Tag: Public Buildings

06/25/13 10:00am

BeyoncÃ©’s Dad Couldn’t Find the Scratch To Make Astrodome Splash

Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Reliant Park, Stadiums

3 Comments

BEYONCÃ©’S DAD COULDN’T FIND THE SCRATCH TO MAKE ASTRODOME SPLASH One of those 19 bids that the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation never really asked for and passed over anyway forÂ its own proposing that the Astrodome be converted into a slimmer, shallower, convention center was submitted, reports the Houston Chronicleâ€™s Kiah Collier, by BeyoncÃ©Â Knowles’s father. Well, maybe “submitted” is too strong a word: Apparently, Mathew Knowles emailed HCSCC honcho Willie Loston with a promise to email againÂ later with an idea for a Splashtown-like concept for the Dome. But there was never any “financial backing,” reports Collier. (You can almost hear â€™em singing: If you liked it, you shoulda tried to pay for it.) Today, the HCSCC will be recommending itsÂ $194 million idea toÂ the commissioners court. And where’s that money supposed to come from?Â Here’s Collier: “Loston said he suspects the court will refer the plan to the county budget or infrastructure office ‘for further study.’ The budget office has said it will look for ways to generate revenue so the county wonâ€™t have to ask taxpayers to foot the entire bill.” [Houston Politics; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: HCSCC

77054, Astrodome, Beyonce Knowles, Harris County Government, Houston Landmarks, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

06/20/13 10:00am

Neat Trick from Sports and Convention Corp. Cuts Astrodome, Everyone Else’s Ideas Down To Size

Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park, Renovations

47 Comments

Correction: An earlier version of this story repeated an assertion included in a Houston Business Journal blog post by Shaina Zucker — that the Sports Corporation’s proposal for the Astrodome included a plan to lower the building’s roof. That reporting is in error; we’ve now corrected the information in the story below. Although the Sports Corporation is not proposing to lower the roof, it is proposing to raise the structure’s floor to ground level, which would result in a smaller interior for the Dome. Swamplot regrets the error.

The clearest sign so far that the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation wasn’t really into the half-hearted call for bids to redevelop the Astrodome it sorta-but-not-really issued a couple months ago? At yesterday’s press conference where it — surprise! — announced its own plan to reinvent Houston’s most recognizable landmark, officials didn’t even bother to describe any of the 19 submissions it had received. None of them, declared executive director Willie Loston, actually came with private money attached. (At least not in the inside pockets of their presentation binders.)

The Corporation’s own new idea of turningÂ the dilapidated former sports stadium into additional convention space doesn’t have any private funds attached to it either, but the estimated $194 million plan does already appear to have gained the enthusiastic support of County Judge Emmett — which isn’t so surprising, since he proposed a similar idea a mere 4 years ago. Rodeo chief Leroy Shafer tells the Chronicleâ€™s Kiah Collier that he considers the latest plan to be a scaled-back version of a proposal the Corporation — with the Rodeo’s backing — promoted last year, after a half-million-dollar study led by some Dallas consultants.

Turning the Dome into a space for swim meets, graduations, and overflow events of the Offshore Technology Conference may not be the bold transformation many Houstonians had imagined for the city’s monument to innovation and reinvention, but the plan’s true proponents are hoping the ominous “this is your last chance or we’ll demolish it” framing — along with the lower price tag — will be enough to garner support from the Commissioners Court and the voters who’ll likely have to approve any bond issue.

77054, Astrodome, Houston Landmarks, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park, Renovations

06/13/13 11:15am

Hatching Baby Businesses at the Astrodome

Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Reliant Park, Stadiums

5 Comments

HATCHING BABY BUSINESSES AT THE ASTRODOME One of those 19 private bids that the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation didn’t quite get around to asking for and yet still received just in time for Monday’s deadline comes from entrepreneur Tim Trae Tindall, who suggests that the Astrodome might be the perfect environment to trap heat — so to speak — as a business incubator: Click2Houston’s Gianna Caserta reports that Tindall’s bid for this “one-stop shop location” would provide “consultants, restaurants, investors, IT support, and office space. There would even be an extended-stay area for visitors to have accommodations while scoping out the Houston business climate.” (Having investors there on the spot? Now that beats cold calling.) Tindall, who says he’s trying to raise the money to fund the project, seems to think that a fledgling business would be drawn almost naturally to the decaying Dome: “What we intend to do is seize upon the notoriety of Houston’s greatest landmark.” [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

77054, Astrodome, Harris County Government, Houston Landmarks, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Redevelopment

05/28/13 10:00am

‘C’mon. Knock It Down. I Dare You’

