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Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Lack of Development
Well Ladies and Gentlemen,
Due to the recent economy, suffice to say, there hasn't been much to post on this blog.
So, I'd like your help. If you know of any developments in your area, please email me (alephew at gmail.com) so you can share the good news with everyone! Now since there is much un-development happening, let's report on that as well.
When I created this blog (my first), I did it to help out my previous employers (condo developers) find localized information. This was to aide them in making purchasing decisions, as well as create bank packages to apply for mezzanine funding. My first blog has stretched it's legs since then.
Let's pool our resources to help those who still want to open business in our communities. Anything that you think will help others succeed, or save them from making a poor choice, send it! Pictures, stories, articles, you send it, we'll post it, and of course provide the source (unless anonymity is requested).
Email alephew at gmail.com
Photographer: Unknown
DoT eyes Texas for high-speed rail
Houston Business Journal
Texas will be part of a federal program to create high-speed passenger train service, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The agency said it plans to begin accepting bids from companies that will finance, design, build, operate and maintain high-speed trains in 11 federally designated corridors, according to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.
“Americans need new ways of traveling between major cities, and a properly structured intercity passenger rail system can, and must, play a larger role in our nation’s transportation future,” Peters said in New York City. “There is growing interest in intercity passenger rail as an alternative to driving and flying but, for it to really work, it must be viable, efficient and competitive.”
The corridors, as currently designed by the Federal Rail Administration, stretch across the country, but only half — those in the eastern portion of the United States — actually connect with one another.
If initiated, Houston will be part of the 1,022-mile Gulf Coast Corridor, based out of New Orleans, La., connecting the city with Mobile, Ala; Meridian, Miss.; and Birmingham, Ala., according to the Federal Rail Administration.
The rest of Texas has its own corridor, called the South Central High-Speed Corridor, that would link Dallas-Fort Worth; Austin; San Antonio; Texarkana; Oklahoma City; Tulsa, Okla;. and Little Rock, Ark.
Americas Plaza development takes shape
Retail center, residential site planned east of downtown
By KIM JACKSON
Chronicle Correspondent
In a city where the old is often replaced by the new, developer Alan Atkinson is making a statement by using two historic buildings as the centerpiece for the modern, mixed-used Americas Plaza development in the eastern shadow of downtown Houston.
Situated on the corner of the Navigation Boulevard/Canal Street intersection, the 116-year-old former Anson Jones Elementary School building has evolved into the One Americas Plaza office building and reception hall.
Directly across the street, a 58-year-old warehouse, which most recently housed used office furniture and a retail blood bank, is taking shape as Two Americas Plaza — a 28,000-square-foot retail center built around a central plaza.
Atkinson, owner of AVA Limited, purchased seven adjoining properties over a four-year period before launching the Americas Plaza development. The ultimate goal is to add mid-rise and high-rise residential development to the 10-acre mix, Atkinson said.
"We are trying to do things differently. We are not following the traditional development models," Atkinson said. "This part of town has had low development expectations for several years, so all of the spaces are being designed to a high level of finish. We want local residents to take pride in what is happening to the neighborhood."
The Americas Plaza development is similar to the more established mixed-used Midtown district, Atkinson said. He said the two areas are like "bookends" on opposite sides of downtown Houston.
"That area has become a hotbed of life and activity, and that's what I see happening here," Atkinson said. "We are four blocks from the (Minute Maid) baseball stadium, four blocks from the proposed (Dynamo) soccer stadium, and one block from Guadalupe Park and hike-and-bike trails on Brays Bayou."
Atkinson added with the completion of the Alexan Lofts complex and 71 townhomes across Canal, there are about 900 more residents in the neighborhood.
AMERICAS PLAZA
Two historic buildings are being used as the centerpiece for the modern, mixed-used Americas Plaza development east of downtown Houston.
• One Americas Plaza: Situated on the corner of the Navigation Boulevard/Canal Street intersection, the 116-year-old former Anson Jones Elementary School building has evolved into the One Americas Plaza office building and reception hall.
