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shasta

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  1. shasta
    I also notice that when the national networks broadcast a game from here (mostly Rockets or Astros) they'll do an aerial view over downtown AS IF it was live. I'l pause the shot, and almost ALL of the times- they are using stock footage of a previous aerial. How do i know? I can easily spot the buildings that are missing...some buildigns had been completed and the aerial shows a parking lot..ha
  2. shasta
    I seriously doubt that the city of Austin is making decisions that are best for University of Houston expansion into Austin, why do you guys act surprised when Houston is doing the same to protect the interests of its flagship public university?
  3. shasta
    Nope..UT didn't make my final cut, despite pressure from UT family members and YES..I had the grades to get in. You'd be surprised how many have turned down a scholarship/acceptance at UT-Austin to attend the University of Houston...there are more than you think. For me, UH's accredited Architecture program within a top 5 US city, with their picky sub 10% acceptance rate, turned out to be the best choice! UT understands that Houston is the most prolific educational market in the state and that the University of Houston is sitting in the cat birds seat, long term. They have advantages the other Texas cities just don't have. Give it a little time and Houston will have the BEST private school (Rice) and the BEST public school (UH) in the State of Texas........ just give it time. And for those paying attention, 46,000 students this fall is a new enrollment record and they are building enough dorms to someday claim the title of the most dorms on campus in any school in Texas. Imagine a campus with 60,000 students, with 20,000+ living on campus and served by a redeveloped Third Ward creating a College Campus environment inside the soon to be 3rd most populous city in the United States. Quite the shift!
  4. shasta
    If anything Austin is under-served.... Let's a build a University of Houston- Austin campus, a Texas A&M- Austin campus, and a Texas Tech- Austin campus...all within miles from the UT- Austin campus.
  5. shasta
    You answered your own question University of Illinois AT Chicago... There is a hierarchy within the system. The University of Houston (main Campus) is different...It is the FLAGSHIP campus in the University of Houston system. It will rise as high as it leaders want it to rise and has the location to rise. The University of Texas may chose to hold back, say, the University of Texas- San Antonio, because they do NOT want it to overshadow their flagship campus, the University of Texas - Austin. Another example...the flagship University of Alabama may hold back the University of Alabama- Birmingham for the same reason. Actually, they did vote to dissolve their football program to concentrate efforts into their flagship 'Bama but had to retract after the backlash. The only thing holding back the University of Houston was not allowing them access to the PUF but they have found a way around that.
  6. shasta
    Actually, the state not initially supporting their third largest public university is the missed opportunity for Houston. UH is almost 100 years old and with proper funding could be on par with UCLA or Boston College TODAY! Instead, they were treated like a stepchild and had to fund themselves and have worked very hard to put themselves in the argument of starting to belong in the class of a UCLA or a Boston College. So when another University system, one based in Austin, comes sniffing around you can bet the Alpha public school in Houston is going to fight an intruder TWO MILES from their campus. UT-Austin would do the same exact thing if Texas A&M, UH, or Texas Tech proposed building a campus a mile from theirs. They absolutely would! But the biggest misstep is with the state of Texas...They COULD have established a one or two Public University system and funneled them ALL through one of those two systems BUT they did NOT. Instead the protected two systems with the PUF (Permanent University Fund) and TOLD all others (UH, TTU, Sam, SFA, TX St., N Texas, etc.) to fend for themselves with limited help from the State. They also pitted the systems against each other. Compare this to the UC- system in California. So, UH did fend for themselves and has built a respectable system ON THEIR OWN...no PUF, no Land Grant money, very little from state sources so YES they are going to prevent competition....... while they continue to build the Infrastructure to become the BEST public school in the state of Texas. Houston is the prize spot for the best public school in the state........ location, location, location. There's a reason why Rice, located in Houston, is the best Private University in the State and in a generation, or two, the University of Houston WILL BE the best public school in the state of Texas. Just look at the projections, look at the money they can easily raise, and look at their connections IN what will be the third most populous city in the nation. UT can try but they can't stop the extremely high ceiling UH now realizes they have. And this post is a week in which they received an anonymous 50 million donation to attract the best professors in the country and they released the renderings for their new Medical School wing, on campus. Having the BEST public University in the state IS the OPPORTUNITY for Houston. Preventing UT expansion helps with that goal. Houston understands this. It's not possible to replicate the Houston synergy in Austin, College Station, or Lubbock.
