Archive for January, 2008
Houston Architecture - The JP Morgan Chase Tower
January 21st, 2008 categories: Houston Architecture
Houston has a fairly impressive skyline and the JP Morgan Chase Tower is not the most exciting design around but it is the tallest in Houston and in all of Texas!!
The 75-story, 305.4 m (1,002 ft) tall JPMorgan Chase Tower of Houston, Texas, formerly the Texas Commerce Tower, is the tallest building in Texas, the tallest five-sided building in the world, and one of the world’s tallest structures.
The tower was built in Downtown Houston at 600 Travis Street in 1981 as the Texas Commerce Tower. It was designed by noted architects I.M. Pei & Partners. The local architect and architect of record is 3D/International. In some early plans, the building reached up to 80 stories; however, the FAA expressed concern that additional height was a risk for aircraft going into and out of nearby William P. Hobby Airport.
Upon its completion, the building surpassed Aon Center in Los Angeles to become the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi River, a title it held until Los Angeles’ Library Tower, now known as the U.S. Bank Tower, was built in 1990.
JPMorgan Chase Tower is also connected to the Houston Downtown Tunnel System. This system forms a network of subterranean, climate-controlled, pedestrian walkways that link twenty-five full city blocks. The lobby of JPMorgan Chase Tower has been designed to harmonize not only with the height of the structure, but also with the portico of Jones Hall. For that reason, a five story glass wall supported by a stainless steel space frame spans the entire 85 foot width of the front entrance, making the lobby area light and airy, and opening up the space to the plaza outside.
The sky lobby, aka “observation deck”, of this building is located on the 60th floor. The sky lobby acts as a transfer point for persons traveli
ng to the upper (61-75) floors, but also as an observation deck for the public during the working hours of 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. One can take the express elevator, providing a panoramic view of the city of Houston thanks to the use of wide glass spans and thirteen-foot ceilings. At the entrance of the building is a multi-colored sculpture designed by Joan Miró.
While still called the Texas Commerce Tower from time to time, the tower’s major tenant is J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which gives the tower its name. JPMC has moved many of its financial businesses from New York City to Houston. The tower is managed by Hines (its original owner) and owned by Prime Asset Management. The adjacent J.P. Morgan Center & Garage is still owned by Hines.
History of the JP Morgan Chase Tower provided by Wikipedia.
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Rob Walsh gets hungry in Houston. Where does he go? What does he eat?
January 15th, 2008 categories: Off Beat
Rob Walsh from the Houston Press Food Blog gets hungry in Houston!!!
“Searching for a late night snack after a night out, I found myself at La Michoacana Meat Market # 10 at Gessner near the West Park Toll Road. Unfortunately, the kitchen was closing up when I walked in, so I couldn’t get a taco. I wandered over to the meat counter in the back of the store to see what they had ready to eat. There were a lot of chicharrones, but not much else.
As I have complained here before, I love the bacon-like chicharrones you get in the carnicerias of Monterrey, Mexico, but I hate the crumbly fat puffs that 
pass for chicharrones around here. I was about to give up and go get some fried chicken, when I noticed the bin that said “chicharron de barriga.” It looked a lot meatier than the other kind, so I asked for a tiny sample. It turned out to be a meaty, bacon-flavored fried pork strip of exactly the kind I’ve been looking for.
“What does barriga mean?” I asked the butcher. He turned sideways to show me his profile and patted his belly. I took my pork belly chicharon home and nuked it briefly, which crisped the whole thing up. I dipped it in Arriba red salsa as I ate it and washed it down with a cold beer.
¡Que rico! ”
Man, that sounds good… I’ll have to give it a try next time I’m in that area. What’s your favorite late-night snack location? Maybe we can get some information sharing going here!!
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Houston foreclosures help qualify word of the year!
January 15th, 2008 categories: Off Beat
Interesting article on MSNBC today… the word of the year for 2007 is “subprime”!!!
Let’s just ask if we can get rid of our debt. Yeah… wish it was that easy!
“CHICAGO - Even the American Dialect Society knows how risky home mortgages are these days. The group of wordsmiths chose “subprime” as 2007’s Word of the Year at its annual convention Friday.
“‘Subprime’ has been around with bankers for awhile, but now everyone is talking about ’subprime,’” said Wayne Glowka, a spokesman for the group and a dean at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Ga. “It’s affecting all kinds of people in all kinds of places.”
About 80 members of the organization spent two days debating the merits of runners-up “Facebook,” “green,” “Googleganger” and “waterboarding” before voting for an adjective that means “a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage or investment.”
The choice signifies the public’s concern for a “deepening mortgage crisis,” the society said in a statement.”
So, who says Houston real estate isn’t exciting! I wonder what 2008’s word is going to be? I hope it’s not “recession”!
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Houston Real Estate - HAR Market Stats for December 2007
January 15th, 2008 categories: Houston Real Estate, Market Stats, Real Estate News
Looking at the graphic above (from HAR), sales in December 2007 are down from December 2006, but the average price of a single-family home is up to a new record for December!
2007 as a whole also turned out to be the 2nd-best year ever for property sales in Houston. 2006 holds the record right now.
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The Woodlands Real Estate Market Report - December 2007
January 9th, 2008 categories: Market Stats, The Woodlands
Pretty good number of homes sold in December for The Woodlands area. The absorption rate is definitely very reasonable for sellers. January could be a different story though… traditionally it’s the slowest month of the year.
Most deals closing in January were initiated in the month prior and, really, in December most people are focusing on Christmas and what they’re going to buy for everyone!!
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