Avabamse

Does this leave HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) at the original campus on 249?

I agree with Jeebus. Can you be more specific about where you drove on Gessner? I would imagine certain neighborhoods / sections would not share your viewpoint. For example, the section between Hammerly and Clay, which is right in the center of North Gessner in Spring Branch has seen quite a bit of value maintained over the years as well as new value appreciation from recent developments (commercial, residential). Likewise, if you take Hammerly east past Gessner, you will find many homes that have good valuations. These neighborhoods collectively reference themselves as Spring Shadows, but they are in the Spring Branch area. Lastly, with MetroNational's multi-billion dollar project looming on the southside of the freeway from Gessner and newer high-end commercial and residential development drifting west from the Memorial Villages on the northside of the freeway, there is great upside in the area. As I understand, MetroNational has been cobbling large land tracts in this area for years at below market values so that it can make the proper massive redevelopment once the Katy Freeway expansion is completed. Think of all of the people who work in Downtown, the Galleria, Westchase, Greenway Plaza, the Energy Corridor, but they live 20-25+ miles further west in Katy. Memorial is too expensive, but just to the north of there is a great school district (of which Memorial and Stratford are a part) with lots of land to be redeveloped as well as still existing quality neighborhoods... and, hey, best of all, you just shaved 30-45 minutes off of your commute each way! How does the Rolling Stones song go? "Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime ... is on my side. Yes, it is." But go ahead and perpetuate the myth as it makes the land cheaper for those of us buyers out there. Thanks!

While your point on gun controls laws prior to / during the Nazi regime and Hitler is valid under that era, doesn't technology allow people to have access to other forms of weapons? Information via email and the internet as a "weapon" can aid a populace against fascism or dictatorial rule. In present day examples, disidents in China have more hope now than people in comparable situations 75 years ago due to the accessibility of information as a weapon. Only a handful of countries (i.e. Iran and North Korea) have been able to severly restrict information by artificial means. Even then, much of the outside world has ways to get access to what conditions are like within a closed society. I am just unsold on the idea of reasonable gun restrictions leading to severe limitations to my other freedoms. I have yet to hear a reasonable, linear argument on this topic. One of the comments that I heard from a pro-gun representative after Va Tech tragedy was that "if students had guns on campus, then someone would have had the opportunity to go get their gun and reduce the number killed." Wow! FYI - Australia has significant gun control laws and they seem to be doing okay as a society. I have yet to travel there, but no one has told me that they are ruled by fascists.

I think that you have to be careful as to how you read this map. The link that was provided related to one section of the crime beat. Look at this map for 2006 Top 35 Street Blocks (reported by incident). Based on what this person has on his website, I think that his data / map is generally reliable to review in comparison across the city. Houston Crime Maps and Statistics Fact is that crime happens everywhere - urban / suburban / rural (of course, the maps above only cover incidents in the City of Houston). This is something that we all deal with as we are a highly mobile city - going from job center to home to restaurant to visiting family. It comes down to being cautious and smart to avoid being victimized. Separately, I think that Spring Branch has a high upside based on the value of the neighborhoods, location and the exciting projects occurring at Memorial City and CityCentre Houston (old T&C Mall). I grew up in this area and my wife and I have family there still. I plan to personally explore investment possibilities in this area because I think this market is undervalued.