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Little extension toward the east end of the trail in Mason Park. North bank.

I’m counting at least 12 permits pulled so far for 3030 Buffalo Speedway (parcel 1), 3070 Buffalo Speedway (all wastewater) and 3425 West Alabama Street (parcel 2). The latter puts it in a different zip code. I also heard that the new utility poles on Alabama that were moved for the COH Alabama restoration will be removed and the lines ran underground, at the RO’s expense. They don’t want a bunch of power lines running in front of their new buildings, which is a big plus. The UK portion of the Alabama Reconstruction could start as early as July, but since these things never start on time it will likely be by the end of the year or first of 2025.

Below is a rendering of Chardon's dining room shared in a Facebook group. Chardon is a French brasserie that's planned for Thompson Hotel / Thompson Houston. It's scheduled to open this summer at 1717 Allen Parkway (address may also be 1711 Allen Pkwy.)

A plan to transform a historic Third Ward church into a mixed-use development is a step closer to fruition after the city of Houston received a $4.1 million Housing and Urban Development grant for the project. The new development — Gospel Square — will offer a live-work community, café, recording studio, courtyard and new affordable housing units, according to the city's Housing and Community Development Department. There are also plans for a proposed four-floor building adjacent to the church with a 10,000-square-foot ground floor to house retail space and parking. The second floor will have an office conference space and co-working areas for lease and rental units, and the third and fourth floors will be for the residential units, the department added. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/houston-former-wesley-church-development-19399191.php

My visit to TMCHP this weekend. There is pedestrian activity! There was an event with food and merchandise. This is a very good thing that people are starting to notice this amazing park. The park is kind of hidden. Hoping that the 30 to 40 story hotel tower will make TMC3 stand out from afar. There is actually all sorts of activities that go on here. Check out the official website for a weekly schedule! https://www.helixpark.com/ Don't want to get anyone excited but there is utility work going on outside the hotel parcel. Fingers crossed something happens soon! Dynamic One was touched up again. Now the base exterior paint matches with the rest of the building. Looking good!!

HMCT is just a beast!!

Dang! These folks are starting the party EARLY!

She took a beating on X. And then doubled down when Rodney Ellis shared her nonsense. And then took another beating on X 😆

Will there be street signage displaying the companies at LGB1? I believe those plates on the right are removable for name changes? Let's fill those up! The flowers/plants are in-season and look amazing. Love the blue and purple flowers!

The Planning Commission approved the variance request. Multiple people spoke for it including Council Women Carolyn Evans Shabazz from District D. The one and only person speaking against it was a representative of the proposed project at 1500 Gray who has a vested interest in opposing it.

Looks like the tower crane is running out of room and will have to be jumped soon. Turner's Cut.

Imagine whining about a luxury mid-rise going up in your neighborhood thats in the dead center of the 4th largest city in America....meanwhile, some people in Houston are living in cancer clusters fighting a years long battle (Kashmere Gardens/Deer Park/etc), some people are losing/lost their home due to eminent domain, some/A LOT of people aren't even able to buy homes in this economy. I understand we all have a right to an opinion and thats what this platform was intended for, but omg the entitlement??? Mentioning that the homes behind it are a "MILLION DOLLARS" is somehow supposed to make us shed a tear? Finding a way to also criticize a suburb (Fulshear) by saying its all cutie cutter now Daddy was a Yankee? Ok, does he want a cookie? Sorry to break it to you, but that doesn't make your argument more important than anyone else. May this building grow another 2 stories 🙏

The Med Center area has had an update:

The UTHealth School of Public Health building is rising so fast! Construction update from today. SCRB5. SOPH. SCG2.

https://www.common.com/houston/montrose/uniti-montrose

They need to get this mayor to walk down the sidewalks of this road with a bunch of people and see just how narrow and broken the sidewalks are in spots. We need wider sidewalks here.