  7. shasta
    Fair and square...lol. Did you not watch the actual state hearing where they admitted UNDER OATH that everything about the deal was under the table, without the proper approval, without the knowledge of the UT Board of Regents, and that their renderings clearly showed more than just a academic satellite? It was a Campus and they used PUF money to buy land OVER MARKET PRICE. Undesirable contaminated land and from a UT alum. Fair and Square...thanks for the laugh..lol Next you are going to tell me that the PUF is also fair and square and making Texas' "other" public Universities fend for themselves for the majority of their existence is perfectly acceptable. But I'll go along with your theory that competition is good....Texas A&M should definitely build a 'Texas A&M- Austin' Campus TWO MILES from UT- Austin....Austin should be lucky to support that....right? Where do I sign up?
  8. shasta
    Good ! It will be time for a celebration when this land is officially sold and that College in Austin fully realizes they cannot bully their way into a campus IN Houston.
  9. shasta
    Didn't that part of downtown used to be known as Frost Town? that would be cool if they brought that back.
  10. shasta
    I really don't know what developers are waiting for but the Third Ward could be the best tapped area in the city. It is close to downtown, it is in the loop, it is close to mass transit it is anchored by the third largest university in the state and many have eagerly been waiting for this area to properly develop for decades!! In my opinion, efficiencies for this low of a price is setting the bar pretty low. I envision this becoming another EADO in a decade or two. Look for developers to start to test the waters....imagine if it got an InTown Homes townhouse development, imagine a large mixed use project along Scott Street across from the campus. Imagine, a run on the lots with nice homes. This all could be reality. In know, the catchment area right now doesn't support development but many UH grads, professors, students, etc. have been waiting for the Third Ward to get its act together and catch up with the rest of the booming parts of the city. There is absolutely no reason why it shouldn't. Let's home this project starts the momentum...because it is happening ..just a matter of WHEN not IF.
  11. shasta
    Yep, Cities develop in layers...always have!
  12. shasta
    Don't forget the Ismaili Cultural Center which is supposed to be an Architectural landmark...they only select one city, per country, for their center.
  13. shasta
    Ok..that is Cool!
  14. shasta
    yes it has
  15. shasta
    I hope both Nancy and the developer read this thread to realize how off base they are. Uptown is considered an urban nightmare to anyone with even close to a little knowledge of urban design. I'm thinking dodging cars along a giant thoroughfare is NOT what Jane Jacobs had in mind. On this site, I'm pretty sure Hines current Market Square tower and the new one under construction will demand the highest rents in the city. True, this one isn't IN downtown but its close enough for those rich buyers who want the downtown proximity without being in the middle of it. The $600k asking price for a 1 bedroom and $1million plus for a two bedroom back that up.
  16. shasta
    I wonder what is the agenda for this article....it seems very off for coming from someone respected, like Nancy Sarnoff. “For a developer, it’s risky. It’s not Uptown. It’s not River Oaks,” Contreras said this week, No, Contreras..it's a place called Near Town..nuzzled in between downtown, River Oaks, and Montrose. For its residents its a short drive, or uber ride, or private car to all of the cultural districts in the city. His concerns are ridiculous...I'd rather live here than Uptown anyway. Plus, you will have the Regent Square development, the Hanover development, and the Ismaili Landmark just down the street. "While the location of the project is a short drive to Houston’s cultural and sports destinations, the medical center and upscale housing, it lacks the walkability of areas such as Uptown or inside the West Loop near San Felipe, where multiple towers have been built or are under construction." Well, that's the first time I've ever heard Uptown described as "walkable". Its one of the LEAST walkable "major" districts in the United States. Walk from Boulevard Place to the Galleria and tell me how pleasant of a walk that is. Seriously, Nancy is better that that. You know Houston is in trouble when we point to Uptown as a model for a pedestrian friendly, human scale district..lol
  17. shasta
    So, how many new residential/hotel units are we adding along Allen Parkway, in the next 5-10 years? Regent Square- 600 Apartment Units, per article The Allen- ?# Condo Units The Allen- ?# Apartments Units The Allen- ?# Hotel Rooms Hanover- ?# Apartment Units Hanover - ?# Hotel Rooms Ismaili Center- ? Any residential units or hotel rooms as part of this project?
  18. shasta
    This is drastically different than the original layout from 10 years ago. Will this be on the same blocks as those or is this a different block?
  19. shasta
    I wonder if they have a figure in mind for the price of the condos and more importantly, the monthly maintenance fee.