Public Buildings, Quicklink, Reliant Park

48 Comments

‘C’MON. KNOCK IT DOWN. I DARE YOU’ Writing in the New York Times, sportswriter JerÃ© Longman tries to raise Houston’s burgeoning “are we really gonna demolish it?” moment to a level of national concern: “. . . it was despairing to hear that the vacant Astrodome might be torn down and its site paved over as Houston prepares to host the 2017 Super Bowl. Demolition would be a failure of civic imagination, a betrayal of Houstonâ€™s greatness as a city of swaggering ambition, of dreamers who dispensed with zoning laws and any restraint on possibility.” [New York Times; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

77054, Astrodome, Demolitions, Houston Landmarks, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Real Estate Marketing

05/14/13 1:45pm

Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Bogarting the Astrodome

Public Buildings, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Reliant Park

7 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: BOGARTING THE ASTRODOME “The only roadblock to redevelopment of the Dome, as I see it, are two self-interested organizations that are afforded an unwarranted and undeserved say in the matter.” [TheNiche, commenting on Headlines: Itemizing Astrodome Tax Expenses; El Tiempo Cantina Heading South]

77054, Astrodome, Comments, Houston-Texans, Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park, Rodeo

05/02/13 1:00pm

Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Looking for a Multi-Dome

Public Buildings, Quicklink, Reliant Park

9 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: LOOKING FOR A MULTI-DOME “I also remember how impressive it was to see the bare-steel framework during construction. So, the ‘strip it down to structural elements’ idea does resonate with me. In any case, most of the non-demolition proposals Iâ€™ve read about are for a single use facility of one kind or another. In contrast, I think our best hope for success is to remake it into a facility that serves different aspects of the public that have different interests. The domeâ€™s footprint is big enough to accommodate a variety of multiple uses. Iâ€™ve tossed about ideas for some possibilities for different parts: hotel, golf driving range and/or putting greens, artificial ponds for fishing, tropical gardens (this might require the roof + AC), additional meeting-room and display space for conventions. These are just some thoughts, all of which have worked elsewhere, but may or may not work here. My main point is that we should be considering multiple uses, not just one that could sink the entire projectâ€™s success.” [Guido, commenting on Astrodome Stripped Bare by the Architects, Even]

77054, Astrodome, Comments, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park

04/24/13 2:00pm

Comment of the Day: How To Kill Redevelopment Proposals for the Astrodome — Without Even Trying

Financing, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Reliant Park

14 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TO KILL REDEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS FOR THE ASTRODOME — WITHOUT EVEN TRYING “So, a private group (Astros) comes to the County and gets tons of public funding to build the Astrodome. But, now, if a private group has a great idea to repurpose the Astrodome, they cannot suggest that it be paid for with any public funds or let the tax payers consider their ideas for use with public funds. Only the great wise elders of the County Commissioners who have sat on their hands for over a decade on this issue can propose a solution for the Astrodome that involves the use of public funds. The ballot measure had better have a ‘none of the above’ option.” [Old School, commenting on Headlines: League Cityâ€™s Red-Light Cameras Go Dark; â€˜Guerrilla Gardenersâ€™ Bombard Midtown with Wildflowers; previously on Swamplot]

77054, Astrodome, Comments, Financing, Harris County Government, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

04/18/13 2:50pm

Astrodome Stewards Announce Deadline for Redevelopment Proposals — Without Requesting Any

Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park

16 Comments

The Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation this week approved a June 10th deadline for all private proposals to redevelop the Astrodome. That’s a notable event not only because of the somewhat hurried timeframe, but also because the organization appears to have left out a possibly minor step: Formally requesting private proposals to redevelop the Astrodome in the first place.

If that sounds a little odd to you, rest assured this sort of oversight is entirely within character for theÂ 13-year-old quasi-governmental body, whose major achievement has been to shepherd Houston’s most famous building on a steady path from viable sports, entertainment, and celebrity ball-shagging venue to decaying, moldy relic.Â Hasn’t the corporation been soliciting plans all this time?

77054, Astrodome, Harris County Government, Houston Landmarks, Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park

Highrises

04/01/13 5:00pm

New Houston Saudi Consulate Should Be Even Better Than This

Institutional Buildings, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings

22 Comments

Kirksey submitted the rendering above in a 4-firm competition to design a general office with some temporary housing for the Saudi Consulate, now occupying a suite in the 22-story Westheimer highrise shown here, which dates to 1982 and sits across the street from an IHOP. But Kirksey lost that competition — to Studio RED.

