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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/13/2010 in Posts

  1. I am a midtown resident and I use the train a lot. About 15 of my friends move to this area after college and we all use it. This definitely does not represent everyone though. I think people in Houston are too use to the confinement of their cars. This makes us quick to judge people, even scared of people, who use public transportation. Who cares if they don't look or act like you as long as it safe. I see cops at most of the major stops, and they give tickets to those who don't pay the fare. The train could have a better crowd I guess but how do you enforce that??? You can't. This is a big city and you're going to have people from all classes using a public transportation system. So if we want a better quality of life, shops businesses to open up around the train or places close to the train, we should venture out and use it. I can get from Midtown to Angelilca, Toyota Center, Reliant, Houston Pavilions, Market Square Park, the Museum District, and even Rice Village by a combination of walking and the train. If I want to cut down on time, I can use my bike. It's a different way to see the city and more enjoyable.
    1 point
  2. Here are some more renderings Notice the sales office that, according to their website, was supposed to be there in 2008:
    1 point
  3. Not that I think this will ever get built, but I'm left wondering why? What is the purpose of this thing? Is it supposed to be an Olympic village? I snipped a few renderings from Urbanica's site - there are several more not included below.
    1 point
  4. But is it good enough for nice short drives along the gulf, and is there a floating option?
    1 point
  5. If the majority of houses on a block are Craftsman Bungalows, a pseudo-Victorian will look as appropriate as a wristwatch on a Greek statue. Anachronisms are unintentionally funny at best, and the humor is at the expense of the ignorance of others. With few exceptions, attempts to re-introduce Victorian (or worse, New Orleans) elements into the Heights have resulted in Mattel-like structures. The appeal of the Heights will not be enhanced by the odd, inappropriate infill of Victorians- nor log cabins, igloos, tepees or pagodas.
    1 point
  6. Many HAIF regulars are dismayed to hear this. We have built up a great deal of respect and admiration for your house and your dog. Speaking of which, I expect you to throw a hissy-fit over the leash law in Houston (even though it has had no effect on you, being a good pet owner.) To show your displeasure over others trying to control your property, perhaps you should threaten to sell your dog to a Korean restaurant. "I'm gonna kill my dog! And it's all...Your...FAULT!"
    1 point
  7. I spent a lot of time trying to research it, actually, and what I found was that in some cities preservation has been a great success and it did increase values, etc etc... In other cities, not so much. The studies I read (granted, on the internet but several were published by Universities so I gave them merit) pretty much concluded it just depends and results varied by city. One study (Kansas, maybe) showed that historic protection tended to veer - but was not absolute- in cities where other development opportunities still existed. That is definitely Houston and definitely the Heights. Hell, there is acreage of empty land on the west side. As far as the proof, you're totally right. A realtor did a presentation on it to our neighborhood association a couple years ago. She claimed to have crunched the numbers and I believed her. I do continue to believe her only b/c I have seen how fast homes have been selling by me while others languish on the market in other parts of the Heights. I am not saying that my house is worth more than yours but it seems that people are paying more per sq ft for smaller homes in my area than for larger homes in the Historic Heights. You have a smaller home and that might be able to be said of yours as well- that someone will want your home at more per sq ft than a huge, new house. The new house would cost more overall but less per sq ft. I actually interviewed a realtor/renovator/builder who works almost exclusively in the Heights this week. She said,over all, her current client base want smaller homes and will even pay the same as a larger one (this is for renos and new) if the smaller one has higher quality fixtures, more attention to detail, etc... I think this is a trend you will see more of as more empty nesters leave the 'burbs and move back in to town after their kids are grown. Listen, we all have our opinions here and I'm not saying no one should fight for what they think is best for their property. I am just trying to express why some people are for preservation and why people may be supporting this move by the City. I am feeling pretty personally attacked here and that no one finds any merit in how I feel about this issue so I am going to bow out. In the end, it's all feelings and I think I have tried to respect how you all feel about it and how you *think* it may effect you, but remember that we don't really know what will happen so we can't say anyone is wrong or right. People also claimed the smoking ban was going to be the end of bars and restaurants all over Houston but I have yet to see that happen. And now I digress...
    1 point
  8. But you see, this neighborhood is already heavily deed restricted on top of the Historic designation. People can't just do whatever they want here regardless of what the HCAC does with this ordinance. The only way to get around the restrictions for remodel are demo. If you demo in this neighborhood, the deed restrictions provide for even greater control by the board on the plans for your new home. This is what was established over 20 years ago and every person in the last 20 years who has bought a house over here knows that. Yet, houses often sell faster and for more per sq ft in this part of the Heights than the flashier areas (and b/c our houses are smaller, even at more per sq ft they are affordable relative to other parts of the neighborhood). People *want* to live within the restrictions because they don't want a giant house looming over their yard or 4 townhouses causing flooding/drainage issues on the lot next to them. I completely agree that if you do not want any restrictions on what you can do with your home, do not live in a Historic District. That is true for Houston and every other major city in the country. It is also true for most of the subdivisions in most of the suburbs of Houston. THe PPNA Board has a lawyer who specializes in deed restrictions who has said that our deed restrictions in Norhill/Proctor Plaza are nothing compared to the 'burbs.
    1 point
  9. In our neighborhood, where $million homes do not exist, our neighborhood association has a very good relationship with the city. In the end, the Board has greater say even than the HCAC. What we consistently see is people working together to make it happen. No, it's not the cheapest but it has worked even when this was a poorer neighborhood. After all, due to the closeness to 45 and the deed restrictions, this area has gentrified more slowly than other parts of the Heights- which is why a nice house is affordable, relatively, over here. It's also why we still have more of the eclectic nature of the "old Heights", the loss of which people are lamenting in another thread on this board.
    1 point
  10. I seem to be the lone person here in favor of stricter historic controls in Houston. From where I sit, what this is supposed to accomplish is not far outside of what HCAC already does. If you live in a Historic District, you already answer to the HCAC anyway. What it does is eliminate the 90 day wait period, which renders the HCAC moot. It needs to have some teeth. I work with the HCAC regularly and I can tell you that they are not in favor of letting dangerous buildings sit and rot. They will not deny demo permits when the building does, indeed, need to be demoed but a lot of good houses have been lost. Neighborhoods like mine, which is more than 70% contributing with only 3 homes built in the last decade, can really benefit from "no means no." I agree with others that it shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all solution since different areas have different needs. Still, there is currently no way to save structures with architectural or sociological meaning. In the Heights homes on the Historic Register have been torn down and Disney like structures built in their place. Something needs to happen.
    1 point
  11. You are welcome to your opinion. Since I'm responsible for hundreds of those pseudo-Victorians you are so fond of you can probably guess what my opinion is. All are equally valid and since people actually purchased those psuedo-Victorians I would inagine that there are just as many who share my opinion as share yours. I was in this neighborhood when crack dealers hand delivered to car doors at the corner of Harvard and 11th and it was the psuedo-Victorian building, and the people who purchaed them, that made them go away. You can put it down all you like but the Heights would still be a slum if it weren't for those "inappropriate" buildings. There are nice neighborhoods to the east of I-45 that are still as prestine as the Heights was in the 80's. Those areas despirately needs citizens who charish "the way it used to be" and they haven't been invaded by the builders yet. You could buy 4 houses there for the price of a Heights bungalow and they could be made into Historic Districts early enough to preserve the character that you cherish.
    -1 points
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