Tag: Highrises

Economic Conditions, Flooding, Highrises, North Montrose, Office Buildings, Weather

4 Comments

From his perch high in the (formerly AIG) America Tower on Allen Parkway, Swamplot reader Stephen Cullar-Ledford forwards this latest dramatic scene, which aches for suitably metaphorical captioning.

A few months ago it was fog, this afternoon it’s a rainbow over downtown . . .

Previously on Swamplot: More AIG Bonus Photos: Right Back Atcha!, AIG Surrounded by Fog in Houston, Too

Photo: Stephen Cullar-Ledford

77002, 77019, AIG, Downtown, Economic Conditions, Flooding, Highrises, Montrose, Office Buildings, Weather

Critters

10/09/09 5:52pm

Your Secret Cat Code Has Been Cracked, Mr. Johnson

Galleria, Highrises, Real Estate Marketing

17 Comments

Note: Story updated below.

A reader writes:

I had been told that the architect of the Transco tower secretly incorporates cat figures in to all of his work. I could never see a cat in the Transco until yesterday evening. I found it! Can you? Pretty cool, huh?

77056, Critters, Galleria, Highrises, Real Estate Marketing, Williams Tower

Condos for Sale

09/23/09 1:03pm

No, You Can’t See Ken and Linda Lay’s Renaissance-y Highrise Condo

Highrises, Interiors, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing, River Oaks

27 Comments

NO, YOU CAN’T SEE KEN AND LINDA LAY’S RENAISSANCE-Y HIGHRISE CONDO The storied full-floor unit on the 33rd floor of the Huntingdon at 2121 Kirby is at long last on the market . . . for $12.8 Million: “The condo sale is being handled privately by Beau Herrold, Linda Lay’s son from her first marriage. Tours are by invitation only . . . When a Chronicle reporter expressed interest in seeing the condo, so as to best to describe the Italian renaissance decor and ‘villa-style living’ touted in a real estate flier, Herrold had only one comment. ‘I bet you would.’” [Houston Chronicle]

77019, Condos for Sale, Enron, Highrises, Interiors, Real Estate Marketing, River Oaks, Theming

Boulevard Oaks

09/16/09 4:53pm

Into the Heart of Houston Real Estate

Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Southampton

2 Comments

INTO THE HEART OF HOUSTON REAL ESTATE A short note appears on the Google Map NPR Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep is using to keep track of his multi-day visit here: “We met with the developer of the Ashby, a controversial new condo building that is slated to replace the Maryland Manor building.” [Google Maps; previously on Swamplot]

77005, Ashby Highrise, Boulevard-Oaks, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Southampton

Condos

09/16/09 4:15pm

Condo Spies in the Night: Investigating Sales at 2727 Kirby

Condos for Sale, Highrises, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Upper Kirby

33 Comments

Sure, we all want to know how well the condos at the newly completed 30-story 2727 Kirby tower have been selling. But a couple of dedicated readers decided to investigate on their own:

[We] have been musing that 2727 Kirby looks awfully dark for a building for which the Chronicle proffers â€œall but 18 units have been soldâ€

Well, we put on our trench coats and went parking garage climbing to find out exactly how many souls live in that wraithlike monument to a bygone era.

These scary night pictures were taken on a Tuesday evening at around 8 pm. This was a prime time for at least a sampling of residents to be at home among their new Imported Stone Flooring and European Cabinetry. The night photos were taken from atop the parking garage on West Alabama that is the home of Flemingâ€™s and from the Parking lot on Westheimer that serves Taco Milagro/Downing Street.

And they show . . . ?

2727 Kirby, 77098, Condos, Condos for Sale, Highrises, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Staging, Upper Kirby

Comments

08/25/09 11:38pm

Comment of the Day: Where the Skyscrapers Will Be Built

Forecasts, Highrises, Quicklink, Streets, Traffic

5 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE THE SKYSCRAPERS WILL BE BUILT “. . . in a century or two, Houston will be very densely populated. . . . I think Houston is relatively lucky to have street grids across most parts of the city, as opposed to the suburban lollipops in, say, Pearlandâ€™s newer subdivisions. When the skyscrapers come â€” and they will â€” then Houstonâ€™s grids will handle the load better than the lollipops would; and if worse comes to worse, old blocks can be razed for new streets, or our existing streets can be turned into one-way, so that for example you might have Bellaire and Westheimer only go westbound, and Richmond and San Felipe only eastbound (or vice versa).” [J.V., commenting on City to Ashby Highrise: Yes You Can!]

Comments, Forecasts, Highrises, Streets, Traffic

08/24/09 7:52pm

Comment of the Day: After the Ashby Highrise

Boulevard Oaks, Comments, Condos, Development Regulations, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Southampton, Traffic

19 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: AFTER THE ASHBY HIGHRISE “. . . My take on it is that this building MIGHT NOT be too bad, once the teeth-on-edge construction period is finished. (And I seem to be the only person who thinks the construction hassles should even matter to anyone. Big crane delivery and setup on Bissonnet, anyone?) But since there seems to be no legal way to stop this one, you can be sure that there will be some serious efforts to put rules in place to prevent any more. My own tongue-in-cheek explanation for why the neighborhood was so taken by surprise is that no-one ever thought for a minute that it made any kind of sense to build a high-rise on Bissonnet, for goodness sake.” [marmer, commenting on City to Ashby Highrise: Yes You Can!]

