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nonenadazilch

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    observing the hometown from afar

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  1. The perception of the strong association between Republican politics and the dominant industry in Houston is a bitter pill for younger, conscientious generations to swallow. Though it's still a powerful economic driver, O&G saddles Houston with an image neither Austin (nor dallas) suffer from. Conversely, those two towns benefit from the allure that people associate with the tech industry which - for the time being - is virtually absent along the Gulf Coast.
  2. Just because you personally don't live in the same area where you work and play doesn't necessarily invalidate the perspective in the article. High density areas where people do all three are more supportive of the culture for creative enterprise than areas where each exists separately. People with artistic, sociopolitical, and intellectual tendencies evident in creative industries tend to congregate in such urban districts. Portland's an example. Tech companies dot the metro area, but the city's Pearl District and downtown are where startup & development activity thrive. Developers seize on the notion that eliminating physical distance between live/work/play attractions retain creative people & their industries. The tech startup scene, advertising, the arts all cluster centrally where infrastructure & amenities favor less car dependency and where workday collaborations can carryover into nearby restaurants & bars. Hopefully, Ion indeed becomes a successful node alongside EaDo, the Heights, Midtown, and downtown in helping propel Houston's tech scene. But it'll be by force of beneficent capital and in spite of its initially spartan location.
  3. These fantastic images you guys share really help the observing public get a sense of how incredible these large construction projects are. Everything from labor assignments, planning which sections precede others, dealing with suppliers on material deliveries, checking quality, etc. ...truly an amazing endeavor. I stand in awe and tip my cap to all involved.
  4. The lead developer and his wife are Taiwanese immigrants and Houstonians for decades. In the 1980s they lived in Ponderosa Forest on FM1960W.
  5. Sounds like negligence on both the part of the developer for not ensuring pedestrians have an alternate right-of-way as well as the city for allowing this to continue.
  6. Even if the architecture seems more pragmatic than a design flourish, the angles and street orientation seem certain to contribute to the drama of the skyline as a whole especially seen from the northside. Other than peering out from car windows coming into town from I-45, it's too bad there's no substantial public space to view it from the northern edge like there is for the western view.
  7. Does anyone know the ownership history for block 142? It'd be interesting if someone like Nancy Sarnoff could find out what the owner's intentions are, if they've had any inquiries from developers, or if they simply see the future of such prime real estate as a parking lot.
  8. Patagonia closely guards their image even to the point of sacrificing profits. Sustainability, social responsibility, and eco-friendly citizenship are among the business tenets they seem to practice. Since Houston's economy depends on the vibrancy of an industry that's the antithesis of at least one of those attributes, I imagine opening in brick & mortar fashion would appear as a compromise to their fealties.
  9. I imagine the chances for this happening grow in proportion to Texas Medical Ctr leveraging its 5700+ on-site researchers and $3.6B research budget to build its momentum as a biotech hub alongside the stalwart locations for the industry (SF, Boston, San Diego). Some milestones toward this goal: establishment of a biotech incubator (along with the incubator's first array of startups) and, in particular, a business development agreement with Johnson & Johnson to locate a fourth JLabs (thus far, the only one outside the three biotech stronghold cities) at 2450 Holcombe to open early next year. TMC is more than a year into its ambitious plans - perhaps these recent achievements inspire the glossy rendering. more local coverage: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2014/12/18/year-in-review-tmc-aims-to-translate-research-to.html?page=all http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2014/10/31/johnson-johnson-launch-in-houston-means-large.html http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2014/10/31/johnson-johnson-launch-in-houston-means-large.html
  10. density & activities in the neighborhood make its appeal. here's an identical concept whole foods near the george washington univ. and the foggy bottom metro station.
  11. Without rational explanation is WTC 7's improbable free-fall into its footprint. Also improbable. The steel structure below the impact zones were unaffected by any heat and therefore - minus any other destructive force upon it - present an imposing upward resistance to the falling of the failed structure above it. Yet as history shows they offered no resistance whatsoever to the downward force of the upper floors. At a minimum, the rational outcome for each tower would be a non-symmetric collapse whereby, instead of falling relatively 'neatly' into its footprint, chunks of the building would be strewn over a much wider swath at ground-level with a lower segment of the tower still standing. For this scenario to play out in the second tower in virtually mirror fashion is quite a feat indeed. The weakness and general acceptance of NIST's presentation survives due to our collective servility in the midst of national grief, uber-patriotism and its accompanying jingoism.
  12. sounds like a 2016 start. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/drilling-down/2015/03/chevron-gives-new-details-on-downtown-houston.html
  13. Hearst ownership and chron.com management seems intent on driving what minimal semblance of journalism that goes on there fully into the ground. I can't imagine a quality journalist still there who can ameliorate feelings of shame and embarrassment over the daily rounds of celebrity & wealth worship and astounding focus on high-end real estate. As chron.com increasingly panders content around its evening celebrity gossip show audience and rightwing idealogue commenters, ad profit and page clicks take obvious precedence over high quality media practice.
  14. Either deed restricted boundaries or a proactive and responsive local gov't entity (such as a particular arm of the City of Portland, OR) seem to be the only methods to grant neighborhoods the wherewithal to guide their own destiny. Otherwise, citizens are at the mercy of private interests. The stigma of government bloat and/or intrusion is palpable until the lack of gov't advocacy personally impacts the individual who previously accepts that tenet.
  15. waxing nostalgic ..once last time. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/24/us/82-story-tower-to-fill-gap-in-houston-skyline.html
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