Tag: Development Strategies

09/12/11 9:49am

This Week, Houston Begins Slicing What’s Left of the Katy Prairie in Two

Freeways and Toll Roads, Landscape, New Construction, Sprawl

19 Comments

Tuesday morning, not far from the former grounds of Forbidden Gardens, its now-ransacked replica gravesite of Emperor Qin, and his army of one-third-scale terracotta soldiers at the stub-end of Hwy. 99 and Franz Rd., TxDOT and a contingent of public officials will gather to celebrate the groundbreaking of a notable project for Houston: the paving of a $350 million four-lane toll highway with “intermittent” development-ready access roads across an expanse of largely uninhabited prairie land that stretches between Katy and Cypress. When it’s complete, the 180-mile-long Grand Parkway will be Houston’s fourth ring road, cutting through 7 different counties. But none of the planned segments will forge so dramatic a path through undeveloped land as this particular north-south stretch, called Segment E.

Development Strategies, Grand Parkway, Katy Prairie, Landscape, New Construction, Sprawl, Toll-Roads

Freeways and Toll Roads

06/13/11 9:46am

Full Speed Ahead on the Grand Parkway, with ExxonMobil at 12 O’Clock

Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Spring, Springwoods Village, Transportation

7 Comments

FULL SPEED AHEAD ON THE GRAND PARKWAY, WITH EXXONMOBIL AT 12 O’CLOCK A 12.1-mile segment of Houston’s newest and largest ring road, connecting the new ExxonMobil campus to the Tomball Parkway — and eventually to Katy — should be open by 2015, says the executive director of the Grand Parkway Association. TxDOT should start acquiring rights of way along Segment F-2 between Hwy. 249 and I-45 later this year, and construction will likely begin within 2 years, David Gornet tells Nancy Sarnoff. [Houston Chronicle; more info]

77389, Development Strategies, ExxonMobil, Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, New Construction, Office Parks, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village, Transportation

06/08/11 11:00pm

Comment of the Day: ExxonMobil Takes the Forest

Development Strategies, Landscape, Quicklink, Sprawl, Spring, Springwoods Village

31 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: EXXONMOBIL TAKES THE FOREST “[It’s] awesome, but I thought the era of building suburban office campuses was close to gone. Not anymore, I guess. Just goes to show that there is still plenty a land for Houston to sprawl, and this illustrates no signs of slowing down. God that third outerbelt is just going to catalyze more of this crap (albeit ExxonMobilâ€™s campus is pretty crap). I mean, if ExxonMobil really wanted to, they couldâ€™ve revitalized an entire swath of area in one of many industrial parts of Houston. No, but instead of utilizing an area that could be purposeful, they chose to destroy the environment. Yeah, Houstonâ€™s forests in the north are what keeps the area looking bad, but just a few more decades of this, and there will be nothing left to conceal this disgusting sprawl.” [Carlos, commenting on Welcome to the Land of ExxonMobil: A Tour of the Companyâ€™s New North Houston Campus]

77389, Comments, Development Strategies, Landscape, Sprawl, Spring, Springwoods Village

06/07/11 9:24am

ExxonMobil Fesses Up to Its Employees About That New North Houston Campus It’s Been Building

New Construction, Office Buildings, Office Space, Spring, Springwoods Village

37 Comments

An email sent out early this morning to all U.S.-based ExxonMobil employees provides the first acknowledgment by the company’s management of what’s been a remarkably open secret: that the oil giant is building a giant new office campus south of The Woodlands. Actually, the email simply announces that the company is “proceeding with construction” of the project — a fact that should have been apparent to anyone who’s explored a Google map of the area recently, or driven past the small army of construction cranes visible from behind a mask of trees on the western edge of I-45 near the start of the Hardy Toll Rd. and the likely path of the Grand Parkway. (The reader photo shown above dates from several weeks ago.)

