DrLan34 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) - Edited May 12, 2015 by DrLan34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) edit. Edited May 12, 2015 by cloud713 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I heard some disheartening news about this.. One of the big name companies looking to develop this site took soil samples and found either contamination, or it just wasn't stable. Couldn't find out for sure other than site remediation will need to happen. Contamination would be understandable considering that it was a railway station, followed by a post office with daily fleets of diesel trucks and an adjacent railway platform. Might be unstable because of the bayou and shifting clays, but I would be surprised then that the post office held up so well over time. If it is unstable, make it a park! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 yeah doubt its unstable, the source (used to work for one of the major firms who bid on the site) only said there was a problem with the soil, but that they couldnt remember exactly the issue. i assumed contamination, but didnt want to mislead yall in case that were wrong. hopefully its not too costly and the city is willing to accept much lower bids due to soil remediation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Would they have to do remediation if it was turned into a train station again? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Would they have to do remediation if it was turned into a train station again? Yes. If they were building a 7-Eleven they would need to do soil remediation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/07/lovett-commercial-set-to-buy-downtown-post-office/ The downtown post office has a buyer who may turn the site into a mixed-use development with shops, office, housing and perhaps a boutique hotel.Houston-based commercial real estate developer Lovett Commercial is under contract to buy the property at 401 Franklin from the United States Postal Service. Closing is scheduled for late summer or early fall. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortune Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) Lovett Commercial is the buyer.http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/07/lovett-commercial-set-to-buy-downtown-post-office/"The downtown post office has a buyer who may turn the site into a mixed-use development with shops, office, housing and perhaps a boutique hotel.Houston-based commercial real estate developer Lovett Commercial is under contract to buy the property at 401 Franklin from the United States Postal Service. Closing is scheduled for late summer or early fall.“It’s extremely rare to find a 16+ acre parcel in any major U.S. downtown,” Burdette Huffman vice president of Lovett Commercial said in an email to the Chronicle.The property, he added, offers an “incredible location with direct connectivity to Buffalo Bayou and the Theater District,” as well as “fantastic access to I-10, I-45, downtown and the Washington corridor.”Huffman said the company is still working on conceptual plans for the site and is exploring ways to reuse portions of the existing buildings." Edited July 6, 2015 by Fortune 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigereye Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/07/lovett-commercial-set-to-buy-downtown-post-office/Lovett?!? I'm Lovin It lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 So...about that HSR station... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Lmfao BFS.. So yeah.. What other projects has Lovett done/what can we expect? This seems like a major let down.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Go to their website!! It may as well have been Weingarten. Banal. Beige. Suburban. Blech....right up there with the Howard Hughes Corporation. Major let down. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Lovett-Commercial-under-contract-on-downtown-post-6369359.php Conceptual plans are still being devised, but the company said it expects "to attract multiple uses such as retail, creative office, residential and/or a boutique hotel. Tenants that we have visited with are extremely excited about the project, its location and the possibilities." Lovett is also exploring ways to reuse portions of the site's existing buildings, which sit on the northwestern edge of downtown, just north of Buffalo Bayou and across from the Theater District. She said the plans are in line with the type of mixed-use development the partnership recommended more than a decade ago in a comprehensive master plan for the bayou. One proposal called for converting the building to an artist and boutique office space known as "The Post." It had some 2,500 people living around the redeveloped building in new housing for all income levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 "The possibilities" meaning HSR. Don't play dumb Lovett, I know what you're up to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hmmm...."artist and boutique office space." I like the notion of having 2,500 people live on the site, but think the space could be far better utilized with a demolition of that building.I will wait for their proposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The fact they are even thinking about keeping that building just means they have no idea what on earth they just bought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The fact they are even thinking about keeping that building just means they have no idea what on earth they just bought.I may be alone but I secretly hoped whoever bought the property would some how incorporate the existing building into the project. Although that wish may be a double edged sword. