TonyM

Perhaps so but if you saw the condition of sidewalks (where they exist) on that corner you'd realize that this is a welcome improvement.

Awesome news, that will make the whole stretch much nicer.

Seems to be so but we'll have to see how quick they get on to that light steel erection in the renderings. That work goes pretty quick most of the time. Still think there's no way it gets done by end of April but we'll see . . .

By the date on that drawing (Jan 2012) it looks like they've been thinking about this for awhile.

Thank god, hope it goes through. The sidewalk from the edge of Front Porch's property to Helena St is practically non-existent. And Helena itself is a complete pit, that road needs a serious rebuild.

It's a pretty simple formula folks, retail follows residential, not the other way around. I think people have a utopian vision of "ground floor retail" that it will somehow transform the inner loop into Manhattan v2.0. Not going to happen, and frankly I don't want it to, if I wanted that I'd move to NYC/Chicago/etc. Fact is, Houston's inner loop real estate boom is already pricing many smaller retailers out of the market and the only folks who can afford it are the big chains (which everyone decries). You can't have it both ways. As Midtown's residential density increases, the retail WILL fill in. Why? Simple economics, if you have a TON of residents within a short distance of your business the higher cost of entry becomes more palatable. Right now, the cost of entry is still high, yet the residential density is not yet at the tipping point that demands retail in fill.

Executive Director Janet Donath said in a statement. “While we couldn’t be more grateful to the city for their support, we have always known that we needed to return to the heart of the community.” I fail to see how the corner of W Gray and Taft is the heart of their demographic. Long term the 4th ward is being redeveloped with the rest of midtown. This location makes little sense beyond a 10 year window, it would be much more appropriate nearer Gray and 59 with the rest of the social services buildings.

Construction seems to have slowed a little bit. Work crews were going gangbusters before the New Year, there every morning 6:30/7:00, but not much visible progress the last month or so. Appears much of the work has been going into stabilization of the remaining church structure/bricks. To me it doesn't seem like it'll be ready in March but that's just based on the recent slow pace I've noticed.

This area is already getting busy (trying to grab lunch is fun). Should be even busier after Noble moves into the twin 10s in May . . .

Like most gov't building, "need" of a given location is always a function of how many locations exist. This being the only SSA office around it forces anyone within a certain proximity to go there. I think this area, pre-Midtown, probably did benefit from the wealth of social services that were (and still linger) in the area. However, given the redevelopment of Midtown it seems prudent to relocate some of those services to the neighborhoods of the people they are most likely to service. And let's be honest, an area of largely affluent 25-40 year olds isn't the target service demographic of the SSA. Now if only that Greyhound station would follow suit . . .

Should be nice when they move out and that block can be improved from it's current state. Good news, indeed. http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/01-17-13-15-15-social-security-administration-plans-to-close-office-after-losing-lease-on-1940s-midtown-building/

Haha, ya got me. Parking lot and restaurant mixed use. I think they're about the only other one in the area though.

Thing is that aren't any "similar projects nearby". Nobody else is really giving mixed-use a shot. I'd say they've built out at an acceptable pace given the economic conditions of 2007-2010.

Without knowing any of the details behind this project there can be a great many reasons why you keep part of a structure in tact. Goes well beyond construction CAPEX. Glad to see it's moving forward, the new street is looking great as well, a much needed improvement to midtown all around.

Hopefully they can make that location work. Seems to be cursed.