Jump to content

Houston19514

Subscriber
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    8,942

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    31

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Houston19514

  1. Houston19514
  2. Houston19514
    How many abandoned clubs are there? (One thing I had noticed about some of those clubs... during the daytime, some of those buildings looked vacant anyway.)
  3. Houston19514
    They apparently sought and received variances, or perhaps, in some cases, the buildings might have been there before the setback ordinance was enacted.
  4. Houston19514
    Okay, whatever. I thought you might come back with that silliness. You must have gotten a Pedant pill from The Niche today. It's called Superblock for a reason. It's multiple blocks. There are no crosswalks is in the middle of a standard block. They are all on the corner of blocks in the midtown grid. More to the point, they all fit in the pedestrian grid, as a crosswalk in the middle of a standard block would not.
  5. Houston19514
    3-4 blocks to the Pavilions. 4-5 blocks to One Park Place.
  6. Houston19514
    I hadn't realized the restrictions on the topic. ;-) They are what they are, whether there is a station nearby or whatever... they are crosswalks at closed streets. The genesis of this topic was Niche's observation pedestrian traffic in midtown is difficult because the grid was disrupted by the closures of streets. To examine the extent of the grid disruption, one has to look at the number and spacing of crosswalks. Whether the crosswalks are affiliated with stations or not really could not be less relevant. The one at Drew is far from the middle of the block, even on the west side of the street. It is only offset (like the others) to create what they call the "Z" crossing. It's a safety feature, so pedestrians are "forced" to slow down and look where they are going, rather just dashing straight across the street (and the rail tracks). The "Z" design puts it maybe 10-15 feet from the very end of the block, on one side of the street. and yes, the one at Cleburne crosses Main to a church parking lot. (Cleburne is a street that was not cut off by the rail line. I don't think Cleburne ever went through. Nevertheless, the crossing is not in or near the middle of a block. No such crossings exist in Midtown.
  7. Houston19514
    LOL Is that the nature of all of your insider information?
  8. Houston19514
    Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed response. I have never been trying to create any big argument here. My questions have been genuine, and I think logical. Your explanation of costs of flagging a hotel is interesting. But the Doubletree Intercontinental just did most of that for a mere $6 million in a 300+ room hotel. Granting that a chain might required entirely new computer systems for $500,000, and of course new signage for $150,000. That would leave us with $27,580 per room (more than $5,500,000) for perhaps HVAC (not sure if the Doubletrees $6 million already covered that), and life safety matters eg "smoke evacuation and stair pressurization" (presuming those any changes are even required in those areas. Yes the chains have standards, but it is possible that these hotels, all recently rehabbed, might already meet those standards.) In short, given the Doubletree's very recent total remodel for less than $20,000 per room, I'm not convinced that the $50,000 per room estimate is likely, especially for a hotel such as these that are already of high quality. I'd love to find some examples of boutiques converting to chains to see some actual numbers. I'll see if I can find any. EDIT: Here's the best I can find so far. But it seems like a pretty fair comparison (assuming of course that it was in a facility fairly comparable to our subject hotels). It's a conversion from a Wyndham to a Marriott: $11 million for 311 rooms: $35,370 per room. Higher than I might have expected (but still well short of $50,000 per room). http://www.procgroup.com/press-releases/ac...of-wyndham.html
  9. Houston19514
    Of the streets in Midtown blocked by MetroRail, there are pedestrian crosswalks at the following: Bremond Dennis Drew Anita Berry Winbern and Cleburne There are a similar number of blocked streets with no crosswalks. Both are fairly evenly placed along the length of Midtown. Metro plans to monitor pedestrian activity in the area and can easily install additional crosswalks as they become necessary. (And I cannot find any crosswalks in the middle of a block).
  10. Houston19514
    Any rumor on the second hotel in River Oaks District?
  11. Houston19514
    Fair enough, but publicly-held companies also don't generally hang on to money-losers indefinitely. They have to meet quarterly profit goals. That would seem to make a publicly-held company all the more likely to dump a money-loser, take the write-down, and move on with profitable operations.
  12. Houston19514
