Nucleareaction

If that bike lane is real, I'll take whatever else is given.

Going to be so awesome for the area. May need to visit Maple Leaf soon to check up on it!

14 hours ago, terra002 said:

totally agree, As of now, fairview is very dangerous to ride your bike on. 

Crazy thing is, it's my main go-to to get to midtown. As crappy as it is, it's the best option out there at the moment.

12 minutes ago, cspwal said:

I think the super block is going to have a few retail spots in it

Superblock thread suggests 7k of retail. So this project will put the total to 21k. Not terrible, but still you'd think more is possible. Need that HCC parking lot to be replaced, and a few of the other lots to be filled as well.

I wonder why there is so little GFR? Keep in mind, I am NOT complaining that it isn't enough. Just observing that with the park right there and many assumed pedestrians, a few restaurants/cafes/shops could probably survive in this area.

39 minutes ago, Triton said:

Well, in my view, this has still been a huge improvement over what was there... a vacant lot with literally two crack houses next to the Raven Tower. I couldn't even walk down the street without being hassled back then... but the noise level has obviously been intense and the Uber driver/parking situation has gotten out of hand.

 

Anyway, I still think it goes back to connections. They work with the city all the time, especially for major events like Free Press Summer Festival. The city even guaranteed they would improve the creek area for them in return for the tax revenue their place would generate and the potential to bring more development to the area.

I don't disagree with the improvement to the local area, the google map view is still a wasteland. A bayou path would be awesome, and other developments would surely help deaden the noise. But parking in that area (as mentioned) is a huge issue and any other development will for sure change the feel of the neighborhood from what it currently is - my opinion of "gentrification" is neutral.

At the end of the day, I think i would still feel pretty mad as a resident that a business with connections is able to operate a concert venue with legal impunity simply because of who they know. Thankfully, I don't live there and my area DID manage to get a local restaurant/Miami beach club setup to tone it down after dark.

Having ridden past this venue several times in the past few months, it still blows my mind this was ever allowed to happen. I look at the bands coming through and think, if I owned a house in that area I'd burn that f***ing stage to the ground.

In The Woodlands you can hear concerts all the way in the back on some nights. I can't imagine how noisy this venue is in the heart of a neighborhood.

On 9/2/2016 at 7:44 PM, Texasota said:

"more substantial than what a bus would need"

 

This really is the biggest problem with BRT- you do true BRT and the same people who killed the light rail complain. I support BRT, but it's way too often used as an excuse to do nothing.

Pretty much. Some people simply don't want mass transit upgrades of any form, especially in front of their business. So myopic, it hurts the brain.

1 hour ago, Twinsanity02 said:

Are those lines completely dead? Even the university line?

No, just stuck in development/legislation hell. Richmond has yet to have major work done on it because the city doesn't want to have to destroy it all over again for the rail. They also re-designed the University line to skip over 59 and thus out of Culberson's district. The Uptown line is being developed for buses at the moment, but there is outcry that the structure of the new bus lanes is more substantial than a bus would need - the true intention being a rail line that goes where the bus line is being built.

4 minutes ago, cloud713 said:

 

Not trying to get this off topic, but since you insist on bringing up rail.. "Uptown" doesn't want the light rail, or Culberson doesn't want the light rail..?

At this point, I believe neither wants it: Culberson doesn't want rail going down Richmond, and Uptown management doesn't want rail down post oak. I believe the reason for the latter is that businesses would "be hurt by the construction", and the fear of the bus lane is that its a precursor to rail. The controversy being: why do they want to pour rail-ready concrete for the bus lane if it's just a bus lane?

It's this project, different developer now. The Dunlavy one is still Regent Square as far as anyone knows.

My fantasy, along the lines of this project, is something happening to the site at Montrose & Allen Parkway. If the Khan Foundation ever gives it up, I'd love to see a multi-purpose mall/residence/office space there. Tiers of restaurants facing the Bayou, sidewalk access, etc. At least this prime plot is getting the project it deserves!

21 hours ago, cspwal said:

I have so many questions from this rendering

It looks like another event designed to kill the grass of that main lawn.  I like how CNN is banished to a corner, with Fox (who has the rights to broadcast the game) front and center.

Will that field have people doing each play live with the game?

What is up with the screens - what will they be showing, and is "HTX" on 3 big screens or just 3 big banners?

What is the strange blue square up in the left hand corner?

Sometimes the old-ass commentators do try and imitate some of the plays, yes. It's quite sad.

I'd imagine the screens will show the game to an exclusive pass crowd, and imagine those are just banners for the TV background.

The blue square is the glass of the walkway from the conference hall to the Hilton.

EDIT: hahaha, confused right and left

What the hell does "long line of sight and safety" have to do with where parking spots are? Just another suburban development.

MUCH better than the previous renderings, wow. I've been curious what the deal with this lot is for a while. I like it.

I didn't mean to derail it this bad! But thank you for the correction. I guess I connected a lot of the inner loop with that rule (correctly or otherwise).

8 minutes ago, Triton said:

Without the biking part in my comment, I just meant the sidewalks don't seem small at all. They seem adequate for two people to walk past each other without a problem.

Ah, gotcha. My bad

3 hours ago, Triton said:

When I rode my bike along these sidewalks, they felt pretty adequate to me.

I'd imagine BeerNut means that sidewalks are for walking, and it's illegal for bikes to be on them within 300 feet of a business.

1 hour ago, Mr.Clean19 said:

For those new to the area, i've attached my version of development in the area. Should be interesting to see what happens the next few years.

East Bayou District Development Map.pdf

What is the green square supposed to be? I don't recall it being mentioned before...

2 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

Akris:

 

the home of a $2000 sack dress.  Yippie.

 

https://www.akris.ch/us_en/akris/dresses/7646

 

or this  thing for $3000:

 

https://www.akris.ch/us_en/akris/dresses/7435

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fabric feels nice? Who knows...

Guy in the photo with a world champion jersey on. Just ain't right...

On 5/2/2016 at 4:17 PM, samagon said:

 

Granted, I've yet to experience summer working downtown I've had maybe 1 day out of 20 where the weather sucks enough that I don't want to walk around outside.

 

Also, I overheard some ladies in the elevator one day, one of them lamented the fact that while Chase tower is isolated in the tunnels there are only 4 options for lunch and she is ready for more options again. her friend reminded her she could go outside, and her response was "oh yeah, I always forget I can do that"

 

I couldn't tell whether she was serious, or not. I hope she was just being really sarcastic to her friend, but probably not.

I'm guessing not. I work out on the west side, lots of isolated offices and strip centers in between. Walking back to work from lunch other day, I saw an suv pull out of the parking lot across the street, and drive right into the parking lot of the strip center. A distance 500 feet is being generous.

Oh, Tinsley Park would be good. The flooding kinda sucks for the amount of tables you'd have outside, but I guess you could bolt them down?

I'm thinking mostly of the Chinese Beer Garden in Munich as a guide: public park, trees surrounding, very popular area of town. I mean, we even have our own form of Oktoberfest in the Rodeo!

Anyone know someone in City Hall?

On 4/2/2016 at 3:11 PM, cloud713 said:

I couldn't find any threads dedicated to the Final Four events, but I'm out here at "The Backyard" and this place is pretty damn cool. Why can't this be a permanent fixture in downtown?

 

I've dreamed of asking city hall for a permit to open a German style beer garden in Hermann Park or Memorial Park, maybe even Discovery Green now. Texas has a lot of German heritage, you could get a local brewery to be the supplier. Its win-win!

I'm almost positive every building north of University and south of Rice has roof parking/a parking garage wrapped in shops.