Proposed Developments

Lakes of Avalon Village Subdivision, Spring, Texas

Some brand-new houses sold by Lennar Homes will be very convenient to the new Grand Parkway!

Robert A. Hudson, a Spring developer who partnered with Lennar on the project, said builders knew the highway might come through the subdivision.

“We are not up there on a daily basis to make sure that the builders make it clear to everybody else,” he said.

Plans for the Grand Parkway have been on the books for 25 years, but only 28 of its proposed 185 miles have been built. Environmental and neighborhood groups have opposed the project.

It would include 11 segments traversing seven counties. The 12.1-mile Segment F2 would cut directly through the Lakes of Avalon Village, a subdivision with several hundred homes located on FM 2920 just west of Kuykendahl Road.

About 60 homes are in the right-of-way and would have to be demolished to make way for the parkway once construction began, [executive director of the Grand Parkway Association David] Gornet said.

Talk about offering transportation options! But it’s not just Lennar . . . J. Patrick Homes also is selling models in the Lakes of Avalon Village subdivision.

But hurry! The subdivision is in “close out”!

After the jump: pics of a Lennar Homes model for sale in this quaint little village in Spring!

77379, Eminent Domain, Grand Parkway, Hazards, Homebuilders, Homes for Sale, Lakes of Avalon Village, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments, Spring, Toll-Roads, Transportation

Commercial Real Estate

08/18/08 11:47am

Sonoma Holdup: We Need Some Money

Condos, Financing, Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Retail, Rice Village, Streets

Plaza on Former Bolsover St., Sonoma, Rice Village, Houston

“Sonoma is mystery,” proclaims Randall Davis near the end of an excruciatingly long promotional video posted at the project’s recently updated website. Part of the mystery, of course, has been when — or whether — construction might actually begin on the 7-story condos-shops-and-parking Rice Village layer cake. Since the buildings on the site were demolished and the block of Bolsover between Kelvin and Morningside was fenced in last fall, not much has happened.

Nancy Sarnoff has some details on the delay:

Sonoma, an upscale condo and retail project planned in Rice Village, was supposed to break ground in April.

The land has been cleared to start building, but the developers have a loan commitment for just half of what it will take to build it.

“We’re ready to put a shovel in the ground,” said Julie Tysor, president of Lamesa Corp., owner of the project. “The speed of the changing lending markets wasn’t really anticipated by any of the people involved.”

Builders hit by credit crunch as banks tighten cash flow [Houston Chronicle, via HAIF]
Experience Sonoma [Randall Davis]
Previously in Swamplot: Sonoma Units Available?, Council Bowls Over, So No More Street, It Takes the Village: New Mixed Use

Rendering of Sonoma: Ziegler Cooper Architects

77005, Commercial Real Estate, Condos, Financing, Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Randall Davis, Retail, Rice-Village, Sonoma, Streets

Galleria

08/08/08 12:13pm

Whole Foods Galleria and North Montrose: Still on Track

North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail

No Comments

View of Proposed New Galleria Whole Foods at Blvd Place

Whole Foods Markets’ recently announced plans to scale back some of its planned store openings will not disturb plans for new Houston stores on West Dallas at Waugh and in Boulevard Place — according to a report in the Houston Business Journal:

Scott Simon, executive marketing coordinator for Whole Foods, says this announcement will not impact any of the companyâ€™s plans in Houston.

The Austin-based health foods supermarket chain is planning to develop a 78,000-square-foot store at the southwest corner of Post Oak and San Felipe.

â€œOur Post Oak store would very likely not open until 2010 anyway, so this decision doesnâ€™t affect our Houston plans,â€ says Simon.

