MikeRichardson

Here is an Excel spreadsheet I started several years ago and last updated in 2013, now uploaded to Google Sheets.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17uR-1xMjZAEQ6tTHY_M0olNGik0fzP3wweplL-KmPnM/edit?usp=sharing

Randalls Store History (Houston Metro Area)

I'd like to add editors to this sheet, anyone else interested in this sort of stuff. Looks like we could really fill in 1-10 with the information on this thread.

Also, anyone can comment on the sheet without being an editor. That way one of the editors could incorporate that information.

Please PM me if you want to be added as an editor, I will need your Google username (usually a gmail.com address).

My PO Box is out that way, and I always drive back past the old building. It's currently half torn down.

Someone here had offered to fly a drone and get some video that way whenever it was being torn down, I don't have their info though.

The laundry room still had rented laundry machines in it. Bet they're super happy about that.

Also, what the hell is "2220 1/2 Westcreek Ln."? The building's address is 2220 Westcreek Lane. Always has been. Even the new buildng isn't going to be at some "1/2" address. I'd guess either 2220 or 2222.

Good job letting the building rot there for, what, over 2 friggin years? You got no rent from me or anyone else. How much did all those guards cost, to protect an empty fricking building?

I do not miss the traffic. You don't have a snowball's chance in hell of going anywhere at 5 PM.

One Swain & Houck building remains. http://www.thegeorgianapts.com That's because they still own it. (or, their estate, or whatever, they're both dead I'm sure)

Submit all flames to /dev/null. 

Houston will love it...they've got something for everyone.

Everyone?

Yes. There was a Kmart at FM 1960 @ Kuykendahl (later a Hobby Lobby, now it's empty/?????) that had these air vents. We didn't go there a lot, and it closed down after Kmart bought the Venture stores. But I remember it was definitely an old style Kmart, dating to the 80's or earlier.

Also, there was another old style one I remember. It was off I-45 near Fry Rd. We only went there a couple of times, when Kmart was shutting down in Houston. Not sure what it is now.

The BofA on the southwest corner was originally a Citibank. I don't know how far back that goes though.

That same corner was also home to an original (non-Venture) Kmart store. I would say the store dated back to at least the 80's.

On the northwest corner, I know that brake or muffler shop or whatever it is, has been there since almost forever. 80's or even older.

I'm so curious now lol..

Yeah, WTF? Why was the thread locked?

I'm just curious - where do you guys all currently live? By you guys, I mean, anyone who is excited for any of these new towers on Westcreek.

an active, walkable streetscape connecting the development to nearby restaurant, retail and entertainment venues.

That will come in handy when it's 5 PM and you want to eat food or purchase handbags. Even eating handbags would be preferable to dealing with that shit again at 5 PM.

The extra street that they (have already) put in might help to a limited degree - instead of coming off the loop and trying to make a left turn from Westheimer onto Westcreek, you could just drive down a bit more, turn right and you're home.

And of course, following the autopsy, is the estate sale. Offers are due March 25th.

http://arausa.listinglab.com//Westcreek610LandSite/index.cfm

Directly west of the ROD is a convenience store (built and still owned by the same developers, Swain & Houck, as the old apartments that once lined Westcreek Lane). The store sits in the corner of a large parking lot which is used by some adjacent restaurants.

Swain & Houck own the parking lot, and the restaurant land. All put together, it's at least 2 acres. ROD acquired some or all of this land, but exactly which land or how much was never really disclosed. All I can go by is the press releases and HCAD - and HCAD sometimes has downright fictitious information listed (such as the Highland Terrace land being "Vacant" while I was still living there).

What is this marketing of which you speak?

http://www.houstoneb5.com/project_Westcreek.cfm

The title and logo of the page say "Houston EB5". The content is basically "Westcreek". The group's past project is a downtown multifamily building. Therefore, it is a stretch to assume that the "Westcreek" project is also some type of multifamily building.

It's not exactly "marketing" - perhaps that is the wrong term. But that site, along with other sites and articles I have read, seem to demonstrate some type of relationship between "EB-5" and condo towers.

That reflects a misunderstanding of the EB-5 visa program.  The EB-5 guys don't and can't get visas just by buying themselves a condo.  That's not the way the program works.

 

I am not sure how my previous remarks constitute a "pity party", but I do admit to misunderstanding the program.

Interesting how these guys are trading the little bits of land among themselves.

