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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/26/2022 in all areas

  1. This whole thing is gonna weird me out when it turns out exactly like its renderings.
    3 points
  2. I mean, in the end, we aren't losing much. Its still crossing the bayou, just in a different spot. Any land the highway vacates can be redeveloped, and most of what the new highway will be covering is existing parking lots.
    3 points
  3. We did some Black Friday shopping there and we parked at the transit center and took the BRT. The parking situation was out of control at the mall. We timed it really well and didn’t have to wait too long. It was cold and rainy but it worked out nicely
    3 points
  4. Looks like 1817 McKinney at Hamilton in the 1907 and 1923 directories Sanborn map from 1907. Block 158 is under the GRB now. House was probably demolished by the 1950's. 1803 McKinney was owned by Teolin Pillot, Camille's Brother. Their father was born in France, their mother in Louisiana. 1930 Census lists value of CG Pillot house at $100,000, Teolin Pillot house at $125,000. Camille Pillot in 1930 is shown as living there, but the head of household is his son Norman. Camille Pillot died in October 1953 at age 92, and is listed as living in the Shamrock Hotel. His son Norman died in 1947 at age 54, and his address was listed as 1 Briarwood Ct, which looks like it may still be around.
    2 points
  5. Rice article and pictures from Rice archives of a baron South Main. Wild stuff!! Charles Weber’s Farm Posted on September 17, 2012 by Melissa Kean A lot of Rice people are vaguely aware of some story about a guy with a pig farm near the Administration Building. There really is such a story—Mr. Weber had just over seven acres between the south end of the building and Main Street. Although there seem to have been some pigs on it, calling it a “pig farm” might imply a level of organization not strictly applicable. He was an old man and he didn’t want to leave, so he held out, extracting in the end over $7,000 per acre for his land from the Rice trustees. (The average amount paid to the other sellers was less than $700 per acre.) Unfortunately, the 1910 agreement also allowed him to remain on the premises for three and a half years. Unsurprisingly, his continued habitation became . . . . problematic. https://ricehistorycorner.com/2012/09/17/charles-webers-farm/ Difficulties arose when Weber repeatedly fenced off his property in such a way as to cut off the road. By the time it was all over, the Rice board, weary and knowing that they would need that roadway for the opening procession, gave Weber an additional $800 to vacate the premises before the Institute’s formal opening. The fence was removed only days before the event. Other pictures from the early 1900s:
    2 points
  6. This is a great little video that just got published, with new animation of the finished product, more context regarding the nature and uses of the building, and great touchstones from other Ismaili Centers already in place.
    2 points
  7. Zoo Lights https://flic.kr/p/2o1XAaq
    2 points
  8. Does anyone know about the Charles Weber & Rice University saga? Apparently, Charles Weber was holding onto some valuable pig farm land that Rice wanted. Eventually, he caved in and sold to the university. Map Showing Rice Institute Property. The accompanying map shows the Rice Institute location, three miles from the center of the city on Main Street Road, the road leading right alongside the property from the South End, Southmore and Kenilworth Grove additions. The map begins at Eagle avenue. The white squared marked “Dupont” and “Charles Weber” are small pieces of property which the trustees could not secure. The Weber property having been occupied as a home and truck garden for a number of years. In the northern edge of the 102-acre tract there is a large grove of stately forest trees, while the lower portion of the sity-seven-acre tract is dotted with the large forest trees. The stream winding through the proper is Brays Bough, which will give through drainage. This stream, in addition to furnishing drainage is acceptable of terracing and landscaping. Altogether the location is ideal in every particular. Nether Proof. Lovett nor the trustees are ready to make any announcement as to the character of the buildings or educational policy, but they are all busy with these matters. Bought Land for $1000; Sells it for $56,000 An indicator of the expansion of Houston land values within the last 47 years was given Wednesday when Charles Weber and wife sold a tract of land lying opposite the Rice Institute on Main street boulevard for $6000. The tract was less than three acres and was the last of 10-acre plot bought by Mr. Weber in 1872 for $1000. The 10 acres have brought $56,000 to the owner since his original purchase. The tract across from Rice Institute was bought by R.W. Franklin, who acts as trustee for other interests. The land will not be used for furthering private enterprises, according to Mr. Franklin. The deed to the three acre tract was filed Wednesday in the district clerk's office. Record Price Paid For Main Street Acreage By The Rice Institute. Seven acres Were Purchased Yesterday From Charles Weber for a Consideration of $50,000. Seven Acres Bring $50,00 Charles Weber, a truck framer out Main street road, south of Houston sold, sold seven acres of land adjusting the site of Rice Institute for $50,000 cash. The processional at Rice's formal opening ceremonies almost had to be rerouted at the last minute for what Porcine reason? Thanks to our generous clue, all the contestants realized the answer had something to do with pigs. Despite answers ranging from runaway pigs to disparaging comments about Rice women, the real answer lies with farmer Charles Weber, who owned the last 10 acres of what would become the Rice grounds. Weber, whose pigsty lay adjacent to the processional route, refused to sell his parcel of land until the proverbial 11th hour.
