ssullivan

No matter what happens with the retail tenants down the road, I hope that St. Thomas keeps the buildings and trees as is, and doesn't wall off that development from Montrose. It's such an attractive building that it would be a huge loss to the neighborhood to see it destroyed.

ApartmentRatings.net is nothing but a website for those who are pissed off for whatever reason at their landlord to vent. Look at almost any property on that site and you'll see that the negative opinions far outweight the positives. The site is far from balanced, and IMO should not be given much credit in making a decision about where to live. At many of those properties the majority of residents are very satisfied and don't feel the need to go online and vent. Those who are upset over something will go out and post as much as they can that's negative in order to get it out of their system.

Moderator's Note: Duplicate topics merged.

Unless they've replaced the sign, there was one that had been there since mid/late-2004. It was getting pretty faded. I haven't been by there recently but will check it out when I'm Downtown this weekend. If it's a new sign, maybe there's hope for this project happening sometime in our lifetimes. If it's the same old faded one that's been there for a few years now, don't get your hopes up of dirt flying anytime soon.

I really could care less about Forever 21, which I had never heard of until reading the article on the groundbreaking in the Chronicle today. It's not my style. But, I'm glad it's there, even if I'll never shop there, because it will attract people to Houston Pavilions. Books a Million isn't my first choice of big box bookstores, but it's not bad at all, and I'll definitely give them some business. They probably carry 98% of the same merchandise as any Borders or Barnes & Noble in town anyway. I already do some of my shopping downtown, particularly at Macy's and Jos. A. Bank in Houston Center, and I'll be glad to frequent Houston Pavilions as well if there are stores there I like. Call me nostalgic, but I enjoy hopping on MetroRail near where I live and riding it into town, having lunch, and doing a little shopping. Back in December I did an entire Friday of Christmas shopping downtown and in Highland Village and left my car at home. Anyway, back to Houston Pavilions. I fully expect to see more tenants being added to the list in the coming months, as there is still a lot of available space in the project. I think it will also be a catalyst for similar development on the surrounding blocks, and has the potential for creating a very nice, and successful, downtown shopping and entertainment area along Main and Dallas Streets. For all of those who complain about this project or say it's doomed to fail, my only advice is to go downtown and support it when it opens. There are other retailers who are bound to be watching all of this waiting to see what happens. If Houston Pavilions is successful, you can bet on more high-end retailers looking for space Downtown. If it's a flop, they're going to stay away. The only way not to make it a flop is for people to go and spend their time and money there. Sitting back and complaining about the place 18 months before it's due to open from your living room in the suburbs isn't going to help it be a success. Getting out and supporting the retailers who are already Downtown, and those who are opening in Houston Pavilions, will.

I must disagree. The past several times I have been to the Angelika (Notes on a Scandal, Letters from Iwo Jima, Last King of Scotland, Pan's Labyrinth, etc, etc...) it has been packed. Most of the movies I saw were nearly sold out and it was not even opening week. I also don't believe there is anything wrong with the bathrooms, they are no different than Edwards 24 Greenway (if not better.)

Do you even go to this theater?

I agree. Frequently when I'm at the Angelika to see a movie on a Friday or Saturday night there's a long line at the box office. I've never had a problem with the bathrooms there, which are nicer than those at many other movie theaters. They could do some cleaning or replacement of the stained carpet in the main hallway leading from where they take your tickets back to the individual cinemas, but overall, it's a nice place. I do wish they could find a new tenant to operate their caf

It looks like (according to the rendering) that the large the piece of Allen House surround by Dunlavy, West Dallas, Rosine and West Clay is not included. Anyone have a clue about that block?

It is included in a later phase of the project.

Of course, if TSU got to share in the PUF like A&M does, finances wouldn't be a problem. I'm more interested in breaking up the financial discrimination of the PUF...we have a system of "haves" and "have-nots" in higher education in Texas: the UT and A&M systems are the "haves" and every one else is a "have-not".

