Tag: New Construction

Apartments
03/05/08 11:42pm

Greenway Commons: Gas Station Too!

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Commercial Real Estate, Greenway Plaza, New Construction, Parking, Proposed Developments, Retail, Sprawl, Strip Centers
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Greenway Commons Costco at Richmond and Weslayan, Houston

Didja know that the new Costco going up on the former site of the HISD headquarters building at the corner of Richmond and Weslayan . . . is gonna have its very own gas station right out front?

Costco liked the idea of coming inside the Loop so much . . . it decided to bring all its friends! The city just issued a building permit for the new Costco Fuel station. But that’s just the latest addition to Greenway Commons, which is turning out to be quite a mix: A 45,420-sq.-ft. LA Fitness is going above the Costco, next to a 4-story parking garage which is connected to a 2-story retail strip center. It’ll all be protected from the busy surrounding streets by more than 500 surface parking spaces and 2 corner pad sites slated for “banks.” In back: a 550-unit Morgan Group luxury apartment complex . . . with two more separate garages!

After the jump, more drawings and plans of this surprising development.

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Commercial Real Estate
02/29/08 3:50pm

Discovery Tower: Yep, They Are Wind Turbines

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Downtown, Green Design and Development, Highrises, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Marketing
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Top of Proposed Discovery Tower, Downtown Houston

From our email comes a message from a reader who has heard from someone involved in the project that the white poles shown at the top of the new Discovery Tower drawing are . . . indeed, wind turbines.

So . . . if they do end up being put in, how much energy will they bring to the building? And . . . how many tenants?

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Commercial Real Estate
02/28/08 5:13pm

Discovery Tower: Ready for Closeup?

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Downtown, Green Design and Development, Houston Architects, New Construction, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments
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Rendering of Discovery Tower by Gensler, Downtown HoustonThanks to an alert poster on HAIF, we now have a more up-to-date and better view of Discovery Tower, Trammel Crow’s 30-story office building — designed by Gensler and planned for a perch on the north side of Discovery Green Downtown.

Other HAIF participants have been speculating whether the shorter white poles at the top of the image are supposed to be . . . wind turbines!

Well, are they? Scrutinize a larger version of the rendering and judge for yourself . . . below the fold.

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Commercial Real Estate
02/26/08 4:31pm

New West Loop Tower: Keeping the Uptown Office Market Up to Date

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Development Strategy, Galleria, Green Design and Development, Highrises, Houston Architects, New Construction, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments
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According to a report by Jennifer Dawson in the Houston Business Journal,, the first new spec office building built in the Galleria area in more than 25 years will be . . . a 20-story tower that was designed 15 years ago!

In the early 1990s, [Novati Group CEO Ken] Moczulski ran Transworld Properties, a developer of office, industrial and multifamily properties. Transworld owned the land at 1600 West Loop South at that time, and commissioned Ziegler Cooper Architects to design an office for the site.

“We had planned a building,” recalls Moczulski. “It was all designed.”

The economy turned south, he says, so the facility did not get built. . . .

Last year, Novati co-founders Moczulski and Fernando De León start looking in the Galleria area for an office development site. Moczulski approached Landry’s about buying the West Loop land because, as in the 1990s, he still thinks the location and high visibility make it a good site for an office building.

To top it off, Novati is saving months of development time by dusting off the original plans from Ziegler Cooper. The only design changes needed are those to make the 475,000-square-foot structure eligible for certification as a green building.

Hey, maybe it’s one of those towers that kinda looks like a tall glass cylinder is bulging out from the center? That was a hot nineties look, wasn’t it?

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Commercial Real Estate
02/25/08 10:26am

Midtown Mix: Fit for Leasing

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Development Strategy, Leasing, Midtown, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Marketing, Retail
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Fence at Elgin and Louisiana Advertising the Mix @ Midtown, Houston

More details about Crosspoint Properties‘s expanding developments at the corner of Elgin and Louisiana in Midtown: Catty-corner across Elgin from the building that’s already under construction is this new fence advertising the “Mix @ Midtown.” The Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff writes that Crosspoint — whose owners also rule the High Fashion Home/Fabric empire down the street — is planning an additional 50,000 square feet of retail space in the recently fenced block, though construction won’t start until 2009 at the earliest.

A commenter on HAIF suggests announcing the Mix might be a good way to drum up more interest in 3201 Louisiana — the building that’s already going up. A 24 Hour Fitness “Super Sport” — which will include a basketball court and swimming pool and occupy the entire second and third stories of that building — is the only tenant Crosspoint’s George Levan is mentioning. Still available, apparently: retail space on the entire 25,000-sq.-ft. ground floor.