I hope they build 10 more of these. Need more foot traffic in the village

This post feels like someone trained a ChatGPT bot by exclusively reading monarch content

Didn't bother to read but here's what ChatGPT had to say: This passionate statement expresses concerns about proposed developments in the Rice Village area, focusing on a specific property owned by Randall Davis. The author emphasizes the historical significance of the neighborhood, its unique charm, and the investment of its residents. They argue against the potential construction of a 13-story building due to various reasons: The current property ownership status according to the Harris County Appraisal District. Zoning and building restrictions, including height limitations and sewer usage. Concerns about garbage pickup logistics and increased traffic congestion. Potential negative impact on nearby residential areas, including blocking views and exacerbating flooding issues. Criticism of past developments by Randall Davis and skepticism about promises made for future projects. Issues with the accuracy of building plans and potential discrepancies with existing infrastructure. Personal investment in the community and desire to preserve its character and quality of life. Overall, the author urges readers to research the proposed development and consider its potential consequences for the Rice Village community. They emphasize the importance of community cohesion and preservation in the face of rapid urban development.

Nah

I am not sure why the animosity towards people who ACTUALLY LIVE in the Rice Village area. Many have worked hard and have invested their lives and money into the neighborhood that they call their HOME. It has been for a CENTURY a VILLAGE of small shops of unique nature which lent charm and the feeling of community to its RESIDENTIAL surroundings. I am surprised to see that someone has indicated that Randall Davis is about to close with THE OXBERRY GROUP as owners of the property when the Harris County Appraisal District still shows it as owned by a small company and the ground is still classified as a SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING within the Chaucer STREET neighborhood restrictions. As far as I am aware, unless that property gets a replat on its neighborhood which requires a public notice and hearing any building of a 13 story building is a fantasy. Mind you, the square footage of this lot is 17,500 sqft which is basically two lots wide and is by HCAD records 100x175 feet. There are in this area HEIGHT limitations and sewer usage additions that would have to be approved long before any building permits and of course, anyone who chooses can find that the only permit for this property approved as of ten days ago was one for a three story office building to have been completed in 2022 which obviously did not happen. Further to that, upon asking the Davis company rep what the intended to do about garbage pickup as the plat rendered for the building indicated that it would be wider than possible to allow access for a garbage truck to pickup a dumpster. The rep said, and I quote " the houses behind here have their garbage picked up on the street". Yes, that is absolutely true, one black wheeled bin on Tuesdays and Green recycled every other. Does Randall Davis expect the neighborhood to deal with thirty black bins sitting on the curb every Tuesday? And what about traffic? Rice Boulevard is basically two lanes with a center turning lane to help traffic for the SHOPS and the RESTAURANTS and the CHURCH AND ITS DAY SCHOOL access their very limited parking and drop off. Rice is also a main artery for Medical Center due to the confirguration of Greenbriar and Shepherd. A real estate broker I spoker with told me that when Davis built the LONDON HOUSE they blocked off San Felipe and took it to one lane. What damage would that do to the retail in the Village if their parking and access are blocked? They are already operating with very limited parking- it is a VILLAGE. When viewing the Chaucer's plans they had only reserved 8 guest parking places so where will housekeepers, repair people, friends, healthcare workers, decorators, park? In the shops parking? And what about during construction that will have to involve cranes? Chaucer Street itself is constantly used for parking both sides and is too narrow for cranes so what RICE Boulevard will be blocked off and people going to the Medical Center will be rerouted through the Rice Campus? I think not. And what of the MILLION dollar plus homes behind this approximately 175 foot tower? How would you like that looming over your HOME? And, yes, the people who bought there knew they were up against commercial but those commercial lots had HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS why do you think Hungry's new building is as tall as it is? This height based on the fact they are offering 11 foot ceilings in 2 bedrooms and 13 foot in Penthouses and four floors of parking and the obligatory build up Harris County requires for flooding- OH DID I MENTION FLOODING????? YES, this area floods. The corner of Rice and Morningside has flooded a number of times. The