Oh come on. TSU has not been able to responsibly manage what money it has been given in decades. I'm not saying that TSU isn't underfunded, because I believe that it probably is. But the fact remains that the school has an abysmal record of fiscal responsibility, and is one of the worst performers in higher education in Texas when it comes to the academic side of the house. Poor funding is only a small piece of the problem. Until the core management issues that start at the level of the Board of Regents are solved, no amount of money is going to solve TSU's problems. The fact remains that TSU operates in a culture that encourages poor performance and no accountability. I can't go into too much detail here, but TSU is a client of my company's and I know a lot about what goes on there. The state seriously needs to consider getting TSU brought under another university system. The Texas State University system is probably a good place, simply because it would allow TSU to retain a certain degree of independence (name, culture, etc.) but put a more responsible Board in charge of overseeing the university's operations. I know there are a lot of strong feelings about TSU in the black community in Houston, and for that reason I'm all for not making TSU into something like a Texas A&M-Southeast Houston. But on the other hand, the community leaders in Houston need to stop making excuses for TSU and people like Dr. Slade, and instead demand excellence from this institution. Given TSU's history over the last few decades, the community and alumni should be completely embarrassed, because TSU has done very little to make anyone proud.

I don't know about the mall in Syracuse. I was actually working over in Utica, so didn't spend much time in Syracuse except at the airport.

Wow, how sad. I've been out of town the last couple of weeks and too busy to keep up my HAIF habit during that time, so I had no idea. I was just in there about five days before they closed too, and wondered if something was up just because there seemed to be a lot less variety in the take-out cases. I still have some cookies I bought on that trip there in the freezer.

I'll definitely miss Eatzi's. While I can cook quite well, with my work travel schedule stocking up on groceries and cooking doesn't always make sense, and Eatzi's was one of my regular spots to run in and get a good meal to take back home.

I will definitely miss them, although places like Whole Foods, Central Market, and Yapa are still around with similar things.

And I ditto MidtownCoog's vote for Pret a Manger in Houston! They could make a fortune with locations in areas like Downtown, Uptown/Galleria, Greenway, and the TMC.

Great video! My parents went to Hemisfair but I've never seen any pictures of it. I love how that video starts with construction of the Tower of the Americas and Hilton Palacio del Rio.

Please continue discussion in the thread linked above in musicman's post.

Duplicate threads merged.

I've seen statements from Metro recently that indicated that the Southeast, North, and Uptown lines would begin construction in July, 2007. So it would be reasonable to assume that the short extension of the light rail to the planned intermodal transit facility north of downtown would begin around the same time.

Say, does anybody know whether the pedestrian bridge has the structural stregnth to be converted to a vehicular bridge? If so, it would be pretty easy to run a half-cloverleaf from the feeder to the ramp on the Astroworld side. Inexpensive solution that doesn't mar the Texans' aesthetic.

That overpass was not built as a pedestrian bridge. For most of its life it carried trams between Astroworld and the Astrodome parking lots. It was only when the metal detectors were installed and a new Astroworld entrance area was built at the south end of the overpass that it became a pedestrian only facility.

After reading this morning's article in the Chronicle, I'm even more distressed about this proposal. A few months back when shopping in the River Oaks Center I wondered why it was taking so long to fill some of the vacant spaces, given the center's superb location and constant high traffic levels. Now it makes sense. Weingarten probably has no desire to fill the spaces that have vacated in the last couple of years because it makes it that much easier to tear the place down and rebuild.

I really don't see what's wrong with the center in its current form. Surely they can redevelop parts of the existing structure, but keep the exteriors intact, to allow for a different mix of tenants if that's the goal. The theatre may not be hugely profitable, but it doesn't appear to be a money loser either, and there's always lines out front waiting at the box office on weekends. The theatre patrons also generate a lot of business for the nearby restaurants as well, and keep the place hopping in the evenings after many of the retail businesses have closed for the night.

And why would Barnes & Noble want to move up the street from the Alabama? The River Oaks Center has more foot traffic, because it's larger, but the Alabama Bookstop never seems deserted when I'm in there. That center could use a little help now that Cactus has closed, but how hard could it be to find something successful to fill that space?

