The latest of Gensler’s renderings of that midrise parking garage planned atop the recently evacuated location of nightclub and drag venue Meteor shows the structure rocking a swath of greenery in place of the decorative bicycles pictured across the facade in earlier drafts. Cara Smith reports in the Houston Business Journal this week that the garage is one of the projects that Gensler is “future proofing” — that is, designing with an eye to an eventual decline in Houston parking garage needs, whether spurred by the rise of self-driving cars or other shifts in transportation patterns. The firm was featured by Web Urbanist last month in an article discussing some of its other current garage projects, some of which are being outfitted with conversion-minded utility hookup spacing, as well as ceiling heights suited to something other than car stacking; modular features like easy-to-tack-on facades and removable ramps are also in the mix.
There appear to be 6 retail spots in the foot of the garage that will be ready for tenants before such time as the rest of the garage might hypothetically be repurposed (along with a slew of other spaces in the development, per Edge Realty’s leasing flier):
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Spots shown as available include the lot currently occupied by a house just south of the nexus of Genessee and Fairview. Most of the restaurant and business names previously featured in renderings of the development have been peeled off of the other renderings.
- Montrose parking garage designed to be ‘future proofed’ [HBJ ($)]
- Future-Proof Parking Garages: Autonomous Vehicles Drive Reusable Designs [Web Urbanist]
- Fairview Ave. at Mason St. [Edge Realty]
- Previously on Swamplot: Shake Shack, Steel City Pops Pop Up in East Montrose Fairview District Depictions; Detritus from Fallen Meteor Pulverized, Spread Out Across Max’s Parking Lot; Meteor Crashes to the Ground in East Montrose; Glossy New Views of That 5-Story Parking Garage and Mixed-Use Office Complex Planned for East Montrose; Drag Show Jumps Out of the Way of Bicycle-Themed Parking Garage as Meteor Lounge Shuts Down; Shake Shack Will Take Over La Madeleine’s Rice Village Space; Simon Says: Shake Shack Is Definitely Coming to the Galleria; Drag-Scene Landmark Meteor To Bow Out, Make Way for Fairview Parking Garage
Images: Gensler (rendering), Edge Realty (leasing map)
That lot will be demoed and rebuilt 3 more times before automobiles become obsolete. This is just a marketing ploy by Gensler to generate headlines.
By looking at that rendering, I think the most valuable space of all is being wasted, that would be the top level. With “million dollar” 360 views of the city from that vantage point, he should consider placing a venue on the roof, much like the old Scott Gertner’s Skybar… I think it would be popular. :)
“… he should consider placing a venue on the roof …” Great idea.
Well, considering that this is owned by the guy who has Hungry’s in Rice Village and how long it took him to rebuild that restaurant, we may well have flying Jetsons cars by the time he wraps up construction in about 2074.
Ditto on Superdave’s comment. Gensler is going to get a reputation as a publicity hog.
End parking minimums!