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largeTEXAS

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largeTEXAS last won the day on September 19 2013

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  1. The ceilings are enormous. Maybe 25' or more. Can't wait to see it all shined up. The build out is going to be sick!
  2. Nah, food hall will be at the corner of Main and Rusk, the original Sakowitz space. It's gonna be gooooorgeous!
  3. Any idea what's being built here? (This is just east of the main Hardy Yards site along Maury Street between Burnett and Leona: https://www.google.com/maps/place/1498+Maury+St,+Houston,+TX+77020/@29.7745499,-95.3507772,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x8640b92ad6f2502d:0x800a1d7798380771!8m2!3d29.7740896!4d-95.3496499
  4. There's gonna be a parking garage built next to this.
  5. I don't understand this renovation at all. While the interior probably improved, the exterior is way worse! Still can't believe how horrible Studio Red's addition is to the building. So out of scale, such bad material choice. Add colorful LEDs to the mix and you have yourself and hot mess!
  6. I love it! Looks very downtown LA to me. Modern, Minimal, and beautiful. It's about time we start celebrating some of our Modernist heritage!
  7. Well said, shasta. Very slow process, but downtown leaders have been at it since '95/'96, so 20 years now. Numerous efforts by the Downtown District have focused on retail. After numerous starts and stops and failed attempts, though, they finally realized residential was the key, thus the Downtown Living Initiative was created. Back when Sakowitz, Foley's, Woolworths, etc. were located downtown, Houston was a much more centralized city with downtown being the center of everything, including retail activity. In the '50s and '60s, the 'burbs in Houston (and the rest of the country) really began taking over. Shopping centers such as Westbury Square ('62) were built, then the Galleria ('72), etc., thus decentralizing Houston's shopping scene. Downtown emptied and became mostly a business center with almost no retail. It took a generation or two for people to want to move back into central cities. SoHo and TriBeCa in the early '70s were, arguably, the first "reverse flight" neighborhoods to populate in the country. Early on in its gentrification, SoHo was just a bunch of cool buildings with a bunch of wacky artists. No retail. Eventually that changed and we know what it's become. Of course, Houston is a little late to this trend, but it's catching on. With Midtown, Montrose, EaDo, the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and 6th Wards gentrifying and developing...and now downtown attracting residential, retail will finally happen. This time it will be sustainable. It's an exciting time for Houston. More "luxury" residential will mean more and better retail; more and better retail will mean more luxury residential. Over the next few years you'll start seeing some great retail open downtown. Everything the HDMD has done and is doing will attract retail. They should keep the gas on until the 3rd Whole Foods and 2nd Cartier open up downtown, but, I'd argue, the focus should start shifting towards creating affordable housing. That's the next big frontier in the central city.
  8. This has probably been mentioned, but ran across this the otha' day: I don't know much about the project, just saw it. Looks like they're trying to expand the world's finest under-freeway amusement park!
  9. I was at Permitting last week and saw rolls and rolls of plans with the name "Kirby Collection" scrolled on them piled up in the waiting room. They must have had a dozen expeditors running around to different depts..
  10. I thought I'd never say anything like this, but, in the case of "Tranquility Park," I think that site would actually be better utilized as a residential tower or mixed use building. City Hall's park is close to being wonderful. Only problem is, it's only partially surrounded by activity. For urban parks to be truly wonderful, I think, they need to have great design and they need to be almost completely surrounded by users that need a green space. Otherwise, homeless are just going to hang out there. I'm also never a fan of parks separated by streets. In this 17-block area, I think downtown should focus on making City Hall Park, Jones Plaza, the plaza in front of Wortham, and Buffalo Bayou and the connections from the street to it the best parks they can be. Do a PPP and sell the air rights over the garage under Tranquility and that little corner extension of Tranquility that faces the back of Bayou Place. Use the money and create even more impressive public spaces in the district; then make sure those green spaces are surrounded by active uses - the theaters (obviously), retail, residents, office users, etc.
  11. The 80's is back and has been for a while now, buddy. Where you been?!? Plus, what year was the GRB built?
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