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Wet and muddy after this morning’s storms.

From Nextdoor:

Because I'm pretty sure that's about the last thing the Downtown Management District wants it to become. But also experiences in Chicago and elsewhere have shown that low-income towers are hard to keep secure and can become crime hotspots. Lower-rise options work much better and lead to healthier low and mixed-income communities. It needs to become student housing for Rice, UH, UH Downtown, or even Baylor Medical School (probably private serving all of the above). It's right on rail lines to all of those.

Now is the time to support them. If these proprietors can survive and eventually thrive along with the drivethroughs, that will help shift the narrative.

I too was a big fan of the Yellow Pages covers. I managed to save 3 covers - 1 by B Wallace (August 1987-88 Greater Houston) and 2 by Norman Baxter (both June 1983 - Business-to-Business and Consumer Directories). I also have a framed lithograph my ex-boss gave it to me in 1980 by Karl Hoefle to share.

It looks like the northern part of the building goes up to 9 floors, while the rest of the building stops at 8.

Do not taunt water feature.

901 Commerce by Marc longoria, on Flickr

I always liked the idea of a senior independent living situation, for many of the same reasons you liked student housing. Near transit and the theaters and the restaurants of downtown. But I fear that the structure itself may be the question now, especially after the reported contract fell through last year. And tearing it down and building something new is unlikely considering all of the available parking lots / development sites nearby.

Tower crane is up.

Noticed Harvey did some writing in the concrete. Very cool. Modern hieroglyphics. Reads: Harvey #1, Safety 1st, Zero Accidents My Safety, Got PPE?, Keep 6-Foot Apart, Drink Water, then repeats in Spanish.

Many thanks to our human construction webcam!

I voted for most of the cities proposals. They are at least ways the city can begin a dialogue with TXDOT. At the end of the day a compromise will have to be made. I think the best way to insure that TXDOT gets what they need, and the city gets what it needs is by using the cities version as a base, and then add the 5th lane, but keep the 10ft shoulder. The graph they show of a downward trend is actually a bit misleading. 2008-2012 we were in the middle of the Great Recession. To say that this is an actual downward trend would be like people looking at the highways right now because of COVID and then saying, hey, see, look traffic is on a downward trend! Its a very surface level interpretation of statistics without understand the root causes. This is why I think they should still add the 5th lane, but as a whole, the cities overall version is better and requires less land. According to the graph they provided, traffic has seemed to stablize instead of going up, but we can't assume its going to stay that way, nor should we take data that is more attributed by the Great Recession, and say that it will keep things on a downward trend.

So is this for sure stucco? No chance it could be brick? That would make it less hideous...

@Nate_56 Have they poured the foundation or is it just ground work? Appreciate your reply!

That strip center parking lot was a nightmare when Specs was in the small space next door to Academy. Especially on the weekends. Anyone ever skate at The Wharf ice rink?

We are so damn lucky that so many restaurant renovations got done before Coronavirus. Not only this but renovations at former BoA center, Houston Center, planned GFR at new highrises, etc. Retail is entering a great depression and these things would not get financed now.

Gorgeous light, buddy!! Thanks for sharing.

(Click for greater detail) Downtown Houston by Marc longoria, on Flickr Downtown Houston by Marc longoria, on Flickr Downtown Houston by Marc longoria, on Flickr

You mean like Hanover Rice Village?

Paving permit by Harvey for a new private street at 3202 1/2 Post Oak.

I’m post directly from my iPhone. I’ll see if I can try doing it on Imgr and see how it goes. Thanks I don’t think the concrete pour is going to happen today because of the rain? It may have to be done until Monday

Nope. There were a couple of vehicles on site the other day which piqued my interest, but it doesn't seem like anything happened. Feel like this one is dead.

Yes, construction crews have broken ground!

some pix from yesterday. It's almost there.

While sad It’s still a good space, someone will do something cool with it.

I have a beautiful framed Karl Hoefle print of the turning basin area of the Houston Ship Channel. I found it a few years ago thrift shopping at The Guild Shop. Sharing here for your enjoyment I wish I could find more beautiful (and silly) prints of Houston like this one!

wow, that's awesome, looking at Jones Plaza in the background, I know it was rebuilt from the original, but I'm now more interested in seeing this original design.

You'd also have to install the rail lines, and reinforced the road bed to be able to carry the trains if it wasn't built to hold them. Additionally, any bridges that aren't capable of holding a train would have to be updated, as well as installing electrical infrastructure and track switching equipment at critical places along the line.

I am not sure if I have read this correctly... Are there phases to the tower? Will the 48 story tower break ground this fall?

The maternity center is finally above ground level.

The answer is pretty heavily reinforced! Check out this nice little progression: (This was during the forming of the main foundation underneath the Maternity Center on the north side of the site.)

The problem with senior living in high rises...fire alarms and actual fires.