por favor gracias

2 hours ago, thatguysly said:

Agreed. I sort of expected another tax break for downtown like the build up to the last Super Bowl to help drive high end development.

Wouldn't be a bad idea IMO. Look at all the development (and subsequent tax revenue) that took place since that initiative was implemented.

That "master plan model" looks like a "value engineered" Energy Corridor project.

As much as I hate the politics with this development (from both sides), it really looks terrific.

1 hour ago, houstontexasjack said:

Maybe they’re using special materials to call Gozer the Gozerian like that building on the Upper West Side of New York.

In that case, they'd have to blast Mr. Stay Puft from a much lower shooting angle...I'm thinking aim upward towards the crotch area.

This one's beginning to peep up when you're going over I-10 on 610 going southbound.

On 5/26/2022 at 1:24 PM, Urbannizer said:

350,000 office building 2027 completion

https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/united-states/properties/for-lease/office/tx/houston/post-oak-boulevard/s120626819s120794583-l

With that timeline, they're either not starting on it for a while or TxDot is the contractor.

On 5/11/2022 at 9:39 AM, H-Town Man said:

Cool shot. I still don't know how I feel about the diagonal orientation. It looks like it's photobombing the rest of the buildings.

Photobombing is the perfect word. From some views, it looks great...from others (this one in particular), I agree 100%.

I really like the view coming in from Memorial Dr now. This tower looks much more complimentary and you can still get a full view of 609 Main at a great angle. That's what I don't like about the view coming in from 45 North now. It's not this tower's best angle IMO, plus it completely photobombs 609 Main and ruins the chemistry that building had with the rest of the skyline from that angle.

That said, it's a great addition...and as you've also noted, I think they did a great job on the street level experience. I love walking around this whole area now. It's a sea change from even 5 years ago. It really looks terrific.

The amount of trees they've chopped down to build this and other areas around the northern suburbs is staggering. I'll never forget when Harvey hit, how everyone acted like they were going to take how we build moving forward with regard to flooding seriously...then not even a year later, the developers were like Phil Hartman when he played Ronald Reagan saying "back to work!!"

On 4/27/2022 at 8:44 AM, samagon said:

59SB to 610SB is going to be closed starting this weekend, and should be expected to stay closed until the project is completed in 2 years.

 

 

2 years for this ramp and the two 610 bridge spans that go over 59...

They know exactly how much this will affect traffic, that this will cause accidents and probably cost a few lives directly or indirectly, and we all know they can build this in a fraction of that time. I wonder if they'll still be working on the 610 SB to 59 SB ramp when they're finished here.

It's just unbelievable.

3 hours ago, asubrt said:

It sure looked like a tower crane was going up here today. I was kind of far away so couldn’t confirm that it was here, but I don’t know where else it could have been

I drove by around noon and they were putting it up...drove by again this evening and it's up all the way.

I wish Houston had a subway loop with about 8 or 10 stops max to allow for higher speeds connecting these areas:

1) Downtown

2) U of H

3) TMC/Reliant Park (would love to see the Astrodome area become a destination and a mass transit hub)

4) Rice Village

5) Greenway Plaza

6) The Galleria

7) Uptown Park area

8) Memorial Park

Just for kicks, add an elevated or submerged commuter line (that does not interfere with street/pedestrian traffic) down Westheimer and another one down the Kirby corridor with stops in these areas:

Westheimer Line:

1) U of H

2) Main/Elgin for connectivity w/ Red Line 

3) Westheimer/Montrose

4) Westheimer/Kirby

5) Highland Village

6) The Galleria

7) Westhemer/Voss

8) Westchase area

9) Chinatown (obviously not on Westheimer but a direct link to Chinatown).

Come to think of it, a Bellaire/Holcombe Line with no more than two stops between Chinatown and TMC (perhaps a stop in Sharpstown and a stop at the Bellaire Triangle before connecting with the Red Line) wouldn't be a bad idea as the QuickLine currently takes 35 minutes to get from Chinatown to TMC. That commute could go from 35 minutes to 12-15 minutes.