    1 point
  9. IKR! I thought there were building codes prohibiting that.
    1 point
  10. “We acquire, develop and mange…”. 😮 Like we really need any more mangy buildings. From the same link: 2120 Post Oak Blvd. Deiso Moss is developing a 43 story mixed use tower on the coveted Post Oak Blvd in Houston, TX. The tower will consist of 25,000SF of retail, 100,000 square feet of office and 350 multi family apartments. How many families in each apartment? More than three is considered a downscale elegance.
    1 point
  11. The city owns the old convention center. Agree with getting sick of the homeless camping and begging every where. We (including the homeless) are being ill-served by our governments.
    1 point
  12. From the 1917 directory, 511 Maini:
    1 point
  13. The Pillot house that's at Sam Houston Park was the house originally at 1803 McKinney https://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2010/10/then-now-25-the-pillot-house/
    1 point
  14. Looks a bit grand for the Heights, perhaps? Maybe Quality Hill. Here's the Wiki article on Henke's. It mentions a house built by Eugene Pillot in 1868 at Chenevert and McKinney that is now in Sam Houston Park. Perhaps the father of Camille (CG) who was the bookkeeper and later partner of the grocery store chain?
    1 point
  15. More greenspace around UHD is a good thing. Likewise, installing ivy and other crawling plants (akin to 59 in Montrose) can provide an attractive landscape to the bridge columns within the greenway
    1 point
  16. To be clear, you can't just narrow important arterials without doing anything else. But I do think that just about any urban arterial that gets jammed with traffic would benefit from rail lines I do think optimizing alignments would vary depending on how much of a thoroughfare the street is (e.g., center-running for Washington, West Dallas, side-running for Montrose/Studemont, Shepherd/Durham, Navigation), and how wide the ROW is (e.g. can fit two center-running thru-lanes, rail lines, one-lane siderunning streets, and sidewalks?). Another option would be to run rail along parralel alignments that aren't major car routes, but then you run into issues with intersections. Or you could elevate it, but that adds a whole lot of extra cost. All of that, though, is a very politically optimistic, expensive, multidecade undertaking. A great deal of the intended effect (i.e. fostering diverse, lively, and comfortable "third place" options that aren't on noisy stroads) could be achieved by simply doing away with minimum parking requirements, anti-business deed restrictions, etc. I imagine there'd be some hesitancy in the local lending industry, based on conventional Houstonian thinking that equates going places with driving. But the truth is, there are a lot of businesses (virtually every coffee shop, taqueria, refresqueria, etc.) that thrive on an almost entirely neighborhood clientele. If businesses weren't forced to own enormous properties to accommodate an enormous number of cars, they wouldn't need to think about ease of access for suburnanites in the first place.
    1 point
  17. There is a track hoe still here, it doesn't have any indication that it belongs to Cherry Companies which leads me to believe it might be from a different company about to do some other type of work.
    1 point
  18. "Dallas-based real estate developer High Street Residential is hoping its hospitality-inspired approach, plus the tower’s location near the popular Discovery Green Park, will help it fill the 43-story, 309-unit apartment tower it recently opened downtown. Designed by Houston-based architecture firm Ziegler Cooper Architects with interiors by Dallas-based Waldrop + Nichols, the tower’s luxury finishes and amenities aim to attract renters by choice – people who rent not out of necessity, but out of the convenience and lifestyle found in urban high rises." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/43-story-apartment-tower-opens-downtown-houston-17596342.php#photo-23201778
    1 point
  19. Under Contract per Loopnet. That was very, very quick! Around 4 months of being on the market and already under contract. I'm hoping for a hotel on Westcreek. There are already tons of apartments and condos on that street. My 2nd choice would be an office building. https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/2020-Westcreek-Ln-Houston-TX/26155201/
    1 point
  20. This is just flat-out untrue, as evidenced by all of the development on (and right off) Main, Harrisburg, and Scott. I would call Main the best-designed street in Houston without a second thought. Even North Main and Fulton have begun to poke their heads out. Even if I had a car, I can't imagine driving to Downtown, the Museums, the Med Center, Hermann Park, NRG, MinuteMaid, PNC, EaDo, 2nd Ward, East End. And believe it or not, there are a lot of people in Houston who don't have cars, so places with better transit access are, well, more accessible. Of course, all of this is almost irrelevant when compared to safety, which is the most important problem with stroads. A pedestrian-friendly street is one you can cross anywhere, easily, at any time. That means narrow streets and car traffic (if there is any) between 15-20mph. Since we don't have any of those, the next best thing is one that you can cross at any intersection, and quickly. Montrose, Kirby, et al fail miserably at this (despite the fact their frequent car speeds of 35-40mph only yield average overall speeds of 15-20mph, depending on traffic). Your only safe option is to walk up to the next light, wait for a signal, cross the wide stroad, then walk all the way back. Naturally, this leads a lot of people to say "screw it" and cross anyway, and sadly, that actually is dangerous, because we've designed our commercial streets using the same "safety" features as highways (wide lanes, clear zones/setbacks, etc.), which makes speeds that would be appropriate for complex mixed-use areas (less than 20mph) feel awkwardly slow. Now, I realize that Houston has been on a car-centric spiral for about seventy years, so we have internalized a lot of ideas as natural ("you want me to go less than twenty miles an hour??!!"), despite their being anything but. But I am an optimist. I believe the city can change. So my criteria for what makes a good street (or urban area) put all-around safety first, pedestrian comfort second, transit access third, bike access fourth, per-acre economic sustainability (including infrastructure maintenance costs) fifth, and car access at the very bottom. I understand that many people on here don't have the same priorities, and that's fine.