77389, Development Strategies, ExxonMobil, Landscape, New Construction, Office Parks, Spring, Springwoods Village

05/05/11 2:20pm

ExxonMobil’s Top Secret New Corporate Campus Now Hiding in Plain Sight on Google Maps

Landscape, New Construction, Office Space, Online Resources, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village

16 Comments

While thousands of ExxonMobil employees wait patiently to hear confirmation from the oil giant’s tight-lipped management about their rumored “possible” consolidation in a brand-new enormous office campus just south of The Woodlands, aerial photos that show work proceeding on the site have shown up in an update to Google Maps. The photo update appears to be relatively recent; it shows a level of clear-cutting similar to what was evident in the images leaked to Swamplot last month, which dated from March 12:

77389, Demolitions, Development Strategies, ExxonMobil, Landscape, New Construction, Office Parks, Online Resources, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village, Trees

04/28/11 11:41am

Weingarten Hoping To Improve Classic Taste of Art Deco River Oaks Shopping Center with New Cheese Topping

Historic Preservation, Renovations, Retail, River Oaks, Shopping Centers

114 Comments

C’mon, we all know what the problem’s been with the old Art Deco River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray, just east of Shepherd: The place was too black-and-white, the signs were too damn small, and it didn’t have enough turrets. Hey, nothing a little forehead lift and a generous slathering of EIFS can’t fix! Got some can’t-sell brick up there? Time for a little arch-ee-textural adjustment! It’ll look just like stucco — with all those control joints you love, plus they’ll be painting the new glop a nice Pearland-y mustard color. All that and a new wash of beige paint over the rest of the place should make folks driving in from newer suburbs feel more at home when they visit — and may have the added bonus of attracting a few of those nail salons and check-cashing outlets the place has been so sorely missing.

77019, Development Strategies, Historic Preservation, Redevelopment, Renovations, Retail, River Oaks, River-Oaks-Shopping-Center, River-Oaks-Theater, Theming, Weingarten Realty

Demolitions

04/27/11 11:56am

Houston YMCA Might Just Flip the Old Masterson YWCA — After It Finishes Tearing Down the Building

Development Strategies, Houston Architects, Institutional Buildings, Memorial Heights, Proposed Developments

7 Comments

The YMCA of Greater Houston is considering several options for the 1.3-acre piece of land off Waugh Dr. that until last week held the vacant Masterson Branch of the YWCA, according to a communications document forwarded to Swamplot. Among the possibilities for the property at 3615 Willia St., which sits on a bluff above Spotts Park and overlooks White Oak Bayou: building a new YMCA facility, collaborating with the city and area nonprofits to develop “recreational opportunities” on the site, partnering with a developer on an unspecified project, or selling it outright. If the organization is considering selling the property, why did it decide to tear down the 1982 building, designed by Houston’s Taft Architects?

77007, Demolitions, Development Strategies, Houston Architects, Institutional Buildings, Memorial Heights, Postmodernism, Proposed Developments

04/25/11 6:56pm

Comment of the Day: Who’s Paying for This Spread?

Development Strategies, Quicklink, Taxes

42 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHO’S PAYING FOR THIS SPREAD? “Ironically, it is GOVERNMENT rules and funding that promotes suburban, space-wasting development. If people had to pay every day for the cost of the roads they use, or for the government-required parking spaces (subsidized by non-car users in the prices they pay), they might think differently. Instead, the [cost] is hidden in catch-all taxes. And, after all, isn;t it a goverment regulation that these developers are trying to waive? . . . The city government, with the support of many Houstonians who see no value in an attractive city, and prefer to retreat indoors, actively makes urbanization difficult, and promotes far-flung developments with miles of expensive infrastructure at taxpayer cost.” [Marco Roberts, commenting on Apartment Building Replacing Tavern on Gray Wonâ€™t Have Any Retail, But Really Wants To Hug the Street Anyway]

