HNathoo

Museum Park Super Neighborhood wrote a letter in support of the project: Texas Department of Transportation, Attn: TPP-UTP, P.O. Box 149217, Austin, TX 78714-9217 Submitted via email to: UTP-PublicComments@txdot.gov August 3, 2021 RE: Draft 2022 Unified Transportation Program (UTP) North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) Public comment supporting ongoing funding for the NHHIP TO: Texas Transportation Commission FROM: Museum Park Super Neighborhood Kathleen O’Reilly, President, president@museumparksn.org Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important project, Museum Park Super Neighborhood supports ongoing funding and agrees that it provides many benefits to the region, and to Museum Park, centrally located in Segment 3. Midtown is our immediate neighbor, with Wheeler Station truly being the center of our wheel so we hold the opportunities of providing connecting bridges including highly enhanced pedestrian/ bike amenities and suppressing the roadway as very high priorities. These priorities are defined in the Museum Park H-GAC Livable Center Study (LCS). Museum Park Livable Centers Planning Study | Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). The LCS included robust community engagement with central themes clearly emerging of mobility, walkability, and reknitting the neighborhoods of Midtown, Museum Park, and Third Ward through the multiple crossings created with suppression of U59/69, and an important element of crafting Houston’s Cultural Trail. This Trail will connect our diverse cultural and educational institutions, through the Museum District to Hermann Park and Emancipation Park, a need that becomes more apparent and important every day. Reconnecting the two major employment centers north and south of Museum Park, Downtown and Texas Medical Center, through these same connecting bridges is an opportunity that can’t be overstated. The Innovation District and The Ion add technology, and the people that the Innovation District will add to the mix, people who list walkability and quality of life as key components of where they want to live and work. We believe this effort can be transformational in many ways. In Museum Park, the resulting bikeways and walkways created by bridges in immediate proximity to METRO’s Wheeler Station will connect Downtown and Texas Medical Center. the Museum District, Hermann Park, and will be multi-modal transit hubs for Rice University, Texas Southern University, and The ION. The planned bridges in Museum Park will provide pedestrian enhancements with a goal of visionary landmark features in Houston’s core. We appreciate the recognition of their importance, and the commitment by TXDoT to make sure these crossings are all that they need to be, as a part of this monumental project. We appreciate the decades of work that TXDoT has put into this enormous effort and the extensive public engagement. We look forward to improvements in this dangerous section of IH-45, with the purpose and promise of the Project to improve safety and operations, allay congestion, improve mobility, expand transit, cycling, pedestrian and other modes, provide an emergency evacuation route, improve storm-water management, support local and regional growth, while mitigating the Project’s impact on housing, adjacent neighborhoods, and the environment.

Very unfortunate time to being doing dirt work - no real opportunity to dry out the site.

Wow - this is coming together nicely, albeit very slow.

How is it holding up for you? I've heard they don't really last too long in commercial applications.

I think that’s all political talking points. This project is happening (at least this segment).

Most of the crowd being impacted by the expansion are looking for new sites, but don't want to pull the trigger until they have to. TXDOT has put a hold on ROW acquisitions for this project segment until they get their funding renewed for the next fiscal year, putting everyone in a wait and see mode.

I believe they have a parking agreement with the museums during summer peak demand.

Shared parking with the development across the street

The site had been on the market for a while, but I believe it is subject to a long-term lease with the bank. It definitely justifies a better use, but don't know if we'll see anything here until the bank moves out.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen air rights be referenced on a Houston permit. Why would that be a thing without zoning?

Wow, you can really see the potential of this site now that it's been razed. I'm so glad Skanska got a hold of it.

I doubt any GC is being paid that much for the work being done right now. The cost to rent trailers is a few hundred per month, and they'll cover any labor cost plus an admin fees, which I would imagine are pretty minimal given the site activity. In regards to fundraising, the group running this is incredibly well capitalized - Money isn't the issue.

Looks like they copy/pasted the design of the Hamilton in downtown at the corner of pierce and hamilton.

I heard Common Bond was offered the space since it had a drive thru, but this was a few months back. All the recent announcements seem to indicate that they'll be going inside the Ion building, but who knows. They re-sealed the large parking lot across the street. I imagine they have enough parking in that super block to buy them some more time until they sign a more substantial lease.

I believe TXDOT paid $90M to the HHA for the Clayton Homes project taking.

Looks like they got their building permit: Zip Code Permit Date Permit Type Project No Address Comments 77002 2021/03/05 Building Pmt 20007905 2204 AUSTIN ST (EPR) 13,088 SQ FT NEW SHELL BLDG. 1-2-2-SH-B '12 IBC SPK (M/2)

This project is moving really slow. It seems really hard to get a proper contractor to work on these sub institutional projects.

I imagine this is probably the crane coming down from the alliance deal across the street.

Wow. Two midtown locations?

Uh oh. And they’re asking for a variance? Montrose folks won’t be very happy - might fight this one a bit.

Oxberry must have been desperate to fill the space. That's a ton of exposure to a tenant that is known to back out of deals / default.

"The Houston Astros purchased the 1.738 acres where it and a historic locomotive sits through an affiliate for $17 million in 2019 and broke ground this week on what will eventually become a retail and residential development." If they do residential, let's hope they build something similar to One Cardinal Way in St. Louis. That building is gorgeous! https://onecardinalway.com/

In all likelihood, a developer has this under contract and the purchase is probably subject to getting the variance (probably some additional conditions as well)

Correct - I believe current setbacks require them to build 25' from the property line along 59.

That setback is a killer and impacts no one. Hopefully, neighborhood doesn’t fight it.