why hasnt houston built a supertall in downtown? (Sugar Land, Liberty: how much, houses)

[iamCraigHenry]

Honestly, Houston and Texas in general has an abundance of space. We aren't like Chicago or New York where people are living on top of eachother. It's not needed. For one we don't have the businesses that would stay in a supertall long term. Hines is unloading practically every building in their books. While I would love for Houston to be the kind of city that would host developers like Related or Boston Properties and others. The market for those kinds of buildings isn't there.

You want proof. Exxon is building a campus out in The Woodlands. They could have built a supertall in Downtown and established the same kind of vibe. The Downtown market cost to build a supertall is ridiculous. I wish our mayor and other elected officials would be more open to turning Houston into a city with a super tall. But we won't be. They build two new skyscrapers in the Galleria area and don't even get me started on BLVD place. Not to mention the abundance of apartments being built in the inner loop. We have the land. Other cities do not.

[Bornhouston]

Originally Posted by Liljo22

The Hess Tower was just completed a few years ago in downtown and the pricing of buildings is at an all time high.

The real reason we can not get a supertall is due to the FAA height restriction of 75 stories. You can build bigger but it would be labeled hazardous. The cost of insuring a building the FAA labels hazardous skyrockets. The JP Morgan Chase building was suppose to be 80 stories but cut 5 off to keep it under the limit.

Ok well why arent any 75 story buildings being built ?

[texas7]

Because its truly dated unless your are an overcrowded city that has no choice. The trend is a lo-rise with multiple buildings in a Campus setting. It more aesthically pleasing to those around it (think no obstructed views) and more peaceful and serene setting to those who have to be there everyday.

[Oildog]

Potential hurricane force winds may be an issue, need lots of steel for stability. Heck I'm surprised the JPM tower did as well as it did.

[Cbink]

I also think Houston's soil conditions are not ideal to build super tall buildings. There isn't the bedrock down there to drill and put steel into so the taller buildings 'float' on concrete 'rafts'. I suspect this also plays a factor in not having taller buildings.

[rajuncajun]

Originally Posted by Truth713

Not that many supertalls are being anywhere , with the exception of Ny and a few other places.. most new places coming on line are of the 40-50 story range.. the few super talls out side of new york , have been on hold for yrs

Downtown LA's New Landmark Tower, Wilshire Grand, to Become West Coast's Tallest | DTLA RISING

[Bornhouston]

Houston's own Hines is even building a super tall in San Francisco called the Transbay Tower.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by philopower

For the supposed amazing prosperous economy in the region, we haven't seen any news about a supertall skyscraper. [mod edit rude]

Tell me what motivates any company to build a skyscrapper in downtown.
Companies realize that is much more attractive to prospective workers to have their job close to the suburbs where they live (Sugar Land, Katy, The Woodlands, etc.)

Originally Posted by Bornhouston

Houston's own Hines is even building a super tall in San Francisco called the Transbay Tower.

FYI, San Francisco is not a "normal city"
San Francisco is pretty much an island.

[Truth713]

Originally Posted by rajuncajun

Downtown LA's New Landmark Tower, Wilshire Grand, to Become West Coast's Tallest | DTLA RISING

Didnt i just say many of the new towers outside had be
en on hold?

[thinkmac]

I wonder what kind of stress that a super tall skyscraper has on the existing under ground tunnel infrastructure within downtown area.

Granted, it is not like a catacomb in Paris (hence, so few tall buildings in Paris), but still, the network of tunnels under downtown is fairly decent in size.