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Work starts on extending trails from Allen’s Landing to McKee St

WOMH for White Oak Music Hall. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Chicago-developer-to-build-apartments-near-White-15534163.php

Looks like it will most likely be this property. Wonder what that means for parking for WOMH.... perhaps WOMH is struggling so severely during Covid that they had to sell this property.

Taking their time but the front walkway is going in and a notice re an alcohol license.

Not specifically North Canal related but in the neighborhood. Work has started on extending Buffalo Bayou trails eastward, from Allen’s Landing to McKee.

Completely agree. I actually live across the street from WOMH and it is dangerous trying to bike down just to cross over into Woodland Heights. I think if they added the on-street parking, it would probably force people to slow down a bit. N Main, in this section, really doesn't need to be 4 lanes.

And this project should tie in with work extending the Buffalo Bayou trails eastward from Allen’s Landing to McKee St. Also, the new east trails will have a promenade at Austin St that connects to its bike lane.

The Episcopal Health Foundation "owns" the sidewalk under their canopy because their property line is actually the back of the curb on Prairie, since their basement is located under the sidewalk. As such, they have the say over how the sidewalk is used by way of an encroachment agreement with the City of Houston. May of the buildings in the Historic District have similar ownership of the sidewalks at their building. If the Episcopal Health Foundation wanted these people gone, they would ask the police to enforce the trespassing ordinance.

With regards to parking, probably an unpopular opinion, but I think the city should add on street parking to N Main and they could even meter it (if they wanted to get some $). Currently, two lanes in both direction allow people to fly down this road, so reducing it to 1 travel lane each way would force drivers to slow down, especially when there is such a large pedestrian presence during venues. Just a thought.

All the land to the north of The RO lot up to The River Oaks Condo Building belongs to St. John’s. There is a giant multi use field, parking garage, and temporary buildings with a parking lot the Urban Harvest Farmers Market currently uses on Saturday mornings. It is my understanding that eventually this will become new buildings and athletic facilities for the school.

Couple of corrections: The TDCJ Jester Unit was named after Beauford Jester, a Texas Governor from 1947 to 1949, long after the song was recorded. TC Jester was the Pastor of the Baptist Temple on 20th Street in Houston. Lead Belly was imprisoned in the Central Unit in Sugar land.

Currently they are downtown. Again.

I'm not sure how they expect to make this project work when the Episcopalian Health Foundation has allowed a homeless encampment to develop under their canopy, right next door at 500 Fannin. It's amazing that nobody seems to object to the lack of social distancing among those who live on this sidewalk, or to the lack of restroom facilities (other than a porta-can that's been installed on Fannin). The sidewalk along Prairie is virtually impassable. With this encampment being allowed to happen, I guess that "love thy neighbors" doesn't really apply to those of us who actually are the neighbors, or to those who may become their neighbors if this project does happen. I sure wish this wasn't the case.

New Orleans developer buys downtown Opportunity Zone property for mixed-use remodel New Orleans-based NORF Cos. paid an undisclosed amount to acquire a three-story building located at 1014 Prairie St. from Houston-based Friedman Prairie Associates. COURTESY OF NORF COS. By Jeff Jeffrey – Reporter, Houston Business Journal 3 hours ago One of downtown Houston’s oldest buildings has been sold to a New Orleans-based company that plans to convert it into a mixed-use multifamily property. NORF Cos. — which stands for New Orleans Redevelopment Fund — paid an undisclosed amount to acquire the building located at 1014 Prairie St. from Houston-based Friedman Prairie Associates, according to a news release. The three-story structure was built around 1895 and features a Romanesque Revival building facade. The building is located near the intersection of Prairie Street and Main Street in the city's central business district. NORF paid for the property out of an Opportunity Zone fund, which makes the makes the property eligible for tax breaks if it is held for a certain period of time and significant improvements are made to the building. NORF plans to restore the building, turning the interior space into roughly 20 residential units. The ground floor will be available for retail leasing. NORF expects to break ground on the renovation project in early 2021. The 13,500-square-foot property was valued at $856,207 as of Jan. 1, according to Harris County Appraisal District records. “We had a strong investor fundraise in the low eight figures that will enable NORF to continue its strategy of impactful investments in blighted properties that are transformative to neighborhoods,” said Cullan Maumus, development director of NORF. “In partnering with our investors, we are fulfilling our vision in providing positive returns for our partners and our community. We were very impressed with the considerable interest we had from potential OZ investors that we are already in the works for a new NORF 4 Opportunity Zone Fund.” Click here to read a Houston Business Journal cover story on the federal Opportunity Zone program. The acquisition of 1014 Prairie St. marks NORF’s latest purchase of a property located in an Opportunity Zone. The company said it plans to target Opportunity Zone properties across the southeast United States, with a particular focus on Houston and San Antonio. The company’s Opportunity Zone funds already own several properties in New Orleans.

Good to hear, the eastern trails definitely could use some love.

I'll just put this in as a bonus, but not for the cap, for the project overall: if we get two way all day HOV lanes (which is planned for all highways inside the loop between this and MetroNext), Metro is going to expand their P&R service to two way frequent and P&R-to-TC/P&R-to-P&R service, it'll be a wierd citywide express bus service instead of a commuter shuttle that I think has a lot of potential.

As a resident of EaDo, I see this project as more or less a break-even. I can say that the presence of 59 feels psychologically like much more of a barrier to downtown than GRB does. When I'm walking to Astros games, crossing under 59 is ugly at best, scary at worst. That said, GRB is huge and I wish it could be split in half and have Lamar or McKinney continue through it. The current shape and alignment of Discovery Green makes that basically impossible, but it's a nice pipe dream. Losing Polk as an entrance to downtown isn't thrilling, but I know I'd be more inclined to walk to downtown than drive if the cap parks existed. I really only see the project as being potentially worth it if the caps get done. What it will do: Make Houston a much more beautiful city to live in Make pedestrian and bike access from midtown and EaDo into downtown much safer and more inviting Reduce homeless encampments Cost a lot of money What it won't do: Reduce congestion on any of the freeways Actually solve any of the problems of homelessness

After which they will likely move back over towards EaDo/East End.

"just thank the lord we dont have a developer here in town that loves gold and puts very large signs up with his last name on them. I will take Randall "the EIFS / Stucco queen" Davis over some others any day of the week!!!" At least that unnamed developer you allude to leaves most of the gold on the inside. Some of his buildings aren't bad from the outside, like the famous one on 56th and 5th, but by his interior design taste, you'd think he fancies himself an 18th century French queen! Who knows how he dresses up once he's alone in the "His" bedroom at night!

I tend to go on these weird food benders where I will eat the same thing for a week. I did one on Ninfa’s at both the Navigation location and the Uptown spot before corona wrecked 2020. Honestly...I didn’t notice a difference as I ate my way through the menu. As it’s usually just me on these glutinous journeys, I usually sit at the bar and haven’t had any issue with service.

just thank the lord we dont have a developer here in town that loves gold and puts very large signs up with his last name on them. I will take Randall "the EIFS / Stucco queen" Davis over some others any day of the week!!!

Come on guys, leave Randall alone. Its not his fault he was born without taste. Its a very terrible, serious condition!

There is an image of this side at the 0:57 mark in the video on this website: https://ionhouston.com/. Seems to be the final look for the exterior of those floors. I like them. Breaks up the general wall of glass look, and ties in some of the verticality from the old Sears windows. Tried to attach a screen grab from the video but not sure if it worked.

On page 54 of the document, there is a reference to an expansion of the GRB, at the northeast corner of the building. This is shown a couple places in the graphic plans, regarding the cap park. I’m sure it’s preliminary, but a couple years ago, there was a commission awarded to connect/open up the east side of the center, in some way. I bet that this is it. http://www.downtowntirz.com/downtownhouston/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/08-11-20-Board-Book-FINAL.pdf

Not sure if we had the timing of delivery before: "NORF Cos. plans to convert the property into a mixed-use multifamily project with renovations beginning in early 2021 and is expected to deliver in late summer 2022." Source: http://www.downtowndistrict.org/static/media/uploads/attachments/downtown_market_update_2020_q2-compressed.pdf

As with many of the State of Texas responses to the pandemic, the actual effects of the orders and proclamations are less than clear, less helpful than they sound, and contain a bit of a Catch-22. While the registration requirement is abated for the time being, it does not appear that the inspection requirement was likewise abated. Registration stations have been open throughout this whole ordeal. Once your vehicle is inspected, you can renew registration online. With the paranoia ingrained from growing up adjacent to the Villages (and the VoPos) followed by the Ps moving to Jersey Village, and coming of driving age as a long haired hippie type freak during the Herman Short / Harry Caldwell / prisoners in the bayou / throw down guns era, and knowing that the status of your registration, insurance, and inspection are all now tidily stored in a DPS database that any beat cop can access at any time the mood strikes them, IMHO the prudent thing is to go ahead with the renewals if you're going anywhere that the cops are often looking for a reason to pull people over. Same thing applies if you have personal characteristics and / or a vehicle that make you more vulnerable to being stopped for "investigation" of the possibility of suspicion of suspicious activity (i.e., a pretext stop).

I'll build off of that bet and guess that he will build a massive 30 story building comprised of a 20 story parking garage pedestal made of cinder blocks...

From Jamail Skate Park.

Had some company today.

Well, it looks like Galveston dodged a bullet. So we'll start seeing these rolling eventually!

The second bridge now has hand railings.

Increasing the height of the construction elevator.

I received a APO newsletter today.

You're right. It's more likely crushed granite. Whatever similar material you'd walk on at Memorial Park. Either way, I didn't have any issue biking it but I was on my gravel bike. 😅

Meanwhile, the North Canal Project would reroute White Oak Bayou along downtown creating greater conveyance upstream in the Heights and reduce flooding downtown. A design firm will likely be chosen by the end of 2020, said Laura Patino, the chief of staff for the Mayor’s Office of Recovery, to Houston City Council members in an Aug. 6 briefing. From Community Impact.

Installing a generator in the southwest corner.

According to the latest Houston Bikeways map (http://tei-houston.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0d493ce6ec01481b82cec71bf7f67374), a portion of Commerce is designated as a "Potential Short Term Implementation Opportunity" for an in-street ROW. If/when implemented, this would essentially link the Buffalo Bayou trails via Jensen/Navigation, the Harrisburg trail via Commerce, and the Columbia Tap trail via Paige/Harrisburg/Emancipation.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership just sent this out regarding an informational session on the Buffalo Bayou East Plans: I don't know if we are allowed to post links to stuff like that here, but, I'm sure you can find info on their website.

Beautiful in it's own way. Houston's own no frills Little Venice. (sort of)

Meanwhile, the sign goes up. I am looking forward to the place.

The tower crane operator I had the opportunity to meet while they were getting ready to assemble her tower crane. She works for Baker Concrete.