    1 point
  21. FAA filing confirms height of 1,035’ 06/01/2023 - 06/01/2026 construction timeline. https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=561697793&row=5
    1 point
  22. While Houston has no zoning, the Chicken Districting is very specific. Shep/Durhan is a chicken sandwich district. Ella is a chicken finger district. This is why Layne's is going in across the street from Raising Cane's.
    1 point
  23. i don't mind it toooooooooo much but the art work/photographs on that wall are horrendous so hopefully they have something better planned. they need a statue of Mr Clean and that will look like his soap suds/bubbles all swirling around...heck, they could have even painted the floor to look like a toilet bowl!!!! 🤪
    1 point
  24. Eh, I'm just glad there's something there after what felt like years of empty lottage. I may be wrong, but self-storage seems fairly evolvable. But yeah, definitely not a looker.
    1 point
  25. Other details included in the submitted materials to the city's planning commission for the Residences at 1934 West Gray: Specific Variance is being sought and extent of variance: To reduce the building setback requirement along Woodhead Street from 10 feet to a variable width of 7 feet to 10 feet; and to reduce the building line along West Gray from 25’ to 15’. The developer is proposing to redevelop the property into a multi-family residential building and integral parking structure, with rooftop pool and gardens combined with ground floor patio and amenities. River Oaks Shopping Center is one of the oldest shopping centers in Texas and is a mixed-use development featuring a blend of over 70 luxury stores, a big box grocer, a condominium development, as well as the historic Rover Oaks Theater. The properties are developed with a blend of surface parking lots combined with structured garages. It is the developers plan to use this proposed development as a gateway project for the center as it transitions to a more pedestrian friendly experience in alignment with the most desirable development trends in the City of Houston. The current Chase building was built in the 1971 and is a 4-story masonry building and 2 level parking structure that is currently constructed at a 0’ setback along Woodhead Street. The existing pedestrian space along Woodhead is cramped and unwelcoming with a minimum 4’ wide sidewalk. The building façade facing West Gray is separated from the street by dark tinted pedestrian doorway, a loading entrance to the parking garage, and a small parking lot. It provides little aesthetic value and does nothing to invite and draw in potential clients or tenants. The new development, represented in the renderings submitted with this application, presents an opportunity to set a new standard for the West Gray corridor in the River Oaks Shopping Center. With a pedestrian friendly façade, featuring enhanced flatwork, and a mix of local plantings and exotic palm trees, the proposed development will be a gateway project anchoring the vision for the River Oaks District. Plans include an 18’6” pedestrian realm along Woodhead and a 30’ pedestrian realm along West Gray.
    1 point
  26. Getting a burner phone to call the Niles Crane apartment people
    1 point
  27. I emailed again, very polite. "thanks for replying, still very interested, etc. But I'd like some info so I'm not walking in cold into a sales studio". Same type reply, again. They said they would call me if I wanted. But I don't want a call. I don't want to be on their marketing email list, or phone bank. (I used a spare email I only use for purposes like this). I'll wait until info leaks. It always does.
    1 point
  28. Thats the Christmas decorations. They were beautiful last year! I highly recommend taking a walk along this new Christmas trail which will lead to the POST, for a great view of downtown all lit up, and something good to eat and drink! Cheers!
    1 point
  29. New glass at the Cockrell Butterfly Center continue to be installed.
    1 point
  30. 1 point
  31. I would love to see more trailfront bodegas, outdoorish coffee shops, taquerias, etc., not just here but along the Harrisburg and especially Columbia Tap trails as well. Atlanta's east Beltline has made an evangelist out of me.
    1 point
  32. [/url]DJI_0184-HDR-Pano by Jason Luebbe, on Flickr [/url]DJI_0259-HDR-Pano by Jason Luebbe, on Flickr[/IMG]
    1 point
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