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Autry Park Office Phase I & II https://www.cbre.us/resources/fileassets/US-SMPL-67739/34711091/ee670885-e09b-4ec6-9e39-cd17d8e4fbaa.pdf

I'm staring straight across from the fins as I type. What you see is what you get. It looks like the punched metal screening material that accents the fins has been installed. They have some scaffolding around this assembly now.

https://www.designcollective.com/portfolio/project/hanover-square-block-e/

More evidence that there are just too many people driving who should not be. If one does not know that one is supposed to treat such intersections as 4-way stops, one should not be driving. We are not nearly strict enough with drivers licenses.

Got the official Notice of Variance notification from the city the other day. It looks like the ground floor retail is no longer part of this project. Under 'Statement of Facts' is the following: 'The plan for the building is to provide 70+ luxury residential high-rise units with 5 floors of parking and no retail on the street side........The Montrose favorite Khun Kay Thai is planning to relocate just down the street and open to continue to serve the Montrose area their delicious Thai cuisine.' It also mentions that inspiration for this building comes from ICONSAIM in Thailand and Garden by the Bay in Singapore....

Is this the only rendering of phase 2?

Oooh. I like that office tower. And it has a nod to The Wortham Tower just up the road to the East. The Wortham Tower has always been a favorite of mine.

I really like how this building helps balance our skyline a bit more.

It feels weird. Familiar, but unfamiliar at the same time. It's like swimming through a repeating dream. Some things are new and unexpected, and some are right where I left them. On a related note — seriously, couldn't you guys fix the roads while I was gone? Shepard, Kirby, Allen Parkway, Texas Avenue, and a bunch of others all have the same potholes in the same places. My pothole-dodging muscle memory came back for all of them. And the railroad crossings! If po-dunk Oshkosh, Wisconsin can get the railroads to upgrade all of its train crossings to make them smooth, surely Houston could do the same. It looks like 90% of the infrastructure tax dollars are spent on ever-widening freeways, and almost nothing goes to the neighborhoods and roads that most people use every day. Sure, the freeways are nice and wide and smooth. But the majority of the streets are atrocious. Some of them wouldn't even be legally considered "streets" in some of the places I've lived. And it's not just me being a jackwagon. I moved here because my wife's company opened a new location. That location brought people from three other cities to Houston, too. Everyone agrees that the streets are garbage. I mentioned it to someone in my building, and the go-to excuse seem to be "Well, the city is built on weak soil. In fact, it's mostly sand, so everything shifts." You know what is built on sand? Las Vegas. Phoenix. Albuquerque. They're built on freaking deserts. The streets are mostly beautiful. And don't point fingers at hurricanes. Nevada has earthquakes. The difference is that in Nevada, the streets are paved with concrete slabs instead of being 15 layers of cold-patch asphalt. Where are all the road tax dollars going? /END RANT

It shouldn't be too much to ask that obtaining a driver's license should require demonstrating some level of proficiency in operating a vehicle instead of just barely adequate competence. This is the case in many other countries. But that ship sailed when the majority of people began regarding driving as a right as opposed to a privilege. Combine lowest-common-denominator licensing with selective amnesia when it comes to the responsibilities associated with rights, and you have a recipe for disaster.

They make them look more appealing, better sidewalks, add outdoor seating options, add better landscaping, facelift (as you mentioned)... Higher rent$

Sorry to hear that. Few things suck worse than having your bike stolen.

Center Well Senior Primary Care

https://www.hanoverparkview.com

A painting of the Houston skyline I came across. Lots of Hines buildings!

The intersection of MacGregor and Almeda is in dire need of some retail though. I know there's the gas station and a couple spots in the Mosaic, but there's a bunch of apartments nearby already. A little market would be nice. Maybe a deli/ taqueria. Coffee shop. Nothing too fancy... but at least a little bit fancy.

All I can say is that rain anxiety is real. I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. Last year, where I lived, it went 243 days between rains. And the rains on either end were under a half-inch. When I'd replace my car's windshield wipers, it was because they dried out and were disintegrating from the heat and sun, not from over-use due to rain. It rained most of the days the first week I moved here. I sat and stared out at the rain for hours. I went onto the roof of my building and sat under an overhang and watched it fall. I stood out on the roof and stared up into it until I was soaked. I expect I'll get my rain driving skills back with practice. But since I walk or take a train everywhere I go so far, it'll take a while. On a related note, the only time I was ever pulled over by a cop as an adult was in Houston. It was because I went through a traffic light that had just barely turned red. I did it because I thought the streets were too slick with rain and that I'd skid through if I tried to stop. He didn't buy it and I got a ticket. This was in 2001, before I moved to the desert. So perhaps I've always had a weird thing with rain.

I wandered over to the Market Square area last night, and I was pleasantly surprised with the number of businesses that were open. Main Street is still largely dead restaurants right now, but MS seems to be holding its own. I expect this is because it has two large residential towers as anchors. It was sad to see the old Treebeards building vacant, though. I loved that place. I think you're right, that there are patches of downtown that are poised to thrive, but I don't think it's going to be across all of downtown. There are still too many surface parking lots, and still too many fortress towers. Progress is being made, but it's a lot slower than I thought it would be.

So are they fully installed?

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2021/09/10/memorial-drive-land-bridge-update.html?

Idk where to post this, but someone made a website similar to Swamplot and thought it was really good! Thought id share it! https://houstonhistoricretail.com

Property on the plat report. Being replatted to unrestricted:

They finished the tower crane removal and are about to dissemble the AT crane.

Bowen.

Ooooh! Look at the image - monorails and VTOL aircraft [sarcasm in case it wasn't obvious]. Did we get in a time machine and go back to 1955? Here is a quote from the architect (not necessarily regarding this project): I'm not sure who the 'they' is other than another form of the pronoun 'them.' I attended one of his presentations/lectures a few years ago. He is definitely a 'blue sky' guy.

🙄

Please tell me this is just a nightmare. Seriously, this is a fright.

Etta

Taken from the Hanover approach to the garage, early morning light means bad shots. Went to the front.

Looks to be on the 25th or 26th floor. I wish it was going to be 45 floors but I believe it's going to be 34.

This was the county's excuse for not considering any of the ideas submitted. But the financing plan for any of these ideas could have been the same as the county used for their own ideas: use county general fund and/or sell bonds.

Last month, a plan review permit was issued for the building foundation. Hoping it breaks ground in September!

@Houston19514, far too many indeed! It’s all of these spacey out-of-towers moving here from points unknown... In general: they can’t drive when it’s raining; they can’t drive fast enough; they get nervous with the multitude of cars on the road; and they over signal their intentions when switching lanes. It is a pit maneuver - one blink while simultaneously jamming the wheel. That’s it. And lastly -this is the worst- they don’t know that you never, ever, ever intentionally stop traffic on Shepherd to turn left from the left lane UNLESS you see an opening wherein to avoid the soon-to-be traffic jam caused by the Metro bus stopped in the right lane you turn at full speed. One blink will do it! Brace yourself for the poor transition from street to driveway, and wish that your moderately priced sedan was a big fancy F250 just like the one the ***hole civil engineer that designed the grading that you’re about to bottom out on drives. With that said, welcome back, @editor! Do you feel like a sort of “prodigal son” returning to town after these many years?

TDLR Project Details. September 2021 start date. Around the corner!

Plat approved.

I honestly do not think the city is capable of timing the lights on such long stretches of roadways. What you can possibly do is group certain intersections. For example, with San Felipe, Voss and Winrock can be grouped, Briar Ridge and Potomac could be grouped. Fountain View would stay the same. The main group would be Augusta, Bering, and Chimney Rock. (Hope that makes sense). Submit a 311 comment or email the planning department for each group. It is easier for them to work on 2-3 intersections than the entire stretch. Don't know if they'll do much, like you said, they have been lacking recently with response to service requests. My own few cents on the matter is that we need to be careful when trying to promote faster travel times. With the stretches of Westheimer and San Felipe, the lights allow traffic to naturally slow down. If all lights are green, it will just increase the speed for vehicles to travel down these roadways. Not the best environment for pedestrians and cyclists. I think a better solution would equip all METRO buses with transit signal priority devices. This would allow faster travel times for riders on the 32 and 82, which are both brutally slow at the moment. METRO's Boost has TSP in their plans and there will be a Westheimer Boost so that should help!

The HEB across 288 opens in less than 2 months!

Where are the single family homes on the block in question? I cannot find any.

"Northeast corner of West Dallas and Montrose that would give them ample space to build their project." Pretty sure that one is also under development. "My point is that you'd be hard pressed to name a major development in Montrose in the past 10 years that shares a block with a bunch of single-family homes." Isn't the place across the street from you like that? https://i.imgur.com/UNL72sc.png