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Approved, 16-1 in favor. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-council-OKs-43M-in-tax-breaks-for-15122769.php

I ate at Finn Hall with my cousin from Wharton last nite. He loved downtown. I can only imagine our city center in about 5 to 10 years.

Only thing worse than hyping up a killer virus is hyping it up as a non-threat.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/amp/Houston-council-poised-to-approve-millions-in-15121355.php

Site work permit issued:

^^^ dream big... believe big... hope big... celebrate big. my W HOTEL HOUSTON is finally arriving...

The idea is that people will park at either of the transit centers bookending the BRT line.

This meeting was all con - what I said about who I assumed was in favor was, admittedly, hearsay. It was nice of the community relations person from the city to endure the fury the whole time. But would have been nicer to have public forums instead of just meeting with one neighborhood group at a time. Just to clarify , when I say 'con' I mean against the "green space" proposals, and in favor of the original plan to finish the bridge.

Keep out the coronavirus.

Hi 😀, I used to work at a luxury store in the Galleria. While the galleria does have a lot of foot traffic and obviously good for business, a lot of stores have trackers that count the amount of people in the store and corporate uses these numbers to see if their product is selling relative to the amount of people in the store. It was always BAD in terms of some of the other stores in the nation (yes those stores were in big cities too) with hundreds of people coming into the store just to take pictures and mess up merchandise. Also, from personal contact with the store managers of Carolina Herrera, Fendi, and Valentino, I can tell you that they considered moving to the ROD. The idea that some of these stores have is "most of their clientele specifically come to shop at their store, why not personalize the experience by taking the mall aspect out of the equation." A lot of clientele avoided coming to our store because of parking issue, how busy it is, and the safety of walking back to your car with your stuff. A trip can easily take half an hour just to get into the store vs literally minutes at ROD. These specific reasons are the reason why the store I used to work at and stores like Versace, Prada, etc used to do "showcasing" where we'd take all our new products and go to some of the clients homes. This and many more reasons is why some stores looked to ROD. I know Tom Ford moved to the galleria from ROD, but that could be because it doesn't have frequent clienteles to buy suits.

I don't think the walk from east to west under 610 is difficult at all. I walk to Target, ROD, Central Market and Highland Village from my base in Four Leaf Towers. It would be nice if the space under the freeway was occupied by flower stalls , but this isn't Paris or Amsterdam or Mexico City and people in their cars in Houston are in inert bubbles and rarely acknowledge that there is a world outside the interior of their SUVs.

This is more of a question than a topic of conversation, but I couldn't find a whole lot of information so I was wondering if anyone had any news regarding this topic. I know back after Hurricane Ike hit the trolleys were damaged (not the bus trolleys) and that they were undergoing restoration. I had seen articles as recent as last year indicating they were close to coming back, but they weren't there when I traveled there in May of last year and haven't been back since. Does anyone know if they are operating again or is this one of those projects that is dragging along? Any word on when they may come back?

Website:https://www.undergroundhall.com/ The new food hall, Underground hall, features 5 food vendors and a bar (1 or 2 idk). Hotline Burger: Established in 2019, it's a take on the smash burger way of cooking some patties, and damn does it look good. They started out as a tent with a portable griddle, and decided it was time for a full fledged food stall. Never had a smash burger before, but it looks like a pretty damn good burger. Wokker: An interesting combination of Asian and Texan cooking techniques, one could say Tex-Asian. Wokkin the streets of Houston since 2014, and started by a 2010 UH grad. This Fusion of Asian and Texas cooking looks like a match made in heaven (also it's also in the ballpark of comfort food 😋). Hoping to try this one soon. Don Juan Tacos and Ceviche: A more than just average taco stop, Don Juan provides a large variety of delicious tacos and Ceviche. I haven't seen much on these guys yet, but their food looks pretty good. Their instagram: https://picpanzee.com/donjuan_h Treacherous Leches: A favorite returning from the long beloved conservatory, Treacherous Leches will make even the sweetest of teeth awestruck. If you want some sweets, and are looking for a low price, convenient store this is they place for you. Crisp: An italian favorite from the Heights, with a pizza sauce recipe reaching back generations. Crisp offers a selection of pizza, pasta, salads, and more (hopefully they have their wine and beer at this location too). Overall looks pretty good, and hopefully strays true to the original in the Heights. Pretty good lineup from the looks of it, i'm definitely going to try Wokker and their cowboy katsu. The hole that once was conservatory has now been filled 🥳.

