HoustonIsHome

Plus at fiesta you get a good selection of international ingredients that you wouldn't typically get at regular grocery stores. Jamaican Soda, Puerto Rican seasonings, Curry from Trinidad, British Cookies, lots of African, Indian and other Asian foods. All from a store with a Latin edge. That store was a cultural experience. I hope Houston doesn't lose it completely. It is very representative of the diversity of the city.

I shopped there regularly when I lived in Riverside Terrace, and I used to still stop there on the way to work to pick up a few things prior to cover work from home. The homeless never affected my shopping. However, I would see how people who are uncomfortable with them would avoid the area because of the sheer number of them. Especially after the fence was put up, you wouldn't see many actually on the fiesta property, but there would be a sea of them around it. They never asked me for money or bothered my shopping experience so I didn't care like I said, but walking through them would definitely be unnerving to a lot of people. It's just the optics because as @dbigtex56 said that area on main near the Randalls is just as bad. But that area is more built up and landscaped so they are not as conspicuous to someone going to Randalls. Randalls and especially whole foods are not everyday shopper stores though. Saying that it's ok fiesta is closing because whole foods is right down the street is like saying it's ok the Wendys is closing, you can always go to the Mortons steakhouse across the street. People who are suggesting that everyday regular Fiesta shoppers go to whole foods have either never shopped at whole foods or doesn't appreciate the struggle many fiesta shoppers go through to make ends meet. On the bright side, combining the news that the ION may open full with the closing of fiesta hopefully might mean this plot might get developed sooner than planned

Although I agree with what you are saying, I would like to point out that this is Houston and plopping down tall buildings in random areas are what we do. The Williams tower, AIG building and others. But like I said, I do agree with you. This will help transform the area which will hopefully result in taller and taller buildings. My dream for midtown has always been a sea of 12 storey buildings with a string of 30 to 50 storey buildings along main from downtown to Herman Park. There's so much empty or decay around this project. Hopefully more deals can get going in this area

I think I'm more excited about the potential for this area that the collective project may bring than this particular building itself. Yes the Sears building may have stood crumbling for the next 30 years so I'm glad that it is being made use of but personally I think the Reno is underwelming. It is quite different but to me not all that great. For me Texas Tower, the Preston and a handful of other projects around town are my favorite. With over a dozen blocks flanking a transit center WITH a rail way stop this project should be grand. Hopefully it doesn't go the way off Regency Square, Hardy Yards, Downtown Post Office site, Houston Pavilions or the granddaddy of them all- Houston Center. Crossing my fingers that we get a few residential towers built from this project.

I know they are still being built but I hadn't heard the term garden style apartments in a while. I guess I have been wowed by all the new condo towers and midrise apartment buildings that garden style sounds so much like a blast from the past

That looks slick

Nope. Was actually looking up something on Google and this thread popped up

Does he though?

Can't wait for this to open. As each of these are built and fill up the activity in the area increases. Hopefully we stay getting more than restaurants, bars and CVSes in this area. I am not even gonna touch the stone vs glass discussion because I am still so happy that the garage that used to be there is gone. Geez that thing was hideous

What building is that? 🤔

Would be nice if they remove the bridge and extend the greenspace to Westheimer. But I think they will go the cheap route and leave the bridge as is. The skate park idea is cool but I already know how the story goes; due to budgetary constraints...

Looking at these angles, a 10 floor + building would create another mini skyline. But the infill is good. Skyhouse improved the street presence around Bell Station so I'm sure this project will improve the DTTC rail stop too. Especially with the work across the street in front of Amegy. Would be nice if the Amegy Garage lot gets improved. And of course everyone's favorite eyesore on the other side just keeping on keeping on

Been saying the same thing. This area of downtown is screaming for new life and always thought a new aquarium or other major attraction would be nice in that area. Theirs in a ton of shops and bright flasy nightlife and those hotels in the area will be constantly busy

Can't stop saying it, but that garage that used to be in this site was so horrible looking and right at the entrance Of downtown that I would have taken a regular box as a replacement. But to get this beauty is so much more than I expected.

@j_cuevas713 I agree with you but I think the center of the Houston population is closer to this than downtown. It's for that reason I think we need more projects like this near downtown. Especially live, work and play projects. The west is an employment gold mine and adding more is just fueling the spread of the city further and further. We need to balance the polarization and a job focus on the loop would aid in that. Traffic is horrible will over the city but the infrastructure for public and personal transportation is least horrible in the core. The west is already due for another highway, instead of more of these things wouldn't be wiser to spend that money improving the highways, public transportation, bike Lanes in the core? A bigger and bigger land area just means bigger and bigger budgets to maintain it all. I don't think the city should be encouraging this. What's next? City Center La Grange?