Your First Look at Houston’s New Legacy Tower – A First Look at Rarefied 1661 Tanglewood
Ddesigned to be one of the largest and most luxurious residential skyscrapers ever built in Houston, 1661 Tangled Wood is a project inherited from the family of developer Kendall Miller, whose grandfather William G. Farrington developed the Tanglewood neighborhood in 1946. Not since Jimmy Lyon built The Huntingdon at 2121 Kirby Drive in 1984 has there been nearly 40 years, such a dream combination team, venue and nerves of steel come together.
Now Miller and his team have raised the bar, as many other developers have over the next 38 years. But none as high as this one.
The arsenal comes down to a lavish design and location. 1661 Tanglewood sits at the corner of Tanglewood Boulevard and San Felipe Street, the site of Miller and the family business headquarters for 67 years. They tapped one of Texas’ most prominent interior designers, J. Randall Powers, for the 33-story, $300 million tower, alongside architectural firm Jackson & Ryan Architects.
Powers’ fingerprints have touched every carved pilaster and rock crystal chandelier, and his design seal will be on the building from top to bottom. From classically landscaped gardens to a custom fragrance for the lobby by French perfumer Trudon and a Palladio-inspired vaulted top floor that includes an entertainment room and 75-foot heated swimming pool.
Powers also designs the lobby and all shared spaces, as well as five signature floor plans and several fully furnished turnkey residences.
Powers’ vita includes several projects that have landed in the pages of Architectural Summary and Elle Decor during his 25-year career. He has been on the Elle Decor A-List since 2012. He’s known for creating powerful, crisp traditional interiors for some of Houston’s best-known names, with projects in Dallas, Montecito, New York, Cashiers and Newport.
Powers incorporates top-notch art collections and a refined, rarefied patina, which he plans to deliver to 1661 Tanglewood.
“I’m a classic, and this building will have an Upper East Side, Fifth Avenue feel,” he says. “Pilasters, Columns and Moldings.”
An important source of inspiration for Powers is the architecture of Rosario Candela, whose magnificent 1920s buildings along Park and Fifth Avenues feature interior architecture with exquisite materials and craftsmanship.
The lobby at 1661 Tanglewood will have backlit marble and onyx ceilings, limestone pilasters and custom-made rock crystal chandeliers by Voisson Paris. Powers has been stocking antiques for a year, including 15th-century Venetian lion figures and Alberto Giacometti floor lamps from a historic American collection. He partnered with legendary designer Rose Tarlow to produce custom upholstery for the furniture to complement the lobby’s palette of cream, taupe, gray, pale salmon and black.
“An octagonal lounge has a hidden cigar lounge which is accessed through a secret door by pressing one of the panels,” Powers explains. “An Art Deco mural by Gournay is a dark sage green with a platinum foil finish to look like beautiful antique leather.”
The 33-story residential tower, designed by Jackson & Ryan Architects, will be constructed of limestone and brick, much like the buildings on Candela’s Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue. Residences will range from 2,700 to 12,000 square feet with 11- and 12-foot ceilings, no more than two units per floor, and views of downtown and uptown. A rare Houston triplex residence is also available, which features three floors on one corner of the building.
“We include all the amenities that this level of customer is used to having in their home,” Powers says, citing La Cornue’s handcrafted French stoves, bespoke millwork and Chesneys mantelpieces, which collaborates with the Soane Museum and the Lutyens Foundation on authentic historical drawings. A handful of residences will be fully furnished by Powers, from furniture and art to Tiffany & Co. flatware and Baccarat crystal.
Ruthie Porterfield of Residential Real Estate Brokerage Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty will direct the sales of the building. Pricing and floor plans will be available at the new 1661 Tanglewood Sales Center when it opens mid-year in Uptown Park.