@ToryGattis Canceled

@ToryGattis I haven't seen anything on their web page or received an updated email.

I attended a meeting last night regarding this project and these are questions that need to be answered: How will the traffic on Smith Street be affected by the two planned high-rises (20 story) being built along that street? Cars departing both plan on using Smith Street as it’s garage exit and the traffic study for both counted on the Bagby Bridge being in place. The cost of replacing the Bagby Bridge was in hand and planned, but at some point someone or entity came in and proposed removing the bridge.....who was that entity? The homeless problem was brought up and the city reps said it shouldn’t be a problem, they gave the example of low homeless #’s of other green areas like Buffalo Bayou Park. It was pointed out that unlike Buffalo Bayou Park, we have multiple soup kitchens and shelters within 5 blocks of the proposed project. They seemed perplexed by the facts. (and for those that think the homeless may limit themselves to the green area once camped, will be sadly mistaken). We asked where the project docket is located so that we could view all comments sent in; they had no information on how to let the public view comments. We asked why they haven’t had public meetings on the subject. They couldn’t answer the question. We asked who will make the final decision the city council or the mayor’s office. We were told that a recommendation would be made to the mayor. As a follow-up they couldn’t explain how input would impact the recommendation. The cost of replacing the bridge and putting in the green zone will be the same. The contract for replacing the bridge was already in place and then cancelled. Until the above questions can be answered, I will not be climbing on the removal bandwagon.

I mean, I'm honestly surprised they let it stay open as long as they did. I wouldn't be surprised if most of April ends up being canceled as well. NCAA basketball will probably still have their tournament, but I wouldn't doubt if they have already decided to play at empty arenas.

I just attended a neighborhood meeting with representatives from the city, local residents along Westheimer, and a lot of local business owners. There are a few currents in this discussion that I think might be based on assumptions about the issue on which I'd like to add my perspective. First, some posters seem to frame this as a conflict of interest between Midtown/Montrose and the broader interests of Houston's commuters. My neighbors and I are all against the removal of these traffic flows. The roads, entrances, and exits that they are talking about removing are all important options for those of us who live here. With more construction looming on Elgin, it will only become more important to keep as many paths open as possible. As the area grows more dense, as it is doing and ought to, removal of transportation works sounds like the wrong direction to us. We are on the same side as Houston's commuters. We still can't figure out where this idea came from, but it seems to be driven now by our neighbors on Courtland and other nearby residents who rightly think a park sounds nice but don't use these roads all the time. Second, the proposal is not a park. It's proponents don't even have the chutzpah to call it a park. It's two slivers of green space which might or might not be more appealing to walk past than the tuft of trees currently between Brazos and Bagby. The area can be beautified without shutting off access. Third, there is nothing about the proposal that makes the area more "walkable". Green spaces are nice, but what gives a neighborhood its walkability is the range of amenities within walking distance. The restaurants and nightlife give character to the area and the availability of stores, pharmacies, laundries, etc. make it easy to live there. Anything that puts additional pressure on local businesses stifles the growth of more amenities to accommodate more residents, and could even threaten existing ones. The speed control measures in those proposals are not necessary on those streets that have plenty of traffic signals.

Even if expanded freeways do not eliminate peak-period congestion, they typically limit congestion to only the peak period. That's a big benefit. Several freeways in Houston with inadequate capacity (especially the West Loop) are congested through most of the day and on weekends. A more important benefit of expanded freeways is that they empower more people to meet their mobility needs. While I don't have exact traffic numbers for the pre-expanded Katy Freeway, it was generally in the low 200,000s. Now it serves 369,000 near BW8 (2018), which is down somewhat from the 2016 peak of 387,000.

People always have places they have to go and places they want to go. Making it easier to get someplace encourages them to go. Private automobiles have been hugely successful in that regard. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that if it's easier to go someplace, more people will go. Do we want to encourage people to stay home more?

