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Sparrow

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Everything posted by Sparrow

  1. Sparrow
    Complete speculation here, but if I were a betting man, I'd say Hines was the force behind this.
  2. Sparrow
    People like rail over buses. There have been many studies conducted. There is indeed a general bias. So meet the people half-way. Make the buses more like trains so they can't tell the difference. http://www.wsj.com/news/interactive/BUSES0927
  3. Sparrow
    Wrong. The Shinkansen cuts right thru the heart of Tokyo.
  4. Sparrow
    Max does have a good point that car access will be more important (at least at first) than transit. It does seem to make sense that a 290/10/610 area station would be faster and far cheaper to bring the HSR online and for a Downtown extension to be built once the concept is proven and profitable. A two or three station finished product for Houston would be desirable for the region. As far as the 290/10/610 station location, let's not oversell the NW Mall plot of land. Why not use the land along Old Katy Road just north of the NW Transit Center along 610? The State already owns about 16 acres associated with ongoing construction and would likely be had by TCR for quite a fair deal. Such a location would also still preserve a future route to Downtown via the I-10 corridor. Freeway access would be phenomenal along Old Katy Road. A skywalk could provide pedestrian access to the transit center. There are many potential locations in the area, I don't think we should hang our hat on just one.
  5. Sparrow
    If they're going to remove this section of Preston Street, they may as well also remove the section up until Smith Street--it wouldn't really serve a purpose. Even better, don't remove the Preston Street bridge itself, keep the bridge structure, make modifications and dress it up to create the pedestrian bridge that is in the Theater District master plan between Preston and Prairie and save a few dollars.
  6. Sparrow
    http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/8/21/north-texas-inches-closer-to-getting-high-speed-rail-lines/ One small step closer to a Fort Worth to Houston HSR line. "Texas Central has proposed station locations that would facilitate further connectivity, ultimately allowing for Fort Worth/Arlington to Houston high speed rail travel if both projects move through funding and construction."
  7. Sparrow
    If one desired to make this a Mega Transit Center I would suppose it wouldn't be so far fetched. Run a light rail extension up Bagby for either/both the Green or Purple lines. Connect to the Red Line via a skywalk extension to the UH Downtown station. Amtrak could easily be integrated along with the high-speed rail to Dallas. Highway access is on the doorstep. Every downtown Park and Ride bus could stop here with only slight route modifications. I just hope they go BIG on this one. Central transit hub. Residential condo. Office high-rise. Bayou promenade. Mall. Theatre. Washington Ave extension and Franklin closure. Light rail connection. Do it all. It's as someone else already said, you'd need to build something significant to recoup your investment.
  8. Sparrow
    What sort of dining/entertainment option would be most interested in a full downtown block ground lease for as little as 5 years? I would expect they are giving one hell of a deal as a concession for such a short term ground lease. No doubt Houston First Corp is more interested in creating the image of a vibrant urban environment around the GRB than seeking maximum ROI--especially for the Final Four and Super Bowl. Anyone willing to build anything in the realm of dining/entertainment at this site would be preferable to a surface parking lot. Perhaps the best use of such a ground lease would be a parking garage with GFR? Maybe the folks behind the now canceled Nau Center would be interested in such a short term lease?
  9. Sparrow
    Texas Central's website. "Dallas Station Locations".
  10. Sparrow
    Did we already know the TCP/TCR has reached an agreement with Matthews Southwest to serve as the development partner of their Dallas station?
  11. Sparrow
    Apparently HEB may be headed here--much like they did at Gulfgate I suppose.
  12. Sparrow
    I think people are confusing TCR with TCP. Texas Central Partners didn't have a CEO until now if my understanding is correct. Texas Central Railway is to promote the establishment of a railway. TCR's CEO is still intact. Texas Central Partners is the company that will build and operate the railway. Two separate companies that happen to have a lot of the same folks on the board. So yes, a new CEO, but not replacing an old CEO.
  13. Sparrow
    According to the Springwoods Village website a third corporate campus "will be announced in early 2015." Any word yet? Elsewhere on the site it also mentions a fourth hotel to be build at the NW corner of the Grand Parkway and Holzwarth just south of the Belvedere Apartments. See the dot below the Southwestern Energy HQ. http://springwoodsvillage.com/homes-and-map/map/
  14. Sparrow
    It would also be great if METRO could create siding bypasses around several stations to create the means by which to create a local and an express route for the Red Line that would only stop at every third or so station. You wouldn't need an entire new track, just a few hundred yards of new track around some stations--or create new off-line stations at certain locations to achieve the same. Burnett TC is already built for such a possibility. Sure would be great to travel from Northline TC to Reliant in half or a third of the time.
  15. Sparrow
    http://www.springwoodsvillage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/The-Market-at-Springwoods-Village-Phase-I-II-May2015.pdf See page #2--"Unannounced Energy Company Headquarters, 225k sq feet, 1,125 employees" Also, did we know about the 385 room Marriott, the 250K Northside Offices building, and two additional "corporate campuses"? Flyer dated May 2015--very recent info.
  16. Sparrow
    Construction $5.2M. $3.3M incentive from the city (220 x $15k). Not a very difficult economic decision one would think. It's a wonder the program funding was still available as long as it was.
  17. Sparrow