Kirby Line:

1) Reliant Park

2) Kirby/S. Main for connectivity w/ Red Line

3) Rice Village

4) Kirby/Westheimer for connectivity w/ Westheimer Line

5) Regent Square

6) Dallas/Main

I know that would cost a fortune, but it would probably save money in the long run by eliminating the need for an automobile for a lot more people, plus all the issues associated with them like accidents/pollution/gas consumption/etc. that come with automobiles...and also changing the way we develop. Just imagine having that service available though moving forward and the future transit options that would open up to the suburbs/airports...hopefully also either elevated or submerged to prevent street intervention. That's the problem with our current light rail system. It creates as much traffic as it alleviates.

On 2/8/2022 at 4:19 PM, Andrew Ewert said:

This is maybe the dumbest question ever asked by anyone, but... could it? Not that we ever would, but if the city decided that having the bayou look nice was important, is there any way you could do it? Put a giant Brita filter in the Galleria?

I wish the Galleria could filter out that sewage smell that's been plaguing the parking garage for years.

I'd like to see a really nice park here. This part of Uptown could use a little more green space.

Skylin' and profilin'

6 hours ago, X.R. said:

Wow. If this does get built and now we have more office space and retail, I don't think you can ignore how evenly split the land use in the museum district is. You have office space, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, museums, the park, the golf course, churches, apartments, condos, townhomes, free standing homes, meditation spaces, and the zoo all in a relatively walkable space. I'm not sure there's anything quite like it anywhere else in the H. 

And I love that the rooftop terrace made its comeback on this building.

My favorite part of town.

That Hillcorp building is underrated. I love how it peaks out when you're driving on Smith St looking to your left as you come up on Walker St.

On 6/25/2021 at 2:01 AM, j_cuevas713 said:

While I agree, I think the bigger issue with Midtown is basic maintenance. We're wanting so much from Midtown but MMD is horrible at doing the very basics. There needs to be a bigger push to clean up the homeless problem, there are trees that need trimming, sidewalks that need repair, vacant lots that need cleaning, traffic signs knocked over from accidents or whatever. It's really the lack of attention to detail. We can want all the high rises and development we want but if the basics aren't taken care of, this area won't take off. I see East End Management District do a better job keeping their neighborhood in order with less to work with. Any time I've complained about something to MMD, they have a hard time figuring out what the issue is, or the location within Midtown. It blows my mind and makes me wonder if any of the people in the district even live in Houston. 

This is a problem all over Houston. Aside from Main St, Dallas St, Post Oak Blvd and recent landscaping improvements on parts of Richmond Ave, our major thoroughfares are largely neglected. If we just spent the money we wasted repaving roads that haven't had a pothole in decades (like Westheimer and Highway 6 right now around Bellaire/Beechnut) or those giant poles they're putting all over town that hold our traffic signals, our street grid in parts of downtown and midtown could be in much better shape. Just basic on and off road maintenance that is so desperately needed on our streets themselves...all those things you mentioned and lane/crosswalk striping and better signage are glaring needs here. It's like someone in the giant pole industry knows someone who works w/ COH...so this is what we get. I'm sure the tourists are lining up for that experience. SMH...I'm starting to think some of our management districts are run by Oakland A's fans.

Most of the streets in midtown are also too wide and limit options for development and landscaping. 

Not sure what the solution is to the homeless problem in midtown, but I am open to the idea of relocating the concentration of shelters in the area.

I'd be willing to bet these are the biggest reasons why some of these developers are pulling out of midtown. It has so much potential, but it will only be reached incrementally unless/until this changes. Hopefully, the Pierce Elevated and submerging 59 will also happen sooner than later.

23 hours ago, hindesky said:

Where the old YMCA was, I was a member at the time right before they tore it down.

