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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/07/2020 in all areas

  1. We need a street, Park or square downtown named after Hines. Heck rename the skyline district the Hines district. Very few people have shaped the CBD more. If they ever convert the bank of the SW lot into a square Hines should definitely be a top contender for naming
    8 points
  2. https://communityimpact.com/houston/heights-river-oaks-montrose/development/2020/02/06/luxury-midrise-westmore-to-break-ground-in-upper-kirby-this-summer/
    8 points
  3. I came across this event on Facebook and thought I’d share because it’s for a good cause. Livelihood will be planting 100 trees at Buffalo Bayou Park if anyone wants to attend and meet up there! here is the link https://livelihoodprojects.org/plantings
    7 points
  4. Looks like they have built 15 floors. Just about a third of the way up. The two Hines towers, plus their last one are really changing the skyline.
    7 points
  5. Half a block up the road are apts that 99.9 of residents of third ward cant afford... but this is the line in the sand they want to draw? A project that would transform a dead, abandoned area that become nothing more than a camp site for the homeless and drug dealers?!
    7 points
  6. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/02/07/cbre-dishes-on-search-for-restaurant-operator-for.html?iana=hpmvp_hstn_news_headline
    6 points
  7. Such agreements are negotiated to ensure that a developer delivers community benefits, like hiring, inclusion of affordable housing or funding for community programs, in exchange for residents’ support of the project and developments in or near their community, according to the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Third Ward Policy and Program Landscape Report. This main thing I could see helping is the hiring part. If this project displaced houses or other community centers then I get it but this is taking away Sears and surface lots. The benefit is pushing out drug dealers. Though who knows where they will chill now. Fiesta would have been seen as a loss but the new HEB in the Third Ward should help offset that for residents.
    6 points
  8. Some pix from today: And like its namesake, the sign has fallen on hard times.
    5 points
  9. It is complex. The Houston metro appears to have three large ecosystems: The Northern swath north of Beltway 8 is heavily forested to the point it is jungle like especially in the northeast (where I live). It is an especially thick version of the Southern Pinelands. It has much in common with Southern Louisiana. The western metro appears drier and more prairie like, and the southeast region has a wet coastal environment. There are not to many cities with this variety. It is one of the things (among many) which is fascinating about our area. I think this area is gifted with the ability to grow an enormous variety of plants.
    5 points
  10. Holy crap, its actually happening. I drive by that area every few days, and just getting rid of that old building and putting anything on it (including a mattress firm) would be a huge improvement and make that area seem a little less...cold and deserted. Putting a 10 story medical building with constant traffic will 100% spur development in a tiny pocket of land that is strangely devoid of it and maybe rehabilitate some of those older buildings (some are actually quite nice).
    5 points
  11. I think upgrading the park and ride to all-day, every day regional express buses has the potential to be genuinely transformational. The details will be important of course, but even seeing these proposed BRT stations along 45 gives me a lot of hope.
    5 points
  12. I posted one on Tuesday with the tower knocked down. The site should be clear of debris by now. Just haven't made it back out there.
    4 points
  13. I'm not even sure what "iconic" means. How does one assess iconistatisity? Is "iconic" famous, beloved, an archetype, or what? The problem is that "iconic" has been over-used to the point where it has very little meaning remaining. Ranting aside, I think 700 Louisiana and Pennzoil could be considered the two most "timeless" Houston buildings.
    4 points
  14. Your basically advocating for rent freezing or how affordable housing is regulated which not only has been proven not to work in the general sense (only really works in isolated instances) it certainly goes against the ethos of our city. The market at some point or another figures it out, and finds a way to correct itself. This is exactly what I'm talking about though. Not only do we have an abnormal amount of office stock compared to the size of our population, but its also scattered throughout the entire city and isn't concentrated in one location. Because there is so much cheap space to choose from elsewhere in the city people can avoid the more costly aging stock in downtown. If the enormous stock in the burbs didn't exist then your only option would be downtown, but even if we took the burbs away you still have options in multiple hubs from Downtown, TMC, Uptown, City Centre, Energy Corridor, 1-10 in general, North 610 in general, 290 in general, SpringWoods Village, The Woodlands, etc... What we could do as an option is retrofit older offices to new using like housing whether luxury or affordable housing, whatever it is that we need. The only market that is booming is new construction because again, while spec is still being built its more match with the actual market than the pure speculative building during the boom/bust cycles. The other trend is new office that is focused on one main tenant before its even built, and the it loads up with smaller ones to fill it out rather than just build one building and the lease it all afterwards.