vet office on the corner up to the office, the shops along Rice up to their doors several times. And while this would be a high rise, getting in and out in a flood is impossible. I personally watched a man kayak down Bolsover. Has drainage improved? Of course but what do you think will happen to the system when 30 more kitchens and at least 50 more bathrooms are added? And, for you all that say oh it is progress. Yes, Houston is a growing city. One must only drive out to Fulshear and see what used to be beautiful ranches with horses now cookie cutter houses all basically the same house every fifth one. And before you shred me, I am a NATIVE HOUSTONIAN, born in Hermann Hospital, raised in Oak Forest in a middle class post WWII GI LOAN house. My Daddy, a Yankee, used to drive us down Sunset to look at the trees on Sundays and then spend a day in Hermann Park. I am glad he got to know I lived in Southampton , NOT WEST U but part of THE RICE VILLAGE for THIRTY YEARS. I have seen progress when the largest building was 20 stories went to 49 and was called the Humble Building and the observation tower had a machine that made plastic models of it. I was around when they converted the cow pasture at Post Oak and Westheimer into the Galleria and that was 1968! I have been here when Highway 59 stopped at about Voss and they were widening Highway 45 to Galveston. WAIT!!!!!! They still are widening Highway 45!!!!! The point I am trying to make is the residents, NOTE I SAY RESIDENTS, of the RICE VILLAGE, which includes RICE University, Southampton,Broadoaks, Southside, Pemberton, and the West U care about our VILLAGE. We are not afraid of RICH PEOPLE, you are correct in saying most people there are THE RICH PEOPLE and they pay A BOATLOAD of taxes to Houston, Harris County, HISD, and to their individual city entities to have the homes they do. What they don't need or want is a bunch of entitled out-of-towners who don't really want to be part of a VILLAGE to trash, overpopulate, clog up with traffic, or disrespect our century year old community. By essence the very construction of this monstrosity will kill the retail , the shops, the economy, the ECO SYSTEM as a building of that size will do nothing to help the 100 year old oaks on Bolsover. This building is not appropriate for this sized lot, the community, or our village and will only serve the line the pockets of egotistical developers. We are a diverse community of many backgrounds, cultures, religions, and age groups not forgetting it is RICE Village and is part of the UNIVERSITY - students and their interests. PLEASE, I invite you to do your homework and read about how the Hanover Rice Village got built and HOW Randall Davis promised the same sort of product and got the city of Houston to sell Bolsover to him with promises of a RESIDENTIAL parklike strolling lane which became a COMMERCIAL GARAGE,with loud, rowdy, drunken brawling street level restaurant clients and apartments above it when he backed out, sold out the community by making the OWNED CONDOS into rental units. We remember it well and all the lovely oak trees sacrificed as well. Also read about the Randall Davis Diamond Beach development that the Sales office at Chaucer touts perhaps read about how that business unfolded. Maybe talk to owners at Chateau Ten on Sunset and ask did they get what they were promised . The Sales Office at The Chaucer has a huge disclaimer that says what you are looking at subject to change or cancellation hmmm and they are taking contracts on property they do not yet own and have no permits for? Taking 10% deposits with 2% back if the deal folds when they can get 5% on YOUR MONEY and do nothing. What kind of cancellation fee DO YOU PAY? Back to the disclaimer...the groundplat for the building shows a thirty foot residential rear buffer yet the building if one adds the size of the drawings of the apartments makes the building longer than the 22 foot and the 8foot alleyway behind. The 8 foot alleyway along three properties behind has been enclosed and fenced since before 1995 so their drawing is inaccurate and would not allow for either garbage pickup or the "over sized dog park" they advertize. So BUYER BEWARE . DO YOUR HOMEWORK . This property has NOT according to HCAD RECORDS been replatted and is still a residential SINGLE FAMILY HOME subject to the same restrictions as the CHAUCER STREET properties which run perpendicular to this lot owned by Rice University and the Christ the King Church and ALL three stories or less. Why do I care? I lived for thirty years EXACTLY behind this location. I made friends and neighbors here. I have done business and still do business with many of the shops even though I must drive to them and hassle with the parking. I feed my former neighbor's cat when he goes out of town. I buy doggie treats , get my cleaning done, fill my prescriptions, have a coffee, and say hello to those faces I have known for DECADES. It is still my VILLAGE and I care that the people that live there with their FAMILIES, their cats, their doggies, have a place that they can call their community . You cannot allow this building to further destroy the Village .

