1 gold star for the first person that guesses the Texas city where this will soon be announced.
New 58 story mixed-use tower planned - but where?
#1
Posted 15 March 2013 - 04:08 PM
#2
Posted 15 March 2013 - 05:10 PM
1 gold star for the first person that guesses the Texas city where this will soon be announced.
NOT Fort Worth...
#3
Posted 15 March 2013 - 05:13 PM
#4
Posted 15 March 2013 - 06:37 PM
#5
Posted 15 March 2013 - 08:30 PM
Fort Worth!
#6
Posted 16 March 2013 - 08:30 AM
None so far are correct. And it's not Dallas either.
#7
Posted 16 March 2013 - 09:55 AM
Austin
#9
Posted 16 March 2013 - 01:44 PM
Is it this in Austin:
I too had zeroed in on Austin and this project; but doggedly wished otherwise and willed it to be Fort Worth. Severely bitter sweet.
#10
Posted 16 March 2013 - 04:33 PM
New York has more than one going...
New York.
Better Business Bureau: A place to find or post valid complaints for auto delerships and maintenance facilities. (New Features) If you have a valid gripe about auto dealerships, this is the place to voice it.
#11
Posted 16 March 2013 - 07:35 PM
Not Austin...this project hasn't been announced yet.
#12
Posted 16 March 2013 - 09:24 PM
Las Colinas or Addison
Adrian
#13
Posted 16 March 2013 - 11:48 PM
Is it this in Austin:
Is it this in Austin:
I too had zeroed in on Austin and this project; but doggedly wished otherwise and willed it to be Fort Worth. Severely bitter sweet.
It would be easy to say Austin considering the building boom they're in. But I doubt this thread would have been started if it was...
P.S., I'll throw out El Paso. Because God knows they need something.
#14
Posted 17 March 2013 - 07:45 AM
San Antonio then
#15
Posted 18 March 2013 - 06:14 AM
I say Waco (does the winner get a prize?)
#16
Posted 18 March 2013 - 07:07 AM
#17
Posted 18 March 2013 - 07:13 AM
#18
Posted 18 March 2013 - 07:23 AM
I was wrong...it's 59 stories. And the winner is.... Midland.
Surely this is our sign that oil prices are about to crash. But for Midland's sake I hope this thing gets built. It would be visible basically from the Davis Mountains to Lubbock.
http://www.mywesttex...19bb2963f4.html
#19
Posted 18 March 2013 - 07:48 AM
“There are things to do in downtown already,” Greaves said. “There’s just no parking.”
Oh this made me cringe.
#20
Posted 18 March 2013 - 01:10 PM
I have been reading about this project for several days in the Midland Reporter Telegram. I lived in Midland during the 1980s, During the oil boom they had plans to build a 45-50 story building near the library. Sadly it never came to be. I have a feeling that this one just might make it.
#21
Posted 18 March 2013 - 01:28 PM
I think it's oil-driven over-kill, if not overly ostentatious. Is there really a market need for this size Class A office building in a city of less than 200,000? I mean, less than Arlington, whose tallest structure is, what, 15 stories? Not to mention Fort Worth, with a population nearing 700,000, whose highest tower is 38 stories?
#22
Posted 18 March 2013 - 01:48 PM
This latest report is now saying it will be 53 stories above ground. I agree, Johnfwd, I used to be in the oil business. The need for office space "in the field" has diminished. So much has been moved to Houston and Dallas. Midland has an abundance of office space now, but mostly class B. They went through office booms in the 50's, 80's, and now.
http://www.mywesttex...19bb2963f4.html
#23
Posted 18 March 2013 - 01:50 PM
Fort Worth's tallest building is 40 stories.
#24
Posted 18 March 2013 - 02:50 PM
You have to start somewhere, might as well go big or go home.
Better Business Bureau: A place to find or post valid complaints for auto delerships and maintenance facilities. (New Features) If you have a valid gripe about auto dealerships, this is the place to voice it.
#25
Posted 18 March 2013 - 03:06 PM
This latest report is now saying it will be 53 stories above ground. I agree, Johnfwd, I used to be in the oil business. The need for office space "in the field" has diminished. So much has been moved to Houston and Dallas. Midland has an abundance of office space now, but mostly class B. They went through office booms in the 50's, 80's, and now.
True to some extent on the office space, but I know of several companies that would love some class A space in Midland. Given the multi-use nature of the building I'd think we're only talking about 20 stories of office at the most, which actually seems very doable.
Just as importantly, I think there would be a fairly high degree of demand from a high-end hotel and also on the condo thing. Hotel space is nonexistent out there, and I really do think there are a lot of people who live in Midland but spend a lot of time in other places (or those who now live in the other places but spend a lot of time in Midland) that would be interested in a high end condo.
So I'm surprised to say it, but it seems to me like this thing could actually work.
#26
Posted 18 March 2013 - 04:53 PM
Midland....
Freaking, MIDLAND.
You've gotta be kiddin' me. If this thing is built, I will be disappointed in my own hometown.
#27
Posted 18 March 2013 - 05:48 PM
#28
Posted 18 March 2013 - 06:36 PM
Why?
That's "why" to me or to Midland building a 59 story building?
#29
Posted 18 March 2013 - 07:10 PM
Wouldn't a building that tall make Midland sort of the Pyongyang of the Western Hemisphere?
http://allcity7.com/...el-north-korea/
#30
Posted 18 March 2013 - 08:22 PM
This will complete the encircling of Fort Worth once this project in Midland becomes reality, if ever; and Midland will be joining the likes of Oklahoma City, Dallas, Austin and Houston as another one of our regional cities having a signature skyline.
Reading in between the lines, the Midland Project may have some hurdles although it does appear that the hurdles can be overcome, but with little shame at all, I would beg for that $350m project to park itself between Jones and Calhoun Streets south of 12th in downtown.
It does seem petty for me to complain about the works of Sundance Square and Bob Simpson; but to qualify my attitude, I do hope that Sundance Square has maxed out of its land holdings downtown and that the last early and mid 20th Century building in downtown has been renovated and fully leased. When that moment comes, perhaps new venture groups can feel confident about entering into the Fort Worth CBD market.
Severely bitter sweet but for sure, the bar has and is being raised by places even like Midland.
#31
Posted 18 March 2013 - 09:22 PM
Sundance has not maxed out its landholdings. Look at the old Monnig's block, east of The Tower. It is a full block site that has not been redeveloped. There are also other blocks to the east of the two City Center buildings that are still vacant parking lots.
#32
Posted 18 March 2013 - 09:37 PM
So why is this such a devestating blow to Fort Worth? If it even happens? I have a hard time seeing how the economics of this work out in positive territory.
#33
Posted 18 March 2013 - 11:06 PM
So why is this such a devestating blow to Fort Worth? If it even happens? I have a hard time seeing how the economics of this work out in positive territory.
Just feels like yet another reminder that this city is behind or too slow for its size, as if the rest of the world is passing us up.
Just like our whole issue with rail.... or just public transportation in general, for that matter.
#35
Posted 19 March 2013 - 12:24 PM
Just feels like yet another reminder that this city is behind or too slow for its size, as if the rest of the world is passing us up.
Just like our whole issue with rail.... or just public transportation in general, for that matter.
While I won't argue with you on public transportation, I don't know how you can feel that other cities are passing up Fort Worth when it comes to development. Give me the smart redevelopment of neighborhoods like 7th Street or the Near Southside or the long awaited completion of the Sundace public plaza over a single high rise project any day of the week. Vertical development will happen in Fort Worth when the finances work out. I don't really want it a day sooner and I refuse to be disappointed in the city just because Midland might build a skyscraper that won't be any more sustainable than a sprawling Wal Mart Supercenter in the suburbs.
Having witnessed the glorious rise of the Block TU Tower's 60 stories and the XTO Headquarters' 50 stories in Fort Worth, I would say to the people of Midland, "You will believe it when you see it."
I always get a chuckle out of anyone getting bent out of shape about XTO not building on the Landmark lot. (Not saying that you're doing that.) As far as I remember, XTO never commented on it publicly and it never got past the rumor and speculation stage.
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#36
Posted 19 March 2013 - 01:04 PM
You may be right about XTO, although this website includes it as an evidently dead project in the section "Under Construction, Proposed & Unbuilt.". Now, we all remember how public was the announcement of the proposed Block TU Tower.
#37
Posted 19 March 2013 - 01:23 PM
While I won't argue with you on public transportation, I don't know how you can feel that other cities are passing up Fort Worth when it comes to development. Give me the smart redevelopment of neighborhoods like 7th Street or the Near Southside or the long awaited completion of the Sundace public plaza over a single high rise project any day of the week. Vertical development will happen in Fort Worth when the finances work out. I don't really want it a day sooner and I refuse to be disappointed in the city just because Midland might build a skyscraper that won't be any more sustainable than a sprawling Wal Mart Supercenter in the suburbs.
Agreed 100%. The large-scale densification of our urban neighborhoods with smart, humanely-designed new developments (even if they're between 2-10 stories) will do more for this city's health and public image long-term than a new skyscraper or two will ever do.
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--
Kara B.
#38
Posted 19 March 2013 - 02:12 PM
While I won't argue with you on public transportation, I don't know how you can feel that other cities are passing up Fort Worth when it comes to development. Give me the smart redevelopment of neighborhoods like 7th Street or the Near Southside or the long awaited completion of the Sundace public plaza over a single high rise project any day of the week. Vertical development will happen in Fort Worth when the finances work out. I don't really want it a day sooner and I refuse to be disappointed in the city just because Midland might build a skyscraper that won't be any more sustainable than a sprawling Wal Mart Supercenter in the suburbs.
Agreed 100%. The large-scale densification of our urban neighborhoods with smart, humanely-designed new developments (even if they're between 2-10 stories) will do more for this city's health and public image long-term than a new skyscraper or two will ever do.
True. Also likely is that large-scale densification of the CBD (i.e., running out of undeveloped space), combined with increased market demand for Class A office space and low vacancy rates, will eventually demand vertical rather than horizontal construction. Unless the urban economics of downtown development is changing. But, if you have the money and the ego, you can throw caution to the wind and build a structure that reaches the heavens amidst the desert sands of Dubai, and the sagebrush and tumbleweed of West Texas.
#39
Posted 19 March 2013 - 06:50 PM
This project just appears to be someone exercising his ego. With the current boom, Midland is in severe need of basic, affordable housing for the oil and gas workers. If someone wants to make money, build affordable houses, not high-rise, expensive condos. Even if 18 year old high school graduates can immediately land a truck driving job for $70k per year, they still can't afford a $350k condo.
#40
Posted 19 March 2013 - 11:02 PM
I spoke to a friend in Midland tonight, he seemed pretty confident this project will pass through, unless there will be a catastrphic event in the economy of oil and gas industry. The planning for this has been going on for some time. The CBD in Midland has about 1.75 million s.f. of class A office space. It has less than 15k vacant and the demand is growing. Class B+ is has no vacancy. There is about a 90% occupancy of all the total office space.
Since Ft. Worth architect, Wyatt Hedrick, designed the Petroleum Building in the late 1920s (12 stories when the city had less than 5000 people) Midland has been know as the "Tall City". If Fort Worth had not built the CNB building in the latter half of the 1950s, Midland would have topped FW when they built the Wilco Tower in 1958. Midland's oil based economy has inhaled and exhaled at least three times since WWII, however this boom may outlast the previous ones with new energy consuming nations that did not exist in the previous upswings. Midland has always been a white collar city, unlike its neighbor twenty miles to the west, Odessa. Midland is filled with many upscale neighborhoods, outside of oil and gas supply warehouses and services, there is no petrochemical plants or refining in the city.
As far as Fort Worth being "eclipsed" by one building in a city 1/5th its size, Fort Worth remains light years ahead of Midland, and always will. Living in metro Kansas City, I am constantly hearing people marveling over Fort Worth, especially downtown. When KC had a bond election to help finance the $850 million dollar Power and Light District in our downtown, The pro bond commercials featured FW as a model downtown and an example of what we could be. Not to mention several of our local new crews went to FW to film Sundance Square and downtown. Not Austin, not Dallas, not Houston, not even San Antonio, it was Fort Worth. Fort Worth may not have a Devon Tower like OKC but the downtown is amazing and unique.
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#41
Posted 20 March 2013 - 12:59 AM
As far as Fort Worth being "eclipsed" by one building in a city 1/5th its size, Fort Worth remains light years ahead of Midland, and always will. Living in metro Kansas City, I am constantly hearing people marveling over Fort Worth, especially downtown. When KC had a bond election to help finance the $850 million dollar Power and Light District in our downtown, The pro bond commercials featured FW as a model downtown and an example of what we could be. Not to mention several of our local new crews went to FW to film Sundance Square and downtown. Not Austin, not Dallas, not Houston, not even San Antonio, it was Fort Worth. Fort Worth may not have a Devon Tower like OKC but the downtown is amazing and unique.
You're gonna have to excuse and forgive me for not really believing that (past experiences with outsiders)... but I guess so.
#43
Posted 20 March 2013 - 08:10 AM
This project just appears to be someone exercising his ego. With the current boom, Midland is in severe need of basic, affordable housing for the oil and gas workers. If someone wants to make money, build affordable houses, not high-rise, expensive condos. Even if 18 year old high school graduates can immediately land a truck driving job for $70k per year, they still can't afford a $350k condo.
I'll have to disagree on the condo thing. I think there are hundreds of Midland folks (not high school grads, but more like empty nesters and part-time residents) who would be willing to keep a condo there. I could see the big oil companies buying up half the condos just for visiting executives. Beats paying $250 per night for the Holiday Inn Express...if you can get a room at all.
I think the multi-use nature of the building is the thing that will get it done, if indeed it does succeed.
#44
Posted 20 March 2013 - 09:32 AM
Well, I hope it gets built. And let's be honest, Midland's skyline is already more attractive than Fort Worth's.
#45
Posted 20 March 2013 - 12:57 PM
And let's be honest, Midland's skyline is already more attractive than Fort Worth's.
For real?
http://livemidlandte...magine-midland/
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#46
Posted 20 March 2013 - 01:10 PM
Well, I hope it gets built. And let's be honest, Midland's skyline is already more attractive than Fort Worth's.
Among Fort Worth’s siblings, Midland is closest to being “Fort Worth like”; even its name is derived from being located midway between Fort Worth and El Paso. If this project does become a reality, then cheers for Midland. It would be nice, IMO, if the project’s design was more in keeping with the predominant art deco character of Midland’s skyline; something that I really hope will be considered when Fort Worth eventually get it own signature tower(s).
The Midland project is less ambitious than some other recent projects in the region. I do think that the mix use of the Midland project makes it more doable as it addresses several needs in the Midland’s core area.. Even though it will be taller than any building in Fort Worth, it is actually smaller than Burnett Plaza or 777 Main in total space. Also, the price tag of $350m is half the price tag of the newly constructed Devon Tower in OKC.
To be honest and or "real", Fort Worth’s skyline is as attractive as or more than the Midland skyline:
[scroll down]
http://www.redwingae...landodessa.html
versus
http://www.redwingae...sfortworth.html
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#47
Posted 20 March 2013 - 01:22 PM
*Sees downtown Midland revitalization plan talks up MOAR PARKING*
*Looks at aerial photo of downtown Midland, sees massive surface parking lots*
*Sighs*
--
Kara B.
#48
Posted 20 March 2013 - 01:51 PM
^ aaha, amen to that. In a city like Midland I can kinda understand why that may be neccessary for the present time. Honestly I feel like Midland would have way more benefit from 10 5 story buildings rather than one 50 story one.
No way Does Midland have a nicer skyline than FW. The medical district has a skyline on par with Midland.
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#49
Posted 20 March 2013 - 02:00 PM
For the last three years, I have done a bicycle tour in the Davis Mountains and we have made pit stops in Midland. The last two years, I have taken the time to explore the city and I do not think that Midland has a nicer looking skyline than Fort Worth. I also don't think it is more impressive. I do think that for a city of it's size, the skyline is impressive. However, there wasn't much pedestrian activity in downtown. I think it needs a lot more help. I also agree that several shorter buildings would benefit their downtown more than one tall one.
#50
Posted 20 March 2013 - 05:20 PM
*Sees downtown Midland revitalization plan talks up MOAR PARKING*
*Looks at aerial photo of downtown Midland, sees massive surface parking lots*
*Sighs*
Which is why I was taken back when I heard a reporter say that "Parking is a headache".
Like, seriously...? In MIDLAND?
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