    3 points
  15. Modern landscaping is tough on soil health. Ground that is continuously mowed gets compact because mowed grass leads to shallow roots which do little to open up the soil. That's not even taking to account the stress from walking back and forth on the soil by mowing and golfers. Other negative habits we do to keeping things picture perfect is blowing grass clippings and raking up leaves. The plants and grass are actively soaking up nutrients from the soil and what do we do? We actively remove nutrients by blowing away the organic matter. Soils then get depleted of nutrients so what do we do? We buy fertilizers to compensate. As with all things, excessive human intervention corrects one imbalance while Knocking off a range of others. Inorganic fertilizers salt the ground and along with pesticides and herbicides, harm beneficial organisms necessary for good soil health. So I can see why few things grow the first few years. I hate putting down my city but Houston lags in modern trends in landscape design. I hate mowing and find it silly to pay someone 45 bucks every week or two to mow a lawn that I never use so I jumped on the reduced lawn bandwagon. I encircled the yard with native trees and bushes and used the inner portion to grow fruits and veggies. The first few years the plants struggled but now they do their own thing with little intervention from me. Established natives require little watering, the plants feed me and I have a relaxing spot that I use instead of a boring lawn that I never went on. I use the chop and drop method when I prune so that I limit wastage on nutrients. I had a bug problem the first two years but now the few that are left are too insignificant to do that much damage. I am just glad that there is no HOA in my area, but because of the outer ring of evergreens you wouldn't really be able to tell how much of a forest the yard is. I would say Austin is the city in Texas that has caught on to the reduced lawn/native plant bandwagon the most. Not because of trends but it off necessity. It is a less wet city than Houston and quite costly to keep lawns alive over there with recent boughts of drought.
    3 points
  16. I can't believe how well this serves the inner parts of Houston. When this is all in place it's going to help Houston become many times more walkable. When it's completed you'll be able to go from a rockets game in Downtown, to shopping around uptown, then go get some food/also shop around in chinatown, and then catch a plane ride to any destination. This will also be a huge boost to tourism, and just overall livability in Houston. Personally I would have some rail/brt going from N Shepherd to Durham, and Greenway plaza so you can connect that area a little better. While I do see the issue with suburb commuters from outside the city, the main purpose of metro is to serve the city of Houston. Which, with this plan, it's doing fantastically. Having a strong rapid transit foothold in the west side and airports of Houston will ultimately benefit everybody, LRT or BRT. While it would be nice to have commuter rails in this plan, metro has to focus on expanding rapid transit inside the city of Houston first. We can't go the way of DART and neglect connecting major areas inside the city, it's just a waste of resources at that point. Hopefully the improved park and ride network will mitigate a good amount of the super commuters struggles.
    3 points
  17. no need to argue about the merits of this design, this won't be it. this was simply a proposal. carry on.
    3 points
  18. 3 points
  19. golf courses are very unique circumstances, and I don't think we can compare the rest of Houston to how they are maintained. while I agree the soil is very compacted, golf courses are aerated at least twice a year. you also can't compare how different parts of the course are maintained. the greens are cut exceedingly short, and very often, which does result in exactly what you are saying with a root system that is very shallow. fairways are going to be longer, and not cut as often, and then there's the first rough cut which is even longer still. that's not taking any consideration for things like sand traps, or other course hazards. the biggest problem that golf courses introduce and that stays in the soil is chemicals that are used (thanks Monsanto, probably) to fertilize so that the grass you want to grow grows healthy, but everything else is stunted, or doesn't grow at all. these chemicals likely stay in the soil having an effect longer than the root systems would make a difference. I mean, if roundup can build up in the system of people who deploy it and they get cancer from it, then I imagine it can stay in the soil for a period of time too, still having an effect on the plants that can grow in the space. the reality is not that Houston doesn't know how to maintain things, it's that golf courses have very specific needs, and Monsanto is the devil.
    2 points
  20. You really notice it when you drive all of 99. Not only does it drive like the Autobahn haha, but you also get the chance to see just how much variety in our ecosystem we have. We might lack elevation, but we more than make up for it with ecosystem variety.