Whole Foods says Houston store still a go despite plans to cut back [Houston Business Journal]
Is The Reign Of Whole Foods Over? [Hair Balls]
The New Whole Foods at West Dallas and Waugh [Swamplot]
Uptown Whole Foods: Still on Track, Apparently [Swamplot]

Boulevard Place Whole Foods image: DMJM H&N

BLVD Place, Galleria, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail, Uptown, Whole Foods

First Ward

08/07/08 12:25pm

Heights Hike and Bike Trail: Still Just Around the Corner

Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Transportation

No Comments

HEIGHTS HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL: STILL JUST AROUND THE CORNER We have a low bidder for a portion of the proposed rails-to-trails project along the old Missouri, Kansas, Texas Southern Pacific railroad line that cuts across the lower Heights — from 7th St. at Shepherd — to Spring St. and Houston Ave. in the First Ward. TxDOT expects construction of the segment to begin in September. [Home in the Heights, via Swamplot Inbox]

First Ward, Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Transportation

Commercial Real Estate

08/06/08 2:46pm

Lookout for Townhouses: What Do You Make of the First Ward?

Development Strategy, First Ward, Industrial Properties, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Marketing, Redevelopment, Townhomes

6 Comments

Bridge over Railroad Tracks, First Ward North of Edwards St., Houston

It seems son-of-a-son-of-a-guv Paul Hobby wasn’t quite clear at first what to do with a huge industrial site he bought in the First Ward:

Over the years, Hobby says, there was interest in turning it into an indoor soccer facility. There was also talk of growing lettuce inside the large warehouse. But a year ago, Hobby came up with the idea to create a data center in the space.

But that’s just the start of it. The site is the former Budweiser distribution plant Silver Eagle Distributors left behind when it built its new bunker further west on Washington Ave. Hobby bought the First Ward facility quietly from Silver Eagle in 2004 and leased it back to the company for a while before it left. The site stretches along Edwards St. from Sawyer to Silver, a few blocks north of Washington.

Indoor farm . . . server farm . . . why not? The possibilities are endless! But then, there’s always . . . townhomes!

A row of eight to 10 townhomes are slated to be built along Edwards Street. And an undetermined number of units are being considered for the eastern-most part of the property.

Of course! But it gets better . . .

77007, Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, First Ward, Industrial Properties, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Marketing, Redevelopment, Security, Townhomes

Commercial Real Estate

07/29/08 10:28am

Enter the Pipe Wrench: The MainPlace Movie

Downtown, Highrises, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments

6 Comments

All hail MainPlace! All hail mighty MainPlace! Your towerishness is so . . . smooth and strong!

Videos of Hines’s new office tower at Main and Walker Downtown and its 10 lower molar-and-bicuspid trees are out. If you can’t hear the John-Williams-for-Real-Estate soundtrack, you’re missing half the fun.

When you’re done munching on popcorn and watching the movie above, be sure to catch the slightly more sober second feature, which includes actual information about the building.

Videos [Hines Mainplace, via HAIF, via the Swamplot tipline]
Previously in Swamplot: Mainplace: The Pipe Wrench That Ate Downtown Houston, MainPlace: Hinesâ€™s 46-Story Green Pipe-Wrench Dream

77002, Commercial Real Estate, Highrises, MainPlace, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments

Historic Preservation

07/25/08 1:21pm

TSU Loses a Light Rail Station

Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Third Ward, Transportation

TSU LOSES A LIGHT RAIL STATION Under pressure from Third Ward residents and elected officials who didn’t want rail on Wheeler, Metro has officially rerouted an eastern section of the University Line further north. From Main, the line had been planned to travel east on Wheeler, north on Ennis, then east on Alabama to Scott at U of H. The new route snakes north sooner: north on Hutchins from Wheeler, east on Cleburne, north on Dowling, then east on Alabama to Scott. [Houston Chronicle]

77004, Historic Preservation, Light-Rail, Proposed Developments, Third Ward, Transportation, TSU, University of Houston

