HOUSTON | Development Thread II

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

there's about to be huge blocks of space available in One Allen Center as Hess moves in to their new joint on the other end of DT.

I know of one company whose IT dept is packed in to their signature building like sardines, and would LOVE to have more space... perhaps the Hines dudes should go a callin'

[Shasta]

Word on the street is the Hines building is a go but someone leaked before they were ready to announce. I've been hearing a late 2012 groundbreaking with an early 2014 opening date set. It's the worst kept secret in town.

Also, while everyone is lamenting the potential loss of some jobs at Continental and Devon, people aren't mentioning that the Houston job market performed WAY better than predicted last year. Additionally, the big oil/energy companies are starting to hire. With the Gulf opening back up to drilling and the price of oil remaining around $100 a barrel, things should really start to pick up here in town.

And, I hate to rain on the Dallasite's parade, but our three brand new towers are starting off pretty damn well. The Hess Tower is 100% leased out. The building in the Pavilions is also 100% leased out to NRG (Reliant Energy). And, while the Hines tower isn't 100% leased, they did land two stellar tenants in KPMG (top floors) and BG Group (naming rights).

The time is right to start something now to take advantage of the future. The class A market in downtown is way too tight right now for someone to not make a play.

Lastly, word in Pine Shadows, where the head of Continental lives, is that the wife is flat out refusing to move to Chicago. Their house, which is just down the street from my parents' place is fully occupied and there's been no attempt to sell... Just sayin'

[JoninATX]

Thats great news.. but any word of 5 Allen starting soon?

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Brookfield wants a major tenant in 5 Allen Center before starting construction. It's still in their proposals list on their website

[Trae]

Originally Posted by skys the limit

Not mentioned in CultureMap's article is that Continental Airlines is in the process of shrinking its downtown footprint as well. Hopefully the job losses will be kept to a minimum but of the 3,000 Continental employees in downtown Houston there has been an announcement already that 500 are being eliminated. That also means office space will not be needed by Continental either.

Last Friday the former CEO of Continental wouldn't talk to the Houston press to answer questions about the next steps with the merger and its direct impact on Houston - he just slipped out of the building to avoid press entirely. I'm not sure what that says but if it were super positive it would seem he would have hung around to spread the good news.


United Continental CEO gets camera shy at CERA week:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/b...cera-week.html

----------------------------------------

CultureMap appears to have jumped the gun on their announcement two days ago for the new Hines tower. Here is the article from today's Houston Business Journal that basically does a 180 degree turn around from what CultureMap was trying to do:


New skyscraper for downtown? Not just yet

Houston Business Journal - by Jennifer Dawson
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2011, 3:03pm CDT - Last Modified: Thursday,
March 17, 2011, 3:15pm CDT.

Some real estate watchers may have been surprised to see a report this week that Hines was planning a new downtown skyscraper — and that it could happen soon.

I certainly was.

It seemed odd that Hines would plan a new tower two blocks away from BG Group Place, which recently celebrated its grand opening at 811 Main and is still lining up tenants.

So I checked in with the developer to get an update.

The subject of speculation is a surface parking lot on nearly a full city block Hines has owned for years. The site bounded by Main, Texas, Fannin and Capitol has long been considered a future development site for the Houston-based developer. The 21-story Texas Tower at 608 Fannin sits on part of the block.

Mark Cover, executive vice president with Hines, said via e-mail that an office tower is envisioned for the site, but development is not imminent.

An unnamed architecture firm has completed a schematic design for an office building to be used for marketing purposes. Creating a design is commonplace when a new building is being shopped to potential tenants, Cover said.

Cover would not share the design with the Houston Business Journal.

The Hines executive also would not say how many potential tenants have been approached, but said the firm is talking to energy, law and service firms.

The ultimate size of the building could vary since “it requires substantial pre-leasing,” Cover said in e-mail.

There’s a possibility that construction could begin later this year, but not without a large tenant, he said.

Still, it would take two years to construct a new tower, so it would not be in competition with the 46-story BG Group Place.