• Two Americas Plaza: A 58-year-old warehouse building, which most recently housed used office furniture and a retail blood bank, is taking shape as Two Americas Plaza — a 28,000-square-foot retail center built around a central plaza.
Continue Reading
Highest-ever gasoline prices expected this Memorial Day
Houston Business Journal
Texans will be paying the highest prices ever for a gallon of gasoline during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, according to AAA Texas.
This week, the state recorded an average price of $3.68 for a gallon of self-serve gas after prices climbed 15 cents. Nationally, the average price shot up 13 cents to a new record of $3.78 per gallon.
"Record gas prices and tough economic times appear to be forcing some Americans to stay home this holiday," said AAA Texas spokeswoman Rose Rougeau.
Houston prices soared 13 cents this week to an average of $3.65 a gallon, while the Galveston-Texas City area saw a rise of nearly 11 cents to equal Houston at $3.65.
Utility bills in Houston highest in the nation, survey shows
Houston Business Journal - by Ford Gunter Reporter
Houston had the highest home utility bills in the nation last month, according to a survey released this week by the WhiteFence Index.
Houston's average monthly utility bill was $332.69 for the month of April. By comparison, average bills in Los Angeles were $206.44, putting it atop the "most affordable" list.
The national average for April dropped $33 from March, to $263.07.
"Houston is the most expensive because people there have bigger houses and tend to run their air conditioners just about every day, all day long," said Jeff Wagoner, chief operations officer of Houston-based WhiteFence.com, a Web-based comparison shopping forum.
The WhiteFence Index compiles average monthly home utility bills for phone, Internet, television, electricity and natural gas in 21 major U.S. cities.
Dallas, the only other Texas city listed, was the second-most expensive city, with an average utility bill of $330.89.
Pearland Town Center to add 20 new shops
Houston Business Journal
Twenty more retailers and restaurants are being added to the 1.2 million-square-foot Pearland Town Center mixed-use development set to open on July 30.
Those set to open include: Ann Taylor Loft, Coach, Icing, Journey's, Yankee Candle, Select Comfort, Jos. A. Bank, James Avery, Kay Jewelers, Gymboree, New York & Co., Children's Place, Zumiez, A'gaci, Fossil, Learning Express, Express, Cork Wine Bar, Marble Slab Creamery, Gamestop, Vans and Paciugo Gelato, according to development owner CBL & Associates Properties Inc. (NYSE: CBL).
The retailers join anchors Dillard's, Macy's and Barnes & Noble, as well as fashion retailers including Chico's, Brooks Brothers Country Club, Hollister Co., The Buckle and Forever 21.
Pearland Town Center will also have a 110-room, four-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel, office and multifamily residential space above the retail, a 25-acre lake and miles of walking paths and parks.
"People who say we can't do anything about congestion are wrong. We can do lots,"
It would also reduce air pollution from vehicles by as much as a fifth, cut accidents at intersections and save about five tanks of gas annually per household, according to the National Transportation Operations Coalition, an alliance of federal, state and local traffic departments and equipment-makers. That's the good news. The bad news is that the average local traffic department earned an overall grade of D on the alliance's latest report card. Streamlining intersections is happening in only some cities and states, even though it's eminently doable. "People who say we can't do anything about congestion are wrong. We can do lots," said Joel Marcuson, a specialist in urban intersections with the Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. in Phoenix. Right now, however, three out of four of the nation's 300,000 traffic signals need replacement or timing adjustments for optimum performance, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Among the obstacles are a nationwide shortage of skilled traffic engineers, unfocused local political leaders with tight budgets and stodgy local traffic departments. For that matter, federal aid that could ease congestion goes mainly to building and maintaining roads. Nonetheless, lots of cities and at least seven states — California, Florida, Washington, Minnesota, Maryland, Georgia and Texas — are finding ways to move traffic through intersections faster, according to the transportation engineers group. Georgia focuses much of its energy on the 20-county area around Atlanta when it comes to traffic signal improvements. Since 2005, it has cut travel time in Atlanta's traffic corridors by 18 percent and time stopped by 39 percent, said Yancy Bachmann, assistant state traffic engineer. Macon and Columbus have also seen traffic signal improvements, he said. And where does your metropolitan area stand? It could need improvement, traffic engineers say, if your answer is no to any of these questions: —Can you sometimes make it through six to eight consecutive intersections on green lights? —Is there useful traffic information on the radio and on roadside message signs? —Is it rare that there's no cross traffic when you're stopped at a light? —Can you drive into the next jurisdiction without encountering congestion at the border? —Are predictable traffic jams, such as the post-game exits from stadium parking lots, handled adroitly?
McClatchy Newspapers
Published on: 05/14/08
WASHINGTON — Fine-tuning controls on the nation's traffic signals would cut U.S. road congestion by as much as 10 percent, transportation experts estimate.
Whole Foods to build store between Montrose and Waugh
Development will include apartments, stores
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Whole Foods Market plans to build a store between downtown and River Oaks as part of a 13-acre development that will include apartments and shops.
The Austin-based natural and organic grocery chain will lease the northeast corner of West Dallas and Waugh from the Finger Cos., the firms said Tuesday.
Alongside the market, the Houston-based developer is preparing to build a six-story, 445-unit apartment complex on the property. Construction will start early next year.
"It's a great intersection," president and CEO Marvy Finger said. "It's very exciting."
Plans for the site, along West Dallas between Montrose and Waugh, call for additional retail space and possibly a high-rise residential tower.
AIG complex
Finger said the project will tie into the AIG office complex, to the north of the site.Real estate in this area, as well as the corridors running along Memorial Drive, Allen Parkway and Washington Avenue, has been transitioning as older properties are redeveloped and vacant parcels filled in.
The Allen House Apartments have been cleared as the owner prepares to build a compact urban-style development of shops, restaurants, offices and residential units there.
And a historic warehouse on Allen Parkway and Montrose was demolished after the property was sold more than a year ago to the Aga Khan Foundation for a Muslim Ismaili center.
There were almost 30 offers for the 688-unit Bayou Park apartment complex on Memorial at Shepherd after it went on the block, according to brokerage firm Apartment Realty Advisors, which marketed the property, anticipating redevelopment of the 15-acre site.
Boston-based multifamily management investment firm Berkshire Property Advisors acquired it.
'Very urban'
"That whole corridor is getting very urban," said Scott Shillings, senior vice president of Staubach Retail.Area land prices are more than $100 per square foot, according to David Cook of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
"Even if Whole Foods hadn't happened, it's a great location with its proximity to downtown and River Oaks," said Cook, who represented the owner that sold Finger the land for the grocery store and apartments earlier this year.
Though Whole Foods operates another store nearby at West Alabama and Kirby, Westheimer or San Felipe could divide the trade areas, with customers who live to the south shopping at the Kirby store and those on the north supporting the West Dallas location, Shillings said.
At 50,000 square feet, the new market is planned to be larger than the average store size of about 38,000 square feet.
"Since we continue to evolve and experiment, this store will have new features existing stores don't have by the time it opens," spokeswoman Kate Lowery said.
The company hasn't set an opening date.
It announced the new Houston lease during an earnings call Tuesday, in which it said net income in the recently completed quarter fell to $40 million, or 29 cents a share, from $46 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter rose 28 percent to $1.87 billion.
$300 million intermodal facility and industrial park under development
Houston Business Journal - by Jennifer Dawson Houston Business Journal
A $300 million intermodal facility and industrial park under development in Fort Bend County could create 2,000 jobs over the next 15 years.
The Kansas City Southern Railway Co. and Chicago-based CenterPoint Properties Inc. formed a joint venture agreement last month on the 800-acre project. The intermodal hub will serve as a transfer point to move goods between rail cars and trucks for distribution.
The project is comparatively modest in size, according to Curtis Spencer, president of Webster-based IMS Worldwide Inc., a logistics consulting firm.
"As intermodal terminals go, that is relatively small," says Spencer.
He notes two existing intermodal terminals in Houston are more than 300 percent larger than the planned Fort Bend County project.
Spencer acknowledges, however, that the newcomer has a lot of economic potential.
Between 1,000 and 2,000 employees are expected to work in the proposed industrial facilities. An undetermined number of construction jobs are connected to the project in addition to an unknown number of jobs at the intermodal facility.
Barkley Peschel, vice president of development and operations for the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council, sees direct and indirect benefits.
He expects the project to have a major impact on Kendleton, a small town near the intermodal site about 24 miles southwest of Sugar Land.
Lenders giving yellow light to new construction
Houston Business Journal - by Nicole Bradford
Under the threat of an economic recession and with much of the country's real estate market near a grinding halt, financial underwriters in marginally affected Houston say they are now, more than ever, keeping an eye on unsold inventory.
Local commercial real estate experts say they expect Houston's market to slow down slightly from last year but are cautiously optimistic about 2008 (especially in industrial and warehouse projects). But a nationwide subprime mortgage crisis coupled with an economic downturn means even more caution for residential lenders, who are staying focused on move-ups, higher-end homes and the increasingly in-demand urban living projects inside Loop 610.
"We tend to finance custom builders who build 10 to 100 homes per year as opposed to those builders who build several thousand per year," says Joe M. Bailey, chairman of Texas Capital Bank, Houston. "Most of the slowdown I've seen is in the lower-priced housing, so the move-up homes really haven't been affected that much. The type of houses we finance are still selling. A really hot segment right now is older, mature neighborhoods such as Briargrove and West University where you have tear-down houses."
Schools say inflation puts them at risk
To protect jobs, campuses, Texas' funding system needs to be revamped, educators say
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN — The school funding system approved by Texas lawmakers two years ago provides no new money to cover rising costs — especially for fuel, utilities and health insurance — and officials warn the plan's tax revenue straightjacket will allow inflation to push some school districts into bankruptcy.
At-risk districts, generally, will find a way to make it for the next school year, but many face horror situations in a few years unless legislators dramatically change the school funding system again, and soon.
Take the Houston-area Spring Branch Independent School District. Its budget projections show the district's current $58 million reserve fund will slide $68 million into the red within four years.
Unless a fix is enacted during next year's legislative session, school districts will be faced with difficult choices, including closing campuses and firing teachers, said Mike Falick, president of the Spring Branch school board.
"It's an untenable system. No business in the world would be able to survive with fuel, health insurance and salary increases and a flat revenue source," Falick said. "It's not sustainable.
Some school districts eventually will face "insolvency, some in a shorter time than others," he said.
Humble Independent School District is about two years away from insolvency, Superintendent Guy Sconzo said. It will cover a $7 million budget deficit this year and a projected $23 million deficit next year by dipping into its $53 million reserve fund.
Humble ISD has cut spending by $17.5 million since 2002, Sconzo said, but is struggling with inflation and enrollment growth. Each new student costs the district about $6,800, but it gets only $4,937 from all sources to educate that student, he said.
"As we reduce more, we get on the road of becoming Minimum ISD. We will be able to comply and meet state laws and regulations, but we can't do anything more than that because we can't afford to," Sconzo said.
State leaders defend the current system but will consider.... Continue ReadingMagellan Midstream building Texas pipeline
Magellan will build an 80-mile, 16-inch pipeline linking its terminal in East Houston to the Port Arthur refining region. The pipeline, which will be operational by 2011, will have a 150,000 barrel per day capacity."
Associated Press 05.12.08, 10:47 AM ET
"TULSA, Okla. -Petroleum product pipeline company Magellan Midstream Partners LP said Monday it will spend $240 million to build a Texas pipeline from East Houston to Port Arthur and upgrade a related terminal.
Magellan to put down $240M for Houston-area projects
Houston Business Journal
Magellan Midstream Partners LP plans to invest $240 million to connect its East Houston terminal to Motiva Enterprises LLC's Port Arthur refinery.
The Tulsa, Okla.-based energy company will construct an 80-mile petroleum products pipeline from Port Arthur to its 8,500-mile pipeline system beginning near Galena Park.
Magellan (NYSE: MMP) expects the pipeline to be operational by 2011 and to be able to transport 150,000 barrels per day.
The project is supported by a 15-year agreement with Houston-based Motiva, according to Magellan.
The company also plans to add a pipeline connection between the East Houston terminal and Motiva's existing terminal in Pasadena.
Magellan's pipeline system already delivers product to three Motiva terminals in Hearne, Waco and Dallas.
In addition to the pipeline projects, Magellan also intends to expand infrastructure at the East Houston terminal to include construction of 1.2 million barrels of storage and three additional truck rack lanes by 2010.
Texas economy is continuing to outpace the nation
San Antonio Business Journal - by Donna J. Tuttle
The Texas economy has been dragging its feet since January, but continues to outperform the nation, according to an update from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
"While signals remain mixed, there is increased sentiment that Texas economic activity will not rebound to its trend rate of growth until 2009," Fed senior economist Jason L. Saving notes.
Payroll employment rose in this region by more
than 1 percent each month, but not with the same vigor it has in the past. Still, the growth is better than national payroll employment, which declined to negative figures starting in January.
What's more, Texas logged its best unemployment performance in almost 25 years in February -- falling to 4.1 percent.
Construction in Texas is stumbling. Employment in the construction industry fell at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in March, after a strong February.
"Construction contract values continued their January swoon, falling 4.4 percent in February and 5.2 percent in March," the Fed report reveals. "The decline was broad based across residential, non-residential and non-building construction."
The energy sector is the bright spot in the state's economy "providing what is perhaps the single most prominent sign of economic strength at this point," Saving wrote in his report.
Energy employment and Texas rig count hover near 20-year highs, and energy prices are skyrocketing to all-time highs.
Price pressures in the region are mounting all the way around. Texas manufacturers reported higher raw material prices in March and expect the trend to continue. Firms are raising their finished-good prices as fuel, metals and shipping materials become an increasing cost burden.
Texas export are growing, rising by 3.7 percent in January and 5.7 percent in February, outpacing national rates.
Study: New home sales outpacing construction
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Houston-area builders are selling more homes than they're building, leading to a shrinking supply of new homes on the market.
That's according to the latest survey by Metrostudy, a national consulting company that tracks housing.
Housing starts dropped year-over-year 28 percent to around 34,500 during the 12 months ending in March. But builders closed on 39,880 homes during the same period.
In the first quarter, the area's new housing supply fell to 2.7 months, meaning it would take that long to sell all the finished homes on the market based on prior sales activity. That's an amount experts consider stable, according to Metrostudy.
Brian Binash, president of the Greater Houston Builders Association and Wilshire Homes, said builders have scaled back so much that he's anticipating a shortage of homes as early as this summer.
The shrinking inventory, combined with low interest rates and continued job growth, could lead to higher prices if demand spikes.
"If you're thinking of waiting until this summer or later, I wouldn't," Binash said.
Prices already rose in the first quarter.
The median price of a new home was $202,287, up 15 percent over last year.
David Orlando, president of Brighton Homes in Houston, expects prices to remain flat this year or rise slightly.
"But I don't think we'll have to give the incentives, so we'll make it up there," he said.
nancy.sarnoff@chron.com
Houston has received a $5 million grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund
Houston Business Journal - by Monica Perin Reporter
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has received a $5 million grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to create a trauma research center.
The Center for Transitional Injury Research will be headed by Dr. John Holcomb, a U.S. Army trauma surgeon. The ETF funds will be used to recruit leading scientists and surgeons in trauma care and new medical technologies.
The grant was announced in Houston on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Besides the ETF grant, an additional $13 million has been committed by UTHSC, Memorial Hermann Hospital System and the University of Texas System Medical Foundation to help establish the new research center.
Holcomb, 48, has headed the Army's Institute of Surgical Research at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio since 2001.
Under Holcomb's leadership Army surgeons have stepped up their use of controversial blood-clotting drugs to treat severe bleeding on the battlefield. Holcomb also led a redesign of the Army's system for transporting wounded soldiers from the battlefield to hospitals.
Injury-induced trauma is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer, and results in 160,000 deaths nationally and 16,000 in Texas annually, according to the National Trauma Institute.
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