Tag: Proposed Developments

Demolitions
06/30/09 11:59am

Roller Coaster on the Pier: Crunch Time for the Flagship Hotel

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Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Hotels, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment
18 Comments

There may be a buyer for Galveston’s Flagship Hotel, reports Laura Elder in the Galveston County Daily News. The hotel suffered about $7 million in damage from Hurricane Ike last year. But Landry’s Restaurants, the current owner, has a fallback plan in case the sale doesn’t go through:

If the 225-room property at 25th Street and Seawall Boulevard doesn’t sell, Landry’s likely would demolish the hotel and develop a “pleasure pier” with amusement rides, officials say. . . .

Landry’s is pricing demolition for the hotel, built in 1965 as a show of confidence after Hurricane Carla, Jeff Cantwell, senior vice president for development, said.

Perched on a pier overlooking the Gulf, the Flagship fell into disrepair on its own after 1990, when The Flagship Hotel Ltd. took over management.

Landry’s paid the city $500,000 for the hotel in 2004, saying it planned to spend $15 million transforming the property into an entertainment plaza with amusement rides, including a roller coaster.

Landry’s attempted to move ahead, but was stymied by agreements that gave Daniel Yeh, head of The Flagship Hotel Ltd., control of the hotel until 2031.

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Apartments
06/26/09 5:15pm

Solar-Powered Shipping Containers Flee; It’s Apartments for the Mirabeau B.

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Buying and Selling, Condos, Development Strategies, Green Design and Development, Houston Architects, Hyde Park, Montrose, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Marketing
1 Comment

Hey, what’s happening to those fancy solar-powered recycled shipping containers on the corner of Hyde Park and Waugh, meant to attract eco-minded buyers to the $400K+ condo units in the Mirabeau B.?

Up and away they go! Did the Mirabeau B. meet its sales target? Nope . . . but it’s time for construction anyway, developer Joey Romano tells Swamplot:

Our financing is in place and we have signed our contract with Mission Constructors who have commenced work on the site. If all goes to plan at the City, the building work will begin in the next few weeks.

How’d that happen? With a little switch: to rental. But Romano says none of the project’s “green” features will be changed:

We’ll still plant our green roof; our 15 KW solar PV system will still power all common areas; and our rainwater retention system will still irrigate our native Gulf Coast plants. Our units will be large, open, and spacious, offering unique, high-grade finishes, high-end energy efficient appliances, and natural light in every bedroom.

So where are the shipping containers headed?

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Downtown
06/10/09 4:28pm

Why Houston Needs a Dome

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Hazards, Proposed Developments
7 Comments

Too bad we can’t embed the video here. So here’s a transcript of the rationale — presented by the writers of the Discovery Channel’s Mega Engineering series — for building that massive, mile-diameter geodesic dome over Houston (or at least the Downtown part):

Houston, Texas — the country’s fourth most populous city — is in peril.

Houston has always been vulnerable to killer hurricanes: From the great storm of 1900, the deadliest in U.S. history, which killed 8,000 people, to Hurricane Ike in 2008, which caused more than $10 billion in damage, and forced the city center to shut down for nearly a week.

And it’s not only hurricanes. Searing heat and humidity also oppress this great city. On nearly 100 days each year, the temperature climbs above 90 degrees, which in muggy Houston feels even hotter.

Air conditioning provides relief, but at a cost. Houstonians’ soaring electricity use has nudged the city ahead of Los Angeles in the race to become the country’s number-one producer of greenhouse gases — a dubious distinction. And the problem is only getting worse.

Forced to spend a fortune in a losing battle against nature, and with energy costs spiking unpredictably, Houston finds itself square in the path of an environmental juggernaut, which threatens to make the city unlivable.

That’s why some think that the only way to save Houston is to move it indoors.

Diagram of Houston Dome: Engineering, Discovery Channel

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Comments
06/09/09 8:20pm

Comment of the Day: Floating That Houston Dome Idea

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Downtown, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
2 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: FLOATING THAT HOUSTON DOME IDEA “This TeeVee show and Gus both imagine the enclosure extending all the way to the ground, in which case it has to withstand surges or deflect bayous or whatever, but Fuller did not: by WWII it had been discovered that a dome that was very open around the base, and vented at the crown, would actually set up a standing current that sucked cooling air into the top and expelled hot air at the bottom (counterintuitively). I believe this was used to turn Midwestern grain bins into instant comfortable barracks for GIs serving in Asian desert theaters of operation. As for whether it could work “around” here, my own scale model tests have been inconclusive, but I know that after the war Fuller set up something like a 30′ radius dome in Kenya and the visitors complained it was too cold – though probably not to the point of condensing the humidity and dribbling it on you.” [Neil, commenting on We’re All Astrodome Now: The Mile-Wide Dome Over Houston]

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Construction Materials
06/09/09 11:55am

We’re All Astrodome Now: The Mile-Wide Dome Over Houston

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Downtown, Proposed Developments
28 Comments

Okay, Discovery TV engineers, we’re all on board with your idea of building a ginormous, 1-mile-diameter, 1500-foot high dome over Houston. Dibs on the thermostat!