Comments, Development Strategies, Sprawl, Taxes

04/21/11 6:34pm

Comment of the Day: Down in Front

Development Restrictions, Development Strategies, Mixed Use, Quicklink, Retail

1 Comment

COMMENT OF THE DAY: DOWN IN FRONT “Actually, ground floor retail is an uphill struggle. Apartment managers want to manage apartments. Shopping center managers want to manage retail tenants. Plus, with the slim profile of this lotâ€¦where 10 extra feet is needed for the parkingâ€¦putting 50 or 100 foot deep retailers in the garage would be even worse. And, despite the claims of the poster several spots up, mixed use retail space is a very hard sell. Dallas pushed several developers to include ground floor retail in new complexes, and most of them sit idle. The fact is, Houston is capable of separating the two, so developers and retailers prefer to do so. Only in dense urban areas do retailers attempt to carve out space wherever they can find it. Despite the love affair with mixed use retail, it is still a very rare bird . . . especially in new development. . . .” [Dave, commenting on Apartment Building Replacing Tavern on Gray Wonâ€™t Have Any Retail, But Really Wants To Hug the Street Anyway]

Comments, Development Restrictions, Development Strategies, Mixed Use, Retail

Demolitions

04/15/11 8:55am

Aerial Views of ExxonMobil’s New Sprawling, Top Secret Houston Headquarters

Development Strategies, Landscape, New Construction, Office Buildings, Office Space, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village, Trees

39 Comments

What’s been going on deep in this pine forest north of Houston, behind the fencing and security guards, where all those trucks have been driving in and out for months? A whole lot of logging at least, it looks like. While ExxonMobil continues to tell its employees that no decisions have yet been made about whether to consolidate approximately 17,000 of them from Houston and Virginia into a new 3 million sq. ft. office campus just south of The Woodlands, contractors working for the company have been stripping what looks like thousands of trees from its 359-acre property and preparing the site for construction of as many as 2 dozen office buildings, 4 enormous parking garages, and several other structures. These aerial photos of the site sent to Swamplot are dated March 12th.

77389, Demolitions, Development Strategies, ExxonMobil, Landscape, New Construction, Nightlife, Office Parks, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village, Trees

03/30/11 9:50pm

Comment of the Day: This Land Is Their Land

Development Strategies, Environmental, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Quicklink

5 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THIS LAND IS THEIR LAND “Heard about it. Shouldnâ€™t matter who the purchaser is, in fact, after reading your comments, it is probably more fair all around if they do not disclose who they are. Posters on this site are quite amazing. I am astonished daily in what they seem to feel they are entitled to when it comes to property owned by others. And how much Swamplot originators do to creatively stir the pot.” [LudiKris, commenting on How Does a Public Notice About ExxonMobilâ€™s Giant New Corporate Campus Stay Under the Radar?]

77389, Comments, Development Strategies, Environmental, ExxonMobil, Office Parks, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village

03/29/11 12:51pm

How Does a Public Notice About ExxonMobil’s Giant New Corporate Campus Stay Under the Radar?

Office Buildings, Office Space, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village

43 Comments

A show of hands, please: How many of you knew about the public notice posted by the Army Corps of Engineers this January asking for comments on environmental issues related to the new 389-acre office campus that ExxonMobil plans to build for its employees north of Houston, just south of Spring Creek? If you heard about the permit application before the February 17th commenting deadline, please let us know — just add a comment to this story.

Why is Swamplot asking?

77389, Development Strategies, Environmental, ExxonMobil, Office Parks, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village

03/22/11 4:08pm

Comment of the Day: Heard It Here First

Development Strategies, New Construction, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Spring, Springwoods Village

9 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HEARD IT HERE FIRST “Keep up the interesting news on the ExxonMobil property. I work for XOM and theyâ€™re telling us NOTHING!” [Insider, commenting on A First Look at the Plans for ExxonMobilâ€™s Humongous New Corporate Campus North of Houston]

77389, Comments, Development Strategies, ExxonMobil, New Construction, Office Parks, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village

03/18/11 1:41pm

Comment of the Day: Exit Strategy for ExxonMobil’s New North Houston Campus