Plat submitted:

Reducing lanes from 2 to 1 makes turning easier and safer because it's fewer lanes to cross.

Here's a photographic update.

I think the construction post that was mentioned the other day may be from the group that had it under contract last fall. They dropped the contract in December. There has been a group negotiating on the entire portfolio, but nothing has been agreed to. And I think you are right about the typo with the city.

...maybe it's just me, but...maybe yes? I have no idea what this is supposed to mean .

Unless there are deed restrictions this will be built. They could gather their money and sue and lose like those folks who sued over the Ashby project. There are already multiple high rises in the area.

More renders/plans for the new cruise terminal:

Surprising someone still is encouraging this person to keep trying at a political career by getting her appointed to the METRO board as privileged whiner-in-chief. Boy did we dodge a bullet (wish we could say the same about Whitmire). I mean, seriously, even if she believes this (which is questionable at best) does she think it is a winning argument for most Heights residents? The fact she still loves her ridiculous campaign photo provides further proof of her absolute cluelessness. I believe the word is “shrill.”

Construction update this week. Going fast! BCMCT (Baylor College of Medicine Cullen Tower)

Crawler crane on site and rebar in the ground. Let's go!!!

This week's construction update.

oh.... this kind of looks rough 😅

https://www.common.com/houston/montrose/uniti-montrose

I organized a 3.5 mile walk from Graffiti Park to Post zigzagging through downtown Houston with locals and out of towners this past weekend. It was fun seeing all the murals. I wouldn't do it during summer though .. This is the general route we took.

Several sign permits were purchased today for Lick Honest Ice Creams: Sign site inspection Sign plan review Details from the permits: Use: New Projecting 3 X 2 Lick Honest Ice Creams FCC Group: On premise; new sign; projecting; internal light The scoop shop is located at 3737 Cogdell St, Suite 130. It one of several ground floor retail tenants at Hanover Parkview, which is part of the Autry Park mixed-use development. Sign site inspection Sign plan review

Rasmus is a respected pastor in Houston with a long-standing reputation for completing apartments in the low-income neighborhood with city and state support. So Rasmus said he was surprised to read a recent Houston Chronicle story that described how the law firm Hoover Slovacek had raised concerns over Rasmus asking the city's Planning Commission for permission to build the Crawford closer than 25 feet from the property line. The attorneys representing a real estate developer, which specialize in upscale apartment complexes, said the Crawford's request for a variance goes against Houston's Walkable Places ordinance promoting wide sidewalks, and that the request could interfere with ambitions to remove the Pierce Elevated as part of I-45 expansion and build a park resembling the popular High Line in New York City. The city's Planning Commission is expected to vote on the variance this Thursday. "We didn't know we had a NIMBY case," Rasmus said this week, referring to the acronym meaning "not in my back yard" that's often attached to vocal residents who object to unwelcome or undesirable elements entering their neighborhoods. "This is the first time we have ever gotten any pushback from our neighbors." https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/texas-pastor-battle-developers-19405832.php Note: The pastor is one of many that spoke in favor of the proposed project.