77005, Apartments, Ashby Highrise, Boulevard-Oaks, Comments, Condos, Development Regulations, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Southampton, Traffic

08/21/09 5:32pm

City to Ashby Highrise: Yes You Can!

Boulevard Oaks, Condos, Development Regulations, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Southampton

53 Comments

Note: Story updated below.

The 11th time’s the charm! According to Abc13 reporter Miya Shay, the city today gave the developers of the Ashby Highrise the final approval they needed to begin construction of the 23-story residential tower at the corner of Ashby and Bissonnet, next to Southampton.

Okay now everybody, show us your cards!

Update, 5:49 p.m.: Some details about why the most recent plans were approved, from a city news release via the River Oaks Examiner:

77005, Apartments, Ashby Highrise, Boulevard-Oaks, Condos, Development Regulations, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Southampton, Traffic

07/28/09 6:52pm

Housebrand’s Home-Based Businesses: What’s Going on with That Mystery Highrise Apartment

Development Strategies, Highrises, Home Design, Real Estate Marketing

14 Comments

When Canadian home-design expert John Brown featured an oddly designed 2800-sq.-ft. 3-bedroom Houston highrise apartment on the “What’s Wrong with This House” video feature of his online Slow Home Design School last week, Swamplot readers naturally wanted to know where the place was. A new west-facing 17th-floor apartment . . . somewhere “Downtown.” Hmmm . . .

You came up with a lot of good guesses: One Park Place, the Turnberry Tower, the Cosmopolitan, the Legacy at Memorial, Mosaic, Orion, 2727 Kirby, Commerce Towers, the Shamrock Tower, the Four Seasons, Titan, the Regent Square tower, Park 8 Place, the Royalton, and Four Leaf Towers.

So what’s the answer?

Apartments, Development Strategies, Highrises, Home Design, Real Estate Marketing

07/22/09 9:21am

Rejected Again: The Ashby Highrise’s Latest Failing Grade

Boulevard Oaks, Condos, Development Regulations, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Southampton, Traffic

44 Comments

Wondering what’s been going on with the Ashby Highrise? Developer Matthew Morgan tells the River Oaks Examiner that Buckhead Development intends to respond to “the city’s attempts to reach an agreement” with a new submission for the proposed 23-story residential tower on Bissonnet, next to Southampton.

But the city rejected the highrise’s plans again yesterday . . . for the 10th time. The city said its own analysis showed the project as currently proposed would result in an “F” level of traffic at the corner of Shepherd and Bissonnet:

However, â€œA significant reduction in peak-hour trips, including appropriate trip offsets, could have a potential to address heightened concerns,â€ a city engineer, Mark L. Loethen, wrote in his comments.

Computing traffic level involves a formula that rates intersection flow from â€œAâ€ (no traffic) to â€œFâ€ (very slow).

The rejected plans were submitted April 7, making the three months until they were returned to the developers unusually long.

Ashby gets delayed 10th rejection [River Oaks Examiner]
Ashby Highrise coverage [Swamplot]

Rendering of proposed Ashby Highrise, 1717 Bissonnet: Buckhead Investment Partners

77005, Apartments, Ashby Highrise, Boulevard-Oaks, Condos, Development Regulations, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Southampton, Traffic

07/21/09 10:01am

Slow Highrise Recognition School: Is This Place Really in Houston?

Highrises, Home Design

1 Comment

It seems Swamplot readers have had a little trouble identifying the highrise building discussed in yesterday’s Slow Home Design School video exercise. It’s new, it’s “Downtown,” and this west-facing apartment is on the 17th floor, says instructor and architect John Brown.

But is it even in Houston? Really?

What does Brown have to say about the floor plan?

Apartments, Highrises, Home Design

07/20/09 2:28pm

What’s Wrong with This Highrise Apartment?

Highrises, Home Design

37 Comments

“Do you know which building this is?” a reader asks. The video is today’s presentation in Canadian architect/real-estate agent/developer/plan doctor/entrepreneur John Brown’s Slow Home Design School. The topic: a 2800-sq.-ft. highrise apartment . . . in Houston.

Where, exactly? “It’s on the 17th floor of a new building that’s been built in Downtown Houston.” Hmmm. . . .

You have until tomorrow to present your findings! The floor plan under discussion:

Apartments, Highrises, Home Design

Condos

05/05/09 12:45pm

Regent Square Cemetery Condo Tower: 28 Stories, 2 Faces

Highrises, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments

22 Comments

Here’s a view of the 28-story condo tower New York’s Handel Architects is designing for Regent Square, the 15-acre mixed-use project GID Urban Development Group is planning for North Montrose. The 450,000-sq.-ft. tower is meant for Regent Square’s westernmost reaches: the corner of West Dallas and Greenwich Place, just east of the College Memorial Park Cemetery.

Each of the 150 condos in the building has a balcony. All the units on the western face, shown above, have indented double-height outdoor spaces. The sleek eastern face, looking toward Downtown, is very different: It has a floor-to-ceiling curtainwall. Handel expects the building to be LEED-certified.

More images:

77019, Condos, Highrises, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Regent Square

04/07/09 4:30pm

Comment of the Day: Dallas Discount