Montrose1100 Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 It's in a prime location for low income housing, don't know why the city/housing authority hasn't snagged it up yet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 On 4/22/2020 at 8:52 AM, Montrose1100 said: It's in a prime location for low income housing, don't know why the city/housing authority hasn't snagged it up yet. Because I'm pretty sure that's about the last thing the Downtown Management District wants it to become. But also experiences in Chicago and elsewhere have shown that low-income towers are hard to keep secure and can become crime hotspots. Lower-rise options work much better and lead to healthier low and mixed-income communities. It needs to become student housing for Rice, UH, UH Downtown, or even Baylor Medical School (probably private serving all of the above). It's right on rail lines to all of those. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 I always liked the idea of a senior independent living situation, for many of the same reasons you liked student housing. Near transit and the theaters and the restaurants of downtown. But I fear that the structure itself may be the question now, especially after the reported contract fell through last year. And tearing it down and building something new is unlikely considering all of the available parking lots / development sites nearby. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naviguessor Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 The problem with senior living in high rises...fire alarms and actual fires. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasWriter Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Any way we could make it into a temporary urban garden? Southwest side gets lots of light streaming in for enough hours of the day, and if someone wants to do something more permanent, then planter boxes would be easy to remove. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 On 4/29/2020 at 10:52 PM, Naviguessor said: The problem with senior living in high rises...fire alarms and actual fires. There are lots of senior housing facilities that are high rise. I'm from NYC which has a bunch, but they exist in many smaller cities. Here's one just down the road a ways. https://thetowersonparklane.com/ Though I am of the opinion that the current building will need to start completely failing so as to reduce the price, and then be knocked down for a new development. Though maybe the owners will want to dump it quickly in a post COVID world and someone will be willing to take the gamble. A very long shot at best. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 (edited) On 4/29/2020 at 8:15 PM, Brooklyn173 said: But I fear that the structure itself may be the question now, especially after the reported contract fell through last year. The website says under contract again. Edited May 14, 2020 by cloud713 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 (edited) On 4/29/2020 at 10:52 PM, Naviguessor said: The problem with senior living in high rises...fire alarms and actual fires. Well, we have them all over town. Even those that are not designated as senior living facilities have a lot of residents who are seniors (predominantly so, in a lot of cases). 18 minutes ago, cloud713 said: The website says under contract again. Website? Edited May 14, 2020 by Houston19514 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 I'd love to be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSirDingle Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 (edited) <BUMP> So anybody see that pdf posted in the I-45 thread? Edited August 18, 2020 by TheSirDingle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 37 minutes ago, TheSirDingle said: <BUMP> So anybody see that pdf posted in the I-45 thread? Hmmmm... I meant to post it here as well (and thought I had). There seems to be some movement here. Scroll to page 73 3 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacoDog Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 43 minutes ago, TheSirDingle said: <BUMP> So anybody see that pdf posted in the I-45 thread? I was just going to say the same thing. So... does posting this online hurt their confidentiality notice 🤐 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSirDingle Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 16 minutes ago, TacoDog said: I was just going to say the same thing. So... does posting this online hurt their confidentiality notice 🤐 😅We'll have to see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TheSirDingle Posted August 18, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted August 18, 2020 31 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: Hmmmm... I meant to post it here as well (and thought I had). There seems to be some movement here. Scroll to page 73 Rendering and massing There's an absolute crap ton of information provided by @Houston19514 in that pdf (also includes i-45 redo, and many, many other things). Main takeaways: >> completion sometime 2021!?!?!? >> being redeveloped by Phoenix Development Partners >> includes 482 units with 100 units given the affordable designation >> 345 efficiency (362 sf), 22 efficiency +(467sf), 92 studio (507-585 sf), 22 two bedroom and two bath (1038 sf) >> 482 total parking spaces, also a bike storage area totaling 521 sf on the ground floor. >> 1257 sf of ground floor retail >> Garage roof >> ground floor plan with Bike Storage Again going to quote @Houston19514 for giving us this monstrous amount of information, which also includes much more than what I posted. Including garage floor plan, rooftop floor plan, efficiency/studo/bedroom floor plan, etc. 45 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: Hmmmm... I meant to post it here as well (and thought I had). There seems to be some movement here. Scroll to page 73 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 I checked the Phoenix Development Partners site and it seems they have a lot of experience renovating older buildings in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor. I noticed a renovation of theirs for student housing, and considering the small size of the units discussed here, I wonder if that market that might be their focus? https://phoenixdevelopmentpartners.com/#home 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 That would be seriously wild if 2020 was the year they redeveloped this thing. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouTXRanger Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 33 minutes ago, zaphod said: That would be seriously wild if 2020 was the year they redeveloped this thing. I was just thinking that. What are the chances it actually gets developed this time? I'd almost rather they just demolish the thing and be done with it, but this looks like a good plan. We do live in the strangest timeline after all . . . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Who knows. The idea of building a lot of small units gave me the idea that they could turn it into a dorm for the homeless. They'd have an efficiency unit and there would be onsite security guards. Eligibility would be based on history of involuntary institutionalization, substance abuse, etc. Get them off the street, that would go way further in de-trashing that area than anything else proposed thusfar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Is this an opportunity zone development? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 9 hours ago, zaphod said: Who knows. The idea of building a lot of small units gave me the idea that they could turn it into a dorm for the homeless. They'd have an efficiency unit and there would be onsite security guards. Eligibility would be based on history of involuntary institutionalization, substance abuse, etc. Get them off the street, that would go way further in de-trashing that area than anything else proposed thusfar. Problem with that if you block the druggies/alcoholics/the ones most likely to trash the place and start fires, those are the ones that stay on the street, furthermore it would just be a way to spend the night, while the day is spent panhandling (unless they are denied doing so, in which case it becomes a de facto jail). That's not to say that the homeless should get nothing, but building housing for the homeless is, at best, more complicated than it seems, and at worse, will just make the problem worse at the taxpayers' dime. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 7 hours ago, BeerNut said: Is this an opportunity zone development? All of downtown (inside 45/69/10/Buffalo Bayou) is an opportunity zone, as well as Midtown east of Main. All the opportunity zones are on this map: https://www.houstontx.gov/opportunityzones/houstonOZ.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 4 hours ago, IronTiger said: Problem with that if you block the druggies/alcoholics/the ones most likely to trash the place and start fires, those are the ones that stay on the street, furthermore it would just be a way to spend the night, while the day is spent panhandling (unless they are denied doing so, in which case it becomes a de facto jail). That's not to say that the homeless should get nothing, but building housing for the homeless is, at best, more complicated than it seems, and at worse, will just make the problem worse at the taxpayers' dime. There's been success elsewhere in "housing-first" initiatives to help the homeless, but they were small lots with 6 or 7 tiny cabins on it, not a highrise apartment building. Last thing you want to do with extreme poverty is concentrate it that much 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastdwntwn Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 I drove by a week ago and there were some workers around the building. I just assumed they were boarding everything up to make sure that homeless people couldn't get in. This is such an eyesore and whenever someone comes to visit they always ask about "that gross building with the windows missing." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Is anyone familiar with the Torre de David in Caracas, Venezuela? It is never finished residential tower that was "colonized" by some homeless in the city. The government was either powerless or indifferent to prevent it though the residents were relocated in 2014, some 20 years after some had first move in. There was book published about the building available on Amazon of course. https://www.amazon.com/Torre-David-Informal-Vertical-Communities/dp/3037782986 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Brooklyn173 Posted August 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted August 20, 2020 preliminary work is underway. 7 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 Wait, this actually happening? Trying not to get my hopes up lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouTXRanger Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 I can't tell if there's anything in the pictures out of the ordinary from how it usually looks, maybe Brooklyn just knows something we don't. Also, they could be cleaning it up to try and sell it to the investors better, hasn't it been gutted and re gutted a few times? I'd love to see something done with the place but who knows at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 (edited) The chain link fencing and the temp wall on the parking ramp is brand new. Today they were pumping water out of the basement. I spoke to a worker briefly but he didn't have much to add. But stuff is happening. Edited August 22, 2020 by Brooklyn173 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Brooklyn173 Posted August 22, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted August 22, 2020 As promised, a picture of the water being pumped out. And notice the new particle board on the garage gate. I walk past here on my way to the YMCA and the gate has been open every day this week and i've seen 3-4 guys working there. Even the graffiti on the tower has been painted over. Looking at the Fairfield going up across the street has me wondering how the renovation will stage their job. Lay down areas and all. The adjacent lot is now taken by a field office and parking lot for the Fairfield project. But within a relatively short time, a METRO parking lot and a zombie tower will be bustling with new residents. Kind of exciting to me. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Fairfield Development, the project across the street is using the surface lot for their employees parking. Some of that wood looks fairly new. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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