shasta

I don't have any pictures but there were trucks and equipment all over the site. Looks as if they were doing soil test and early prep work but something was definitely happening there today!

Are there any updates on this project? It looks as if the developer let another boom come and go while other mixed use projects were built (i.e. River Oaks District). With the current excess inventory of apartment units, I don't see this happening anytime soon. The ironic thing is that had the 2008/09 scheme been built it would have been up and running and probably would have attracted a large number of the transplants from 2012-2015 who accepted their energy jobs downtown. Does anyone know what the plan is now?

Commuter school? Actually, Only Texas A&M has more on-campus beds than the University of Houston. We are second in the state in on-campus beds right now. I attended UH in the late 90s/early 2000s and lived on campus. That is what I meant by UH's growth cycle....a 100 year old campus, by that time, transitions from a commuter school to a full fledged residential campus. By 2027, we should be NUMBER ONE in the entire state of Texas in on-campus residents. That's quite an accomplishment considering our humble beginnings. On Third Ward, if you haven't been paying attention, look who owns most of the third ward and the proposals for re-development. UH probably owns most of the neighboring land and they are waiting for their opportunity to support developments that compliment the University of Houston. It is coming..have a little patience but yeah....a City Centre type development next to UH , with direct mass transit access downtown will not only raise the perception of UH but it will solidify the area as one of he most vibrant urban campuses in the United States. It's coming folks....the wheels are in motion. Cities develop in layers and UH's proximity to downtown Houston, over time, will be a HUGE asset especially when the city finally fills in with quality development. It is only a matter of time.

So you went to Texas-A&M- Galveston and you think it is Texas A&M....seriously? Oh, and people around the country know about the University of Houston. Most of the country remembers our legendary basketball teams and their 5 Final Fours and the Phi Slama Jama team was a national phenomenon. So much so that they are currently putting together a 30 for 30 on the University of Houston- Phi Slama Jama. I live in Houston and I never hear about the Texas A&M- Galveston campus.....never.

It's more than the football team, MexAmerican...the school has really kicked it into another gear. It is very impressive when you consider the limited resources we receive in comparison with the two big systems. UH is entering a pivotal chapter in its growth cycle. It will be a hundred years old in 2027, and you will start seeing 3rd and 4th generation Cougars by then. You will start seeing Houston Cougar families a la Longhorn and Aggie families. If this UT- Houston goes through, would you be more impressed by UH- a 100 year plus campus complete with traditions, legacies, networks, famous alums, and great athletics or by UT- Houston, a brand new commuter school built in a bad part of town? Which option would be the better choice?

I selected the University of Houston because they had an accredited Undergraduate Architecture program...something Texas A&M, with their PUF funds, did not offer and still does not offer today. Yes, Texas A&M has an accredited graduate program but UH has BOTH.

I did have an option with both UT and TAMU and selected the University of Houston...TWICE

If you disagree with UT in Houston, please sign this petition. https://www.change.org/p/texas-legislature-must-halt-ut-system-s-hostile-houston-expansion

If this passes then I expect NO RESTRICTIONS when UH tries to build a UH-Austin a few miles form UT-Austin. Have you guys forgotten that UH is a system as well? They currently have 70,000+ students and 4 campuses (UH Main, UH Downtown, UH Victoria, UH Sugarland plus a satellite Hospitality college in San Antonio). and they are currently looking to expand by building a new UH-Katy and a new Medical School. IF the state is foolish enough to open up this can of worms then I fully expect UH to strike back with a UH- Austin and a UH- College Station because after all, this is what is best for capitalistic markets...forget quality of education in academic environments by having the state cannibalize its OWN STATE SCHOOLS...right guys? My contention is that UT, UH, or TAMU can build a satellite campus in ANY OTHER TEXAS CITY except for the ones where there are already LARGE PUBLIC STATE SCHOOLS FUNDED BY TEXAS TAX PAYERS. That would eliminate expansion into Houston (UH), Austin (UT), College Station (TAMU), Lubbock (TTU), and San Marcos (TX ST). UT is fine to build a UT-Woodlands...just stay away from the land a few miles from the main campus of the University of Houston.

For those that are under the impression that teh Univesity of Houston football is NOT a big deal in the Houston market, check out these numbers. The Houston/ Florida State Peach Bowl at 11:00 AM on a Wednesday (New Years Eve) on CABLE (ESPN) drew a 10.5 in the Houston metro. By comparison, the annual Texas/ Oklahoma game, on local TV (ABC) on a Saturday drew a 7.2 When UH is big time...Houstonians care

They come from all over.....there is also a huge international factor with UH students as in they come to the United States to study at the University of Houston.

Here's the compromise: UH allows UT to build a "research only" campus in exchange for the following 2 items: 1) The State of Texas amends the PUF fund to now also include the University of Houston System. it will now be split in 3 ways among the UH System, the UT System, and the Texas A&M system. The other 2 have had a 100 year advantage and it is time the state starts to invest in a Third Public university system to stay competitive with other states (i.e. California). This could go a long way in keeping Texas kids IN Texas as compared to going to LSU, OU, etc. Adding UH to the PUF could produce billions for the state of Texas 2) The University of Texas votes YES on Big 12 expansion and votes YES on the University of Houston's entry to the Big12 Those are the ONLY 2 items the University of Houston should be willing to accept.

I will make it very simple to understand.........would Texas A&M be OK with UT building a UT-College Station Campus miles from Texas A&M? The reasons they would NOT be OK with it are the exact same reasons why UH would not be OK with it. They are both LARGE State schools paid for by the tax payers of the state of Texas. UT can build a campus in any city in TEXAS except for: Houston (University of Houston) Lubbock (Texas Tech) College Station (Texas A&M) San Marcos (Texas State) BECAUSE the state of Texas already has millions (if not billions) of tax payers money invested in public schools in those markets. Make those schools BETTER...don't dilute the product by making them worse with more state school competition.

This thing is moving so slow that it look as if it is on hold. Anyone know what is going on?

Where do the candidates stand on this issue?

What the marketing campaign is overlooking in its rent comparison is that a condo comes with a mortgage of $2,800 PLUS property taxes and any other additional costs (maintenance fees, insurance, etc.). Rent payments is a simplified number.

You need a significant catchment area of high income earners to justify the presence of high end retail. The addition of all of these new residential buildings (under construction or planned) is the first step in increasing the income potential of the area. Once that happens, the retailers can justify their presence in these areas. The City understands this...hence the downtown living initiative followed by the retail initiatives. Another overlooked element is the tourism element. By adding more hotel rooms, larger conventions, and more amenities downtown you are increasing your tourism population and many of these will come with disposable income. Disposable income that could be spent on this new concentrated retail district. For those that haven't been paying attention,,,this is all part of a methodical and tedious plan by our downtown leaders and it really started around 1999 with the construction of Minute Maid Park. It takes time bu tthe pieces are slowly falling into place.

Do you know Frank or work for him? If he needs input, how can we get it to him?

It's not funny...this rendering really only highlights the projects that ZC is working on. They've left off a few notable buildings UC, including residential by their client's competition. Can someone with advanced photoshop skills add in the missing buildings?

I would REALLY like to see the Medial Center become a more mixed use district- high end TALL residential towers (al la NYC), shopping, restaurants to go along with the medical and hospitality uses. The Med Center is on par, or even ahead of downtown in terms of infrastructure, it borders our major city park, the museum district, and Rice University and may be more dense and walkable than even downtown...these are all HUGE draws for these supporting uses. WE need to start thinking about Houston as individual nodes that WILL connect over the decades and I honestly feel the Med Center to Museum District to Mid Town to Downtown to EADO connection has the POTENTAIL to be a great urban collection if done correctly. Uptown is a totally different animal and they are pretty adamant about remaining who they are (i.e. rejection of University and Uptown lines)

That rendering is from around 2008...not sure if they drastically revised the plan or left as it was in 2008. Also, the website is still dated 2008 http://www.regentsq.com/indexFlash.html

Can someone contact GID and get an update?

BayouBoomtown- Rice isn't a public school it is a private school..it has nothing to do with the state. All of the funding for Rice comes from Private funding. States are ranked on how well they develop and support their public school systems. Under the current Texas system (written into the Texas Constitution) the only two schools that receive a huge chunk of the state's funds are the University of Texas system and the Texas A&M system. It's called the Texas University Permanent Fund (link below) and only those two public schools/systems have access to it. ALL of the other public schools in the state (Texas Tech, University of Houston, Texas State, North Texas, Sam Houston, etc.) have to split a CONSIDERABLY SMALLER fund. The difference in state funding between those two is quite drastic and of course the two major schools that have access to the PUF (UT and Texas A&M) then decide how much their system schools (UTSA, UTEP, Texas A&M Kingsville, etc.) receive...and its not a lot compared to the two big schools. University of Houston is trying to make the case that they have shown enough investment in their University that they deserve to be included as a "flagship" state university and receive a equal share on the PUF, along with University of Texas and Texas A&M. Texas Permanent University Fund Other Texas public universities—notably all institutions in the University of Houston System, the University of North Texas System, the Texas State System, the Texas Tech System, and some UT System and Texas A&M System institutions—are prohibited by law from sharing the income from this endowment, but since 1984 have been served by the Higher Education Assistance Fund, a much smaller fund. Addition of the other university systems or individual institutions to the Permanent University Fund would require an amendment to the Texas Constitution. Compare this system to California...which funds its U CAL system equally. AS a cougar, there are many things to be proud of. The University gets a fraction of the funding from the state, as compared to UT and Texas A&M yet is in the top 3 public schools. UH gets a fraction of the revenue from athletics because Texas politics left them out of the Big 12 or another Power conference yet finds a way to grow. Also, UH has managed to build the second most number of on-campus housing in the state of Texas (behind only Texas A&M) and now has a rail connection to the rest of Houston. The University of Houston has the potential to be one of the most cutting edge urban campuses in the United States. In fact, when I was considering Architecture schools, I was alarmed to find out that Texas A&M DID NOT offer an accredited undergraduate program. Meaning the NAAB did not feel that the Aggies met the MINIMUM requirement and would deny any graduate with an A&M architecture degree to sit for the licensing exam because it was deemed INFERIOR. They also designated Texas Tech with the same inferior verdict. UH's undergraduate program was accredited. (Only UH, Rice and UT offer accredited undergraduate architecture programs) http://www.naab.org/architecture_programs/home Now, both graduate architecture degree programs ARE accredited but their undergraduate architecture degree programs are not. I really feel that since the state continues to underfund the University of Houston that we should turn to the city for funding. We should strive to make the University of Houston the #1 public school in the state of Texas. The city of Houston could benefit from this partnership and the influx of quality talented students could only help the city as most UH alums stay and CONTRIBUTE to the local economy.

Let's hope they don't make any more mistakes like this one: http://swamplot.com/appreciating-those-downtown-skyhouse-toilet-views-from-below/2015-04-07/

These are the type of projects we NEED downtown!