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They opened the jogging trail reroute. This new section runs about 100 m north of the old trail that is directly adjacent to Memorial Drive. The old trail is going to need to be extensively modified or eliminated because it must be in the way of the downslope of the bridge. The new section is nice. It runs though the woods instead of right next to the street with the sounds of the cars, the exhaust and the general unnerving feeling of being that close to the fast moving cars on Memorial. Unfortunately it doesn't totally eliminate all of that section. There is still a part right by the road where it will be difficult to move the trail because of a gulley and where the golf course comes pretty far south. But it is way better than it used to be.

I went during lunch on black Friday, it was busy. Food was passable at the place I ate, view was stunning. maybe it was just me, but the inside felt like a mall with no retail moved in, and all of the food court open.

I was there on Sunday and it was pretty full with a surprising (to me at least - it was very windy) number of people just hanging out on the roof. All the food I tried was excellent, and apparently the vendors are having issues with having under-ordered for the demand they've been getting.

Virtual Open House for University Line BRT is now up: https://www.ridemetro.org/Pages/METRORapid-University-Corridor-Project.aspx Link to PDF: http://metrorapid-ucp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/University-Corridor-Project-Virtual-Open-House.pdf Stops/alignment by segment: Opens 2028 :/

Would be a good time to start on that “major overhaul” that Tilman mentioned in 18”

Best news I've read in a while! Maybe we can at least get the place cleaned. I can't believe Toyota doesn't complain.

That is in front of gate “55” which is the intersection of Clinton and Gregg.

Nice pic samagon! Yeah, when we went for the soft opening, I definitely got that impression, too. (Though there were a lot less of the restaurants open- I think only like half) I saw what looked like someone moving stuff into one of the office spaces in the Z-stairway area. I wonder if POST is having to compete with ION for tenants for their office space. In any case, I’m excited, and very curious, to see what they’ll do with the space in the next phases. What a unique project- I can’t wait to get back and check it out again!

Sometimes the 29 bus goes down McKinney when there is a train stopped across Lockwood does that count?

FWIW, there was a survey team on site today. Surveying. Well, two guys were surveying, and one guy was sitting in the truck.

Handsome building.

Got around to trying this place for lunch today. I'd mostly echo what @wilcal said - perfectly happy with the food, but also not blown away. The space is BEAUTIFUL (especially outside) and I think there's a ton of potential here. The brisket and sausage were both solid; I thought the pork ribs were a lot less tender than they could have been, but the flavor was there. Overall I'd say a good 7/10, and I'm excited to see where they take this place. What it lacks in not being Pinkerton's, it makes up in being way closer than Pinkerton's, lol.

I'm disappointed they kept the routing around Afton Oaks from the gold University LRT alignment. The neighborhood concerns for LRT running through Afton Oaks just aren't as valid for BRT. Richmond is a 6-lane major thoroughfare there and BRT is perfectly appropriate along that road. Wealthy neighborhoods shouldn't be able to inconvenience all transit users just to maintain the "neighborhood charm" along a road that is laid out like a divided highway. Routing BRT south of 610 before Galleria makes the Newcastle stop almost worthless (there is a wall along the 59 feeder that blocks all foot-traffic north of 59 and rail corridor that blocks all foot-traffic on the east). They need to get the BRT into Galleria along Richmond. Use the existing Silver Line infrastructure (saving some money) at Richmond and LUTC so that University Line users can actually get into the Galleria without having to transfer to another line or foot it across a highway.

I agree 100% about the seats. The facade is where majority of the work is needed. Extend the facade closer to the street on both Polk and La Branch with a more modern look and materials. I’d like to see it squared off similar to Little Caesars arena in Detroit.

and the key was Little PAPPAS not Little PAPPASITOS! which they better NEVER close Little Pappasitos!!!!!!!!!!!!! there would be hell to pay!!! 👹 haha

So strange it turns south before entering the heart of Greenway Plaza, what a waste. Seems like Weslayan makes much more sense than Edloe.