I used to hit up that Smoothie King pretty often down there.

I'd like to say it's unbelievable that they're working on both ramps from 59 to 610 northbound at the same time, but here we are. Again, why not work on the ramp from 59 southbound first...get it finished in less than a month (of course that would require allocating resources like they should be doing for a project that has this much impact on traffic) and then start working on the ramp from 59 northbound? Perhaps they may need to close off the immediate area where the ramps will merge, but that shouldn't take more than a weekend to complete (again, if they used their resources like they should for a project of this magnitude)...much less 6-8 months by the time it will be complete.

Why are they even focusing on this part of the intersection in the first place while the 610 southbound ramp to 59 southbound remains torn up...especially after they recently finished the 610 southbound to 59 northbound ramp?

It's like a pissed off five year old is making these decisions.

5 hours ago, JLWM8609 said:

The City of Houston did a similar thing when they decided to reconstruct most of downtown's streets and underground utilities at the same time during 1998-2005. Lee Brown faced criticism for that and barely won re-election in 2001 even though he actually stretched out the timeline after he decided too much construction was going on. 15-20 years later, it was worth it. Our reconstructed streets downtown are in excellent condition compared to other cities.

Updating our street grid should be viewed as more of an investment than an expense.

On 6/11/2021 at 2:35 PM, Houston19514 said:

I overstated it when I said the Uptown traffic formerly had to get on the Loop.  But you are overstating it when you say that traffic had the same direct access to 59 before this project began.  That is really not true at all.  Before this project began, all of the Uptown traffic (traffic from Westheimer and W Alabama), both north and southbound had to mix with all the traffic coming from the West Loop lanes, with massive amounts of merging and lane-weaving required.   Now, the Uptown traffic goes truly directly to both 69 northbound and 69 southbound, without having to first join with (and weave with) the traffic exiting the Loop mainlines (only joining with the traffic coming from the West Loop after all of the directional un-mixing has been accomplished -- no weaving required).

IIRC, the old ramp (with the traffic from Westheimer & W. Alabama) merged onto the exit ramp off 610 that required weaving over a lane (with not very much room) for those getting onto 59 northbound. It didn't interfere with 610 itself, but it merged with the ramp for 59 northbound/southbound. I'm not sure how much impact that old ramp had on traffic as those who were taking 59 northbound were the only people who had to weave across that lane. They had the option to weave into that same lane and take 59 southbound as well, but were not required to do that as that old ramp added a lane for 59 southbound upon merging with the exit ramp from 610 to 59 northbound and southbound. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, but I think that's how it was situated.

On 6/11/2021 at 2:35 PM, Houston19514 said:

Furthermore, there will now be two lanes fully dedicated to carrying Loop traffic on to Southbound 69 (the direction that needs the additional capacity) PLUS the additional lane carrying the Uptown traffic on to Southbound 69, PLUS the Northbound Loop traffic coming to southbound 69 will not join the that same ramp as it did before.  So the net result should be pretty significant increased capacity for the ramps to southbound 69.

The new Chimney Rock exits will also help. Credit where credit's due, they did a great job on that.

Most of the intersection will be an upgrade when complete, but one lane from 610 southbound exiting 59 northbound isn't going to be pretty, especially since they moved it to the far right lane to where it's going to be shared with some of that traffic exiting 59 southbound. Additionally, that exit is now situated a little before the 59 southbound exit, creating less time/room to get over to that far right lane before exiting. Even with all the "un-mixing" that will help around this area, this part of the intersection is going to be worse than it was before construction. Tbh, I don't even think 2 lanes is enough for the 59 southbound exit off 610 itself, especially when one of those lanes will be backed up already from those trying to get all the way over to exit 59 northbound. I get that they're not exactly working with unlimited right of way and there's consequently not enough room to do that here, but I'm just saying. That northbound exit ramp is going to slow everything down around it.