monarch

^^^ my goodness! the newly paved POST OAK BLVD, along with the newly planted oaks... are absolutely stunning. what a gorgeous illustration @Highrise Tower

^^^ and so it begins...

^^^ significant sized edifice. very GOTHIC aura...

^^^ it's all about the END RESULT baby!

^^^ we shall always remember how our dear @gene touched us with his love for bicycling around sage and the galleria area... his undying love for his favorite eateries at the UPTOWN PARK... his countless remarks regarding the ZONE EROTICA... his burgeoning love for the now under construction ASPIRE HOUSTON... his love of burgers around the MONTROSE DISTRICT. we shall always love him... and now we shall miss him dearly. R.I.P our dear HAIF prince...

^^^ dream big... believe big... hope big... celebrate big. my W HOTEL HOUSTON is finally arriving...

^^^ oh boy, this particular side view is really highlighting the ENORMITY of this project. i cannot help but wonder if they are now going to have enough parking...? wow!

^^^ @clutchcity94 props my pal, for your contribution to this dialogue. you are hereby correct upon your assessment of equinox. one of the many things that i absolutely LOVE about EQUINOX, is their absolute commitment to all things diversity. EQUINOX management hails from new york city, and they fully comprehend that diversity within their gyms, is paramount to their overall success. EQUINOX harbors a very diverse upper management group, and they are constantly preaching a very consistent approach to hyper diverse properties worldwide. i always feel completely at home at any EQUINOX property no-matter where i am. what a magnificently managed corporate entity...

^^^ @Montrose1100 greetings my pal. i may present an answer to your query in one word... IGNORANCE! ignorant to the very fact that the ROD even exist. please recall my pal, that both you and i are members of this wonderful forum called HAIF. therefore, we were completely and utterly aware of the ROD from its heralded conception... to where it stands today. upon the other hand, there are literally thousands and thousands of houstonians, that simply do not know that this place even exist. "NEVER EVER HEARD OF IT!" at least this is what i get whenever i mention the ROD to them... i shall never forget one evening at the ROD, as i had just completed a lovely dinner. i was on my way over to AMORINO GELATO, i started walking slowly contemplating upon whether or not to go into that magnificent boutique (45-10 from Dallas) that i love so much. nonetheless, as i stood there, i started looking at the GI-NORMOUS crowd of people dining and sitting around having a wonderful evening surrounding the courtyard at the little french restaurant TOULOUSE. for some reason, i was a bit stunned at the magnitude of the crowd of people within that particular area of the ROD. however, as i stood there, what stunned me even more... was the fact that out of that GI-NORMOUS crowd of people, there was not one person of color. NOT ONE! trust me, i looked very carefully. in fact, i did not really encounter many people of color at the ROD, until i ventured forth into the IPIC MOVIE THEATER to watch a movie... as i own a PLATINUM MEMBERSHIP. there seemed to be a good lot of black patrons at the TUCK ROOM enjoying dinner or drinks at the bar. everyone seemed to be having a wonderful evening. nonetheless, this shallow encounter made me quite sad to think that such a beautiful, gorgeous, place such as the ROD exist in houston, and only a certain aspect of its citizenry even know that it exist. in my opinion, it is HIGH TIME that the marketing professionals of the ROD... UP THEIR GAME! if they don't, then we shall start to witness more boutique closings in the near future.

^^^ god knows that i love ROD! however, this magnificent place of great shopping and leisure.. desperately needs to start bringing in more BLACK HOUSTONIANS, as well as TEENAGERS! this is a huge and all-important aspect of commerce, that is glaringly missing at the ROD. as a black american male myself, i would have to state in all honesty, that this place caters overall... to the wealthy... white... and privileged. there are many many many black houstonians, that simply do not even know that this brilliant shopping/eating mecca even exist. whenever, i mention it to them, they look at me as if i am dreaming. whenever, i decide to prove it to them by either pointing the ROD out to them via the internet... or just taking my pals there myself... THEY ALWAYS SEEM COMPLETELY SHOCKED! NIKE would do well to open houston's first NIKETOWN here at ROD. this particular endeavor would instantly bring-in the TEENAGERS with a lot of dollars to spend. teens love NIKETOWN! ROD would do well, to bring forth retail that caters more to upward teens/young adults. upon my most personal view, ROD, is simply a gorgeous and amazing fete of commerce for houston. however, there is an urgent need for it to become a lot more marketable to ALL OF THE CITIZENS HOUSTON. they simply have no choice...

^^^ there is simply no other way to describe ASPIRE POST OAK. the extraordinary interior design alone... is costing be-gillions. the resort pool terrace is something straight from the POST OAK HOTEL. the bathroom illustration is clean... cool...ultra modern...spacious... and straight out of my dreams. the front entry interior illustration again... looks like it arrived directly from the POST OAK HOTEL. "amazing"... indeed....

^^^ jesus christ! all of this talk concerning ROD and the such, is making me want to quickly head over to AMORINO GELATO. i simply cannot venture forth to ROD without stopping in and indulging myself completely. additionally, @DevelopmentX much obliged, per all of the invaluable insight concerning our top retail establishments. it would be utterly MAGNIFICENT if RH could bring their totally cool and trendy "GUESTHOUSE" concept to H-TOWN. PLEASE POST MORE!

^^^ is it just me, or is GABLES WESTCREEK starting to resemble a 1980's style medical facility? somehow, i really doubt that this is what was intended... right?

^^^ today's BALENCIAGA... is totally all-that! their often pricey apparel/shoes are trendy... groovy... and oh, so cool. i am quite happy that they are arriving...

^^^ HOLY COW! balenciaga is coming to the galleria. YES BABY!