Alec

Yeah, in the most urban version they build their own functional public transit system to other residential and business hubs. The downside is that they set aside 60% of residential units for foreign investors who will leave the unit empty, and they peg the price of groceries to a NYC Whole Foods.

Thanks! The trick with Imgur is to upload the image, then right click on the image itself to copy the image URL. Don't copy the sharing link that Imgur gives you or the URL from your browser. Then you can add the picture to your HAIF post by using the "Insert other media" in the lower right corner and pasting in the image URL.

The Goodyear building is no more.

This is the best my cell phone can do:

The tallest cherry picker I've ever seen is reaching over the top of GRB right now. I hope someone a little closer can take a picture; it's got to be twice as tall as the building itself.

Canopy And Wood Bar To Close. https://houston.eater.com/2019/5/15/18624879/canopy-montrose-closing-woodbar-may-2019 I'm sad to see them go; it sounds like the proprietor just wanted to focus on her other projects.

Chain link has been up around the site for a week or two and now the green fence "liner" is up as well.

Bell has dedicated in-street ROW in the Interactive Bike Plan Map. It is in the "Potential Short Term Implementation Opportunities" layer. Edit: I buried the lede here; the relevant info is that this section is relatively high on priority list for bike infrastructure. I agree that this is a very realistic addition in the next few years.

So much beige.

Recenter 4/26/19.

I like this idea for Houston, but I'm not sure a location with a 48/100 transit score will give it the best chance of success. Maybe this is a design based on street parking and not transit?

Also: The Build 50 Challenge is a campaign developed by BikeHouston and issued to the City of Houston, Harris County, Metro, Houston Parks Board, and others to build 50 miles of on and off street bikeways in 12 months (or by May 2019). Every line on the map under the “Build 50 Challenge” tab is apart of the Build 50 Challenge. As a part of the challenge, these projects need to be completed or under construction by May 1, 2019 to be counted. Most of these projects are being funded by Precinct 1 with the agreement that the city will lose the $10 million commitment if they don’t spend it by the end of the challenge. Watch Mayor Sylvester Turner and County Commissioner Ellis commit to the challenge here.

Those 19 miles are just part of the new facilities. There will be an announcement in the next couple weeks (there are 7 days, 6 hours and change left on the Build 50 clock) and I think people will be pleased .

They aren't up yet. When they are, they'll be here.

Dumpsters on site.

According to an email today from Downtown Management District, the pour is still on for 3 p.m. Saturday: Good Morning, Just a note: Houston-based real estate firm Hines plans to pour the concrete mat foundation for its latest downtown Houston office tower this weekend. The mat pour for Texas Tower, on the former Houston Chronicle site (800 block of Texas), is scheduled to begin Saturday, March 9 at 3 pm and take between 19 to 21 hours, wrapping up around 11 am Sunday, March 10. Street closures are as follows: Saturday, March 9 (Noon) - Sunday, March 10 (3 pm) - Complete continuous closure of the 500 block of Travis - Complete continuous closure of the 800 block of Texas - Complete continuous closure of the 500 block of Milam Thanks! angie -- Angie Bertinot Houston Downtown Management District Director of Marketing & Communications | Retail Development Program 909 Fannin, Suite 1650 Houston, Texas 77010 713.650.3022 (o) | 713.650.1484 (f) www.downtownhouston.org www.downtowndistrict.org

Another from today - top-out tree visible beneath the crane.

alpha++ cities In all analyses, London and New York stand out as clearly more integrated than all other cities and constitute their own high level of integration alpha+ cities Other highly integrated cities that complement London and New York , largely filling in advanced service needs for the Pacific Asia alpha & alpha- cities Very important world cities that link major economic regions and states into the world economy All beta level cities These are important world cities that are instrumental in linking their region or state into the world economy All gamma level cities These can be world cities linking smaller regions or states into the world economy, or important world cities whose major global capacity is not in advanced producer services Cities with sufficiency of services These are cities that are not world cities as defined here but they have sufficient services so as not to be overtly dependent on world cities. Two specialised categories of city are common at this level of integration: smaller capital cities, and traditional centres of manufacturing regions -https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/gawcworlds.html

https://imgur.com/a/2UaYh4o 2/16/19 from the NE corner (Shepherd School of Music side)

At least one unit on the SW corner is now furnished; I couldn't say whether it's a resident or model unit. Edit: I'm now seeing three furnished units on the SW corner.

Agreed on the price point, but that's no reason for a national chain. Eatsie Boys blows my mind for $10 - I'm sure there are other good options for the money.

Have you all seen this before? I knew that the letters are back-lit, but the lights in the bench/block are new to me. https://imgur.com/a/PA3Bjow

The steel work is coming along nicely. https://imgur.com/a/B9Ze5Bj

Swamplot made a great map of the current extent of this project. Sears is the orange lot: https://imgur.com/a/Y07Tbg2 Article and explanation of other parcels here: http://swamplot.com/mapping-the-midtown-innovation-district-that-doesnt-exist-yet-but-keeps-getting-bigger/2018-10-19/

I'm not sure how much of this is new information, but here's an email about the project from Rice President David Leebron to Rice faculty and staff: Dear Rice Faculty and Staff, Last spring we announced that Rice would develop the midtown property it had acquired surrounding the Sears building into a new Houston innovation district. I write to provide a brief update on the Midtown Innovation District project, which will ultimately redevelop approximately 14 acres of Rice-owned property, anchored by the fully renovated Sears building at the intersection of Main and Wheeler streets. The Sears building will be renovated to form an innovation hub that will bring together the full spectrum of educational, business, financial and civic resources to support early stage companies and stimulate the Houston economy. This will be the heart of the new innovation district being planned in close collaboration with a wide range of partners, including government officials and area academic institutions, corporations and civic organizations, to ensure that the benefits of this project are shared broadly across the city. The project is being financed and managed by the Rice Management Company as an investment by Rice’s endowment that will produce both an adequate return and great benefits for the region. It has no impact on the university’s budget or budget planning, but it will create new opportunities for members of the Rice community. And it will impact Houston in a powerful and direct way. We are working with nine other Houston academic institutions to formulate plans for the engagement of academic communities with the innovation district. I have asked Tom Killian, professor of physics and astronomy and associate dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, to serve as liaison to the project for Rice faculty, students and staff, as well as to represent Rice in discussions with the other academic institutions. On our campus, Tom has already begun to lead a process this fall that provides the entire Rice community with information about the project and an opportunity for input on the undertaking. We anticipate that through this process we will identify major themes around which we can build a coherent vision for Rice engagement with the innovation district. The project is still in its early stages, so input from these discussions will have significant impact on the design of the physical spaces and programming for the renovated Sears building. In keeping with the priorities expressed in the V2C2, I also encourage you to use this opportunity to think broadly about new opportunities to support entrepreneurship, leadership and engagement with the greater Houston community. In late October and early November, Tom will host a series of discussions for faculty and staff. Any member of the faculty or staff who is interested in the Midtown innovation district may sign up for one of these sessions before Oct. 20 at [redacted]. A separate process for students is being coordinated through the undergraduate and graduate student associations. If anyone would like to schedule a focused meeting for a particular campus group, please contact Tom at Killian@rice.edu. This is an exciting opportunity for Rice and Houston, and I know we will benefit from the engagement of the Rice community in this vital project. My thanks to Tom Killian for his willingness to lead this important effort. Warm Regards, David W. Leebron