77057, Design Competitions, Government Agencies, Institutional Buildings, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings

Demolitions

03/20/13 10:00am

Judge Emmett Not Impressed by Texans, Rodeo Plan To Demolish the Astrodome

Quicklink, Reliant Park, Stadiums

41 Comments

JUDGE EMMETT NOT IMPRESSED BY TEXANS, RODEO PLAN TO DEMOLISH THE ASTRODOME A study paid for by the Houston Texans and the Livestock Show and Rodeo has determined that tearing down the Astrodome will cost a hair more than $29 million, reports Fox 26, but Harris County judge Ed Emmett doesn’t seem all that moved by the study’s finding: “Unless there’s something there I didn’t see when it came across my desk, all I saw were two or three options for how to demolish it and turn it into a parking lot. I know that’s their position. I’m not denigrating it, but that doesn’t really move the ball anywhere.” And what’s Emmett going to do with the study? “Read it and put it on a shelf. . . . It’s not meaningful at all.” [Fox 26; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Candace Garcia

77054, Astrodome, Demolitions, Houston-Texans, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Reliant Park, Rodeo

Public Buildings

03/18/13 11:30am

Team from Rice University Developing Network of Sustainable Libraries

Technology

4 Comments

Andrew Carnegie tried — and now, following hisÂ lead, a team with ties toÂ Rice University wants to change the world with libraries, too.Â If it can raise $50,000 via a Kickstarter campaign, the team, whose 5 members are linked to Rice School of Architecture and Rice Design Alliance, will be able to take its talents to Ghana and build a prototype of this open-source,Â open-air digital agora it’s callingÂ Librii.

And what, exactly, would it be?

Libraries, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Rice-University, Sustainable Development & Green Design

Public Art

01/31/13 3:15pm

It’s Not Like We’re Doing Anything Else with The Astrodome

Quicklink

5 Comments

IT’S NOT LIKE WE’RE DOING ANYTHING ELSE WITH THE ASTRODOME One ofÂ Houstonia magazine’s writers, John Nova Lomax, says that Houston, not Austin, ought to be the state capital; “Austin lacks gravitas,” he writes in a Texas Monthly essay this week, laying out his case and making a modest proposal to deal with one of each city’s landmark eyesores: “Slap a statue of Willie Nelson in the Goddess of Libertyâ€™s place atop the granite dome and repurpose it as the Texas Pantheon. Fill it with statues, plaques, and exhibits dedicated to all those exalted icons who were truly Texas cool, and presto: a world-class tourist attraction,” he writes: “As for Houston, well, letâ€™s not forget that it has long been home to a certain Eighth Wonder of the World, now just sitting there running to ruin. The Astrodomeâ€™s merits as a seat of government are limitless. It has rail service and ample parking and seating. It has skyboxes in which lobbyists, high above the scrum, could go about their deals. The old ‘exploding’ scoreboard could be reactivated, and we could make state politics a spectator sport. . . . Whenever a legislator started getting a little too grandiose up on the dais, an appointed sinecure (Nolan Ryan?) could power up that bawling, smoking-nosed bull that once thrilled baseball fans. C-SPAN ratings would be off the charts.” [Texas Monthly; previously on Swamplot] Photo:Â Russell Hancock

Astrodome, Public Buildings, Quicklink

11/02/12 4:56pm

Comment of the Day: Power Wash the Dome!

Maintenance, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing, Reliant Park

9 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: POWER WASH THE DOME! “It has been about three years since I was V.P. of the company trying to convince Harris County to let us use the Astrodome as a movie production studio. at that time, my research into costs of sprucing up the buildingâ€™s exterior revealed that plain old pressure washing could make a huge difference in the outside appearance. The company I consulted, specialists at cleaning large scale commercial buildings â€“ like international airports â€“ said it could be done for $500,000 or under. While that is a lot of money to most of us, it is not much compared to the negative P.R. ‘black eye’ that our dirty and forlorn-looking icon gives Houston. If only the Harris County Commissioners, the true stewards of the Dome, would clean up the exterior and do some landscape refreshing perhaps the grand old building would not appear so neglected to the rest of the world. While the interior still has grand promise, if only temporarily as a storage facility, the county should invest in putting the Astrodomeâ€™s best ‘face’ forward until its future use is determined. Hardly a day goes by that I donâ€™t read about the Dome in the national media and blogs and it usually includes a negative nod to its appearance. This is something that CAN be done without a referendum!” [Cynthia Neely, commenting on The Astrodomeâ€™s New Gig: AstroTurf Storage Warehouse]

77054, Astrodome, Comments, Maintenance, Public Buildings, Real Estate Marketing

Reliant Park

10/30/12 3:45pm

The Astrodome’s New Gig: AstroTurf Storage Warehouse

6 Comments

The Astrodome at last has a new purpose, the managers of Reliant Park have announced. The 47-year-old flexible sports stadium will serve as a storage facility for neighboring Reliant Stadium’s new $1.2 million new-generation AstroTurf when it’s not being used on the Houston Texans’ home field. Reliant Stadium’s actual-grass-on-trays field will now be reserved for professional football; the artificial surface will be rolled out there for high-school and college football games and other events.