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OkieEric

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Everything posted by OkieEric

  1. OkieEric
    I drove by earlier this evening - couldn't get a pic, but the demo is much more evident now. Looking in the main entrance it's like they are demoing the interior, could just see a huge pile of rubble inside.
  2. OkieEric
    To be honest, I don't understand the rationale behind this pedestrian bridge. Both Stella Link (rehabbed bridge) and Buffalo Speedway (new bridge) have decently wide sidewalks. However, to the east (where you'd anticipate more traffic due to TMC proximity) the sidewalks along Kirby and Main are ridiculously narrow and along much more heavily traveled streets.
  3. OkieEric
    As far as I can tell on HCAD, other than the church Rice owns all of it including any remaining buildings on the east side of Chaucer. I stumbled down a bit of a rabbit hole this morning. I was checking the county clerk's site this morning for my area and noticed that Key Auto Werks @ 2505 Holcombe was purchased by "Chaucer Drive Study Center Inc.", which has an address of 5505 Chaucer Dr. Not sure what that is but seems tied to the Woodlawn Foundation / Opus Dei https://www.woodlawnfoundation.org/texas.htm . Anyway, 5505 Chaucer itself appears to have been purchased by Rice in 2021. All of those properties are held under "Chaucer East LLC"
  4. OkieEric
    I see the posts about the TMC garages and really have to wonder what's going on with this one. I did a check on streetview and confirmed the scaffolding around it has been there for at least 4 years. Is this because of a safety concern? Seems pretty bizarre...
  5. OkieEric
    Texas Orthopedic Hospital purchased the adjacent building, GreenPark II (7505 Main) back in 2021: https://texasorthopedic.com/about/newsroom/texas-orthopedic-hospital-announces-facility-enhancement-expansion For some reason I thought they had purchased both buildings but not seeing that now. I recently went to DermSurgery in Bellaire and saw that they had just moved out of this building, researched it and saw it was Gensler designed as well. This row of buildings has always felt a bit isolated to me with the bayou, Main St. & the "back" of Old Braeswood, plus the still vacant 7200 Main parcel
  6. OkieEric
    It's a new gas station / convenience store - the signage isn't up yet, but for a gas station it's actually pretty decent looking. I believe it will be a BrakeTime (or Break Time?) market There's an existing thread here
  7. OkieEric
    I don't know how to link a specific project, but the TxDOT project tracker shows an upcoming overlay project in the next few years: https://apps3.txdot.gov/apps-cq/project_tracker/ Totally agree on the transformation, it's times like this I really enjoy streetview
  8. OkieEric
    PNC is closing its branch at 2401 University Blvd: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2024/02/23/pnc-bank-branch-cuts-include-houston.html Interesting that it's the only location they are closing in the Houston area.
  9. OkieEric
    The LA Fitness here is closing March 1. It's had a number of issues over the years but I was disappointed to hear it...
  10. OkieEric
    Does anyone know why this garage is so ridiculously big? Planning ahead for someday when Smith Lands lot is redeveloped?
  11. OkieEric
    I might have missed this somewhere, but lululemon is coming to the former Gap location (corner spot) - saw the sign for it as I drove by this evening
  12. OkieEric
    Wow, those are some awesome shots of Old Braeswood! I have never seen them... Can almost but not quite make out my house (buried in some trees). It didn't flood then or since (even with Harvey) yet still in 100 year floodplain Random but there's a massive live oak just south of the smaller triangle that's not even visible in this pic. I would have guessed it's hundreds of years old but apparently not
  13. OkieEric
    Didn't get a pic but this has finally been torn down. It was quite an eyesore from Kirby, in particular after the fire in the old car wash. I'm curious how they are going to work out a new store here with the proximity to the bayou and current building restrictions.
  14. OkieEric
    Noticed a couple of water/waste water application reviews from yesterday- There was a 3rd back on 12/13.
