This morning Simon Property Group released renderings of a planned residential highrise in the Galleria, shown here at the corner of W. Alabama St. and Sage Rd. in what’s left over of the land previously occupied by the mall’s second Macy’s. The tower is slated for the same spot previously colored purple for “future retail/office residences” on one of the developer’s Galleria redo maps back in 2014. (That map didn’t mention a highrise specifically, but previous info on the redevelopment plans floated the idea.) Simon says it plans to break ground on the tower by the end of 2017, with a 2019 or 2020 opening in mind.
The rendered view above looks northeast over the Berachah Church across W. Alabama at the glassy highrise, which may hold somewhere between 75 and 100 residential units atop 220 hotel rooms (with separate amenities areas for permanent and temporary residents). The design shows 2 pool decks; the nearby Westin Galleria’s existing pool can be spotted on the right, past an existing parking garage.
Here’s the view from the other side, looking south down Sage across Westheimer Rd. over the new Saks Fifth Avenue building (set to open at the end of the month):
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- The Galleria moves on up with major expansion: Luxury high-rise hotel and condos planned [CultureMap]
- Luxury hotel-condominium tower planned for former Macy’s at the Galleria Mall [HBJ]
- Previously on Swamplot: If You Really Want To Live in the Actual Galleria, This Is Where Your Home Might Go; A Grander Galleria: More Retail, More Restaurants, More Revenue — And a Residential Highrise Too?; Big Vague News You Can’t Use
Renderings: Simon Property Group
I’ve always dreamed of living literally in a mall.
I like how clear the streets are in the drawing. Some sort of alternate reality where the Galleria isn’t a constant miasma of gridlock during daylight hours.
The put the pool on the wrong side. Sun will be hidden by afternoon.
Ugly building, bad renderings.
Benton are you being sarcastic? The pools face south… We’re in the northern hemisphere ;)
Common you can already live in City Centre so your dreams are closer than you think.
Well, I guess that’s one way to do walkability but still stay out of the Houston heat. No thanks though, I don’t like buying stuff THAT much.
@Houston Sammy
Disagree completely, the building looks interesting architecturally. Super excited to continue seeing these cranes all over town. Amazing how the country has no idea on how excellent our skyline is looking nowadays.
Another high rise to sell to EB5 foreigners and clog up Houston streets
Re: the pool, yes it is on the south side, but the tower rises above the lower pool deck to the west. So it will only get morning sun. Most people would be more likely to use the pool in afternoons/evenings.
I wonder if the people who are against the lower income property because of traffic are against this one too? Are they zoned to the same school? If so…
Would it be too much of a fantasy to hope that the tower could house all of the Galleria worker bees along with the white-shoe crowd? We could lock them in and it would be some bizarre Biosphere 2 experiment for a decade or so.
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If they wanted to go somewhere, they can hop on board a Metro bus that traveled down the new-and-improved bus lanes on Post Oak Boulevard.
@commonsense: I have that dream as well. I also dream of a future where the mall and the prison are connected, and the difference between the two is very subtle. People start in the middle and, based on their actions, are herded toward the prison end or the expensive end, but it’s all basically the same thing, just with better options at the expensive end.
Jojo, yeah because the Galleria area main streets are the only part of Houston with gridlock during evening rush hour or weekends. I’d gladly take West Alabama (where this high-rise will face) traffic any time of day over Rice Village or Greenway or Medical Center or some Downtown streets at morning and evening rush hours. The only people who hate Galleria traffic during off-rush hour times are those too clueless to know how to avoid Wesheimer and Post Oak intersection.
Toasty, residents of tower will be zoned to School at St George Place (elementary) 2 blocks away. But I love that your point highlights that the Briargrove/public housing compaint folks on Fountainview never complained about the 1,000’s of luxury apartment units and townhouses and condos built recently there, but a lowsy few hundred more and suddenly they are in an uproar for their kids education despite other luxury apartments being proposed there also. And they try to act like it isn’t about rich vs not-rich class divide.