True, but one thing i really dont like about going to Minute Maid is that they always have the freaken roof closed. I want to look out and see the skyline. I know they do it because its hot and humid, and sticky, but i thought that was all part of the experience. Other then that, its fine...
One other question, can someone give me a quick breakdown of how many towers over 350 or 400 feet are under construction (not proposed or approved) in downtown Houston right now?
I know that Houston has highrise districts all over the place so when I see the list of buildings uc I don't know which ones are actually in the CBD?
And why didn't condos go in near Minute Maid? Is there not a lot of demand for highrise residential in DT Houston?
The only tower of that size under construction right now in downtown Houston is One Park Place.
One Park Place is 501 feet tall and 37 floors. It's an apartment tower with ground floor retail being built on the East side of downtown overlooking the new park.
Most of the "new" residential living in downtown proper is in converted loft space. For sale buildings include Commere Towers, Capital Lofts, Franklin Lofts, St Germaine, Hermann Lofts, Byrd Lofts, Bayou Lofts, Kirby Lofts, 2016 Main, Four Seaons Condos (top 5 floors of the hotel), Keystone Lofts, Nabisco Lofts, etc... Rental buildings include Hogg Palace, Post Rice Lofts, Humble Tower Apartments, Club Quarter Apts, Houston House, etc...
That said, most of the residential in the "downtown area" has been on the fringes across the Pierce Elevated (to the South of downtown in Midtown) and across US 59 to the East (old Chinatown/East Side). Thousands of condos (mostly 3-4 level townhomes) and apartments (mostly 3-6 story midrises) have gone up over the last 5 to 10 years.
Here's a rendering for Simmons Vedder's apartment community at Old Spanish Trail @ Kirby near the TMC. This mixed-use project will replace big box stores and surface parking with ground level retail, 3 floors of apartments, and a garage.
Was around town again yesterday before the big chill
I was told they raised this crane on the site of One Park Place a few hours after I took these pics.
And a couple back toward the building itself
Also, a few other projects around town... Mosaic I looks to be finished from the outside. The fence has been taken back from the sidewalk along the retail area and base which front Almeda Road. Much of the work seems to be interior now, and a number of the doors are slid open to the balconies during work days. Looks neat.
Mosaic II has begun more recently just next door...
2727 Kirby is under construction, surprisingly enough
As is the first part of West Ave, just across the street
State of Texas set to Restore 3 miles of Galveston Beach.. Biggest Project like this in Texas History...
Quote:
GALVESTON — Cars may once again be able to drive off the end of the seawall and onto 200-foot wide beaches once a $13.5 million beach restoration project to be announced today is completed.
The plan to widen three miles of eroded beaches west of the seawall with more than 1 million cubic feet of sand is the largest ever undertaken by Texas General Land Office, spokesman Jim Suydam said Monday.
A similar $5.75 million project will restore erosion-ravaged beaches in nearby Surfside, Brazoria County, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson will announce here today during a three-day meeting of the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association.
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Nice pics Wattleigh. Not pictured in here, but I like how HP opens up on the sidewalk with the curve. I cannot wait to see how the project will change the streetscape along Dallas and Polk.
Cool shot of this crane. For anyone wondering how cranes are raised, that red structure around the shaft of the crane is the jack. If you look closely you can see one of the hydraulic pistons that raises it. That structure can move up and down the shaft. When they want to raise the crane, this jack crawls up the shaft to the top of the crane. It lifts up the top of the crane, including the boom (part that swings around). The jack also includes a tray that slides out. New sections of shaft are hoisted onto the tray by using the crane's hook. The new section is bolted into place and the jack raises up another level. They keep doing that until they get the height they need.
Yeah, you don't really get an appreciation of the beauty and sleekness of the entire project until you see it develop in person. It really is coming along. The best views of it, IMO, is from the east in Riverside Terrace and looking west towards the TMC skyline.
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