Photo: HAIF user ricco67

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Commercial Real Estate
02/18/08 3:45pm

Eldridge Oaks: Turn on the Lights!

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Energy Corridor, Green Design and Development, Highrises, New Construction, Office Buildings
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Eldridge Oaks, Proposed Office Building in Houston Energy CorridorA reader who works in the Energy Corridor reports that a sign has just appeared at the Northwest corner of Enclave Parkway and Eldridge Parkway announcing Eldridge Oaks, a 350,000-sq.-ft. 14-story office tower being developed by Transwestern.

Transwestern is apparently taking energy issues in this Energy Corridor building seriously: It will pursue an unspecified LEED rating, and has signed the project up as a sponsor of this spring’s Gulf Coast Green conference. Plus, this drawing from the project website shows what the building will look like when the lights go on . . . then off . . . then on!

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Apartments
02/14/08 2:19pm

Fairmont on San Felipe: Stacked!

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Briargrove, Commercial Real Estate, Mixed Use, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Retail, Strip Centers
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Rendering of The Fairmont on San Felipe, Houston

It looks like our earlier report about the Fairmont at San Felipe — the strip-center-apartment combo planned for the southeast corner of San Felipe and Winrock — was wrong. Judging from this new rendering of the complex, it sure looks like those apartments will actually be stacked directly on top of the retail spaces, forming a lovely parking-lot-courtyard tableau!

Permits for construction of the apartments were just approved by the city. After the jump: closeups, plus the plan that led us astray.

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Downtown
02/07/08 4:54pm

Discovery Tower: Ready to Climb

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Highrises, New Construction, Office Buildings
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Drawing of Discovery Tower, Downtown HoustonHere’s a small discovery from today’s permit report: Work on the site and foundation of Discovery Tower — a 30-story office tower developed by Trammell Crow and designed by Gensler — has been approved by the city. The tower is planned for a block next to Discovery Green downtown, at 1501 McKinney St.

The tower will have retail space at street level and will reportedly tie into the tunnel system . . . by skybridge. A new parking garage will go up one block north.

The tiny image above shows the view from Discovery Green. Discovery Tower is at the far right. (The hazy image in the background to the left is the Finger Companies’ One Park Place, which is now under construction.)

Got any better images of Discovery Tower you’d like to share? Send them in!

Photo: CBRE, via HAIF user lockmat

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Condos
01/28/08 1:45pm

Heights Esplanade I: Now Available with Less Irony

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Historic Districts, Houston Heights, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments
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Rendering of Proposed Heights Esplanade I at 1801 Ashland St., Houston

The Magnolia Lofts, planned for the site of the former Ashland Tea House, has a new sales trailer at 1801 W. 18th St. in the Heights and a new, less ironic name. The project is now called Heights Esplanade I — though the development’s website throws in an odd extra apostrophe for good measure. Best news: The same website declares that “At the Esplanade, urban loft living will take on a new meaning.” The building will be four stories high, contain forty condos, and sit on a two-story “partially submerged” garage.

A HAIF reader who stopped by the sales office reports that Conroe-area builders Garrett Austen are planning two additional phases, with 80 and 120 more condos respectively.

After the jump: floor plans for Unit 403, on sale now for $261,118.

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Commercial Real Estate
01/24/08 8:11am

Dismembering and Remembering the Tinseltown Westchase Theater

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Demolitions, New Construction, Office Buildings, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Westchase
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A reader writes in with a question about the movie theater that appeared in Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report earlier this week:

Do we happen to know the reason for the demolition of the Tinseltown Westchase location? If I can remember right, this theater has only been here for not even 10 years yet.

Actually, the Cinemark Tinseltown USA Westchase movie theater had reached the ripe old age of 12. According to the Houston Business Journal, Simmons Vedder Partners is tearing it down to build twin 6-story spec office buildings with a parking garage between them and a “signature water feature” fronting the Beltway — all designed by Ambrose, McEnany and House Architects. It’ll be called Westchase Park.

After the jump, a few fond memories of the theater in its “Hey!” day.

