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jdbaker

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Everything posted by jdbaker

  1. They are cheaper because they are "used." They were apartments first, now Post is converting to condos. When you buy a new condo -- in Houston -- you pay a huge premium. It's a lot like buying a new car vs. a used car.
  2. Case in point. The Radio Shack that you were looking for is in the Park Shops.
  3. The park shops close at 6pm. They're also nearly invisible from the street, making them highly inaccessible to those who are not intimately familiar with downtown. I believe the aforementioned reasons -- and not a lack of demand for downtown retail per se -- explain the current state of the Park Shops.
  4. This one is great, but the one next to it -- a 1930's Modernist -- is amazing. It's one of my favorites houses in the entire city.
  5. It's a steal. I saw it the day it came up, and I really thought it would be pending by the following day.
  6. The top one is currently for sale in the $500,000-$600,000 range. It's on two acres and a hell of a deal in my book. If I had the cash on hand I would buy it in a heartbeat. Actually, I think I'm wrong. It's looks to be a different one, but nonetheless here is the link: http://www.har.com/3267977
  7. The building is owned by Harris County, but it is leased to someone else under a long term (e.g. 50-60 year) ground lease.
  8. Agreed. More CVS's > Greater livability > More population density > More luxury dining and retail offerings.
  9. You obviously don't spend a lot of time downtown and you obviously have no idea what the hell you're talking about. I live downtown. Before that I lived in inner-city DC. I'm confident in my ability to discern "thugs" from middle class African-Americans and Hispanics. Downtown Houston is exceedingly safe on weeknights, however, the people who line up outside of TOC Bar and the like every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are predominantly of the Thug variety. How do I know this? Well there was the Murder that took place following a dispute at TOC Bar. There was also the shooting inside M Bar. And of course there was the day they fished a body out of the Bayou behind the Pink Monkey. Incidentally, the parking lots surrounding these bars charge $10-$15 for a parking space. As for movie theaters, well, one of my classmates was stabbed outside a popular DC movie theater near the US Capital, but she lived. Of course this was well after the neighborhood "gentrified." Does that count? Now, instead of accusing people of being racist, why don't you just go back to ESPN zone and have some wings.
  10. They had a lucky strike near me in DC. As some have pointed out, Lucky Strike is not a conventional bowling alley and it is very expensive compared to a conventional bowling alley. Thus, if you're looking for an AMC lanes downtown, this is not it. It's more a cocktail lounge with bowling.
  11. I'll address it here. I live downtown. Before living in Houston, I lived in central DC. I consider myself to have a very high threshold for dealing with noise. I'm fine with the levels of noise typically produced by sirens, gunshots, 3 alarm fires, and 5 am street brawls. I'm confident that neither Warren's nor Market St Grill could produce enough noise to disturb my night even if they wanted to. However, I am not fine with bass that vibrates through several brick walls and into my loft at 3am. Hearing music at 1:00am is fine. Audible noise all night long is not an issue. Feeling my pillow vibrate at 3:00am is where I draw the line.
  12. Exactly. I've been living downtown for the past year. I think downtown is already a great place to live. I also think a lot of people have it backwards when it comes to evaluating livability. People tend to compare downtown to some hypothetical "perfect urban environment" where happiness hinges on the ability to secure all necessities by foot. I find it more useful to compare downtown to Katy or any other place where people who work in Houston live. Using this approach downtown offers the following: 1. The best morning and evening commutes in the city 2. Easy access to all major freeway 3. Access to Memorial 4. The ability to avoid using freeways 5. The lowest crime rate in Houston (based on zip code) 6. No "apartments" and no possibility of "apartments" in the future 7. A private downtown parking space 8. Rail access to the medical center 9. Target, Randells, and CVS within 2-3 miles 10. Proximity to the Uptown, Rice Village, Washington Ave
  13. This block should have been the definitive Houston Park. Everytime I drive by, I imagine this block lined with highrise/midrise residential and mixed use buildings. It had the potential to create cohesive neighborhood stretching from the southern edge of Downtown through midtown and then following the metro line all the way to Hermann Park. Very, very sad.
