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https://www.dotmed.com/news/story/36665

https://houston-texas-us.blogspot.com/2017/04/style-evolution-still-in-progress-at.html

http://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/article/Whitestone-REIT-buys-Uptown-s-BLVD-Place-11084662.php?cmpid=twitter-desktop confirms a new 6 story building is coming with two stories of retail

My biggest concern of this entire project is one ramp. Yes, one ramp, that's going to make or break this project. I'm actually ok with them moving both I-45 and I-69 to the same side. But, when you currently have these two interstates going on both sides of downtown, you have alternatives. If one has a wreck, you take the other. If the ramp that goes onto 45 comes to a crawl because everyone is merging into one lane, you check Google Maps and see if 69 is any better. With this new project, a wreck on one interstate can cause both to become a complete mess with alternatives gone out the window. It's the ramp that I've circled that goes from 45 to 69. One wreck or slow down on 69, and it's absolutely going to affect 45 because traffic will begin slowing down on the ramp which will inevitably slow down the main lanes of 45. Next, the weaving. You can be rest assured, Houstonians will use this ramp as an excuse to cut all the main lanes of 69 to get to the exit (the terrible looking arrow) past the GRB. I see this mess taking place everyday on I-10. People enter I-10, weave across all the main lanes just to get to the toll lanes in the center. That's, in my opinion, the true reason why one of the world's largest highways is such a mess. People cutting across so many lanes, slowing down and speeding up, just to get across. That ramp is going to be a serious problem in the future and I really think there's no doubt about it.

I've been waiting for fifty five years for some of these things to come to fruition so don't hold your breath.

So where do we stand with these hotels and wasn't there n announcement concerning a high end hotel going into this new section of the Galleria? Does anyone have any current info on whats actually happening?

I like how the Ritz & W always sniff around at the tail end of our economic booms. Or is it the forefront of the busts?

Well from what I understand, Houston voted YES on a pay as you go system. While it's great to prevent additional debt, it slows down progress. I feel like I'll be dead by the time this city get's all the pieces in place lol

Hall Arts Hotel & Residences set to break ground Friday. ULI

Interior renderings: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/photos/index.html?propertyID=4357

I doubt with a pension debt to figure out, that were going to be spending any extra on local road projects unless this money is guaranteed for this purpose only. Besides if the pension bill doesn't pass the house this week it will be two years before they meet again. And in the meantime the interests on this debt is going up and up. So unless we have a windfall or the bill passes and we straighten out our debt issues things might move along a little slower for a while. The bond agencies are already suggesting they may lower our rate. I sure hope not. In reality Westheimer, Alabama, and Richmond all need to be rebuilt. Just not at the same time. Richmond would have rail and the road would be open now if the little handful of NIMBYS hadn't ranted so vociferously. If you live in John Culbertson's district, don't vote for the blind visionary of science. He's a fool.

I mean if you want it to happen now you could lobby for a referendum letting the city issue as many bonds as it wants to get everything done now

Thanks for the hope lol

Google maps routinely suggests 610 as an alternate route to I-45 through downtown. It just usually takes longer. But the discussion of Google maps raises a thought. I suspect freeway signage is less important than it used to be and therefore, changing the signage would accomplish less that it would have previously. Because a large number of people now navigate by Google/Waze, etc. So they take the fastest route, regardless of whether it is named I-45, TX 288, I-610, or whatever. (And at most times, I-45 through downtown is still faster than taking the East and North Loop around.)

ditto! ^

^^^ wow! this galleria six front entry renovation is going EXTREMELY slow. i cannot believe that this is where they are at now with this high profile project.....

Eh, race and income separation are not wholly disconnected though. Look at the history of redlining - the ability of families to get loans, mortgages, access to credit - this had as much to do with race as it had to do with any legitimate measure of credit worthiness. Even if, for the sake of argument, race weren't an issue today, it would still have an effect because this generation might not have the advantage of relying on the financial success (helped by access to credit) of the previous generation.

http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2014/01/05/poverty-map/ I'd like to think that fear of gentrification by race/ethnicity is not the concern of those wanting to "preserve the character of the neighborhood", but rather the blue collar, working class nature with respect to income. I hope it's not about fear of building new houses that whites or Asians may occupy, but rather its about dissatisfaction with kicking out the poor old guy to be replaced with a rich yuppie. Too many people focus on race rather than income segregation and inequality. Black and white the issue is not--green is the color that shapes our society.

My understanding is that a big part of the problem is that much of Third Ward is, despite being single family homes, renter occupied. So these houses are owned by random landlords all over the country who feel no particular responsibility to the community. I'm not sure how you address that without finding a way to give renters significantly more power than they currently have. The city could mandate that renters who've been in their homes for some minimum amount of time have right of first purchase if the landlord tries to sell, but how many people could actually afford to act on that?

In sim city, if you can't afford to do something at the moment, you can either get a loan or wait until your tax revenue has gathered enough cash to do the project. And you can only get 3 loans I guess Houston used all 3 loans getting ready for the super bowl, and now needs to just save up money to upgrade the street

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/04/18/photos-new-luxe-apartments-near-river-oaks.html

There will be another great view from Almeda just south of Axelrad. By the way after spending much time looking at Downtown from the south, 288 and third ward areas, I have noticed that the skyline is broken up into three distinct clusters. Theres the Continental/Enron Allen Center cluster, the Wells Fargo, Shell Houston energy cluster, and then the Chase 609 Houston Center cluster. Right in the center is Pennzoil and nothing else. I think somewhere on the SE side of central downtown would be the perfect spot for a supertall. I really like the skyline form the south and southeast. You see all of the old and it looks so much more dense. Density is the secret.

This is truly changing the way this side of the park feels. It's presence on the skyline is becoming more obvious and coupled with the Alessandra on Dallas they're going to spread the perimeter of the skyline farther southeast. A little more density. Nice

I just returned from a morning trip downtown. I walked the superblock around the whole space. The park is going to be incredible. The water feature along the west side is so much nicer than I was expecting and the bermed wall at the southern end with the limestone entrance is powerful. They've planted some beautiful selections of flowering and greenery that is just going to take peoples breaths away and to think its right there on Main Street which as everyone knows is never going to get developed. On a stupid railroad. Never work! Truly remarkable. Much more diverse and beautiful than Disco.

https://houston-texas-us.blogspot.com/2017/04/aris-in-april.html

Market Street tower pool made it on Drudge via http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4395260/Texas-block-glass-bottomed-rooftop-pool.html

Two people on reddit got good shots, though. First, /u/AndyDwyer: Next, /u/softroxstar:

Super excited about this project. Mixed used near a rail stop on Scott Street with ground level retail and apartments above. The transformation of Scott is coming and it will be quick.

350 room hotel and conference center to break ground in Fall 2017/2018 as phase I. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2016/12/02/texas-medical-center-to-develop-hotel-at-tmc3-rest.html#i3