    2 points
  21. I wouldn't want to sit next to me either.
    2 points
  22. Houston is also a more complex environment being in the sub-tropics. We seem to be a node where everything starts off from. What might work in one part of Houston might not work in others. Of course I'm not saying that more arid or temperate climates aren't as complex, but they certainly have a more consistent climate that one can reasonably adapt too, and be successful over longer stretches of time. For instance the past few years Houston had very well balanced seasons, but then later we went to a simple hot and cold season with lots of rain, and many years before that we had several years of drought with simple hot and cold. Then of course I say we had nice balanced seasons the past few years, but then all the sudden a hurricane rolls on by. Its utterly ridiculous. Austin just has to prepare for one thing...that its going to be hot in the summer, and more often than not they will experience drought. There is just so many moving pieces in our climate and its different if I were in Katy than if I were in Spring, or in Downtown. I will say this, I've become a devote follower of the SandyLeaf Fig. Such an awesome plant. Green all year round, yet can handle massive rains, and withstand some punishing heat, and is better for the soil than a lot of undergrowth, and it helps with water runoff, plus its beautiful. There are many others like it, but its the one plant I've seen thus far that just works in our crazy climate.
    2 points
  23. A bar area? I can get my drink on at the park without my typical brown paper bag? Sign me up!
    2 points
  24. Battelstein's was just listed in the National Register of Historic Places. That seems like a *very* good sign, and might also explain the delay.
    2 points
  25. Maybe Iconic is like porn. Tough to define , but you know it when you see it.
    2 points
  26. Anybody here remember the Four Palms? The Four Palms was a neighborhood bar on Telephone Road just south of Holmes Rd, which is now the South Loop 610. It was locally famous (infamous?) in the 50s, 60s and 70s for being what was then called a "pressure cooker club". It was like a singles bar, except everybody was married to somebody else and nobody cared. Lonely and bored housewives went there during the day whilst their husbands were at work, and the joke was that they kept dinner warm at home in a pressure cooker, hence the club's nickname. The ladies were there to meet their boyfriends, or just have a good time with anybody who showed up. Most of the time it was just for drinks and dancing, but the lighting was kept low enough for some making out, for those so inclined. It was common to see a man come in the front door, hear a woman's voice say "oh my god it's my husband" and then see her slipping quickly out the back door. Lord only knows how many divorces, and new marriages, can be traced to that place. Ah yes. Those were the days. I confess I went there a few times, during my misspent divorced period in the early 70s. Met some great ladies and I've always wondered whatever became of them. I also wonder how many of today's 30 and 40 somethings grew up eating those pressure cooked dinners prepared by moms who spent their afternoons at The Four Palms.
    2 points
  27. Uhmmmmmmmm I was told, The HBG will open in phases.....kids garden and community garden will be first.
    2 points
  28. “Icken said the city has twice previously orchestrated community benefits agreements, both related to the city’s tax abatement. The plan to negotiate an agreement with the Rice Management Co. is unique in that the school has not asked for public assistance with the development of the Ion, Icken said. The hope is that residents in surrounding under-served communities, like the Third Ward, will benefit in some way“ I hardly see this as a cave by Rice. An agreement that is “to be negotiated” is a playground. At a minimum, there’s a healthy opportunity to extract nondisparagement provisions. I also think, from the quote above, Rice could negotiate support for items it might want, such as abandonment of right-of-way on which the public would get a say, as part of any agreement. Support for the TOD ordinance—all that’s in play. This gives Rice a chance to get some good faith PR.
    2 points
  29. No, it’s using the golf course only. So golfers will need to find their way to one of the 9 other municipal courses, while the community suffers with the terrible blight of a botanical garden. Jeesh.
    2 points
  30. Oh no. I absolutely abhor rent freezing. I was only wondering if the market could react in a way that would make downtown more competitive. A rent freeze would be a disaster.
    1 point
  31. "The owner of the adjacent J.W. Marriott Houston Downtown Hotel (historically known as the S.F. Carter Second National Bank Building) purchased the building in 2019 and plans to rehabilitate the building for hotel purposes utilizing state and federal historic tax credits."
    1 point
  32. I personally think this is still a result of the enormous stock of spec offices which were built during previous oil boom cycles, and now it seems like the market is trying to correct this with construction of new office buildings that fit the actual growth and trajectory of growth of the city. We simply have an oversupply of 30-40 year old office buildings from those periods which probably shouldn't have been built in the first place. Interesting enough it actually is a demand market because everyone is focused on new construction and placing their companies in prime locations and places. Its only a supply market when you expand and look at the overall numbers. You take out that stock of spec offices I mentioned and things are doing pretty well. Thats at least how I see it. A problem that a lot of people fall into which is to hyper focus on overall numbers, and median numbers instead of looking deeper into the statistics. Would like another to go deeper on this who actually knows the raw numbers. This is mostly an architectural/urban analysis from what I have seen on the ground. I think at some point there will be choice for the property owners of these outdated, and low value spec offices either demo the site, and bring down the overall numbers to what is actually real for the market, or sit on them and continue to take a lose hoping they can recoup their costs when we have like 3 million more people in the city.
