ClutchCity Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 ^ It's only linked to the tunnel because it has a sky bridge to Hess so it's not technically part of the tunnel system. The only residential project that I recall having tunnel connection is the Texaco renovation at 1111 Rusk. I believe the only reason that one has a connection is for 609 Main to have better tunnel access(I think the plan is to connect to BG Group and 601 Travis). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Commerce Tower has a tunnel connection, but it also started out as a commercial building. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Temporarily closed off? Â More like, temporarily closed off...for good. Hopefully soon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 The tunnel system essentially closes at 5pm and serves one main purpose - to service daytime office workers. In addition, tunnel connections are extremely costly - like $30-$40M to install. No multifamily developer will incur that sort of cost.Retail follows rooftops. Easy as that. As more people move into downtown retail will follow.Just for clarity: the tunnels are generally open (on week days) until 7pm-ish. They also open at about 6am-ish. They are generally closed on weekends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonenadazilch Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 No multifamily developer will incur that sort of cost. Retail follows rooftops. Easy as that. As more people move into downtown retail will follow. I do hope that's the case. Just as in lively city centers all over the world, street-level vibrancy seems crucial in helping neighborhoods thrive and not just exist as places people choose to reside for merely pragmatic reasons. Ironically, most all the historic images of downtown Houston I've seen show that: people of all different types, in different sartorial tastes, going in different directions with different urgencies and purposes all making their impressions upon others, themselves, and weaving a collective fabric to the setting. Perhaps we ought to attribute many kudos to the city incentive program that seems to have really initiated a groundswell of projects and, hopefully, re-acquaint Houstonians with a socially healthier era long since forgotten.   The chances of impromptu interactions and obervations-of-the-mind are part of what attracts people to live in close environments. People in cars and tunnels, as useful as they'll always be, just can't offer this. I hope the tunnel costs indeed stay prohibitive, grocery, street vendor, and retail options grow, and Houstonians of all different ages & backgrounds share a desire or need to cross paths downtown - on foot (or bike) & above surface. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernz Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) I hope the tunnel costs indeed stay prohibitive, grocery, street vendor, and retail options grow, and Houstonians of all different ages & backgrounds share a desire or need to cross paths downtown - on foot (or bike) & above surface.When they do cross paths, they'll ll be staring down at their smartphones anyway, trying to connect with people on social media. Edited May 20, 2014 by fernz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Uh oh.. Looks like a bunch of contractors trailers moved into this site recently.. Id imagine for the Marriott.. Will this project not happen anytime soon? :/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Uh oh.. Looks like a bunch of contractors trailers moved into this site recently.. Id imagine for the Marriott.. Will this project not happen anytime soon? :/ Well, the May Development Map said construction is to start 1st Quarter 2015... I think you can come in off the ledge. ;-) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 2014-06-05 13.47.07 by marclongoria, on Flickr 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TowerSpotter Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 This ones going to look interresting on construction. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Are all those offices really necessary for the Marriot construction? Legit question 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsatyr Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Are all those offices really necessary for the Marriot construction? Legit question They are. Many companies are contracted by a developer and the office space is needed. They probably do onsite orientation too for new workers who need to be badged. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I would also say yes. Xsatyr says it well.. 1000 room hotel. Lots of drawings, lots of coordination, lots of workers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 This shows how tight downtown space is getting. Â JW Marriott, HRT, Skanska, et al have all been using conventional office space (well, converted GFR) for their site offices. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I just assumed that most of that kind of work like drawings etc happened in the various engineering offices. I've just never seen this many temporary offices set up before. Seems slightly overkill but makes sense 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 My interpretation of this that I posted in the convention center hotel thread a few weeks ago is that this shows me that the Hess folks are "coordinating construction" with the Marriott folks. The two projects are to be linked by a sky bridge. It seems to me that the schedules will be coordinated in such a way as to make this connection installed at the least overall cost.I would expect the trailers to move at some point (again, coordinated) when the Hess project starts. The "combined headquarters" will likely be moved onto the lot that will hold the convention center parking garage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Yeah I kinda figured that was a given especially with the 2015 start date. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) My interpretation of this that I posted in the convention center hotel thread a few weeks ago is that this shows me that the Hess folks are "coordinating construction" with the Marriott folks. The two projects are to be linked by a sky bridge. It seems to me that the schedules will be coordinated in such a way as to make this connection installed at the least overall cost.I would expect the trailers to move at some point (again, coordinated) when the Hess project starts. The "combined headquarters" will likely be moved onto the lot that will hold the convention center parking garage. agree with all that... except that it's unlikely to move to the convention center parking garage site... that is slated to  start construction 4th Q 2014 (before the residential tower). Perhaps they'll move it to the fenced-off parking lot at Capitol, Rusk and Avenida de las Americas. But then one wonders why they didn't put it there to begin with ... kinda odd. Edited June 7, 2014 by Houston19514 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernz Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 My interpretation of this that I posted in the convention center hotel thread a few weeks ago is that this shows me that the Hess folks are "coordinating construction" with the Marriott folks. The two projects are to be linked by a sky bridge. It seems to me that the schedules will be coordinated in such a way as to make this connection installed at the least overall cost.I would expect the trailers to move at some point (again, coordinated) when the Hess project starts. The "combined headquarters" will likely be moved onto the lot that will hold the convention center parking garage.They will probably move into one of the lower floors of the marriott building. It's common to build temporary offices once the structure comes out of the ground. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 That makes sense to me fernz. It's a better way to make use of the space. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 As of about 6pm this evening, they were moving several of the trailers off of the Hess lot to a destination unseen. There was three or four remaining as of 6pm-ish. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 As of about 6pm this evening, they were moving several of the trailers off of the Hess lot to a destination unseen. There was three or four remaining as of 6pm-ish. OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I was right!!!!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I was right!!!!!!!! Right about what? I'm glad the trailers are moving, but what was the point of putting them there to begin with? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Right about what?I'm glad the trailers are moving, but what was the point of putting them there to begin with?Right about the trailers being overkill and that something was odd about this situation. Also I've decided to change my opinion on the whole "team-up" opinion between the Marriot and this. This is Htown, land of the parking lot. If they really wanted to put their equipment somewhere they could've been put it in any of the hundreds of empty lots around downtown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Allen Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Are all those offices really necessary for the Marriot construction? Legit question[/. First off, how funny that you had to post Legit Question after your question. Man, so many of mine on this and other forums are probably dufus status, but I ask them anyway, LoL. Anyway, I understand the question and certainly the response. BUT my goodness, have you seen how many are actually stacked, STACKED up for European or Asian projects? Talk about bureaucracy . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chi-Char-Hou-Dal Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 tin foil hat here - i think the unannounced 102 story tower is going up - que godzilla music - soooooooooooooooon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
democide Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 tin foil hat here - i think the unannounced 102 story tower is going up - que godzilla music - soooooooooooooooon What do you mean? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Walked by today. I noted that they have installed chain link fencing and protective tarps on the garage thinking perhaps that they might be doing this in preparation for starting work on this tower. Â Â But then I saw a guy building a ramp for the construction trailers, so they must be there for a while. Â 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I think you are right. I noticed them tonight too and hadn't realized you posted this. It looks like preparation for the tower. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoninATX Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Wait, how can they start if the tower itself will take up the whole parking surface? Wouldn't they have to move the construction trailers off the site for them to start? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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