thedistrict84

On 6/30/2022 at 2:55 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

And to think Chron.com's food editor has been sitting on this news since it was brought to her attention in January. Nothing in the article offered details, only that Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is coming to Montrose which has been known on HAIF for 6 months.

I, for one, appreciate your earlier scoop on the ice cream shop.

1 hour ago, editor said:

For anyone reading this, citing Google Maps for neighborhood names and boundaries is the least convincing argument you can make.  Google Maps is notoriously unreliable when it comes to these sorts of things.  It's tragic that real-world people use Google as an authority for anything, let alone geography.  One example among many: As Google Maps Renames Neighborhoods, Residents Fume.

For sure, but it does provide a good point of reference for the most part. In this instance, putting in “East Downtown” highlights what is recognized as the traditional borders of EaDo (the area south of 59, east of 45, and west of the BNSF line). I by no means intended to cite it as an absolute authority, though, so your point is well taken.

1 hour ago, editor said:

Thanks for bringing this up.  I only get to your end of the world to buy pottery, load up on Chinese food, and to visit the tree museum.  I hope to visit more often once the weather improves and I get more free time.

You should come to this side of town more often! I’ll buy you a beer at Moon Tower if you do. .

1 hour ago, editor said:

That makes sense.  I'll make the change.

Thanks!

Just noticed that the previous East End subforum has been renamed. I’ve got to take issue with how it is listed now. By putting “EaDo” in parentheses immediately after the East End, it suggests that it is an alternate name for the entire East End. In reality, the area known as EaDo and the area known as the East End overlap little, if at all. Look at the Google Maps borders for each neighborhood, and the territory of each respective management district. 

I think a better name for the subforum would be “EaDo, the East End, and East Houston.” 

For the record, I have no issue with the name EaDo, but we in the East End have been fighting the reckless application of that name to the entire East End by developers and real estate agents over the last 10 years. As users and members of this forum, I’d like to think we are more in tune with the borders of the various neighborhoods/areas of this city than the average individual and could be a bit more careful in not contributing to a further blurring of those lines.

(Also, it seems like the East End forum is constantly being moved further down the list, but I guess that’s a separate issue)

They’re putting up a tall metal fence around this building, including the parking lot in the back. Certainly makes it less inviting from the sidewalk.

I thought there was supposed to be a cafe or some other small retail going in here? 

4 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

 

A rendering of Paradise Palace's exterior from Google Maps. Paradise Palace is one of at least two new retail tenants opening soon at East Village, Ancorian's mixed-use development in EaDo.

 

That looks so incredibly cheesy. 

On 5/2/2022 at 8:53 AM, samagon said:

neat.

if it is apartments, it will say 'conveniently located near light rail station'.

once the trees next to the soccer stadium grow in a bit, it won't be that bad of a walk to the stations in the summer, but that's not an enticing walk in my opinion. 

That’s a four block walk at most. The trees over near the Stadium actually provide a decent amount of shade. The trees by Circuit are a bit more sparsely situated, but once they mature will provide good shade on that side as well. 

Maybe I’ve become desensitized due to walking my high-energy dog all over the damn place all the time, but that doesn’t seem like that bad of a walk at all.

26 minutes ago, ljchou said:

I haven't seen anything. Is it just the empty lot you're referring to?

There was some activity on site a while back. I think they were breaking up an old commercial building foundation? It looked like they were getting ready to start construction, but not much has happened since.

2 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

Yes, I'm fully aware the purpose neighborhood forums serve on this site. If you haven't noticed, I also share updates here and there that may seem insignificant to some but helpful to others. So, I understand the purpose.

I’ve definitely noticed, I think I speak for most people here when I say that we appreciate your contributions.

On 4/30/2022 at 6:45 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

I didn't know if that was considered newsworthy or not to create a thread about it, so I didn't.

I’d say any new use for a large commercial building along a major street in an up-and-coming area is worth a post. That’s kind of the whole point of these smaller neighborhood categories in this forum. 

It’s ok that @ljchou posted about it first, you don’t have to be the one to break every bit of news here.

For what it’s worth, I see this as what it is: a proactive move to plan ahead of the I-45 reroute project to make sure they maintain a presence in the immediate area. This is a rather large facility (especially compared to their present operation), so there should be plenty of room to build it out for a tap room, etc. in the near future.

Went here last night. Cool space, and it’s pretty neat how it backs up to the woods by the bike path and Bayou. It’s a fairly unique atmosphere in Houston in that sense, the only thing similar I can think of offhand is The Dunlavy. 

Predictably, the parking situation is awful. There are people parking anywhere they can fit, the streets were almost impassable, and some driveways of the homes in the immediate vicinity were partially blocked. I’d hate to be a homeowner in that area: it used to be something of an enclave, but now it’s chaotic and claustrophobic (at least on the weekends).

On 2/26/2022 at 6:06 PM, JBTX said:

Was only a matter of time.

I certainly don’t have a problem with more market-rate density in the area.

Garrow St. is relatively narrow at that point (with the other cross street, Nagle, being even worse) so if it was something retail-oriented I’m not sure that would work well. Plus, the proximity to the Rusk Academy would restrict what kind of tenants could go in any development there.

On 2/15/2022 at 9:31 AM, clutchcity94 said:

Did Bank OZK buy the land or lease?