    1 point
  33. Ugh. Makes me want to vomit... This quote tells you everything you need to know right here: These kids have officially become cultists.
    1 point
  34. Two points: 1. The current park & ride buses are very popular with the people who you'd like to target with commuter rail. The 5 pm buses from downtown to all points are usually packed, all with people that I'm sure you'd be fine sitting next to. Same with the light rail - during commute times the red line is also packed with packed with people going to/from downtown and the Med Center; even the purple line seems to have decent passenger counts in the afternoon. 2. METRO only serves the jurisdictions that pay into the service. Any service outside of the "METRO service area" has to be explicitly paid for by someone. If you want Metro to expand to more of Harris county and surrounding counties, you have to talk to the incorporated cities that don't pay in right now, and the counties at large that also don't. I agree that a lot of the congestion is from outlying suburbs that don't have any sort of transit into town; the solution is to get those places to join up with a regional transit authority (Metro) to pay into it so that they can get service. I've been using the buses and trains to get around for both work and daily errands for a year now. I live and work inside 610, which helps, but I've found that you CAN do most errands, but only the trains and express buses (which have their own lanes) will get you there faster than a bike.
    1 point
  35. https://houstontx.gov/planning/wp-committee.html
    1 point
  36. https://www.chron.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/article/Katz-s-Deli-to-open-in-the-Heights-in-fall-2020-15031794.php#item-85307-tbla-10 Renderings for Katz's. Michael Hsu seems to now be the architect in residence for the Heights.
    1 point
  37. Montrose is still a melting pot, just with deeper pockets, continuously evolving it's flavor. It's like this weird mix of classy understated wealth (museum district pushing north), party hardy dance clubs (Midtown pushes west), Yuppie restaurants, cafes, retail stores, and spaces (Upper Kirby pushes east), A soulless, corporate wage slave/donut ring apartments pushing south from buffalo bayou park, squeezing this center of gayness/art/counter culture/"alternative" heartbeat which kept the community alive for decades. It sucks when things close down/change that you identify as neighborhood landmarks. But the unstoppable march of time and urban renewal can certainly shed a different light onto it. The change in our society has been immense. 15 years ago I couldn't get anyone to go into this neighborhood (save a very few). Now I have friends who live in the burbs asking if I've been to so and so place yet. The parade may have moved, but what makes it special is still shining through. Edit: Took my boxing gloves off to type.
    1 point
  38. https://atticusre.com/properties/2505-fannin/
    1 point
  39. I believe its latest moniker is TC Energy Center and it's definitely iconic
    1 point
  40. the perspective that can be captured with a UWA lens is great. well shot!
    1 point
  41. Yeah. Classic Ghost Tower.
    1 point
  42. https://www.surgehomes.com/blog/surge-homes-develops-homes-near-new-midtown-park?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20999997&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--DtuBky1NfyJGmVCcaBjJsb5ruyFzIbs5Xl2T5dgjxmCFDSazwLhL3dHYv0-sSMKkLnWIAM6ourW-FCSeKxilFolk0rQ&_hsmi=20999997 For residents of 4001 Main Street—which will offer new condominiums priced from $139,000 to $809,000—Midtown Park is an 11-minute walk. Main Street residents will also have the option of taking the tramway, which passes right along Surge Homes’ Main Street community.
    1 point
  43. Yeah, Sears has been there for 75 years.
    1 point
  44. It strikes me as ironic that a company that got started as a mail order catalog is now getting creamed by online retailers.
    1 point
  45. We are impossible to please on here. We always cry: "we want retail! We want retail" Sears has stood in that area for decades. It's surrounded by a ton of empty lots and no other similar department options for millions of miles but we are anxious to get rid of it. When i lived in that area I would bike to Sears all the time. I could understand if the area was filled with attractive buildings and tons of shopping options and sears was just sticking it's ugly middle finger up at us then yeah the pitchforks would be justified, but why are we so anxious to see the only major department store in both the midtown and downtown area go away? I hope it hangs on for dear life
    1 point
  46. http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/images/id/3402/rec/48 ... thank you torimask for pointing out the photo collection.
    1 point
  47. Here is an older HAIF link from Historic Houston, where we discussed the S. Main Sears building, along with other store locations. http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/7130-sears-south-main/?hl=%2Bsears+%2Bmain
    1 point
  48. I second this question! I see plenty of residential and retail activity when I walk past here every night, but only of the kind that discourages new investment in the area.
    1 point
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