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Apartments
01/17/08 5:52pm

River Oaks District Development Reaches Advanced Watercolor Stage

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Commercial Real Estate, Condos, Highrises, Mixed Use, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Retail, River Oaks, Shopping Centers
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Watercolor of Proposed River Oaks District Mixed Use Development Planned for Westheimer by OliverMcMillan

With new bold, rich watercolor renderings now posted to its website, OliverMcMillan shows its mixed-use proposal for Westheimer is serious. The River Oaks District won’t be in River Oaks exactly, but it would mark a serious upgrade for this portion of Westheimer just inside the Loop, on a portion of the site of the Westcreek Apartments.

What’s planned here: 300,000 square feet of retail space, 300 fancy apartments, 250,000 square feet of office space, plus two hotels — rumored to be a W and a Le Meridien. The W Hotel will house 150 condos on its top floors.

After the jump: those shiny watercolors, plus plans and an aerial view!

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Brookesmith
01/10/08 2:42pm

The Brookesmith Shipping-Container House

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Construction Materials, Green Design and Development, Home Design, Homebuilders, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Transportation
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House Made of Shipping Containers at 206 Cordell St., Houston, Under Construction

That house built out of shipping containers on Cordell St. in Brookesmith looks like it’ll be ready for delivery soon. Yes, this was a spec house — and yes, there already is a buyer.

Last year, Numen Development owners Katie Nichols and John Walker used shipping containers to construct the Apama Mackey Gallery on 11th St. in the Heights — because the gallery owner wanted a structure she can move when the property owner kicks her off the land. But the house Numen is building on Cordell looks like it’s going to be around for a while. It comes with its own, uh . . . doublewide lot, and it’s right across the street from a meat-processing plant.

After the jump: drawings, models, and an earlier construction photo of this neat little three-bedroom, three-bath, 1,851-square-foot package!

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Apartments
12/21/07 4:15pm

Galleria-Area Apartments Coming to Site of Galleria-Area Apartments

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Demolitions, Development Strategy, Galleria, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments
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Le Maison on Revere

Uptown renters: Were you planning on staying in your apartment for a while?

A sharp-eyed reader notes that ZOM — the developer of the Bel Air on Allen Parkway and the new Katrina Memorial apartments planned for Revere St. near Kirby and Westheimer (pictured above) — is also planning a 250-unit apartment complex somewhere near the Galleria. The company’s going to stick with its strategy of buying existing apartment complexes, demolishing them, building newer apartments in their place, and then selling them off, ZOM’s Trip Stevens tells Globe St.‘s Amy Wolff Sorter:

“It’s the only way to go in that submarket,” Stevens says. But then he adds real news:

Stephens says ZOM will do the same thing to get its third Houston project into the Galleria submarket. He says the closing for the existing apartment complex should occur late in the first quarter. The plan is to start scraping the three-acre site around midyear.

That’s information a few Galleria-area renters who live in three-acre apartment complexes will probably want to know.

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Apartments
12/13/07 3:01pm

Heights Village: Parking Lots Are the New Main Street!

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Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Houston Heights, Mixed Use, New Construction, Parking, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Washington Corridor
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Heights Village Parking Lot on Yale St., Houston Heights

Looks like a lot of pedestrian action going on in these marketing drawings for Orr Commercial’s new Heights Village, a five-acre restaurant, retail, office, and “upscale housing” development slated for the current site of the Sons of Hermann hall just south of I-10, between Heights Blvd. and Yale St. and an adjacent parcel abutting railroad tracks to the south.

Why, with all those people in the drawings walking to and fro, it looks like this development will have all the charm of a small old-town Main Street . . . or at the very least all the charm of an old small town that decided to build a multi-level parking garage, but still turned its Main Street into a parking lot anyway, just to hedge its bets.

After the jump: more parking-lot pedestrians!

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Development Strategy
12/11/07 1:22pm

Not So Gaudi on Antoine: Barcelona Villa Boxes!

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Home Design, Homes for Sale, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Spring Branch, Townhomes
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Villas of Antoine Ad

Houston is such an international city! If you’ve been here a while, you’ve probably already found Tuscany in Houston and Hong Kong in Houston, and perhaps also Charlottesville, New Delhi, Versailles, New York, Mexico City, Cairo, Dubai, Atlanta, and maybe even some Lubbock in Houston as well.

Well, here’s a new one: Now you can discover Barcelona in Houston too. And it’s in Spring Branch!

Fortunately, for those of you tired at the thought of all that around-the-world-in-eighty-themed-apartments travel, this little bit of the Spanish Mediterranean comes in the familiar form of a Houston townhome six-pack: two rows of bright yellow tightly fit stucco-coated boxes facing a bare concrete driveway.

So really, it shouldn’t seem so foreign after all.

After the jump, more pics!

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