The law firm on the second floor of the building had purchased the building back in 2016 from Jim Crane. There was a financial services company on the first floor that had an existing lease, so maybe their lease was finally up?

Or maybe the law firm sold the building, I haven’t spoken with anyone from there in several months. I’ll try to gather some intel.

7 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Are you expecting this new distribution center to be something other than a windowless warehouse next to a yard of 18 wheelers?  Are you expecting it to contribute to its neighborhood in any way other than providing jobs? 

No, but it will be way out in Tomball instead of just outside of downtown in a developing neighborhood. There are plenty of windowless warehouses next to yards of 18 wheelers out in the suburbs so it will fit right in.

9 hours ago, sapo2367 said:

Looking in HCAD the new ownership seems to be Concept Neighborhood -- the same people who own two other lots down the street

That’s great news. Canal and Commerce have tremendous potential as a pedestrian-friendly, walkable corridor with all of these developments in the works.

There has been an uptick in activity at this site, mostly inside the warehouse. I’ve seen vans and work trucks there on a daily basis. I even spotted a Houston BCycle truck there the other day, which was a bit odd.

The framework on this went up pretty quick, but the overall footprint is a bit smaller than I expected.

13 hours ago, phillip_white said:

That's a bummer. To be honest, I haven't stopped by since late summer so I'll have to go throw them some dollars sometime soon.

I go there maybe every other Thursday evening with my dog (it’s technically the closest dog park to me). It’s always kind of dead on what is usually one of the prime happy hour days. 

8 minutes ago, apendido said:

I hope their caskets can float. 

I’ve always found the generic name to be almost sinister, like an evil company in a video game angling to take over the world or something. I guess Service Corporation International has a better ring to it than Dead People ‘r’ Us or whatever.

I find it fascinating that maybe 90% of the population has no idea what industry the company is in, and I’m sure funeral services would be one of the least likely guesses.

19 hours ago, samagon said:

Valesco and Garrow. probably the same distance as the ones you reference.

then you can go south to McKinney and turn east or west and find plenty of townhomes.

If we want to improve density in this area, we need more than 10-12 townhomes every five or so blocks. It especially makes sense to build more townhomes in this immediate area due to the proximity to the Coffee Plant/Second Ward Station for the Green Line.

Once you cross the tracks and hit McKinney, you’ve entered EaDo, which if anything has a bit of an over-saturation of townhomes. 

13 hours ago, wilcal said:

Nah, you win by about 500 feet actually. Yours only about 1,000 feet. That still is pretty far, though. 

I forgot that New Hope has retail space that is empty. Going to take more than a couple of townhomes, but hopefully we'll get that filled in, too. 

Precisely.

25 minutes ago, editor said:

Maybe because they draw in other businesses.

If a big  chain sees potential in an area, other companies will follow.  This isn't just a theory, it's how a lot of retail works.  For example, when a new mall scores an Apple Store, other stores will fall all over themselves to get a space there, too.  It's why retail real estate developers sometimes have fake almost-Apple Stores drawn into their renderings.  It brings in interest from others.

Back in my college marketing classes, we learned that one of the diner chains (Denny's, I think) famously did zero location research.  It just built next to Holiday Inns whenever it could.  It piggybacked off of the hotel's research.

Oh I understand all that, I’m just not sure the “chain restaurant commonly found on the feeder road of I-45” is the direction that would be best for the East End to go.

Admittedly, I’m probably a bit more invested in what happens with the Olshan property than most because I live two blocks away. A touristy theme restaurant would probably be the worst case scenario in terms of what could go there.

If it’s on the bottom floor of a mixed use development with other retail, that’s perfectly fine. I’m just worried about other inner-loop Landry’s locations like the Saltgrass and Cadillac Bar on Shepherd, and the accompanying acre of parking.

39 minutes ago, samagon said:

I don't consider Landry's Seafood to fit in either of those categories, it fits in a 3rd category: bland food.

Saltgrass isn't really a luxury experience.

there's a ton of other restaurants as part of the Landry's experience, I definitely find most of their food 'safe' and by safe, I mean bland.

however, for Landry's to toss anything in the east end is a big win for the area, so many do enjoy and respect the food from the group.

Why on earth would you consider chain restaurants with a touristy ambiance that serve “bland” food to be “a big win for the area”? The bland people who like bland food that frequent these restaurants almost exclusively live out in the suburbs, and fortunately there are plenty of locations out in those areas for anything in the Fertitta portfolio.

I could maybe see something of a customer base for people coming “into the city” to go to an Astros game or whatever, but if that’s the case why wouldn’t they want to try something new instead of the same bland, basic options they have out in Spring or whatever?

Crews have been very active at this site over the last few weeks. Drove by yesterday and there were new overhead doors being installed at the Rusk end of the property. They were also in the process of putting in a new, wider sidewalk.

12 hours ago, wilcal said:

Did you mean Transit-Oriented Development? Walkable Places isn't in effect in this area. As I mentioned above, TOD literally ends across the street right now. 

Some developers have opted-in to Walkable Places even if they are outside as well. Honestly, both would be great. 

The letter characterizes it as a “symbolic opt-in” to be subject to the Walkable Places Ordinance. It does not mention TOD at all.

Only drawback to work from home is I don’t have access to a scanner. I’m actually going into the office tomorrow, so I’ll try to scan the letter and post it here.