    METRORail Green Line

    Sparrow replied to a topic in Transit

    http://www.ridemetro.org/News/RAILFEST.aspx RAILFEST to take place May 23rd at BBVA Compass Stadium to kick off the new light rail lines. Free tickets available at HEB.
  18. Sparrow
    It's nice to have a well defined district. The edges that are created may actually be beneficial to the neighborhoods adjacent to Downtown/Midtown in the sense that each is clearly delineated. You wouldn't put a 40 story office building up in the Third Ward or Northside, but removing the Pierce makes Midtown just as attractive an option as Downtown for that same building. The edges that are created are Houston's form of de facto zoning.
  19. Sparrow
    The image of the Standard Hotel straddling the High Line (#10) intrigues me. Perhaps this idea does have potential. I'm changing my vote. Let's have our cake and eat it too. Make the Pierce SkyPark while also selling off aerial rights to build above and/or below the SkyPark. No demo cost to TxDOT. TxDOT makes money from selling development rights. TxDOT wins with positive PR. The city wins with another world class signature park. The city wins with more valuable property on the tax rolls. Park patrons benefit with shade from buildings built over the park (will be very nice come mid-summer). With the park being integrated thru, over, and under buildings, the divide between Downtown and Midtown will be erased the same as if the Pierce were demolished. Individual building developers would likely add improvements to their section of park to make their building even more attractive.
  20. Sparrow
    As long as the corridor is maintained, there's always the chance a freeway could go back in. Sell off the land and build a dozen high rises in its place. A park on the Pierce would likely leave the park over the highway by the GRB without funding. I'll take TxDOT's 10 block long proposed park over 59/69/288/45 all day long. Does anyone really think Houston has enough philanthropy to fund the GRB deck park, additional extension of Buffalo Bayou park toward the East End, the indoor Astrodome park, and a Pierce elevated park. I think not.
  21. Sparrow
    Couple of thoughts here. Millions upon millions of dollars spent to fix up Buffalo Bayou and y'all would rather go prancing around on the freeway. If you want an elevated view of downtown buildings just go walking thru the tunnel system--there's numerous elevated walkways there--but they're covered and air conditioned. If y'all wanted to make a park out of this elevated freeway section in Houston you're thinking about it all wrong. It's the underside that's the big complaint anyhow, right? Build the park there, under the Pierce. Check out the proposed Lowline for NYC instead of the Highline. A covered park for Downtown would be interesting (it's what so many propose for the Dome, right?). ..and above the covered park on the Pierce bring in the new high speed rail and put the station right at Main Street adjacent to the Downtown Transit Center. It would be as central to the Downtown/Midtown district as you could possibly achieve under the best scenario. Demolish the remaining section, or perhaps leave it in play for a possible HSR extension to Galveston. Everyone wins.
  22. Sparrow
    Midtown just went up a class. Supersized Downtown-Midtown will have a new center--the views coming up 45 South will be simply amazing. What an brilliant piece of urban planning this plan is. It expands the Downtown area by annexing Midtown by removing the perceived differentiation the Pierce has caused. It provides the framework for major parks along the Bayou and over the freeways.
  23. Sparrow
    Put the house inside the Dome since we can't decide what to do with either one.
  24. Sparrow

    METRORail Green Line

    Sparrow replied to a topic in Transit

    "Emergency walkways"--people in other parts of the world call them sidewalks.
  25. Sparrow
    Land was bought nearly a decade ago and has been quite a profitable real estate investment. Value has doubled since 2011. Don't think for a second that all HEB does is sell groceries. They're very big into the real estate game. I wouldn't think they'd sell this property. May develop it other than a store location, but selling would open up the opportunity for a competitor. Buildings are half a century old, about time for something to happen here.
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