Too bad, though: It looks like all that lightweight geodesic Buckminster Fullery goodness only gets you coverage over . . . Downtown. Isn’t that all air-conditioned already?

We’re especially looking forward to the next episode of Mega Engineering, where you describe that giant ring-moat bayou drainage bypass carved through swathes of Midtown and the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Wards they’ve gotta be planning to go with this.

So . . . how’s the Houston Dome supposed to work?

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Commercial Real Estate
06/04/09 10:34am

Rumbling Behind the Village Fence: A Sonoma Defeat Garden?

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Gardening, Proposed Developments, Rice Village
3 Comments

What’s all that heavy equipment doing on the former Sonoma battleground in the Rice Village? Is the project back from the dead?

No. The West University Examiner‘s Michael Reed reports that the fenced-in site of the sacrificed commercial building along Bolsover between Kelvin and Morningside is being used as a staging area for the portion of the Kirby Dr. reconstruction project that stretches between Quenby and Bissonnet. And:

Public Works Department spokesman Alvin Wright said the agreement to use the land was entered into by the Kirby project contractor and Lamesa [Properties], not the city of Houston.

What about those other big ideas for using the liberated land?

Additionally, the Examiner has learned negotiations between the property owner and a residential civic group are under way to make another portion of the property a community garden.

Photo of former Sonoma site from Dunstan Rd.: West University Examiner

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Apartments
06/03/09 2:45pm

Comment of the Day: How Close Are Those New Apartment Complexes?

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Comments, Forecasts, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
4 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW CLOSE ARE THOSE NEW APARTMENT COMPLEXES? “I wonder how much the apartment supply in the south areas (below the medical center and rice u) affect the apartment supply along Buffalo Bayou, Midtown, Montrose, and Upper Kirby? From the site development group at my office, they are telling me that the apartment market will heat up if the housing slump holds or gets worse. Right now developers are scouring for new sites for apartment complexes if they haven’t already.” [kjb434, commenting on Comment of the Day: Inner Loop Rents, Hard and High]

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Fort Bend County
06/01/09 12:03pm

The Pleasure Mounds of Shadow Creek Ranch: More Landscaping Fun at the Blue Ridge Landfill

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Fresno, Pearland, Proposed Developments, Shadow Creek Ranch, Toxic Sites
2 Comments

You saw the video. Now comes the detail: OffCite has more on recent Rice University architecture grad Lysle Oliveros’s proposal for turning that putrid pile of garbage next door to Shadow Creek Ranch into an exciting outdoor playplace! The fun comes in 3 phases.

In phase 1, trash haulers would start a new pile with each year’s take, completing a mound every 12 months:

Each monument compared to the next would create an awareness of the massive amount of disposed consumer goods. For example, the 2008 “index” created by Hurricane Ike debris would have been 400 feet tall.

Too bad about the City of Pearland’s recent agreement with Republic Services limiting those piles to a mere 130 ft. Oh, well — just wait until 2029!

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Apartments
05/29/09 6:03pm

The Menil Looks at Richmond

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Art, Menil, Proposed Developments
3 Comments

Director Josef Helfenstein tells Cite magazine’s Raj Mankad that the new campus plan architect David Chipperfield is developing for the Menil Collection won’t necessarily involve the demolition of the Richmont Square apartment complex at 1400 Richmond.

The blocks along Richmond could become more dense than the other parts of the campus and serve as a buffer. The Dan Flavin installation – it was the last big piece done while Dominique was still here and Flavin’s last commission before he died – could become a gateway to the North. I actually think, if we do things right, Richmond Hall could help us to eventually integrate commercial development that has high standards with the artistic program we have in mind.

Photo of Richmond Hall and Richmont Square: Raj Mankad

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Near Northside
05/22/09 10:44am

Main St. Intermodal Transit Center Kiss-Off

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Proposed Developments, Transportation
7 Comments

That North Main St. Intermodal Terminal planned for just north of the UH-Downtown business school has been renamed a little more humbly as Burnett Plaza, according to a note on the Metro website. And . . . it’s going to be just a little simpler than the fancy rendering shown above.