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I may be alone but I secretly hoped whoever bought the property would some how incorporate the existing building into the project. Although that wish may be a double edged sword. Why though? That building utilizes the land in the worst possible way. Its a symbol of an era of mistakes and missed opportunities. Its not only a poor use of the land, but its a planning mistake from the word go! Keeping the building or reusing it severely limits the potential of the site by instantly making anything that gets built having to revolve around it. Its not even a very good building to begin with. Average at best. It isn't even unique to its own time. It interrupts what would be the best possible correction in the street grid which is to kill Franklin before the bayou and restore Washington as the primary link into the city. The site itself has a chance to be a gateway into downtown. As of right now its nothing but an afterthought. Just watch the only thing they will do is keep the entire building as is and then place a few wraps around it and a few strip centers and call it a day! The city should have been more responsible and not give it to the highest bid (if it even was the highest) and instead give it to a group who would utilize it create something truly unique, a group who was giving the best value. Maybe I'm the crazy one here...idk. I thought that this was a site that could hold the key to a new Houston with a new vision/mentality, but I guess not. Its nothing but business as usual. We been thinking that the city was moving forward when really (lets admit it) is only chasing the latest trend instead of being trendsetters. Whatever....In about 10-15 years they are going to start ripping up that elevated piece of highway junk and maybe that will also reveal just what they missed out on and maybe a real difference can be made. Why settle for mediocre? Why settle for just average? Is this really how its all going to go down? Seriously? Is there nothing to persuade someone like a Hines or hell even Midway would at least make something decent out of it. These guys have nothing in their portfolio except for typical suburban bs. They have nothing in their portfolio that says they even know what they really have on their hands! Its like some kid got the keys to the car, but has no idea how to drive. All the kid can do is marvel at how awesome it is, but doesn't even know how to even start the dang car! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astros148 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Great post +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Not sure why everyone is "let down." Lovett has done some fantastic redevelopment work. I think with everyone's expectations being so low now, they'll be impressed with whatever Lovett throws out there. Good strategy, Lovett... it's like the anti-Hotel-Alessandra strategy. Make people feel uncomfortable that it will be a shopping center and wow them with a crazy mixed-use development. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) I hope you're right Triton.. Lol. Btw, any examples of this "fantastic redevelopment work"? Edited July 7, 2015 by cloud713 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I took a look at their portfolio they have listed for Houston on their website and yeah...mostly suburban type deals, but they have a decent amount of inner core stuff going on; biggest one is probably Sawyer Yards. It is pretty cool that they are converting some of those warehouses into art studios...but I'd rather they do it there than with the Post Office buildings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS27 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The potential redevelopment of the warehouse at Polk/Dowling also looks promising, though cant say fantastic until it comes to fruition, if the execution is good. I wouldn't imagine Liu would try to recreate a Sawyer/Washington "Heights" type spot here, I think it would be at least a few notches above that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intencity77 Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 A project this size seems way of scale for little old Lovett Commercial. I hope they know what they're doing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 A project this size seems way of scale for little old Lovett Commercial. I hope they know what they're doing. Honestly its way to big for any one developer to handle. The city should be carrying the responsibility of masterplaning the area and then divide up the various projects to many different developers. Thats how it should be done, but the city refuses to take any responsibility for any semblance of city planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The land cost dictates it must be something more dense than a shopping center, because the income return on a shopping center is too low. What that is, I don't know. Hines built warehouses and small office buildings before he built the Galleria. Maybe this will be their Galleria. Probably not, but one can hope. I wonder if flood plain discouraged some bigger players?Keep in mind, when I-45 is rerouted, the potential for this site completely changes. We really don't want anything too major being built there before then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The land cost dictates it must be something more dense than a shopping center, because the income return on a shopping center is too low. What that is, I don't know. Hines built warehouses and small office buildings before he built the Galleria. Maybe this will be their Galleria. Probably not, but one can hope. I wonder if flood plain discouraged some bigger players?Keep in mind, when I-45 is rerouted, the potential for this site completely changes. We really don't want anything too major being built there before then. Thats the only silver lining in all of this. The scale in terms of buildings they are looking at is very small, but its the "2,500 people" that just has me puzzled. Even a few wraps will not get you to that number. At most 2-3 wraps would only get you to about 500-1000. I still think they have no idea what they really have on their hands. Gerald Hines is a little different though. Even though he was small time he clearly hand a vision of Houston that others didn't have and he knew the best of the best at the time to do exactly what his vision was. I don't really see a visionary among this company unless someone can lead me the other way on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Thank you John Madden 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 What we do know are the projects they currently have in their portfolio so it actually could be like what they've already done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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