  20. shasta
    Ha...Never thought I'd read an Oliver Cromwell quote in a downtown Houston thread... Now NYC..that would make sense since he had the Duke of York's father beheaded. Yes, that Duke of York that named NYC after himself.
  21. shasta
    The Texas Constitution should be amended to allow equal access (25%) to the Permanent University Fund (PUF) for the following systems: University of Texas, Texas A&M, the University of Houston & Texas Tech University. That still gives UT and TAMU a huge head start plus those two have built up two of the largest endowments. All other public schools in the State of Texas should be given a clear road map of what they need to improve to elevate themselves into that top tier worthy of the PUF in the future. But right now, UH and TTU are the most worthy of making that leap into UT and TAMU tier We all need to look at this big picture, from a collaborative point of view. The state of California, with their UC system, is running circles around the state of Texas with our "fund TWO systems and let the rest fund themselves" attitude. Had this really been thought out, ALL state schools would have filtered into either the UT or TAMU system from the beginning but that isn't how it worked out. This gap will only grow larger if we don't find a way for a state, with 28 MILLION residents, to have FOUR Main campuses (UT, TAMU, UH & TTU) to compete with the California Public Universities. Most states have MORE prestigious public schools than Texas with a fraction of our population. Show me one Texas politician that even brings this let alone demands the PUF be open up to UH and TTU. UT and TAMU have had their share of the PUF for long enough. Adding a UT-Houston a few miles from a nearly 100 year old UH campus that is striving to become a really good public school is the absolutely WRONG thing to do. Just as adding a Texas A&M-Austin or UT- College Station next to the opposite would be the WRONG thing to do. Each region should establish a premiere Public and premiere Private school in the region. Houston has ALREADY ESTABLISHED BOTH with UH and Rice.
  22. shasta
    Trrae, this is bigger issue that just not allowing a UT-Houston, it revolves around HOW the State of Texas funds ITS public schools. Read up on the PUF (Permanent University Fund) and how the ONLY Public schools that have access to the HUGE pot of money is the UT system and TAMU system. Even among those two UT gets more of the share. Its written into the Texas State Constitution. All other STATE schools were not allowed to get a penny from this fund...that includes UH, Texas Tech, Sam Houston, Texas State, North Texas, etc. so each year these schools would essentially beg for THEIR state to fund THEIR state schools. Eventually the state did create a secondary pot but that is a much smaller pot is divided among all the non- UT/TAMU system public schools in the state. So, you can imagine UH's position....when a nearly hundred year old state school in the state of Texas that has to BEG for state funding each year found out that Texas was going to build a new campus for UH with the excess funds from a pot that the other state schools do not have access to ..they just had to put their foot down. As for the State of Texas, there is ZERO reasons why the university of Houston should not be as prestigious as say a UCLA......this is a State government issue This whole issue revolves around how the state of Texas manages their public institutions of higher learning. They CHOSE not to have a collaborative system as say the UC system in California....that was their decision. It was also their decision to leave certain institutions to fend for themselves instead of helping to build them up into the premiere State system in the United States... This a state issue..not a city Houston issue....
  23. shasta
    Also, maybe because it's closer to Hines' cluster of top buildings. Look at where they are building their new office tower, close to this building, close to the location of 609 Main and BP Place, plus close to their older buildings. Those are within easy walking distance and have tunnel connection. Plus, an easy walk to the Theater District, the historic stretch of Main and light rail stations and not too far from MMP. I'm guessing the rents in this spot is a little higher than midtown. It makes perfect sense that Hines has picked this Market Square area twice to locate their residential buildings. Maybe, they want to heavily influence this neighborhood also.
  24. shasta
    Outstanding!
  25. shasta
    Since Uptown has blocked light rail multiple times (Post Oak and University lines), I'm really hoping that the next legs focus on the "spines" that continue to density INSIDE the loop. 1st on the list would be Allen Parkway/Kirby. It could connect to the Theatre District stop.....go up Allen parkway with the currently and planned developments (i.e. mixed use near FRB and Regent Square) and then down Upper Kirby, which is quickly becoming the "Broadway" of Houston. It would then continue up Kirby to Rice Village. You'd get a lot of points of interest along that route and it would alleviate traffic. Midtown appears to be in good shape with the cluster of dense development along the Main Street Line. Other Inner Loop 'urban' corridors that Metro should consider as they are really densifying quickly include...Washington and Montrose. Uptown had their chance....
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