HOUSTON | Hotel Alessandra | 251 FT / 77 M | 21 FLOORS

[Urbannizer]

More details via Bisnow:

Originally Posted by Bisnow

Midway, Valencia Group, and Gensler (the trio that brought us Hotel Sorella) are building Hotel Alessandra in GreenStreet. They tell us it'll be like nothing Houston has ever seen. (That's gonna be tough, because most of us have seen some pretty strange stuff on the Internet.)

We snapped Midway director of leasing Suzanne Anderson and EVP of development Jamie Bryant at the Houston Pavilions' rebranding into GreenStreet. Jamie tells us Midway has always planned to add residential or hospitality to the center to make it truly mixed-use (the firm believes that requires at least three uses), with a 24/7 vibe. It saw a lack of quality hotel product Downtown (particularly since most of the nice facilities Downtown were built in the ‘80s—and if workout equipment is any indicator, things built in the '80s don't really hold up). Jamie says Midway has no qualms about building at the same time as Rida and others—he says in hospitality, “supply is demand,” and a large variety of beautiful facilities only helps.

The most unique feature of Hotel Alessandra is the lobby, way up on the 24th floor. Jamie tells us it uses Houston's skyline as an amenity, and checking in surrounded by the city will be an experience of its own. (Assuming you didn't walk up there using the staircase.) On top of that is the 25th-floor pool, event deck, and destination bar/restaurant. Gensler's design includes a partially retractable glass roof.

Down on solid ground, the atrium will have 10k SF of sunny meeting space and a fitness facility, and will provide views of the whole tower. And of course, having the lobby on the 24th floor leaves open prime real estate on the street level. Jamie tells us they're putting 7,000 SF of retail along Dallas. The team will be very selective in what'll go there—they want a five-star retailer to complement the five-star hotel—and in an effort to support the City's initiative to add storefronts, it will not be a restaurant or entertainment tenant. It's a benefit to GreenStreet, too—most of its existing retail on Dallas is spoken for.

http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-rea...icest-hotel-2/

[toxteth o'grady]

Check-in on the 24th floor is going to be a logistical mightmare, considering most patrons walk through the front door with their bags in hand. So they're going to leave their cars at the curb, walk to the elevator with their suitcases, wait for the elevator and go all the way up to the top floor to check into their room. Either a curbside bag check is going to be part of this or the owners are going to do a rethink of the comments.

[texboy]

This is a 5-star hotel. I highly doubt they'll even touch the door handle in their limo when they arrive let alone their bags. Curbside check-in I imagine will be a component though. Not sure how these 5 stars operate on that end.

Originally Posted by toxteth o'grady

Check-in on the 24th floor is going to be a logistical mightmare, considering most patrons walk through the front door with their bags in hand. So they're going to leave their cars at the curb, walk to the elevator with their suitcases, wait for the elevator and go all the way up to the top floor to check into their room. Either a curbside bag check is going to be part of this or the owners are going to do a rethink of the comments.

[toxteth o'grady]

It will definitely have to have a curbside check-in. Not everyone's coming in a limo.

[Urbannizer]

This is the site, a portion of GreenStreet that is only 6 years old. Photo by Triton

[toxteth o'grady]

Do those signs really say Skyhouse?

[Shasta]

Yes. Skyhouse downtown has had a leasing office @ Green Street for a few months now.

[GoldenBoot]

This is by far my favorite project in Houston. Don't get me wrong...there are several cool projects being developed. I just love this one.

[Urbannizer]

and more:



http://www.archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=7309

Originally Posted by Arch Paper

“Iconic” is the word that design architect Kap Malik of Gensler emphasized while describing Hotel Alessandra, the latest luxury accommodation set to rise in downtown Houston. Developer Midway

Companies commissioned the 25-story, 225-room hotel, which will also feature retail, residential, and entertainment space. Slated for completion in time for Superbowl LI in 2017, the project’s sleek design “looks toward the future,” said Malik.

Client check-in is in a 24th-floor sky lobby. A wine bar, pool deck with a retractable roof, and fine dining restaurant on the 25th floor immerse guests in both luxury and a panoramic view of the city. The ground floor boasts conference facilities. Malik designed the hotel with “something on every level” and each room will be decked out with the latest technology.

Glass ceilings permit guests in the lobby to see through to the top floor restaurant. Visual continuity is a motif that Malik incorporated throughout the design, most noticeably with the use of the “eyebrow,” a unifying design element that stretches from the top of the hotel to the bottom. The swooping line, highlighted at night by LEDs, seeks to communicate elegance and luxury.

Malik’s use of exterior materials dovetails with the eyebrow’s profile, with rough textures graduating to more delicate surfaces up the elevation. The base of the building incorporates stone, glass, and metal, while the tower skin features dichroic glass that emits colored hues when struck by light. The result is a unique pattern that changes throughout the course of each day—a kaleidoscopic effect that offers a uniform brilliance to the whole design.

[econik]

Here it is July...any demo?

[Urbannizer]

The Skyhouse leasing center is currently in the process of moving over to Skyhouse Houston. Demo work will begin soon after.

[Urbannizer]

Start date pushed back to March 2015. See #35 on the map.

http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_..._Map_11x17.pdf

[shakman]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Start date pushed back to March 2015. See #35 on the map.

http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_..._Map_11x17.pdf

I was hoping this development would have been developed sooner. Come to think of it, we are almost into the 4Q of 2014.

[toxteth o'grady]

This won't be ready for Super Bowl Sunday.

[Urbannizer]

Demolition work begins Monday; breaking ground in Mid-April.

[munchymunch]

WHOA! nice design

[Urbannizer]

Design has changed. Sigh.



http://www.houstonchronicle.com/busi...6048121.php#/0

Originally Posted by Chron

Design for planned downtown hotel gets a revision

Houston-based Midway has redesigned the luxury hotel it is planning to build downtown, giving the 21-story tower a more sleek, classic look than the modern, whimsical feel it originally had.

The design change was made to give the Hotel Alessandra a more cohesive feel between the exterior and interior space, said Jonathan Brinsden, Midway's CEO, who described the new look as a "modern interpretation of European style." The new design will also give the building a more pedestrian-friendly facade at its ground level.

"There are a lot of iconic buildings that have no response to the pedestrian environment. They turn their back on the street," Brinsden said. "Our philosophy is activating the street."

Midway recently began demolition on the site where the hotel will be built.

[TXLove]

Total downgrade from initial rendering! Still glad something is being built

[toxteth o'grady]

Feh...

[toxteth o'grady]

Word from HBJ is that while the hotel is losing four floors, it will have the same number of rooms, which implies smaller spaces in each room. Cost-saving measure?