Demolitions

07/23/08 1:52pm

Finally, a Gas Station in Downtown Galveston

Galveston, Proposed Developments, Quicklink

No Comments

FINALLY, A GAS STATION IN DOWNTOWN GALVESTON “Look for crews next week to bring down the 14,000-square-foot building at 711 25th St. that most recently housed Galveston Medical Supplies. Businessman Mony Shlomo Hamo, known for island souvenir chain Dolphin World, said he plans to build a convenience store and a Phillips 66 gas station at the site.” [Galveston County Daily News]

77550, Demolitions, Galveston, Proposed Developments

Attractions

07/23/08 12:35pm

Snow Mountain, Texas: Indoor Skiing in Houston

Proposed Developments

28 Comments

Diagrams of Proposed Snow Mountain Indoor Ski Resort, Houston

It’s difficult to imagine anything more perfect for 21st-century coastal Texas than this: A 2.7-million-sq.-ft. self-contained year-round indoor ski resort on a 21-acre site . . . on the “outskirts” of Houston.

Some details on this proposed development are available on the website of S333, an architecture firm based in the Netherlands. The firm’s London office has worked hard to pack hotels, indoor water parks, “extensive recreation areas,” a parking garage, retail space, timeshare apartments, and five separate ski slopes into what appears in the company’s drawings to be an 18-story terrace-roofed megastructure.

Inside the building, the different ski slopes and play areas are arranged side by side to form a continuous landscape of snow surfaces. New advances in scenography, acoustics and building technologies will be employed to create the ultimate feeling of â€˜still being outsideâ€™ on a mountain.

The external shape and form of the building continues the landscape theme that is established in the buildingâ€™s interior. The rising geometry of the ski slopes is extended as a series of stepped terraces. These terraces accommodate on one side private apartments and gardens, and on the other more public amenities such as restaurant, pavillions, gardens, terraces and a central water park of pools and weirs. The water cascades down the roof and links with the water feature at the centre of the leisure complex. This iconic landscape will attract attention to the site, brand the location and help establish a dramatic back-drop to the lake and water-side retail facilities.

More details and drawings below:

Artificial Environments, Attractions, Proposed Developments

Apartments

07/22/08 3:42pm

Where To Put Magnolia Glen

Eastwood, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Renovations, Temporary Housing

5 Comments

WHERE TO PUT MAGNOLIA GLEN If the city will cough up $4 million, developers will turn a former temporary UH dorm next to Fingers furniture on the north side of the Gulf Freeway into a 220-unit housing project for Houstonians who are currently homeless. Mayor White supports the Magnolia Glen project, but district councilman James Rodriguez and some residents of nearby Eastwood don’t like the location. “Former Councilman Gordon Quan, a member of the blue-ribbon commission, said . . . money helps determine where sites can be found. ‘People say, “Why don’t you put this in River Oaks or Memorial?” We couldn’t afford the land in River Oaks. But we are cognizant that these need to be spread around,’ he said.” [Houston Chronicle]

77003, 77023, Apartments, Eastwood, Homelessness, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Temporary Housing

Audubon Place

07/22/08 2:50pm

InnerLoopCondos Wants To Know: Would You Prefer Ugly, Pretentious, or Simply Out of Place?

Condos, Montrose, Neartown, Proposed Developments

8 Comments

Style Possibilities for Proposed InnerLoopCondos.com Condo Development on West Alabama St., Houston

Group LSR, aka InnerLoopCondos.com, wants to build a new condo building in Montrose — and you get to play the stylist! What should the new development look like? Entry-arches-gone-crazy Apartment Romanesque? Inigo Jones’s Last Stand at the Alamo? Shangri-La Festival Palace Moderne? Mountainside Office Park Tinted-Glass Tech? Or something a little more home-ly, like that building with the curvy hairdos they’ve done a couple of versions of already?

Yeah, it’s kinda hard to choose, but don’t sweat it — you can vote for as many of the six choices (shown above) as you want! They’re all pictured (and yes, they’re the only options) in an online questionnaire sent out by the company earlier this month, apparently meant to gauge consumer interest in a development the company is planning on the 800 block of West Alabama, near Audubon Place. Yes, that includes the site of the recently shuttered Bistro Vino. As a commenter to our earlier story deduced, Group LSR is the mysterious “unnamed residential developer.”

