What effects have difficulties with bank financing stemming from the global financial crisis had on some of those big new developments planned for Houston? The Houston Business Journal‘s Jennifer Dawson weighs in with a “Where Are They Now?” roundup:
- Regent Square: That big design change meant a year’s delay; the first parts of the 24-acre Inner Loop development are now scheduled to start construction in the second quarter of 2009. A marketing center will open at 1203 Dunlavy next month, but have some more official kickoff in February.
- Sonoma: “Called off — for now,” but you already knew that. According to Dawson, it wasn’t so much the banks but the developer that grew skittish:
***
Julie Tysor of Lamesa says most of the loan was committed for phase two, but the partnership decided last week to pull the plug on the deal after analyzing the risk of today’s volatile marketplace.
“It’s not simply loan-related,†Tysor says. “This partnership is a conservative developer.â€
- River Oaks District: Remember this one? 15 mixed-use acres on Westheimer, and only a short drive from River Oaks. Was supposed to break ground by the end of the year, but no sign of anything happening. Developer “could not be reached for comment.”
- The Titan, Randall Davis’s name-dropping Post Oak tower: Not selling so quickly. About 23 percent of the inventory (by dollar value) has been sold, including 2 in the last week, Davis says. And Dawson grabs this evocative quote from the developer: “I’m stuck in a land of vagary myself. I hope to have clarity by year-end.â€
- Two 35-story apartment towers planned for the corner of Westheimer and Sage in the Galleria, next to Walgreens, announced by Indiana-based Whiteco Residential (developers of the Dominion Post Oak) back in February 2007: Doesn’t look like anything’s happening, and Whiteco isn’t returning calls.
- Deyaar Development’s unannounced plans for the 6 acres the Dubai company recently bought at the corner of Richmond and Post Oak: Still unknown. Company won’t comment.
- The office building planned for the site immediately to the north, at 3100 Post Oak, by Lasco/Hicks Ventures: On hold. Still looking for a major tenant.
- Real estate trophies on hold [Houston Business Journal]
Please, God, let the Ashby highrise die along with these others. Amen.
Stop it, Karen. Buckhead played by the rules and ought to be able to do their development. Regrettably, the current financial market probably won’t allow it, but it is unconscionable to argue that their right to build the tower should be taken away just because you don’t like their design.
Please God(s), Let the Ashby highrise be built, as soon as possible. Amen.
This is an urban area. The arrogance of many of the neighbors is unbecomming.
You heard what the LandMan said, Karen: Opposing a project that can be legally built is evil. What are you going to try next, start saying you don’t like buildings that already exist?
Let Ashby High Rise be… this is a metropoli it is supposed to have highrises, lots of them.
Besides the guys played by the book.
Actually, they didn’t play by the book/rules. They have been turned down repeatedly because the project couldn’t meet traffic codes.
ha ha sorry!
And even if the law says they can do it, it doesn’t mean it should be done. There are plenty of places in near town Houston that can support a high rise residential tower. It doesn’t have to be smack dab in the middle of a leafy, narrow laned old neighborhood.
I just drove down Bissonnet at 5 pm the other day, from MFA to Kirby, for the millionth time in the 25 years I’ve lived in Houston, and it boggled my mind that anyone would think a high rise on Ashby makes sense.
I agree with Karen. Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD. There are many, many areas that would make much better sense for a high rise than that particular spot. If I were to be in the market for a high-rise apartment, I certainly would look for a location with easier in/out access, as opposed to a skinny two-lane street on one side and a skinnier two-lane residential street on the other.
NIMBY NIMBY NIMBY NIMBY…. shame on you peeps.
There’s responsible developers and there’s predatory developers. Responsible developers consider the value of the area and try to maintain or increase that value (not just financial value, but esthetic value, community value, historical value, etc.) Predatory developers consider naught and just want to make a fast buck. Which one would you say Ashby is?
Building Ashby is the closest you can come to slapping a NIMBY in public, and that’s really not a bad thing.
Not that I endorse the literal move, just the metaphorical version. Build it!
I don’t know that a high end residential highrise would count as a nimby if the definition of nimby is, “NIMBY is an acronym for Not In My Back Yard. The term is used to describe opposition to a new project by residents, even if they themselves and those around will benefit from the construction.”
A halfway house, yes, a high end high-rise that only benefits the tenants of that particular building, not so much.
How would the highrise be a NIMBY? Are you saying the “Tower of Traffic” posters are depictions of a person? ;)
Rise High Ashby!
A residential highrise is not like an office building where everyone comes and goes at
8 am and 5 pm. I don’t think it’s going to make that much difference to be called a “Tower of Traffic”. I go up and down Montrose and Bissonnet several times a day and don’t see heavy traffic coming from the
Museum Tower. I bet there’s many residents
that would like to move from their high upkeep homes into a highrise building.
can someone tell me more on the river oaks/westheimer project? i live in the westcreek apartments, and the view from my window is of an ugly unfinished steel building on the 4000 block of westheimer. the lights are on 24/7, bright, bright lights.. it sucks.