    Yes, indeed, there are 5 hotels. The Icon has already sold. That is the one hotel that I am certain was losing money. And it is the one hotel that has taken major steps to change things; e.g., selling, affiliating with a chain (small chain, but a chain nonetheless), changing restaurant and bar operations, and I think they may have reduced their weekday rates. Why is the Inn at the Ballpark not a boutique hotel? And what does ownership by Landry's Corp have to do with anything?
  13. Houston19514
    You are exactly right, Kinkaid.
  14. Houston19514
    Thank you for a thoughtful response Niche. That all makes some sense and might explain an owner's unwillingness to sell (except is it really likely that the same scenario applies to all four hotels (Alden, Magnolia, Lancaster, and Inn @ the Ballpark?). And it also does not explain their failure to make other adjustments in their operations that I have suggested would/should be made if they are truly in the never-ending money pit situation that people have claimed (e.g. joining a chain; hopefully, my presentation of facts has put to rest the nonsense that this would cost any where near $50,000 per room). Also, I would suggest that their willingness to continue the never-ending operating losses rather than taking a capital loss suggests that the operating losses may not be as bad as some have suggested. I mean, if things are truly as bad and hopeless as has been suggested, those capital losses are going to start looking better and better; get out and get it over with. And one more thought. Are they really sunk costs if you're still making payments on them? It seems to me a rational owner is indeed going to be thinking about those costs on a daily basis because they are not in the past, but are very much in the present. I don't know... just some thoughts.
  15. Houston19514
    Ahhh, I see you have the straw man factory up and running again. Good work; I like it when you take things out of context and create straw men.
  16. Houston19514
    OMG I am ROTFLMAO at the pedantry. Now Main Street cannot be a spine but the essentially circular Loop and Beltway can??? Too much hilarity. Niche, you are in over your head again. Back out before it's too late. ;-)
  17. Houston19514
    Limitless patience actually does not seem to be your strong suit. But I'll play along. Why don't you start by reviewing the reasons for your statements regarding spending $50,000 per room to remodel a hotel? Clearly not exactly grounded in real world experience in the hospitality industry... (Sorry to be the one to throw facts into the conversation.) You see, I learned long ago that anyone can claim to be an insider in any industry they choose on these discussion boards. A part-time bartender or cocktail waitress can spin themselves into a hospitality industry insider (not referring to you, TNJ). Therefore, in order to make the forum of any use at all, I tend to look for some kind of factual backup to raw, unsupported statements and opinions. And my skepticism meter goes off the charts when I see self-proclaimed insiders post numbers that are not reflective of the real world (e.g. $50,000 per room remodeling costs). And just for the record, I've never claimed to be an insider in the hospitality industry, or to have any experience, real-world or otherwise in the hospitality industry, but I read a lot of newspapers and gather a lot of information and know basic business economics, and can do the simple mathematics required to know that it does not take $50,000 per room to remodel a hotel. And I am experienced in the business world and know enough to know that when businesses are losing money hand over fist, with no end to the losses in sight (your judgment, not mine), they make major adjustments in their operations, or sell out, or close down. They don't tend to just keep banging their head against the wall to avoid the pain that occurs when they stop. Other than throwing out one possible (although even then a little unlikely) reason for not closing down, you have not addressed my serious and logical question of why money-losing businesses do not make significant adjustments in order to try to stop losing money, e.g., lower weekday rates in the direction of their weekend rates (but still above marginal costs), join a chain, sell the place... FWIW, my skepticism meter goes off when self-proclaimed insiders get offended by simple and logical questions, and respond with straw men and personal attacks rather than rational discussion. And another reason for skepticism: It is hard to imagine how any one person could know the financial results of all of these hotels. They are either privately owned, closely-held, or part of a public corporation that does not break out individual results. I'm prepared now for your "groundhog day" response. Here, let me type it for you: "You obviously have no real-world experience in the hospitality industry." ;-)
  18. Houston19514
    I think they put in pedestrian crosswalks even where the vehicular grid was disrupted.