I had the opportunity to visit with Mr. Cannady last Saturday at our gallery. He had come by to see Paul Hesters Fotofest exhibit. Paul was one of William's students many years ago, and has been photographing architectural projects in and around the state of Texas for many years. He contributed to Cite magazine and Texas Architect. He also has been one of the Menil's main photographers of artwork for ever. He taught at Rice for 18 years. We talked about the new building bearing his name, and he was very pleased with how the building was sited. He said he was looking forward to being there and being able to walk down the mall to his good friends (Brockstein), coffee shop. He also told me that one time he was sitting on the curb weeding his flower beds at his home on the corner of Bissonnet and Montrose and a guy walked by and exclaimed, Wow, who do you think lives here, And Bill said "I do", to which the guy replied," yeah, sure.!" He thought that very funny. He 's looking forward to the opening of Canady Hall. I invited him to join us on HAIF. He said he would check it out. If you're interested the exhibit featuring Paul Hesters fifty years of photography, and Sarah Sudhoff's work will be up until May 18th. Andrew Durham Gallery, 1821 West Alabama. Come by we're open from 11-6 Wed. thru Sat. Love to see some HAIFER's come by.

The woman tower crane operator I follow on social media is now operating the tower crane here.

I think Montrose /Neartown is Superneighborhood 24 i think it predates the label "Superneighborhood" I am getting the notion that Mayor Whitmire has fallen victim to the myth of Montrose-- what that preconceived notion is that Montrose has plenty of stuff of 🥵 doesn't need to improve upon any of its other stuff😡 so why bother approving any CIP projects. I don't mean to be naive nut there are streets that don't have usable side2als @nd places where there ar3 no sidewalks, plus the open ditch draining and th3 crater pot holes yadayada when Harvey came through there was flooding--- surely my family wasn't the only one experiencing 5hat. I have se3n flooding at Fairview and Montrose, Montrose and Westheimer, Westheimer and Stanford...... those are own observations because that is our usual path to walk.....when I post that experience on other sites-- people yell at me "I'm Crazy" in all caps😣 Im really trying to post what I know....... Here's my latest conundrum since May Whitmire took over ( my own first hand observation) when trying to raise awareness of a problem, I think is worthy for COH to take a look at: long time knowledgeable COH department heads seem to have retired and been replaced with younger, enthusiastic but not very knowledgeable campaign supporters. Those nice young people cheerfully look me straight in the eye after pointed out they are the doorkeeper of that problem I've described and explainer--- they cheerfully acknowledge they will have to get back to me after that problem has been researched and questions on there side must be answered and solved.......... then....THEN With great good humor.....invite me to speak in front of city council meetings as that is Mayor's favorite public discourse in these situations. so I'm trasported back in time to when I had to go to city hall hours before (hopefully get parking space) to stand in line to sign up to speak so I might get to be number 21 or 22nd to speak and not number 56 or 57 to speak wait my time (hopefully get a seat so I don't have to stand the whole time) then I get my three ( sometimes only 1 minute) minutes, to explain, then reexplain, who I am and how COH can address this problem--- only (most times anyway) to have a newly elected COH person or newly appointed aide to Mayor over talk me pointing out I need to contact ( inserts name of the original person, I just established contact with) speak to that person instead of discussing at current council meeting.😩 so okay-- Mayor Whitmire likes to side with the little guy? I guess I know what my Tuesday will be folding into.😥

Plaza and Parkway are probably two of the most incorrectly used terms in Houston. Makes sense that this fake Plaza is on a fake Parkway.

Hines' new Levit Green life sciences campus near Texas Medical Center adds tenant Apr 15, 2024 https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2024/04/15/hines-levit-green-life-sciences-pranax-tenant.html Houston-based Hines has landed another tenant for Levit Green, a 53-acre life sciences campus near the Texas Medical Center. Pinehurst, Texas-based PranaX inked a lease for a 7,400-square-foot, turn-key lab space on the second floor of Levit Green’s Building 1 at 6420 Levit Green Blvd., Hines said April 15. PranaX’s business focuses on using exosomes, or membrane-bound extracellular vesicles, to confer regenerative therapies aimed at treating aging, inflamed and damaged tissue and organs. The company recently entered into a technology licensing agreement with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to commercialize exosomes as therapeutics, natural supplements and wellness products that can promote healthy aging.