“We will not compete with ourselves, but there is strong interest for the remaining space at BG Group Place,” .....

Full article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/b...-just-yet.html

Originally Posted by WesternSon

Gotta love Houston's economy, still kickin'.

Besides Shell and Devon leaving downtown. Won't we see Exxon move out in the next 3 years or so with to their Woodlands Compound? Or is that not confirmed?

Downtown has so much potential that's just about to be realized I think. Critical mass is close I think and after that, you will see it really fill up with residents and a more urban feel.

BG Group Place is a company that is moving into Downtown. Also, I don't believe Exxon is vacating Downtown. In the articles I've read (and HAIF rumors), they have said the Downtown jobs are staying. Other Exxon employees scattered in random places in the metro area will consolidate in Spring.

[JoninATX]

Rice U Ready To Build Giant Ceremonial Mound in Center of Campus

Friday, March 25, 2011

A multimillion-dollar gift from eclipse chaser and Rice University trustee Suzanne Deal Booth will be used to build a monumental sod-covered pyramid that will serve as the focus of the campus’s long central axis. Construction is scheduled to start early next month on the $6 million mound, which will contain a room inside with bench seating, as well as a second level above. At the top of the flat-topped pyramid, a 72-ft.-square pavilion with a square hole cut into the top will frame views of the sky.

http://swamplot.com/rice-u-ready-to-...us/2011-03-25/

[JoninATX]

HanOver at Rice Village

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

In 2007, Houston’s city council sold a block of Bolsover St. in the Rice Village to the developers of Randall Davis’s Sonoma project so that it could be used as a private drive and restaurant plaza linking two phases of the development. Davis and Lamesa Properties did manage to demolish the neighboring buildings, but Sonoma was never built. Now, the Hanover Company is saying it’s ready to build portions of a 6-story mixed-use building directly on top of part of that street. Plans for the new project, called Hanover at Rice Village, show a large plaza with restaurant seating on the eastern portion of what used to be Bolsover, facing Morningside. But the west half of the block is slated for retail space, apartments, and a private courtyard for residents:

http://swamplot.com/hanover-at-rice-...er/2011-03-29/

[JoninATX]

Parc Binz One



http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite...x?LID=17069399

Found this project off the Houston Architecture Info Forum and got the link from loopnet, and I credit Channeltwonews who had this posted on there. It looks like a interesting project it said it will have ground floor retail I guess we'll wait and see.

[JoninATX]

Vita Nuota Houston "Studewood Place"

This project will be a 6 or 8 story mixed use project on Studewood at 10th ½ St. in the Heights.

Here a link to a construction picture as you can tell they already dug a big hole in the ground.
http://www.richmartinhomes.com/houst...tudewood-place

Anoter link to the projects website
http://vitanuovallc.com/index.html#

[JoninATX]

Disney to start sailing out of Galveston in 2012

By JENALIA MORENO
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
April 4, 2011, 6:41PM

More cruise magic is coming to Galveston.

Disney Cruise Line will announce Wednesday morning that the Disney Magic will sail 12 seven-night cruises from the Port of Galveston to the Western Caribbean beginning Sept. 22, 2012. Ports of call include Grand Cayman and Mexico's Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Rates for the seven-night Western Caribbean cruise itinerary departing from Galveston will start at $840 per person for a standard inside stateroom, based on double occupancy, according to a Disney news release. One travel agent said not to expect sales for passage aboard the ship that sleeps up to 2,700 passengers.

"Mickey does not go on sale. That cheese is way too expensive," said Steve Cosgrove, owner of Dallas area Dynamic Travel.

Disney's Magic will join the Carnival Cruise Lines' ship called Carnival Magic, which begins sailing from Galveston on Nov. 14. Carnival's Triumph will also begin sailing out of Galveston on Oct. 6. Carnival's Ecstasy and Conquest now sail out of Galveston but will be repositioned to New Orleans.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...e/7506462.html

I see the "magic" in Galveston growing with this and Landry's Theme Park.

[TexasBoi]

Originally Posted by JoninATX

Vita Nuota Houston "Studewood Place"

This project will be a 6 or 8 story mixed use project on Studewood at 10th ½ St. in the Heights.

Here a link to a construction picture as you can tell they already dug a big hole in the ground.
http://www.richmartinhomes.com/houst...tudewood-place

Anoter link to the projects website
http://vitanuovallc.com/index.html#

Are there any renderings for this? Can't find it anywhere.

[JoninATX]

I tried, no luck of finding any renderings. On there website I think it says renderings will be posted soon or something like that.

[Complex01]

Hey check this link out

http://blogs.chron.com/believeitorno...easter_fl.html

Discovery Green has done such a great job for downtown. I thought the flash mob was kewl. Now if only there was 2000 club kids dancing to a trance song. Hmm something by Amrin Van Buuren or Paul Van Dyk.

Now that would be kewl...

[mfastx]

Originally Posted by Complex01

Now if only there was 2000 club kids dancing to a trance song. Hmm something by Amrin Van Buuren or Paul Van Dyk.

Now that would be kewl...

YES!!

Trance is awesome.

[photoLith]

Hopefully Disney sailing out of Galveston will help out its redevelopment.

[JoninATX]

Yesterday I was in downtown Houston and was amazed of how massive it is, btw this was my first vist to downtown Houston since 1999. Went by Discovery Green as well as One Park Place & Hess Tower I can say traveling from Downtown and looking over at One Park Place I thought I was in Chicago the way it looked. BTW nobody can deny that there is no life in downtown Houston as I saw the whole place was full of people walking, running, taking pitures, ect... thanks Houston will be seeing u again.

[araman0]

Going back through the previous 10 or so pages of developement it's impressive to see all the projects going on throughout the city. The new projects make fantastic use of landscaping elements and water fountains/pools. All this is welcome change from a city that has historically ignored streetscaping and the human experience in their surroundings.

[AusHou]

Originally Posted by araman0

Going back through the previous 10 or so pages of developement it's impressive to see all the projects going on throughout the city. The new projects make fantastic use of landscaping elements and water fountains/pools. All this is welcome change from a city that has historically ignored streetscaping and the human experience in their surroundings.

Streetscaping certainly has more momentum recently and is found in many more districts than it was. I wish more people would notice and give Houston credit in that arena. Landscaped medians in certain districts have been impressive for many years, but every time I drive around Houston, I see more. I don't know where the money comes from unless a lot of it is donated by companies.

[JoninATX]

BBVA to consolidate offices in new building on Post Oak

BBVA Compass will build a 380,000-square-foot corporate office building at 2200 Post Oak Blvd.

With this building, the bank will centralize operations currently operating out of four offices in the Houston area. BBVA Compass' local executives and staff will occupy approximately 150,000 square feet of the building. The company has several real estate operations in the area because in the last few years, Spanish financial firm BBVA has acquired four US banks -- Compass Bank, State National Bank, Texas State Bank and LNB, formerly Laredo National Bank.

In addition to the corporate office building, BBVA Compass will also relocate its Op and Tech center located on Port West Drive just west of downtown Houston to a new facility being renovated.

BBVA Compass is also scouting for locations in Birmingham and Dallas to combine its operations in those areas.

"Combining our corporate offices into centralized locations in key markets such as Houston, Dallas and Birmingham is a natural evolution in the integration of our U.S. banking franchise," said Manolo Sánchez, BBVA U.S. Country Manager and President and CEO of BBVA Compass. "In addition to the eco-friendly design and state-of-the-art technology of the new building, bringing together our employees into a single location will foster a more open communication channel and sharing of ideas amongst our team."

Houston-based Redstone Real Estate is the developer of the project. Manhattan Construction has been brought on to manage the overall build. BBVA Compass expects to begin occupancy of the building by the end of the first quarter of 2013. The official ground breaking for the space is scheduled to take place in May.

http://blogs.chron.com/primeproperty...Prime+Property)

Can't wait for it to breakground next month.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Disney sailing out of Galveston will only help parking lot owners and those three guys who have service stations on Harborside at I-45... The GPD directs cars west onto Harborside, straight out of town.