  19. Houston19514
    I'm not sure Lopez' article even makes sense. Why would MLS be any less of a threat to the Astros in a non-downtown location? The big money that is going to buy suites and season tickets is likely to do so wherever they are located (within reason). Those are not sold to walk-by business. It's a little ridiculous to suggest that suite buyers are suddenly going to abandon their suites at MMP because (and only because) they are walking past an MLS stadium on their way to MMP. Let's just say that McLane is a LOT smarter than John Lopez and probably understands that having them downtown can help the Astros in the long run. 1. The Astros might be able to increase their revenues by selling parking to Dynamo fans. 2. Fans who are attracted downtown to soccer games might discover downtown and be more willing to venture down for a baseball game; same for concert-goers attending concerts at the MLS stadium. 3. The addition of more activities downtown can only help the Astros, both in making it more appealing in general, and making it possible to have the restaurants and gift shops in MMP open on non-game days, thus increasing revenues, as well as making downtown living more appealing, which would seem to help increase attendance at MMP and business at the ballpark. It seems just as likely (actually more likely) that Oliver Luck's and AEG's mentioning of non-downtown sites is negotiating posturing to try to get a slightly better deal from McLane and the city . . . because they know he WANTS them downtown and they know the city WANTS them downtown.
  20. Houston19514
    Alas indeed. Thanks for finally throwing out a not entirely unreasonable response to ONE of my questions... But I must say, it is quite amusing that the result you predicted some time ago (hotel closures) is now deemed so unlikely that one who asks why the hotels don't close is pompously branded as very clearly lacking real world experience. Hmmmm... real world experience.... Do you mean the kind of real world experience that causes you to think it costs more than $50,000 per room to redecorate a hotel? Is that the kind of real world experience I'm lacking? Funny, the Doubletree Intercontinental just re-opened after undergoing a complete re-do. New carpeting, bedding, paint, granite, furnishings... all for less than $20,000 per room. I suppose you are right. I may lack the sort of real world experience of which you speak. And for their sake, I hope the operators of the downtown hotels do as well. ;-) And, H-D, just so you know this is not just my OPINION (and incidentally, if you actually read my posts, you will find they are very much fact-based. Very rarely are my posts opinion-based), here is the link to the story: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/ald...ws/4969655.html Enjoy. Peace.
  21. Houston19514
    I think it's Target
  22. Houston19514
    I too would love for that to be the case, but I'm sad to say it really appears otherwise. These stores are not listed in tenant roster. They are shown on the flash version of the site plan, with specific spaces identified and with almost no spaces being vacant. Highly unlikely for a development that is two years from groundbreaking (I think that's what the developer said recently). (And this information has been on their website for quite some time.) That and the fact that a number of the tenants shown on that plan already have stores in The Galleria... some very recently opened (e.g., the Apple store). I suppose it's conceivable there could be another Coach store that close to The Galleria. But quite unlikely that Apple would plan another store that nearby. I'm a little surprised that they can post store names like that without getting calls from trademark counsel for those stores, but who knows? All things considered, it looks like nothing more than the developer's dream site plan and tenant layout.
  23. Houston19514
    Correct. This is the development formerly known as Westcreek (or maybe it was only known as Westcreek when they were doing the combined development with High Street. The combo development fell through. Now High Street and River Oaks District are two separate developments. High Street being immediately to the east of River Oaks District.) I saw that on their site some time ago, and would love it if that were an actual tenant layout. Unfortunately, it appears that the tenants shown on their website are aspirational, if you will. Tenants they would like to sign. The reason I say that is that they also show a DeBeers shop. DeBeers recently announced they will be opening a shop in The Galleria.
  24. Houston19514
    I saw that a while ago. But they also show DeBeers in the Leasing Plan. DeBeers is going into The Galleria. So it looks like the stores shown on the plans are tenants they are HOPING to get.
  25. Houston19514
    Not to mention, high-rise towers have multiple elevator banks anyway, each serving separate zones (height-wise) of the building.
×
×
  • Create New...