Rail watcher Christof Spieler points to a few key sentences that describe the downgrade:

The initial phase will include a half-circle on the east side of Burnett Station. There will be vertical circulation down to a 4-bay transit center with access to a “kiss and ride.”

METRO intends to construct the facility in phases, commensurate with funding and environmental clearances. Phase I transportation services will include METRORail, and local bus service, along with shuttle vans and taxis.

Spieler translates:

What this means is Phase 1 is an elevated light rail station with an elevated half-circle plaza with stairs down to a small parking lot with 4 bus bays.

Rendering: Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects

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Comments
05/20/09 3:50pm

Comment of the Day: 903 and 909 W. Main

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First Montrose Commons, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Townhomes
No Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: 903 AND 909 W. MAIN “. . . First Montrose Commons is not ‘ok’ with the plans to replace the homes with townhouses. But the fact remains that the homes were bought by a developer for the express purpose of building townhouses, and so townhouses will be built there no matter how much FMC kicks and screams. The only thing FMC acquiesced to was a variance request. The only effects of that variance will be to save a tree on the property and to preserve what little street parking we have around that corner. Townhouses would be built whether the variance passed or not. Furthermore, the two homes at issue would be outside the boundaries of the proposed historic district because there are too many non-historic, non-contributing properties on that side of the neighborhood to qualify for protection.” [Jason Ginsburg, commenting on Comment of the Day: On the Corner of West Main and Roseland]

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Near Northside
05/19/09 5:19pm

On the Shelf: That Grand North Main Intermodal Center

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Proposed Developments, Transportation
13 Comments

What’s the status of those plans for a big Intermodal Transit Center at North Main and Burnett just north of I-10 Downtown, meant to link commuter rail and bus lines to the coming northern reaches of Metro’s existing rail line?

L.A.’s Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects are now showing off this rendering of the terminal at the company’s website, along with the kind of encomium that usually accompanies abandoned or massively scaled-back projects. Rail-watcher Christof Spieler reported back in March that the terminal project on the North Line had been “shelved (for now, at least)”; plans to extend the new East End Line to that station were abandoned last year.

Rendering: Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects

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Comments
05/19/09 3:29pm

Comment of the Day: On the Corner of West Main and Roseland

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Demolitions, First Montrose Commons, Historic Preservation, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Townhomes
15 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: ON THE CORNER OF WEST MAIN AND ROSELAND “903 W. Main is a lovely Prairie style home in First Montrose Commons. The owner of it and the neighboring home 909 W. Main, an even grander Craftsman, will demolish both homes for replacement with eight townhouses (likely four story, given the density). But he’s saving the trees, so apparently the civic association is ok with the plans! First Montrose Commons is currently working on an application to become a city historic district. And these two homes contribute to that historic fabric.” [no history remains, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Rambam]

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Bayous and Waterways
05/19/09 10:20am

More Ponds, Hugging Bayous

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Flooding, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
3 Comments

MORE PONDS, HUGGING BAYOUS Houston will spend $30 million in the upcoming fiscal year on detention ponds like those built under Project Brays. “About $20 million in federal Hurricane Ike relief money and $10 million in city capital improvements funding will be used to buy land and design and build basins that can hold hundreds of acre feet of water when the bayous become full, [Mayor] White said. City officials are evaluating sites along the Hunting, Greens, White Oak, and Halls bayous for new detention basins, said Andy Icken, deputy director of the Public Works and Engineering Department.” [Houston Chronicle]

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Condos
05/15/09 4:52pm

Grave Discovery: The Secret Chicken Rituals Going on Next to Regent Square

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Critters, North Montrose, Proposed Developments
5 Comments

Okay, whichever of you folks has been doing that weird secret ceremony thing with the chicken and the bone and all down at the cemetery at West Dallas and Gross St.? Well, the gig is up! Swamplot is on to you! Or . . . at least a couple of camera-wielding readers are:

College Park Memorial Cemetery on W. Dallas (where Jack Yates among others is buried) is getting cleaned up and cleaned out, the better to walk the dog through. Interestingly enough, it may be getting used for other purposes as well. We have seen two dead chickens – having never seen any live ones there, and just yesterday, after discovering the second chicken, we also found a tableau of objects at the base of a hollow tree – a large, LARGE bone (about 15 in long), conch and scallop shell, nicely arranged, and a dead bird, stretched out to show his skeleton.

Hmmm . . . could this have anything to do with that 28-story Regent Square condo tower that’s slated to go up next door?

Parade of shocking, non-vegetarian-friendly photographic evidence follows:

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