Engineers raise ‘significant concerns’ over design of $1 billion Ship Channel Bridge

Domino's opened yesterday! Stopped by and talked with the manager and they were having some first day pains, but seemed to be somewhat under control. It's a corporate-owned store. They actually have 12 ebikes to use for delivery. He said he was having a hard time actually hiring enough drivers. He took me into the back behind the oven and they have racks for all 12 to hang up and a battery charging station. They are set up to do car deliveries as well, but he said that they were going to try to do all ebike. He said his territory was 59 on the south, 59/288 on the east, Allen parkway on the north, and Taft on the west. Definitely a manageable region for ebikes imho. The Joint had some equipment inside their store front, so they may not be terrible far away.

Always loved this building! It would make for a great whiskey bar.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/3100-McKinney-St-Houston-TX/18739853/

I work in 1MC and for all of last week, the brown lots have been pretty much empty. Any normal time, these lots are at full capacity. I’m thinking they already started making people park at Smithland. Anyway, my desk is on the side of 1MC that is facing the brown lots, so I will have a very good vantage point for when they start construction. Can’t wait! This picture is from the sky walk around 4pm. I’ll get a picture from my desk this coming week.

Ok it’s a just a townhome development. I didn’t see a topic about it so I started one. No reason to be a smart @$$ about it

What happened to Crockpot ... again?

I like ROD. I could see it becoming to the Galleria something like what Rodeo Drive/Little Santa Monica Blvd. is to the Century City mall in LA. I suppose Highland Village fulfills some of that function as well but it doesn't have a layout that is very pedestrian-friendly. What I miss in Houston from more obviously tourist-oriented cities like LA and Miami (with Lincoln Road, Brickell, Wynwood, etc.), are the number of walkable, outdoor shopping/eating/people-watching areas. ROD, along with CityCentre, goes some way to rectifying though it's small by comparison and it's more high-end. As a pedestrian, though, I just wish there were more of it to explore.

After River Oaks District and BLVD Place, Houston really exploded with luxury retail. Houston has increased it's profile as a luxury shopping destination fairly quickly and a lot of that was because it didn't have the setup that attracts the clientele until ROD.

Another food hall is moving into the subterranean space vacated by Conservatory, 1010 Prairie St. I heard about this prior to Company of Nomads' big announcement, but didn't believe it. However, social media pages created this week cements the rumors. The food hall replacing Conservatory in the McCrory Building is Underground Hall. https://undergroundhall.com https://instagram.com/undergroundhalldowntown https://facebook.com/undergroundhall

Several murals going up on the electrical boxes on the west side of the block. I had tickets to the Sunday match up with the dallas mavericks. Unfortunately we lost.

Houston Rockets players murals were going up Saturday. Their motto this year is "One Mission", went to my first game on Wednesday night, pre season vs. San Antonio Spurs, Rockets looked like they had jet lag from their trip to Japan and they lost the game.

The old sales office has a mural on it and the building is for lease. I wonder what would work here? A coffee shop since Ben's Beans went out of business?

Lighten up, Francis. This is a good thing.

I like the stadium. How bout building a new stadium in midtown and bringing back the Comets.

I'd anticipate more Boardwalk/Aquarium then Port Oak. But, I'd also anticipate more Party Bar than Roller Coaster. And, another Tilman hotel would make sense.

Lets hope its more Post Oak than the Aquarium or Kemah Boardwalk

Strip out those maroon seats lol!

http://www.traylor.com/nhcd-project-win-houston-ship-channel-bridge/ In the HCTRA contract document (https://www.hctra.org/-/media/3FE15A08139B437A991C1042337C68FD.ashx), the cost is listed at $567,911,750.40, well below the cost estimate of $612 million.

To come away with the record they had in February is amazing considering they only played 2 or 3 home games in the month.

http://linwords.com/generator.php this will be an important website for Rockets fans. The linsurgence of the Houston Rockets will begin soon, now that Jeremy is dribblin for the Rockets! It's time to get linergized for this team again, as Jeremy can do linpossible things and will bring this team to lintergalactic heights!

I give it a B. I'm glad we traded away Batum. Morey is a genius.

Here's an old pic that I found while clening my PC: