Mixed-Use spaces are designed as space to live, work, and play which leads to unique construction challenges. These projects are typically sprawling and include landscape installation, water features, and hardscape construction, a great fit for B&D since we are a multidisciplinary firm capable of handling the entire outdoor scope.
Through the precise execution of creativity, we partner with you to craft a beautiful experience, highlighting nature and using our expertise to bring all of the designed elements together. We create beautiful spaces for people to live, work and play. Our quality outdoor solutions are built on-time, within budget and to be enjoyed for years to come.
SUCCESS STORIES
Hughes Landing
Hughes Landing is a 66-acre mixed-use waterfront development located on the east side of Lake Woodlands. This urban village features restaurants, shops, hotels, office buildings, a kayak kiosk, botanical gardens, boardwalks, and trails.
B&D provided landscape and hardscape services in several different phases of the development of Hughes Landing. Our projects included the landscape installation and hardscape construction at Whole Foods, and the Lake’s Edge Boat House. Additionally, we installed the landscape at the Embassy Suites.
After the success of our first project at Whole Foods, B&D was awarded the botanical garden project located on Lake Woodlands. As the general contractor on the project, our skilled, knowledgeable and highly trained team had the experience necessary to tackle the project in its entirety. Our team provided landscape and hardscape services to complete the project. Unique to the project, an observation deck needed to be built over the water. Building an observation deck in the water presents its own set of unique challenges. Our team worked together with the enthusiasm to do whatever it takes to craft a quality outdoor solution.
We are proud of all of the projects our team contributed to the development of Hughes Landing. There is nothing more rewarding than watching people enjoy the spaces our team created.
City Place 1
City Place is a mixed-use development in Spring, Texas, that offers retail stores, restaurants, office space, and multi-family residential options.
B&D worked alongside Harvey Builders, and OJB, as the landscape construction contractor for City Place 1. City Place 1 is a commercial building, adjacent to a parking garage. As the landscape contractor, our team began by implementing the drainage and other underground utilities. In the midst of the project, unmarked sewer and sanitary lines caused an unexpected challenge for our team. With the help of the general contractor, and the landscape architect, we were able to find a quality outdoor solution without delaying the completion of the project.
Our team worked to meet all of the architect’s comprehensive exterior specifications outlined in the project scope, on-time and within budget. Through the precise execution of creativity, landscaping was added to the exterior of the commercial building, and parking garage.
Montrose Collective
Montrose Collective is a thoughtfully repurposed retail/commercial space located in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood. A collection of boutique workspaces, dining destinations and independent merchants make up the Collective, creating a welcoming multi-level space to be enjoyed both indoors and out.
Hardscaping and landscaping efforts took place throughout multiple levels of the property, from ground level to the top. Ground level hardscaping included the installation of 7,700 square feet of pavers and 4,000 square feet of imported Italian tile.
Landscape installation included gravel paving, synthetic turf, custom site furnishings made by Renfrow+Co, bike racks and a green screen. The green screen is an impressive feat in and of itself; it acts as a “live wall” of irrigated plants that create a privacy screen in the space.
Roughly 8,000 plants were put in throughout the Collective, preceded by the installation of irrigation systems in all planters and 150 tons of lightweight soil.
Heights Clock Tower
In a city that is known for near constant expansion and growth, Heights Clock Tower is a relic that has stood the test of time. Located deep within the Heights neighborhood of Houston, Heights Clock Tower was built in 1894 and is one of the oldest buildings in town. Though it currently serves as a mixed use commercial property building, it was originally a textile mill. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.
Our team at B&D Landscape Contractors was tasked with bringing life to the dated, drab looking grounds of the building. We served as Radom Capital’s general contractor for this project, in addition to our usual scope of hardscape and landscape. As one can imagine, there were unique challenges involved with working on a property as old as Heights Clock Tower; during the demo phase, we were constantly uncovering old, abandoned piping, including a four foot ring of piping of unknown origin.
The highlights of this project are as follows:
- New concrete sidewalks were installed and accented with a classic rock salt finish.
- Black Star Gravel seating areas were added in the rear of the property for use by tenants.
- Motor court areas were updated with new pavers.
- Festoon lighting was added to brighten up seating areas in the back of the building.
- Complete irrigation & drainage package
- Fresh landscaping was added around the entire property.
- Custom benches and planters fabricated by Renfrow+Co were installed.
- A trellis was added to provide shade for one of the seating areas.
After months of hard work, our team is proud to have updated this historic Houston property, creating a timeless look that will be enjoyed for years to come.
Ion Houston
The Ion is 226,000 square feet of space located south of downtown Houston, in what was previously an old Sears building. It describes itself as a place that “fosters a community and culture where corporate innovators, academic partners, community partners, startups, and entrepreneurs come together to solve some of the world’s greatest problems.”
Future plans for the property include attracting permanent tenants, ideally those looking to obtain commercial office, retail or co-working space, with the idea of becoming a hub of innovation. Rice University owns the space and has implemented programming to spark collaborative opportunities and partnerships between students, businesses, and members of the Houston community. Plans are in place to add additional buildings in the future. The Ion will eventually become a total innovation and technology center, a new frontier in the Houston tech scene.
Scope: Landscape and irrigation subdrainage, hardscape (pavers), wood decks and site furnishings.
Highlights
- The interior of the building was gutted and renovated; future tenants will determine their own unique finishings in each of their spaces. Gilbane was responsible for renovating the exterior of the building, as well as a few finishing touches inside.
- The property is home to several Live Oak trees that Rice University was adamant about keeping. Plans for the property included the addition of decking. A normal deck would need drains, but because of the Live Oaks, we used more than 200 helical pips (large pipes with corkscrews at the bottom drilled into ground) to create a smaller footprint around the tree. A solid steel Trellis was installed. Due to the weight of the parts of the structure, a crane was used to set each beam.
- A Channel drain was added to collect rain and drain it into cisterns located under pavers. These cisterns act as a holding tank to collect stormwater and slowly release over time to mitigate flooding.