From what I understood, Pelican originally had the land at 2220 Westcreek, for a mid-rise. Now that land belongs to Gables - but no worries, Pelican's got another spot right across the street now.

That Micky D's is sooooooo gone lol.

That McDonalds used to sit on a rather large piece of land, a couple of years ago it was torn down and rebuilt to take up about half as much space, while the other half was sold and has a tower going up. So I seriously doubt that.

What is shady about economic citizenship?

just as long as we are not actively seeking unsavory types I don't necessarily deem the program to be shady.

There are some that are wealthy but feel oppressed in their native country

And there are many more 1000's of people who are not wealthy, and subject to much worse oppression.

If these "EB5" guys were actually coming over here to make legitimate investments in businesses other than that of the condo tower where they plan to live - then maybe I could see the benefit. 

All I know is that these Dallas area Tom Thumb stores were sold to someone else, to satisfy the FTC:

.

As far as punctuation goes, I prefer "¿" myself.

Nothing here yet, but it's something to keep an eye on for new information and a rendering.

 

http://www.houstoneb5.com/project_Westcreek.cfm

Wait, so that would imply this is another one of those shady schemes to effectively sell rich foreigners US citizenship?

"Wealth management firm to move into River Oaks District, take signage rights"

That seems like such a fitting tenant for ROD for some reason.

Why would people that live in Skyhouse get on 610? I drive around this area all the time and live nearby and I never get on 610. That's for people that live in the sticks and have to drive on highways to work.

Everyone else getting on 610 makes it impossible for you to get on any other road.

Boy, do I not want to drive a car into that!

Then I would recommend NOT moving to the SkyHouse River Oaks.

Seriously, Westcreek Lane is a TWO LANE ROAD, that terminates on both ends WITHOUT streetlights.

It was *barely* tolerable with ~1000 apartments and $1/SF rents. I did a lot of work from home. If I got hungry at 5 PM and didn't have any food in the place, I weighed "starving" and "eating sawdust/unidentifiable crap off the floor" quite heavily when compared to the prospect of attempting to drive to anywhere.

This meant I did a lot of grocery shopping at 10 PM, which I actually preferred. But I didn't like having the option of 5 PM virtually made impossible.

How much money and dope did they give to Micro Center to convince them to abandon their old location so quickly? As far as I could tell, there were still fluorescent tubes in the signage, attached to the building and bulldozed all at once.

Jesus, I wouldn't have even known that Micro Center EXISTED, but for seeing their sign, while I was with my mom on one of those busses going to the Rodeo. I think I was 16 at the time. That store influenced where my roommates and I lived during college, and where I lived subsequently. I mean shit, I used to be able to walk to the store, and I even did, on several occasions.

It just seems like, there has been some kind of shift, from one type of extreme to another. Yeah, maybe Westcreek apartments were kind of old. They wee build in 1968. If we only consider that variable - the goddamned Micro Center store was build in 1994! The goddamned roof didn't leak AFAIK!!!

And so, what kind of stupid and ridiculous worthless value is Amegy Bank going to derive for it's customers, having destroyed this store in order to obtain some type of precious "frontage" that 99% of their real customers will NEVER see or even care to visit. What is the fuh-king goal of this? Because I don't see it.

I don't expect to see many reasonable replies here because too many people are going to see OMG SHINY BUILDING!!!!111 and get a hard-on and that will be the end of any possible rational debate.

Drove by the old building today (E) and they have a fence up around the parking lot, and of course the obligatory security guard in a Dodge Charger.

I wonder what happened in one of those buildings to cause them to hire security. ROD had security for the vacant buildings for a few months (they sat empty for 6 months total). But then, B & D didn't have any security when they were empty. Then all of a sudden, security again for A/C/F.

Except for those 1990's apartments - the entire length of Westcreek, from Westheimer to San Felipe, is going to be construction.

I wonder what the occupancy rate is at those apartments.

The aforementioned road is basically done.

Also, this is my last night on Westcreek Lane.

RIP The Old Westcreek Lane That Middle Class People Could Afford - ??? - December 31, 2014.

I will be moving to a far less exciting, but far more widely affordable boulevard - Winrock. 

Thought you guys might enjoy seeing this. My father brought this by my apartment the other day. Oh how the times have changed.

 

http://imgur.com/a/1TuKP

This is the best post in the entire thread.