The survey sez:

Our decision to develop this project will greatly depend upon the feedback we receive from Houston condominium buyers regarding the location. . . .

If you were in the market to purchase, please indicate what type of architecture would you prefer in your next condominium home?

Your theme choices matter!

Potential Condominium Development In Neartown Houston [InnerLoopCondos.com]
Our Communities [InnerLoopCondos.com]
Buyer revealed [Houston Chronicle]
Bistro Vino: The Honeymoon Is Over [Swamplot]

Images: InnerLoopCondos.com

77006, Audubon Place, Condos, Montrose, Neartown, Proposed Developments, Theming

Development Strategy

07/22/08 2:41pm

Why We Need the Grand Parkway Between 290 and I-10

Freeways and Toll Roads, Katy, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Sprawl

9 Comments

WHY WE NEED THE GRAND PARKWAY BETWEEN 290 AND I-10 “If the commissioners approve it, itâ€™s because they want new subdivisions built in the open space of the Katy Prairie. Weâ€™re building a highway for people who donâ€™t live here yet in hopes that developers will build houses for them and that they will want to live on a toll road 30 miles from Downtown in a world of $4 gas.” [Intermodality]

Development Strategy, Freeways, Grand Parkway, Katy, Proposed Developments, Sprawl

Institutional Buildings

07/21/08 11:34am

Coming to Rosenberg: 60-Acre Yoga Retreat

Proposed Developments, Rosenberg

1 Comment

Yoga Camp with Swami Ramdev at the George R. Brown Convention Center, July 2008

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Saturday for a $4.5 million yoga center on 60 acres in Rosenberg. Yoga guru Swami Ramdev announced the project on Wednesday during a 4-day-long yoga camp at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

The Press Trust of India reports that $4 million has already been raised for the project, including $2 million in 2 hours at a fundraiser held in Houston on July 18th:

The project includes a clinic to treat chronic ailments, housing for active seniors and retirees; a herbal garden, retreat centre, vedic Gurukul school for young children and a University.

Two people involved with the project said the center will open early next year.

Ramdev lays foundation for yoga centre in Houston [Press Trust of India]
Swami Ramdev to set up centre in Houston [Economic Times]
Swami Ramdev to Build Patanjali Yogpeeth Center Near Houston [Hair Balls]

Photo of Swami Ramdev yoga camp at George R. Brown: Keith Plocek, Houston Press

77469, 77471, Institutional Buildings, Proposed Developments, Rosenberg

Buying and Selling

07/17/08 2:03pm

Latest on the Late Late Night Pie Location

Commercial Real Estate, Montrose, Proposed Developments, Quicklink

77006, Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Montrose, Proposed Developments

LATEST ON THE LATE LATE NIGHT PIE LOCATION HAIF rumor alert: The owners of the Crome nightclub on Shepherd have purchased the former Humble service station on the corner of Elgin and Brazos in Midtown, until recently the location of PM pizza joint Late Night Pie. The Crome owners’ alleged plans for the site: a 2 or 3-story building, which may include a new nightclub. (Late Night Pie has moved on to 302 Tuam.) [HAIF]

Condos

07/15/08 11:06am

Regent Square Ghost Tower: I Come from the Future

Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments

1 Comment

View of Proposed Regent Square, North Montrose, Houston, Showing Ghost Tower in the Distance

This updated rendering of Regent Square’s central square, showing a ghost-like tower looming in the not-so-distant distance, has been posted to CBRE’s leasing page for the project, notes sharp-eyed HAIF user ChannelTwoNews. A reader sent it to us, too.

What is it?

Two condo towers are planned for the first phase of the project. In a rendering leaked to us back in May, the condo towers are are drawn as shadowy boxes. But this new ghost tower isn’t one of them.

After the jump: the ghost of Regent Square’s future!