  15. OkieEric
    Looks like someone else searches permits daily hahaha... Looking at property records, Vision Hospitality LP purchased the land in June 2021 https://www.vhghotels.com/hotels/
  16. OkieEric
    Oh, come on. This isn't midtown or downtown with lights every block and sorry, if you are riding your bike down Kirby at rush hour at a leisurely pace, then passing and re-passing cars at red lights as you ignore them, you can go fly a kite. My point was that there are serious traffic issues on Kirby as is, so a "road diet" is simply not going to work. You must not live very far south off Kirby or you would realize this not remotely feasible. It would be nice to see that stretch from 59 to Bissonnet finally redone. Upper Kirby TIRZ extends there so not sure what the hold up is as I've seen it come and go from Houston CIP over the years. South of there (even though outside Upper Kirby) it would be nice to see similar touches to Upper Kirby, but I know that is a pipe dream. South of University there's just not much room to do much of anything
  17. OkieEric
    This is *kind of* unrelated, but a few weeks ago I was coming south on Kirby and saw a guy on his bike in the right lane just cruising along at a snail's pace. Granted, he ignored all rules of the road and rode on past traffic stopped at lights, through red lights themselves, etc., but that dude kept pace with me from Westpark nearly to Holcombe. Not sure what could help alleviate some of the traffic in that area but it will be nice to get Buffalo Speedway back eventually
  18. OkieEric
    Don't forget World Cup in 2026....so hopefully this is at least on someone's radar. Too bad the former Astroworld plot isn't somehow in play in all of this
  19. OkieEric
    I had found the same info after I noticed the demo... Agree that it seems like there is more potential there, but given the other corners of that intersection (Kroger gas pumps, abandoned gas station -being redone, America's Best Value Inn, and that weird little strip center), there's a pretty low bar. That CVS was just awful, and always had folks camped out on the corner. If anything, at least Chick-fil-A will keep it maintained... That nearby building that had Al's formal wear seems like an opportunity for redevelopment of some sort. For an intersection of two major arteries of Houston - Main and Kirby - that intersection is pretty underwhelming
  20. OkieEric
    Some permits came through yesterday, including for skybridge:
  21. OkieEric
    This has got to be one of the most surprising things I've ever read on this board! For how slow this thing has come along, it sounds like it will have two pretty great restaurant options between this and AB Sushi: https://houston.eater.com/2021/12/7/22822598/duck-house-ab-sushi-cantonese-restaurant-blossom-hotel-houston-medical-center
  22. OkieEric
    The lot size is what's making me question the ultimate plans here - unless I am mistaken, it is considerably smaller than even the Residence Inn lot (including garage) at Kirby and Main. So if this is indeed intended for a hotel, it would undoubtedly have to go vertical to make any sense. And even then I have to wonder how it would work with the strange lot shape. It's basically the same size as the car wash next door.
  23. OkieEric
    It looks like both this property and 2214 Dorrington were all purchased by "DORRINGTON PARTNERS LP". The mailing address is 5600 Central Drive, Suite 238. I found some partnerships sharing that same address that appear to be associated with New Horizons Hospitality: https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_tx/0800701915 http://newhorizonshospitality.com/properties.php Existing brands include SpringHill Suites, Hyatt Place, Hilton Garden Inn, and Homewood Suites.
  24. OkieEric
    I saw that the new plat was recommended for approval at 10/28 planning commission meeting with the below comments referencing a "Novus Center Way": I wasn't quite sure whether this was just a typo or carryover from some prior comments, but did some digging and found this on the Houston map viewer site: "New Braeswood Way" and "Novus Center Place" appear to be the names of the new streets. Perhaps "Novus Center" is the name of the new development?
  25. OkieEric
    Couldn't find anything online, but sounds like another expansion is in the works. https://editions.communityimpact.com/view/508163781/4/ Edit - found this on their website. Doesn't sound like any physical expansion, unclear what the plans are with Greenpark https://texasorthopedic.com/about/newsroom/texas-orthopedic-hospital-announces-facility-enhancement-expansion
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