  14. 2016 Main's maintenance fees are over $.80 psf. They do, however, include electricity. In nearly all circumstances you're better off renting downtown given the current rental marktet. I've heard good things about Humble Towers, which is all rental. Houston House is very livable and has a sort of dysfunctional charm. Also, check Har.com for residential leases. I believe there are a few units for lease in the Bayou Lofts (owned) for around $1100.
  15. I live in Houston and walk to work everyday. So does my wife. We both live and work downtown. My walk is approximately six blocks while her is seven. She has free theater district parking but chooses to walk because faster and more pleasant. Even in the summer, it's not that bad in the morning and surprisingly I've only been rained out by severe weather twice in the past six months. I'm simply baffled by the aversion to walking that seems to permeate this city.
  16. You're not missing a lot. They look and feel like a narrower version of a circa early 1980's airport terminal cocorridor. Certain portions have cockroach problems, while others leak a good bit. All in all they're awful.
  17. I don't think the issue with the tunnels is that they affirmatively preventing people from walking outside. Rather the problem is that the tunnel allow people the option of walking "comfort", which in turn leads to food and retail establishments that are forced to close at 5pm. But for the Tunnels, the business crowd would be forced to eat at street level, and unlike tunnel tenants, street level establishments have the option of remaining open after 5pm. It is reasonable to believe that many businesses currently located in the tunnel would find it worthwhile to remain open for a few extra hours to capture the residential / evening event crowd. In short, the tunnels cannibalize potential street level development potential. On a slightly different note, does anyone actually like the tunnels? I find them to be anything but comfortable. They're dimly lit, crowded, and confusing even to the frequent tunnel user. Even in August a 5-10 minute walk outside really isn't really that bad compared to spending you lunch hour in a dank tunnel.
  18. Having recently purchased a unit at the Beaconsfield, I'm very intrigued By the Savoy. Built within a few years of one another and located within a few blocks from one another, the Savoy looks to be the Beaconsfield's abandoned twin. For those of you who are not familiar with the Beaconsfield this would mean 11ft ceilings, fireplaces in every apartment, huge windows on three sides of every unit. All of this leaves me wondering why there is so little interest in the Savoy? Additionally, I'm hoping someone here might know a little about the history of this building, as I've been unable to find anything. Thanks.
  19. Actually, you have it backwards. You are free to buy inexpensive tract housing located 30 miles from your place of employment. However, this does not entitle you to "more freeway space" when a foreseeable increase in traffic causes your commute to become unbearable.
  20. I too attended the Townhall Meeting. Mayor White made a few additional statements that some of you may find interesting. First, he stated that residents can expect a bona fide grocery store in downtown sometime within the next two years. Second, he said there are several other "concrete deals" (as in nearly certain) in the works for downtown aside from Houston Pavilions and the Fingers project. All of this is obviously rumor and innuendo from the mouth of a politician, so take it for what it's worth, but interesting nonetheless
  21. Ding. Ding. Ding. We have winner. ^^ As a downtown resident, I couldn't be happier to hear this. Several people mentioned that there is already a CVS a few blocks south of MBar, which is true, but it's not that simple. This type of redundancy is essential for a bona fide pedestrian neighborhood. Case in point, I live seven blocks north of the Main St. CVS, but I rarely walk there. It's a 15-20 minute walk, which translates into a 30-40 minute round trip, making it walkable (if barely) but less efficient than driving to the CVS on West Gray. The Mbar/Walgreen location is only three blocks away. This translates into translates into a 10-15 minute round trip, which is quicker than driving to W.Gray. It does sound like a big deal, but it is. The tipping point is somewhere within those extra 4 blocks. Why does this matter? First, I would pay 5-10% more in rent for this conveinece, and I suspect I'm not alone. Not using your car can become very addicitive. Second, this means one more person (that isn't homeless or club hopping) is on Main St after business hours, which in turn makes all those other Main St. store fronts a little more valuable. While bars and resteraunts are great, it is impossible to understate the value of having everyday necessities within 5 minutes of your front door.
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