby boom retirees and young lawyers for spots at the bars.
Though I will lament how this building will block my view of the Rice, it’s exciting to think of all those new folks being able to enjoy life downtown. Crossing my fingers about still being able to see the top of the Gulf Building.
Any loss of a surface lot is a good thing.
Very nice design. Glad to see it being built.
Great to see a residential building going up in downtown, however, the idea that there is no need to worry about parking because they are including eight levels of garage is silly. Parking is already at a premium in the “historic” part of downtown, and the eight levels of garage in this building will be used exclusively for the 25 levels of apartments above the garage. That leaves people who have parked in the surface lot scrambling for a new space to park. The “market square” section of downtown sits directly next to the criminal, civil, juvenile, and family courthouses and for decades has housed hundreds of law offices. Law offices need parking for employees and clients. While residential space in downtown will help Houston have more of a “real” downtown, a loss of parking will effect the long term tenants who have offices in this area quite negatively.
@MrClean19 –I have enjoyed working, eating and drinking around Mkt Square for 15 years. The last year or so of “contending” with hipsters, yelpers, “drink-ees”(the cocktail chasing equivalent of a foodie) and the
poor lost suburbanites using their phones to navigate the one way streets of downtown while trying to find a parking spot that doesn’t require them to parallel park, make me long for the days when Market Square was quiet and forgotten by just about everyone else.