Good thing for all of us here is that OMA is the architect, not Gensler. And while the designs are preliminary, they are incredible. Like nothing currently in Houston, extremely ambitious. I'm hopeful they get put out in the next few months.

Fence is down.

They started on the retaining walls over the tunnel ends. This was the far east end of the eastbound lane. They were pouring concrete on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.

Building is getting a paint job. Looking good!

The hospitality city. I know it's an awkward phrase, but it really is true in my experience. I've lived in dozens of cities all over the country, and Houston is one of only two cities where I've kept friendships. Some cities like to play like they're friendly, but they're not. Two examples: Seattle is all happy and granola and "inclusive" on the surface. But when people find out you're not from there, the way they treat you changes. Instantly. It's called the "Seattle freeze," and is something I read about before I moved there. It didn't seem possible, but it's true. You would think that a city with so many foreign workers would be more welcoming of outsiders, but it's not. Hang around with a bunch of people after work and everything is great. Mention that you're from somewhere else, and suddenly they stop inviting you. In addition to happening to me and my wife, and enough people for it to appear in that book, it happened to a bunch of fellow outlanders that I asked about it. Some didn't even realize it was happening. Seattle is fake. People in Las Vegas are very friendly. As long as you like their politics, or gambling, or drinking, or are a member of their church or temple. But there's not a lot of depth there. People don't get to know one another because it's a city of transients. It's surrounded by military bases, and the heart of it is casinos that only exist to make a buck. People come and go. There were 15 houses on my block, and half changed occupants each year. The majority of people you run into during the day are people who dropped out of high school, or never even thought about college, because — in their minds — why would they get an education when they can make $20/hour dealing cards? Living the high life means you have six giant TVs in your man cave so you can watch a dozen sportsball games at the same time while you gamble online. Here's an example of how poorly educated people are there: I had a pair of 30-something tradesmen in my home doing work. They needed to get behind my big easel to do some work. One asked the other to ask me if it's OK to move the easel. The other didn't know the word "easel." Had never heard of such a thing, and didn't know what it was used for. The first guy, exasperated, finally said, "ART STAND!" to make him understand what it was. I guess it's not surprising that the nearest art museums five hours away in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. Meanwhile, in Houston, both times I've lived here people have gone out of their way to be nice to me. I had three different people who don't even know each other leave welcome baskets for me when I moved back. Both times I've lived here, people with families have asked me and my wife to join them for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners because they know we don't have anyone. When my wife posted on social media that she was moving back to Houston, people came out of the woodwork to welcome her back, and if it wasn't for 'rona, she would probably be out every night with friends old and new. Even the homeless people around my building are nice to me. And not just "gimme a dollar" nice. They recognize me and know I'm not going to give them anything, and they still say hi. I want to say "Houston is the friendly city," but it's more than that. It's welcoming in a way that other cities aren't. It's nice when it doesn't need to be. Sure, it still has all of the problems of any big city. But it also has hospitality. Something few of the cities in which I've lived also have.

Acc to Misspelled Doug: Though there is concern about the project’s impacts in Midtown, Third Ward and Eado, the most vocal opposition to the project emanates from north of downtown where TxDOT proposes to add two managed lanes in each direction to I-45. That widening, which requires the destruction of hundreds of homes and businesses adjacent to the freeway, has drawn scorn and accusations that highway officials are perpetuating decades of carving freeways through low-income and minority communities to the detriment of those neighborhoods. Is there a summary of this opposition anywhere? Are we talking about just the 610-Downtown segment or going all the way to the Beltway? Does this refer to the Stop IH 45 Now group? Does anyone know how long this group has been together, who formed it, who funded it (most importantly), and how they have historically participated in the comment process?

I know this is counterintuitive, given the whole point of going public is to raise money, but it's strange this happened today and the supposed leak to Forbes was a banker. Fertitta Entertainment seeks to terminate Fast Acquisition deal - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Only in Houston would you ever see this. On the one hand I praise its cleverness, and uniqueness, but on the other hand this is probably the dumbest location to put a town home I've ever seen. Literally between two functioning railroads and industrial all around it.

I would love to see them do something with the exterior as well!!!!

300 years🤣 of driving past that, and never noticed the "Little"

https://www.oma.com Is this the OMA that's going to be the architect? If so, I think we have a really good chance that this is going to be significant! They even did the architecture for POST! Side note, does anyone know roughly when we can see this moving forward?

You've got to be kidding. This is one of the most visible and potentially vibrant corners of central Houston and they came up with a design that belongs as an addition to Co-op City in the Bronx.

This is a pretty underwhelming looking model. Hope the digital renderings look way better.

They know that, they're just taking the opportunity to take a dig at trans people regardless of how off-topic it is.

Early 2022 says the website. Excited about this.

I enjoyed this article. I'm glad that they are approaching this process with compassion, as opposed to just trashing people's stuff and chasing them off. I think it is more sustainable to give people that helping hand, hopefully send them on a better path. The encampment on the northeast of downtown has gotten pretty big (under 59/69), I wonder if/when they are going to try to 'decommission' that one. It would be a lot of work.

Maybe because they draw in other businesses. If a big chain sees potential in an area, other companies will follow. This isn't just a theory, it's how a lot of retail works. For example, when a new mall scores an Apple Store, other stores will fall all over themselves to get a space there, too. It's why retail real estate developers sometimes have fake almost-Apple Stores drawn into their renderings. It brings in interest from others. Back in my college marketing classes, we learned that one of the diner chains (Denny's, I think) famously did zero location research. It just built next to Holiday Inns whenever it could. It piggybacked off of the hotel's research.

Screenshot from the video: Video from the website:

I did get to make it over for lunch today. Space is really well done. If you want cocktails/wine then you have to order separately at the bar, but they had a few beer choices that you could grab and check out with. We got there about 10:50 and they had let people star queueing inside. My wife and I split a brisket sandwich $15 ($12 with other meats), 1/2 lb of turkey ($9), cauliflower au gratin, mac and cheese, and spicy creamed corn ($4 each), plus a banana pudding (also $4 I think. It was good and massive). Kind of unfair to do a full food review on their third day of soft opening, but the overall rating is "pretty good". I had Pinkerton's a few weeks ago, and their brisket blows this one out of the water. The turkey was really good. Creamed corn 7/10, M&C 8/10, Cauliflower 8/10. I liked that they offered pickles, pickled onion, picked okra, and picked jalapenos. They were toasting the bread to order right at the counter with a machine, which was a nice touch. Two sauces available. Their regular sauce had a heavy hit of beer flavor, and their mustard-based sauce was very sweet, almost like honey mustard. Again, I'm cautiously very optimistic here. They get a heavy handicap with it being their first weekend. I talked to one of the managers (owners?) and he said they are going to do the Thursday-Sunday 11-sell out for sure until December. I think they also really want to lean into the beer garden bit, because the large bar is half inside and half outside and you can access the outdoor area directly without having to go inside. This will let them operate as a bar until late without having the restaurant open. Pretty smart. I really want to try all of the sides eventually. I saw people with the red cabbage slaw and the tomatoes and they looked great. Next time I'll get one of the mac or cauliflower and then try some others.

Healthcare Design Magazine is listing the Centennial Tower to start construction in the first quarter of 2022.

Nice try Taco Bell CEO.

The job is completed.

Mary Gibbs Jones Building has been demolished.

It is for a future phase and will be left unfinished on the interior.

This is an exciting time for the Texas Medical Center! It is already the largest medical center in the world and keeps growing. In this rendering of Houston Methodist's Centential Tower, why does the bridge over Fannin Street have an extra level above the walkway?