The thought of the River Oaks Theatre closing, losing the original structures of the River Oaks Center, and losing the Alabama Theatre Bookstop is sickening. I'll be firing off my e-mails of disgust to Weingarten today. This is nothing but greed. There is no way the River Oaks Center is losing money in its current form. It just looks like someone at Weingarten has found a way they think they can generate even more profits from the center.

I love this theatre, especially the bar upstairs. If the teardown rumor is true, I will personally chain myself to the front door in the front of the bulldozer.

I'd be right there too. It's a great old theatre. My only complaint is with the two upstairs screens in what used to be the main theatre's balcony. My long legs only fit in about three or four seats in the upstairs theatres. But other than that, it's a great place, and it always seems busy.

Does the Hilton have high occupancy rates?

I think it does pretty well, especially when there are events at the GRB. Every time I've been inside it, the Hilton has seemed to be pretty busy. It really is a great hotel, and from the reviews I've read of it on sites like FlyerTalk that cater to frequent business travelers are stellar.

$285 for the hilton, i believe (that's some expensive basket-weave! )

The hotel has very nice interior finishes though. That's part of its expense.

The only good thing about Love Field is that it's close to downtown Dallas. Even with some of the recent renovations (which are very cheap) the place is still a major dump.

At least Hobby has been improved with the nice, new Southwest concourse. However, construction on the rest of the terminal seems to have stalled.

I was surprised by some of the airports on the list. DFW ranks as one of the worst airports in the country for making connections, although it has been improved by the new train system. Yet it was still up there on the list at number 4. Philadelphia is one of the worst airports I've ever dealt with -- plagued by major delays due to its design and lack of runways, ugly worn-out terminals, and ridiculously slow security lines due to most terminals not having adequate space for security secreening. And it's number three on the list, supposedly for its speed at processing inbound international passengers through immigration and customs, and its retailers. While I've never arrived internationally at PHL, I would rank it well below IAH in all other areas.

I did find it interesting that Continental's two biggest hubs, IAH and EWR, tied in the large airport category, and the other domestic hub, CLE, was number 4 in the medium category. The same survey also ranked Continental as number 1 in the traditional airline category. Southwest was number 2 in the discount carrier category, behind JetBlue.

Everything is life has a positive and a negative aspect. If you live in an apartment, you have no lawn to mow. And if something goes wrong with the plumbing, electricity, air conditioning, etc., you simply pick up the phone and call Maintenance.

And those are both reasons I don't know that I'll ever feel the urge to buy a house!

Where is Tien Ren?

In a strip center on the southwest corner of Westheimer and Hillcroft. It's kind of in the middle, between the Ross and Office Depot.

Someone a while back said something about a Pancho's Mexican Buffet was going to open a location in Bayou Place. Is that just a rumor or is something actually going to happen there?

God, I hope not.

I do think a comedy club would be great, along with other restaurants.

...'cause Park Shops just went through a major renovation

Technically they aren't the "Park Shops" anymore, and have not been for a couple of years. The name changed to "Shops at Houston Center" during the first phase of renovations, when the new exterior signage was added, along with the street-level retail spaces where Jos. A. Bank Clothiers and Twisted Fork are now.

Madras Pavillion on Kirby (between Richmond and the Southwest Freeway) is a good all-vegetarian Indian restaurant. Shiva, in Rice Village, is also excellent and offers both meat and vegetable entr

One of my best friends is vegan, and his boyfriend is vegetarian. So, as a result, I end up eating a lot of vegetarian food out with them. Some of the best I've had has been at Mai's (I almost always order tofu there as opposed to meat), Hobbit Cafe, Whole Foods, Tien Ren, Hunan Village (they have lots of tofu "meats") and Pepper Tree. There are usually very good vegetarian selections at most other Asian and Indian restaurants as well. Typically it's the more traditional American places where vegetarian food beyond a salad is harder to find. We've also found that it's hard to get vegetarian food at most Mexican restaurants, because often the cooking methods used for dishes that could be vegetarian involve things like chicken stock or lard. Of course, as a carnivore, this does not bother me, but it limits the choices of places I can go with my vegetarian friends.