Tag: Midrises

06/23/17 4:45pm

New Condo Midrise Signs, Terrifying Midrise Art Pop Up in the Wake of the Flatlined Flats on Fairview

Hyde Park

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The folks behind a newly-announced condo project called Mandell Montrose have recently stuck someÂ signage on the lot at 2312 Commonwealth St., a couple of readers tell SwamplotÂ this week. That property isn’t actually adjacent to either Mandell St. or Montrose Blvd., but it isÂ almost directly between the 2; it’s also theÂ site formerly slated for the cancelled Flats on Fairview condo midrise (which Paul Takahashi reports this weekÂ were called offÂ due to construction cost issues, despite having met some sales goals).Â Takahashi says the new project will aim forÂ 7 stories for a total of 24 units. And underscoringÂ the split-the-geographic-difference theme, the Hyde Park project is being developed by Midtown Uptown Development Partners.

No renderings are out yet of the new plans, save for some probably-not-to-scale brick facade showing up on the background of the building’s sales website. (A physicalÂ sales center should be opening some time next month, however.) The rendered designÂ of the cancelled Flats midrise, meanwhile, has found new purpose as part ofÂ a striking departureÂ fromÂ the classic Houston scary midrise artwork vernacular:

Mandell Monstrose

77006, Art, Condos, Hyde Park, Midrises, Montrose, Proposed Developments

Avalon Place

06/21/17 12:45pm

Be-Triangled Fifties Mod Condos on Revere St. Get Bent Into All Kinds of Exciting New Angles By Visiting Excavator

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As heralded by yesterdayâ€™s daily demo report:Â Time is up forÂ the little mod condo complex on Welch and Revere streets, which isÂ being cleared out for Pelican Builders’ 9-storyÂ not-quite-in-River-Oaks The Revere at River Oaks condo midrise. A reader sends these up-close shots of the demo crew’s work this morning, including the extensive remodeling the once-narrow walkway between segments of the now-empty carport along the south side of Welch:

1 If By Komatsu

77019, Avalon Place, Condos, Demolitions, Mid-Century Modern, Midrises, Proposed Developments, River Oaks

06/14/17 12:45pm

Ballet Replacement Midrise on W. Gray Still Waiting Behind Curtain for Final Acts of Construction

North Montrose

Just a few blocks down the street from that River Oaks Shopping Center highrise site, a reader checks in this week on the French-esque midrise apartment complex that’s been slowly coming togetherÂ atÂ 1916Â W. Gray St. The Houston Ballet’s converted clothing factory headquartersÂ made a grand exit fromÂ the site back in the pre-oil-bust days; since then the project has beenÂ rechristened from Graybelle toÂ Le Palais,Â and this sketchy view of a facadeÂ has been circulated by the developers:

Gargoyles in the Wings

77019, Apartments, Construction, Gargoyles, Midrises, North Montrose

06/13/17 9:30am

11-Story Apartment Midrise Planned for N. Braeswood at Main Preceded by This Less-Than-1-Story Trial Piece

Old Braeswood, South Main, Texas Medical Center

The little swatchÂ of test facade tilted up at 7551 Main St. north of Brays Bayou earlier this spring is still standing, a reader’s drive-by snapÂ attests this week. The piece, which shows off the look ofÂ a handful of warmer and coolerÂ beige-and-brown pairings,Â is likely relatedÂ to the much taller project planned on the site by Allen Harrison Company, which bought the land last year. The developer has the spotÂ marked for an 11-story residentialÂ building (the top 7 of which’ll hold 186 apartments, and the bottom 4 of which’ll holdÂ 285 parked cars). A reader over on HAIF also spotted the recently completed review of the building by the Federal Aviation Administration folks, who okayed the plans for theÂ 125-ft.-tall structure as not a flight hazard.

Photos: Swamplot inbox

Beiges of Brays

77030, Apartments, Brays-Bayou, Main St. Plaza, Midrises, Old Braeswood, Proposed Developments, Texas Medical Center

Downtown

03/24/17 10:45am

The Downtown Apartments Caught Between a Freeway and a Curved Place

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The Hamilton apartments, Downtown, Houston, 77002

Say, how’d those midrise apartments nestling delicately into the northernmost armpit of the 45-59 exchange turn out, anyway? An accessory to a Midtown drive-by past the scene sends aÂ fresh shot of the finished product and its The Hamilton nametag, taken from the ramp that sends northbound 45-ers onto the potentially doomed Pierce Elevated. Construction started in 2014 and just wrapped in the fall as leasing started up.

Only the top 2 and a half of the complex’sÂ 5 residential stories (never mind the parking podium levels below that) can peek over the railing of the freeway on the southern side of the structure, providing scenic views both to andÂ of any loiterers on the building’s uppermost southern balconies. Spencer Moore of FancyHoustonApartments.com even took the time to share the experience of staring down drivers on the closest ramp:

Hamilton Now Showing

77002, Apartments, Downtown, Freeways, Midrises

03/21/17 12:30pm

Dolce Midtown on W. Gray Now Talking Leasing as Apartments Enter 38th Month of Construction

Fourth Ward

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Dolce Living Midtown construction, 180 W. Gray St., Midtown/Fourth Ward, Houston, 77019 Dolce Living Midtown rendering, 180 W. Gray St., Midtown/Fourth Ward, Houston, 77019

Leasing signage was tacked up not too long ago at the Dolce Midtown apartment development straddling Bailey St. along the north side of W. Gray, notes a reader relayingÂ years of curiosityÂ about the project’s slow-but-maybe-not-always-so-steady progress.Â The development’s website doesn’t offer any clues as to when move-in might be possible, but the company has opened a leasing office down the street (in one of the not-getting-knocked-down-any-time-soon segments of the River Oaks Shopping Center).

A few of the hawk-eyedÂ cranewatchers over atÂ HAIF claim to have spotted some backward clock-ticks on the workÂ in the form of partialÂ de- and re-construction of the 2 midrises’Â upper stories during late 2015, possibly related toÂ all the torrential rainÂ that year on the building’s siding andÂ wooden framing.Â But the buildings apparently re-reached their full heights not long after; as of last Friday, there’re even some relatively complete-lookingÂ facade sections on the eastern midrise (as shown above). The western building of the 2 still looks to have only been issued its Hardi-plankÂ balconyÂ flaps, however:

Ups and Downs in Fourth Ward

77019, Apartments, Construction, Fourth Ward, Leasing, Midrises

03/14/17 5:15pm

Midrise Apartments Set To Sprout from the Rubble at W. Gray and Taft

New Construction, North Montrose

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construction at 299 W. Gray St., North Montrose, Houston, 77019

That empty lot at the southeast corner of Taft and W. Gray streets has been getting itsÂ concrete skin broken up and cleared out lately, a number of readers note, as earlyÂ work for the Alta at West Gray apartment midrise and itsÂ basement parkingÂ gets going. (The particularly dramatic shot above of the Downtown skyline peering overÂ the wreckage was captured during the Friday morning mist by reader MontroseResident, though a few other camerasÂ were on the scene before and after.) Until 2009 the siteÂ housed the Good Neighbor Healthcare Clinic (a conversion of another ex-Weingarten’s grocery, according to the business); Good Neighbor had plans to buildÂ aÂ midrise healthcare and community center on the site, but ended upÂ sellingÂ the land to serial Alta developers Wood Partners early last year. The new plan for the site may look something like this:

Alta Altitude

77019, Apartments, Midrises, New Construction, North Montrose

02/27/17 11:15am

Kirby Collection’s Crane Collection Expands Then Shrinks

Upper Kirby

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under-construction Kirby Collection, Kirby Dr. at Colquitt St., Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

Rendering of under-construction Kirby Collection, Kirby Dr. at Colquitt St., Upper Kirby, Houston An extra crane was spotted standing around in oncoming Kirby Dr. traffic on Saturday morning just north of Richmond Ave., helping to disassemble the tower crane that’s been used to lift pieces of theÂ Kirby Collection’s under-construction office building into place over the last year-and-a-few-months. A representative from Thor Equities tells Swamplot this morning that the office midrise should be wrapped up by the end of 2017. The ellipse-footed residential tower (peaking over the top of the rectangular office building’s frame in theÂ shot above) hitÂ its full height earlier this month as well:

Down To Earth

77098, Construction Equipment, Highrises, Midrises, Mixed-Use Developments, New Construction, Upper Kirby

Demolitions

02/22/17 3:45pm

H-E-B-Bound Section of Archstone Memorial Heights Apartments Now Cleared of Buildings, Firefighters

Washington Ave

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Demo site of Archstone Memorial Heights Apartments, Studewood at Washington Ave., Houston, 77007

The excavator treatment is complete for that subset of Archstone Memorial Heights apartment buildings that’ll be replaced by a mixed-use midrise with an H-E-B at the bottom, a neighbor notes. The shot above shows one of the buildings midway through the deconstruction process, which began earlier this month after that fenceless gate showed up on the site. Also noted during the demo weeks — a handful of firefighters rappelling down the side of the empty unit above.

As of about sunset yesterday, the site is now fully emptied out:

Climbing the Walls on Wash Ave

77007, Apartments, Demolitions, Grocery Stores, Midrises, Mixed-Use Developments, New Construction, Proposed Developments

12/29/16 10:45am

J. Black’s Spot Marked For Lease near Future Wash Ave. H-E-B Midrise

Memorial Heights

J. Black's, 110 South Heights Blvd., Memorial Heights, Houston, 77007

J. Black's, 110 South Heights Blvd., Memorial Heights, Houston, 77007 The building housing the Houston expansion of Austin’s J. Black’s at the southwest corner of Washington Ave and Heights Blvd. now bears a new for-info-please-call sign, a reader notes. The bar appears to have events planned through at least New Year’s Eve; the 5,948-sq.-ft. space was only listed online as up for lease about 2 weeks ago. Back before 2012, the property was home to Phil’s Texas Barbecue, for about the same amount of timeÂ as it took Phil himself to restaurantize the corner’s original muffler shop setup. And soon another corner at the intersection will be getting a full workover as well, if all goes as planned — J. Black’s sits across Heights Blvd. from the subsection of the Memorial Heights apartments slated to go away some time next quarter,Â to makeÂ way for that planned Midway midrise with the H-E-B at the bottom:

Cornered in Memorial Heights

77007, Buildings for Lease, Grocery Stores, Memorial Heights Apartments, Midrises, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Washington Corridor

Avalon Place

11/15/16 11:30am

Leafy Green Mustaches To Help Latest Planned Mimosa Dr. Condo Midrise Keep A Low Profile

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Rendering of Mimosa Terrace, 2240 Mimosa Dr., Avalon Place, Houston, 77019

A rep from Citiscape tells Swamplot that the company will be starting up presales for 11 multi-million-dollar condo units in the 7-story midrise it’s planning forÂ 2240 Mimosa Dr. The building would replace the 1965 apartment complex currently occupying the space (half a block eastÂ from the corner with Revere St. whereÂ that other condo midrise project got tangled inÂ aÂ protracted variance request fightÂ last fall). Citiscape’s chief designerÂ says the project is designed to eventually “fade into the landscape” with the help of someÂ up-the-wall greeneryÂ on the facade:

Camouflage Near Avalon

77019, Avalon, Condos, Condos for Sale, Midrises, Proposed Developments

Downtown

10/11/16 12:45pm

Where George R. Brown Has Gone Red in the Face from All the Downtown Convention Center Work

October 2016 look around Discovery Green and George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida De Las Americas, Downtown, Houston, 77010

Supercolumn Going Up on George R. Brown Convention Center, Downtown Houston Bob Russell sends a fresh slew of downtown updates, this time checking up on the state of the George R. Brown Convention CenterÂ area’s ongoing redo. The structure’s main entrance on Avenida De Las Americas has been getting a major facelift — the supercolumns installed last summer have since turnedÂ white, andÂ the glassyÂ Â facade has stepped outward andÂ dropped a few stripes,Â in line withÂ the plans released previously byÂ semi-public cityÂ brandingÂ organization Houston First:

Super Bowl Conditioning

77010, Downtown, George R. Brown Convention Center, Highrises, Hotels, Houston First, Midrises, New Construction, Redevelopment

10/03/16 11:30am

Black Hole’s New Midrise Neighbor Moving Into The Place’s Place on Graustark St.

Castle Court

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Encore Castle Court, 1314 Castle Ct., Castle Court, Houston, 77006
The L-shapedÂ holeÂ dug on the site vacated last year byÂ The Place apartment complexÂ has been getting filledÂ up, and some wooden framing is now beginning to peek over the top of the leafy northern wall of 59 at the Graustark St. bridge. The plan for Encore’s under-construction Castle Court development involves stackingÂ 5 floors of apartments on the site,Â with additionalÂ levels of parking underneathÂ —Â the rendering above depicts its above-ground height as a floor taller than Trammell Crow’s newish Muse complex just down GraustarkÂ at the corner with Richmond Ave.

The Encore project fronts Castle Ct. at the intersection with Yupon St., and faces Graustark just south of Black Hole Coffee Shop and Graustark Laundry,Â as shown in theÂ floorplan belowÂ from the company’s brochure for would-be foreign investors under the EB-5Â program:

Scaling Up Castle Court

77006, Apartments, Castle Court, EB-5, Midrises, New Construction

09/14/16 4:45pm

Bowling, Bocce, Booze Headed to the Kirby Collection

Highrises, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Restaurants, Retail, Upper Kirby

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Rendering of under-construction Kirby Collection, Kirby Dr. at Colquitt St., Upper Kirby, Houston

Rolling-sphere-themed restaurant and entertainment chain Pinstripes has just leased up some space in the under-construction Kirby Collection (and hey — there might even be some bocce players nearby still looking for a new court!) That’s the first confirmed tenant for the project, which Thor Equities wants to open by the end of next year; the 33,600 sq. ft. ofÂ leased space makes upÂ aroundÂ half of the total retail spaceÂ available, and isÂ split acrossÂ both retail floors of the complex (shown in the foreground above, with aÂ row of trees peeking downÂ atÂ Kirby Dr. from the edge of the roof).Â Pinstripes will take overÂ a 7,260-sq.-ft. subdivision of first floor space, out of the segment labeled 23,900 in the ground floor plan below: