SkyscraperPage Forum - HOUSTON | 1801 Smith (600 Jefferson) | 312 FT

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- - HOUSTON | 1801 Smith (600 Jefferson) | 312 FT | 20 FLOORS (REDEVELOPMENT) (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251877)

Wattleigh

Aug 5, 2022 4:41 PM

HOUSTON | 1801 Smith (600 Jefferson) | 312 FT | 20 FLOORS (REDEVELOPMENT)

Project in Brief: This 20-story tower was originally completed in 1972 as part of the larger Cullen Center complex. It has housed various entities over it's existence, most recently home to personnel from United Airlines who also had offices in the nearby 1600 Smith tower. Although it was renovated in 2017, keeping office tenants was an issue after United's departure. The tower was sold in 2021 to John Quinlan, a local attorney who also owns the adjacent 500 Jefferson tower. Construction is now underway to convert it to a residential structure.

From the architect

Quote:

The project is a renovation of a 20-story office building in downtown Houston into luxury apartments.

The tower will include 372-units with amenities including an interior pool, fitness, yoga, and multipurpose meeting spaces. The second floor will house leasing, a large club room, and have two-story townhouse units. Select third story units will have outdoor patios. The basement will include a speakeasy gathering space for use by building occupants.

The project is a terminus for the raised corridor system in downtown and connected above street level for access to adjacent buildings.

The project is slated to be complete in the second quarter of 2023.

Wattleigh

Sep 29, 2022 4:56 PM

9/25

c/o hindesky on HAIF

https://i.imgur.com/zqf8fCml.jpg

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https://i.imgur.com/JlLt88pl.jpg

Wattleigh

Nov 7, 2022 1:52 PM

10/16 - c/o hindesky on HAIF

https://i.imgur.com/Lgo7bqO.jpg

11/6 - c/o Brooklyn173 on HAIF

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/...5d43b713d.jpeg

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/...37e013031.jpeg

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/...5a5a3b6084.jpg

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/...0c7bed37ed.jpg

Wattleigh

Jan 18, 2023 9:36 PM

To be named ELEV8 Downtown according to this press release

Recent photos c/o hindesky on HAIF

12/26/22

https://i.imgur.com/QEM9dZf.jpg

1/1/2023

https://i.imgur.com/JnTA10Q.jpg

Wattleigh

Jan 25, 2023 3:17 PM

c/o hindesky on HAIF who adds...

Quote:

East side is painted and part of the south side.

https://i.imgur.com/0BqJUSp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lZbBw67.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LhqZEEh.jpg

Wattleigh

Feb 20, 2023 2:50 PM

c/o hindesky on HAIF

https://i.imgur.com/jLydt5u.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/T6MOO3h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sNcdrIt.jpg

Wattleigh

Apr 14, 2023 1:35 PM

c/o hindesky on HAIF - 4/9/2023

https://i.imgur.com/9Qy5XDR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/J55uWl8.jpg

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c/o Brooklyn173 on HAIF - 4/13/2023

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/...e4c4d9531.jpeg

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/...1a5685efe.jpeg

Wattleigh

Apr 24, 2023 3:29 PM

Signage installed on the southwestern side and lit at night.

c/o loon on HAIF

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/...8d56750da.jpeg

Wattleigh

May 30, 2023 12:53 PM

Wattleigh

Jul 11, 2023 1:47 PM

c/o hindesky on HAIF

https://i.imgur.com/xyFm9Tfh.jpg

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Wattleigh

Aug 22, 2023 3:15 PM

8/6 - c/o hindesky on HAIF

https://i.imgur.com/6XuwdVah.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/myCHWJih.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9aMyLiGh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BzZzSVKh.jpg

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8/18 - c/o hindesky on HAIF
https://i.imgur.com/SP9CKfrh.jpg

Wattleigh

Sep 25, 2023 3:39 PM

c/o hindesky on HAIF

https://i.imgur.com/UYmd7Vih.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JcDJQCqh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hqRhfvnh.jpg

Wattleigh

Feb 1, 2024 4:56 PM

https://realtynewsreport.com/downtow...o-luxe-living/

Quote:

Downtown Office Tower Converted to Luxe Living

by Realty News Report
February 1, 2024

HOUSTON – By Cynthia Lescalleet (for Realty News Report) – In a twist of our times, we now work in the places we lived, so is it really a stretch that there are places to live where we have worked?

The buzz keeps building about office-to-residential conversions in metropolitan areas with high vacancy rates and rising needs for housing.

Luxury Living Gets a Modern Setting in Office Tower Conversion in Cullen Center

Houston’s most recent conversion is in downtown Houston’s Cullen Center complex. DeBartolo Development is wrapping up its residential reboot of 1801 Smith, now branded the Elev8 luxury apartments. Think of the apartment community’s makeover as “condominium meets hotel,” company sources said.

In its new use, the 1971 building – previously known as 600 Jefferson – features 372 swank units with downtown views, the amenities expected in high-end apartment living, and direct connection to the pedestrian sky bridge system of other Cullen Center buildings — and beyond.

Unlike earlier conversions that chose smaller, older or historic properties, this building is of the modern age. Given Houston’s central business district’s late 20th c. growth, modern office tower account for about 74 percent of the built environment, a recent conversion study by AECOM for Downtown Houston Redevelopment Authority found. Most of them – about 81 percent — are larger than 500,000 square feet.

At 20 stories, 1801 Smith is a 458,000-square-foot tower with parking. DeBartolo purchased the foreclosed property for an estimated $20.6 million and began its transformation during the pandemic. The first residents arrived in mid-November 2023. Upper floors are being completed at a rate of one a week, company sources said.

“The reception from Houstonians has been overwhelming,” said Edward Kobel, company president and chief operating officer. It is rewarding – and a relief – “to create these and then (have) the public say they love it.”

The building’s half-century age is of note. A recent Market Insights report by Rent Café found that office conversions nationally have reduced the average age of buildings used by about 20 years, so they’re more likely to be 60 or 70 instead of 90 years-old.

The report said office-to-residential projects represent about 38 percent of the 147,000 apartments in current, planned and proposed adaptive reuse projects. In 2024, an estimated 55,300 units are in the works, up from 12,100 in 2021.

Also helping to fuel the trend is the estimated $150 billion in office mortgages due this year. A push for Green Building practices is another factor.

“The urban landscape is getting a makeover, shifting from corporate to community,” the report observed.

colemonkee

Feb 1, 2024 7:09 PM

Is there anything planned for the lots across the street? Look like prime underused development opportunities.

Wattleigh

Feb 20, 2024 6:28 PM

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/pro...al-conversion/

Quote:

How $100M turned a vacant downtown Houston highrise office into luxury apartments

By Marissa Luck and Amelia Winger
Feb. 19, 2024 6:00 a.m.

Converting a cold, corporate office building into a warm, livable place is mired in challenges.

But the recent $100 million transformation of a 52-year-old office highrise in downtown Houston into a 372-unit apartment community offers a case study into how one developer overcame many of the common hurdles.

For any office-to-residential project, finding a good building is half the struggle. Only 25% of office towers can make successful conversions, according to architecture firm Gensler’s analysis of 1,000 office buildings across North America.

Florida-based DeBartolo Development picked the 20-story tower at 1801 Smith because it checked the boxes for a successful conversion: rectangular, narrow floorplates; ample parking; recently refurbished elevators; working mechanical and electrical systems, and a desirable location. The seller, John Quinlan, was also willing to move out remaining tenants in the tower, making it easier for DeBartolo to launch redevelopment sooner.

Once a building is identified, the question then becomes, “How do you take an ugly, defunct building and turn it into something that’s leasable?” said Eddie Mastalerz, principal at ARC3 Architecture, the architecture firm for 1801 Smith. In the case of the building now known as Elev8, the converted tower had to offer a luxury residential experience that could compete with other new apartments downtown, he noted.

A major challenge for any conversion is the building’s geometry. Picture a typical office tower with an elevator and stairs at the core of the building. The spaces nearer the core don’t have access to natural light, presenting architects with a design challenge.

At 1801 Smith, what would have otherwise been unusable, dark space near the interior was turned into a mix of rentable storage units, coworking and amenity spaces. Every apartment has large floor-to-ceiling windows, but windowless spaces were turned into secondary bedrooms, larger bathrooms or closets.

Elsewhere, vestiges of the onetime office space were revamped with a more residential feel. Where a tall, grand lobby welcomed workers and visitors, steel structures now divide the space into two levels, creating several two-story units with windows more than 20 feet high.

AviationGuy

Feb 21, 2024 2:09 AM

Looks really, really good. Anyone know what the monstrosity is next door? Appears to be similar in original design. Hoping it gets a makeover as well.

Wattleigh

Feb 22, 2024 5:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AviationGuy (Post 10148049)

Looks really, really good. Anyone know what the monstrosity is next door? Appears to be similar in original design. Hoping it gets a makeover as well.

https://media.bizj.us/view/img/18460...-kbr-tower.jpg

If this is the building, it's 500 Jefferson. It was built about 10 years before this tower and was the first building in Cullen Center. It purchased by John Quinlan in 2017 who sought historic designation from the city for it in 2021.

IMO it was the better looking of the two structures pre-conversion. The document is worth reading if you're interested in development & design history and context like I am.

That said, I've been wondering if Quinlan will sell it to DeBartolo to redevelop into apartments like he did with this tower and, more recently, Three Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor.

AviationGuy

Feb 23, 2024 4:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wattleigh (Post 10149382)

Would be great if that happened.

I've asked previously, but are there any updates on the old hotel that looks bombed out (to the right of these buildings)?

Wattleigh

Feb 23, 2024 6:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AviationGuy (Post 10149991)

Would be great if that happened.

I've asked previously, but are there any updates on the old hotel that looks bombed out (to the right of these buildings)?

801 St Joseph Pkwy? It underwent some form of remediation in the not too distant past. Windows have been removed for a while. It's still for sale. I thought it was under contract at some point last year, but the LoopNet listing was recently updated.

I doubt it will have the three hotel configuration that was envisioned in the rendering since Staybridge Suites (one of the three) has a standalone building under construction at Texas Ave & Austin Street... but it's not impossible for hotel to be the end use. A lot of the newer hotels downtown are the product of renovations of existing structures.

806 Main Street - JW Marriott (and it's expansion took over the adjacent Battlestein's building.
Houston Bar Center - AC Hotel
State National Bank - Moxy
Southwestern Bell Building - Hyatt Place
Stowers Building - Aloft
Houston Post - Magnolia Hotel
Melrose Building - Le Meridien
Great Southwest Building - Cambria
Savoy Hotel - Holiday Inn
Union National Bank - Hotel Icon
Humble Tower - Residence Inn / Courtyard / SpringHill Suites

Could add a special mention of the Westin across from the Ballpark since the original frame of the old Houston World Trade Center was re-used for the current structure.

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