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posts in "USA West"

Contrasting Whole Foods in Austin and Philadelphia

Posted on May 03, 2012 by David Leazenby

Downtown grocery stores are tough to implement. There is no way around it. Not even the most organic and flexible among us can pull off a new store perfectly and serve both pedestrians and cars equally well. I had the opportunity last week to visit stores in both Philadelphia and Austin and the differences are striking. I was expecting the Austin store to impress me. It's their headquarters after all; as well as a flagship store. Located downtown in the hip West Sixth neighborhood, it covers a full city block. (Inside, it is nothing short of grocery bliss, and if you can navigate the crowd you will be rewarded with some of the best barbecue in Texas according to my tour guide with Austin Eats.) However, I wasn't focused on the food on this stop. I had my eyes on how Whole Foods developed in an urban neighborhood, which they usually do so well with structured parking, mixed-uses, flexible store design, etc. In fact, a couple days earlier, I was in Philadelphia and spotted this iconic Whole Foods blended into the streetscape as if it were here for 100 years.
In Austin I saw something completely different. Of the four street frontages around the store, you will find the following: 1. loading zone 2. parking lot 3. parking lot 4. stair-stepped facade and signage camouflaging the real entrance. There isn't one comfortable walking experience all the way around the building. The best approach is by car, which I did a couple days later to take these pictures below. It's design would be very welcome in suburban areas that are trying to create urban districts, but yet are still auto-dominated markets. What impressed me most about the neighborhood is that the tallest buildings in downtown Austin are residential and are located within walking distance to a fantastic grocery store. That is tough to beat on the sustainability test. I just wish I didn't have to drive there.

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This entry was posted in Design, Project Highlight, USA West

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Mixed Use Development (or not) in Midtown Houston

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Greg Martin

We believe in mixed use, but in order for a mixed use project to be successful, all components must succeed themselves. Over the past 12 years, the principals of Milhaus have developed projects with and without mixing uses. Some have worked well and others have not so well (during 2007-2009). Last Thursday we received approval for multiple setback variances in Houston for two city blocks in the Midtown neighborhood. Over the course of the last week, several blogs in Houston have been discussing our project, the neighborhood, and the rapid development currently underway in their great city. You can find their continuing discussions here:

Indeed, Houston is not a mid-tier city by any measure. As the 4th largest city in the country with 23 of the Fortune 500 companies in the metro area, we think its is on the path to becoming a 24 hour city, to be mentioned in the same breath as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Miami. When we looked at Houston, we chose to focus on the Midtown area for a variety of reasons. It has easy access to jobs downtown as well as the medical center. By its transit service, block patterns, and ongoing streetscape improvements it has the potential to be the most walkable of all neighborhoods in the city. To the west of Main Street: the funky shops, number of new residents, and the type of nightlife and dining options attracted us as well. As we explored the area east of Main Street, it reminded us of other urban areas attractive to redevelopment. While it is lacking in retail uses, it does have a large component of home ownership. From discussions with retail brokers and tenants in Houston, there just isn’t enough housing density east of Main Street to justify new commercial space. However, we believe that if enough residents move into the neighborhood that will change. Our project includes 280 units. It’s hardly enough to warrant new commercial space on it’s own, but we think it will help set the stage for more development there.

In order to complement what the Midtown Redevelopment Authority is planning in the area, we designed the first floor of the building along Gray Avenue, between Austin and La Branch to be built to hold commercial tenants if the demand is ever warranted. Until then, we will locate all of the building’s leasing and club rooms/amenity areas along the street front. It’s not retail, but it will help create a pedestrian experience along Gray Avenue. Since the apartment market is currently very hot, the common perception might be that it would be easy to obtain equity and debt financing for a mixed use project, let alone an apartment project. However, this is not an accurate perception in today’s financing world. In the past many financial firms and banks have been burned by investing in Houston, due to the boom and bust cycle that tends to predominate the real estate market here. We are facing challenges just like everyone else, which is somewhat complicated by focusing east of Main Street. Nevertheless, we are committed to Midtown and we will continue to focus on making this project a reality.

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This entry was posted in Our Philosophy, USA West

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Great places need enough residences

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Tadd Miller

Developed by Woodbine Development Corporation and now fully owned by Macerich, Kierland Commons is a very successful and award winning project. It’s retail spaces are well-leased and has heavy volumes of very diverse, multi-cultural and high-end traffic. For the residential units it has a great sales team led by Bill Hammond of Signature Properties and they are offering a terrific residential product. The amenities, quality, unique design, mountain views and finishes exceeded my expectations. However, I am not sure this is the place where I would want to purchase a home. Although I am a strong supporter, investor, and promoter of building residential into large-scale retail projects, I believe there is one critical element to this concept that was missed at Kierland Commons - and its perhaps not the developer's fault. In order to create a sustainable residential neighborhood and a place that feels like home, it is important to create enough residences to build value around each other. The 84 units at Kierland Commons seems to be floating in the middle of a mall, with no real hopes for neighborhood expansion. With such a small number of units, it makes me wonder if the residential will always be a second class “tenant” dominated by the retail space? It’s a fantastic place and I wish more units could be incorporated there. I am not sure if the 84 units was negotiated by strict zoning guidelines. However, this project demonstrates the effects of building too few units in a major retail center. A critical mass of residential units (at least 200) and at enough density (at least 25/acre) are critically important. I could see this being a great hotel location, a place to spend a night away near the shops and dining, but a long term residential commitment with so few neighbors seems less likely. Just like the retail space in a new development needs a critical mass of shops, the residential product needs to have enough people living there to build a true neighborhood. It creates stability and adds more long-term value.

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This entry was posted in Our Philosophy, Project Highlight, USA West

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Camden MidTown – Houston

Posted on October 03, 2011 by Tadd Miller

A key for the revitalization of the Midtown District of Houston is the 337 Units at Camden MidTown. The project sits across from, and a good number of the units will have views over the new, hopefully soon to be constructed Midtown Park. In addition, Camden has announced they are moving forward soon with the long anticipated next phase of redevelopment of the Super Block which will expand this block and link it directly to the Metro stop. This will be the first project in Midtown that will actually link directly to the Metro stop. Although when they first started the project, location was not what it is today; location of the project is a key factor in the success and long term viability of this project. Although it is nice to see mixed use with first floor retail (when it works!), I would expect that would have been a loser on this deal if developed in the original plan. The project is just a big box, no real creativity or unique design that hasn’t been done a ton of other places, but it is very dense, seems to be built with quality, and has great finishes and an incredible amenities package.

I am amazed by the sheer scale of the amenities centers and their multiple features in some projects today. Everything is bigger in Texas, (I just visited a project with a lazy river and bar in their pool!) However, more importantly for this project, at the it was built, Midtown was not where it is today. So, Camden had to ensure they could offer their residents what they needed on site. Camden taking the risk in this neighborhood at that time is one of the best things about this project; it was a big catalyst to be able to develop the other projects in the area. I would like to believe that Camden’s risk in these urban markets is part of the reason that they have posted some of the largest returns of its publically traded peer group over the last few years. However, I am sure some of that has to do with their concentration in some of the best gaining areas of the country like Dallas and Houston. Regardless, I hope that Camden continues to try to implement these types of projects in more transitional urban areas, and I believe they will be financially rewarded for those risks if they do.

This entry was posted in USA West

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Stacked Big Boxes in Houston

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Tadd Miller

On my way out of Houston recently I came across Trammell Crow’s stacked big box deal at the corner of Richmond Ave. and Wesleyan St. in the Greenway neighborhood. It includes a Costco superstore as it's base and an LA Fitness stacked on top. It is flanked by two-story office/retail b-shops, and attached to a Morgan Group apartment project called 33. It is clear that the national credit tenant is driving the requirement for surface parking at the front door. Direct access from the parking garage directly into LA and Costco make it very convenient. However, the lack of integration with the residential makes it appear as if residents would need to drive from Morgan’s apartments to the Costco. It seems awkward that it is not more integrated with this large of an investment into a high density mixed use deal. A health center on the second floor seems like a pretty good use for space that would likely be un-leasable in a retail format. Although disappointed in the limited pedestrian connectivity, it is nice to see some creativity/flexibility from these national retailers by at least stacking these boxes. Would love to recreate something like this in downtown Indianapolis. Urban residents need these services and this is the only way to get these retailers to fit on the available land.

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This entry was posted in Project Highlight, USA West

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829 Folsom - San Francisco

Posted on August 15, 2011 by David Leazenby

After touring a couple high priced towers in San Francisco, it's nice to visit a more approachable building that has less fuss, but still focuses on details. Designed by Forma, LLC in San Francisco, this 9-story mixed-use building known as 829 Folsom is simple and very well done. While its less amenitized than others in its market, it targets a different buyer. Some people do not want to pay for a pool deck, a fitness center or a large lobby awaiting their return every evening. Also, while it's views are less stunning than something like One Rincon Hill, its 69 units compete where it really counts today. Here you find much lower prices and less condo fees, too. Like other new condo and apartment buildings today, the focus on contemporary finishes is evident. White/chrome fixtures with dark counters and warm, natural colored cabinets seems to be the norm. In fact, here you can even get the one remaining studio unit without a parking space for $399,000 - a bargain for new product in the city. There are not many places in the US where you can sell units without parking spaces. They have sold 5 out of 6 in this building. Many housing trends originate in the Bay Area. Perhaps this is one coming soon to a neighborhood near you. The building also includes 2,652sf of space available for a commercial use on the first floor. Anyway, as promised, here are some pics below from my visit with Hugh O'Donnell, salesperson and excellent tour guide. My pics are nothing compared to their Flickr site.

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This entry was posted in Project Highlight, USA West

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Examining Metro’s Impact on Midtown Houston

Posted on August 09, 2011 by Tadd Miller

I am still curious as to how the Metro line will impact Midtown Houston. I believe the long term viability and impact will be significant, but to date it hasn’t spurred the volume of development that I would have expected. With Midtown linking two of the largest employment centers in Houston (Downtown/Medical Center), it would seem there would be a race to develop everything in its path to house this multitude of employees and commuters. Instead, while development is taking place a couple of blocks away, nothing seems to be happening immediately adjacent to the Metro Line. There is more vacant land and deserted buildings along the Metro in midtown Houston than any other portion of the Midtown area. Why is this?

Unreasonable adjacent landowners?
Even if you could commute from home to work, you still have to drive everywhere else in Houston. Could you fix this with share car program?
Perhaps there isn’t a significant amount of housing in the area. Maybe what housing is there hasn’t been developed in reasonable proximity for people to try the Metro.
I wonder how many of the people living at Post Midtown/Camden have actually ever used the Metro. Houston is such a car designed and dependent city; is it just going to take more time for people to get used to this type of travel?
Is it just a timing thing with the economic woes of the country? Although, Texas seems to be escaping most of that for now.

When people finally start to realize the advantages of using the Metro to get around the city, the Midtown area will undoubtably reap the benefits. I just wish it was happening faster and am surprised we haven’t seen more!

This entry was posted in Transportation, USA West

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One Rincon Hill in San Francisco

Posted on August 08, 2011 by David Leazenby

We learn a lot from studying other projects in different cities. Each place has its own unique market and culture that becomes incorporated into any given design. While in San Francisco this weekend I checked out the development progress in the Downtown and South of Market areas. With each year that goes by, this neighborhood continues its radical change from warehouses to people places. One of the more dramatic changes has happened in the Rincon Hill neighborhood (See also CurbedSF's Rincon Hill's page). What began with a city initiative to bring more housing near the Financial District and the waterfront has resulted in a new way to live in the city. It’s certainly less charming and with few slopes, but rather more modern and glistening. The glass, steel, and water combine for a new way to experience the city. Some there call it "Manhattan-like." But it’s different than that. The plan is for tall, carefully spaced, very slender, low profile buildings in order to preserve everyone's cherished views that make the city special. See more on the Rincon Hill plan here. I visited four condo projects on Saturday in South of Market, including Millennium Tower, One Rincon Hill, 829 Folsom and Blu. I found some spectacular views (and prices). See pics below of One Rincon Hill, developed by Urban West Associates in San Francisco. I'll post some pics of other buildings later this week.

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This entry was posted in Project Highlight, USA West

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Discovery Park – Houston

Posted on August 04, 2011 by Tadd Miller

I was fortunate to have my family join me on my recent business trip to Houston and we became a daily user of Discovery Green, Houston's "Central Park." It is a must-see for visitors to Houston, especially considering that this phenomenal 12 acre park was created on a site of former parking lots and vacant land. Sandwiched between the convention center, Minute Maid Park, CBD Office core, and the Toyota Center, the park is filled with families, conventioneers and sports fans. A family day downtown happens around Discovery Green with an Astros game, remote sailboats, and a hamburger stand. Our visit included cheering on our home state universities, Purdue and Rose Hulman, in their quest for the Shell Cup solar powered car race that intersected the Green. The water feature and directly adjacent playground were great additions to an already multi-faceted public-space. That evening, a dinner on the balcony of The Grove, overlooking Discovery Green was a nice finish.

Currently, the sole residential project in the area is One Park Place, a 37-story, 346-unit apartment project that overlooks the park. However, the presence of such a park is definitely a step in the right direction to attract more residential development to the area. One of the biggest things missing in many of the urban locations I visit is the availability of open green space and play sets for children. These amenities are key to attracting and keeping families in downtown urban markets. All in all, Discovery Green was a great place to spend an afternoon with the family, and a place that I would like to see us emulate in Indianapolis sometime in the very near future.

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This entry was posted in Lifestyle, USA West

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CityScape - Downtown Phoenix

Posted on May 25, 2011 by David Leazenby

I can only imagine what CityScape has done for this area of Downtown Phoenix. This was my first visit to the former home of Patriots Square Park where RED Development is completing its $900M project. Seeing it in mid-phase of construction offered glimpses of what Downtown Phoenix has accomplished over the last decade. At the completion of the ULI Spring Council Forum on Friday, I had the opportunity to explore the mix of retail, dining, offices and a hotel. When it’s completed the 1.8 million square foot development will have solidified downtown as a premier destination in America’s largest city as measured by land area. RED has transformed this three-block area to include such tenants as CVS Pharmacy, Urban Outfitters and a lively Arrogant Butcher restaurant. The first phase also included and a 27-story office tower with RED’s headquarters. Also, now under-construction is a Kimpton Palomar Hotel. The property benefits from its location next to government offices, Arizona State’s downtown campus, the US Airways Center and Chase Field. I also had the opportunity on Wednesday last week to hear from Phoenix Mayor, Phil Gordon. He explained what this City has accomplished over the last decade in downtown development, including the convention center, the light rail, the sports stadiums, and now increasing residential development. He claimed the water supply in Phoenix will allow the city to triple its population from about 1.5M to 4.5M. The investment the city has made in the downtown area is a great step in that direction, Mayor.