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kzseattle

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Everything posted by kzseattle

  1. Unfortunately, it is similar to Uptown Park. Actually, Uptown park is slightly more pedestrain-oriented. In T&C, parking lots are even bigger. The buildings in T&C, however, do look nice. As I have often complained, I am tired of over-sized parking lots and waiting for the day when a developer wakes up, smells the coffee, realizes people are getting sick of huge parking lots and builds something that is truely pedestrain-oriented.
  2. Since you specifically stated "suburban slums OUTSIDE the Loop", are you implying that everything outside the Loop is a slum and that there are no slums inside the Loop? I also don
  3. So if The Woodlands with an average household income of $85,253 is a "middle class" neighborhood who cannot even afford to buy at Central Market, who do you think Central Market is after? Only those who live in River Oaks? Well then I am surprised they havnt gone out of business yet since thats a very tiny market! Central Market isn't Hermes or Versace. I am sure that, before spending millions of dollars on their store, they did some market research to determine if they will be affordable.
  4. Just because Boeing was relocating its headquarters didnt mean they were creating/moving jobs too. The manufacturing and R&D sites where bulk of Boeing jobs are stayed in Seattle and elsewhere. I think only about a couple of hundreds administrative jobs moved to Chicago. However, it does help the prestige of a city when a company like Boeing is based there although it stayed in Seattle for so long that in the minds of most people Seattle is still the Boeing city.
  5. As for height restrictions, I think that even if we had zoning it wouldnt impose height restrictions in an area like downtown. It could do so in other residential areas such as the Heights (how coincidental) or West U. Apparently, however, the neighborhood associations in those areas have already been successful at stopping a couple of high-rise projects anyway.
  6. How would the absence of zoning define who would be able to live in downtown? I thought zoning only dictate whether a particular lot should be used for commercial or residential purpose. Does it also dictate, for example, whether an affordable residential project can be built next to a high-end complex? I would assume that aspect is governed primarily by market forces. If the land in downtown is expensive, which it is, that would ensure that only those who can afford to live there would do so. Since families typically prefer to live in single family homes with backyards and such, this factor would ensure that mostly singles, young childless couples or retired couples would choose to live in downtown. I may be wrong but then I dont know that much about zoning laws.
  7. Just went to Kasra since it's closest to where I live. The ambiance is elegant enough. However, I found the food to be a bit bland for my taste. Also, I think the portions are a bit small. I would try Fadi's and Garson as well. By the way, the parking lot in that retail center is huge! I am not sure if they need that much parking but oh well! Houston got too much parking space all around.
  8. Thanks LowBrow! I am kinda surprised that there is an upscale restaurant on Hillcroft! Someone recommended Kasra too. I guess that, for me, food comes first and then the ambiance. I just dont want to end up in a really rundown place. As long as the sitting is decent, I am ok with that. Thanks again for the quick response!
  9. I am looking for a nice middle eastern restaurant with good ambience and great food for tonight. Please help with your recommendations!
  10. Hmmm, I have heard of the one that's planned at BW 8 and Pearland Parkway. The one for which I posted the link was planned for BW 8 and 288. Are you saying that yet another one is being proposed at 288 near 518? That would make it the third potential Lifestyle center in Pearland area!
  11. Agghh! I would HATE to see CVS going up at such a prime spot, considering that it is supposed to be the ground zero of West Houston. But, hey, if we can have the smutty Zone D' Erotica right in the heart of Uptown, the pesky CVS wouldnt be a surprise!
  12. because these days MidtownCoog is LondonCoog Seriously, though, there is always something to be learnt from other cities. Talking about urban density, London has some ideas of its own.
  13. Yes but I think Leistcher Square and its alleys are mostly pedestrain-oriented. London is indeed very dense because of extensive street-level retail and narrow roads. The buildings are tightly packed and streets are filled with people. I always enjoyed walking into a random alley and gazing at the buildings as each building is unique. It is tough to say which city is more dense/lively: New York or London. They both come pretty close.
  14. Does anyone know where that expansion of Uptown Park retail center is gonna happen? Is it across the street on Uptown Blvd? I remember there is an empty lot there.
  15. I believe he is referring to River Oaks. It is indeed one of the wealthiest regions in the country although I am not sure if is the wealthiest. I did read it someplace that Memorial is the fourth wealthiest zip code in the country and we know River Oaks is wealthier than Memorial.
  16. I drove to west Midtown for the first time today. Actually, it was the first time I was east of Kirby Drive on Westheimer. From Tattoo Parlors to upscale restaurants, that part of Westheimer is indeed pretty eclectic. Since it was Saturday evening, every other restaurant/bar seemed packed. In Midtown, I covered Brazos, Smith and Bagby between Elgin and Gray, and returned to Kirby via Gray. It is easy to tell the area is in transition. At one point, you are in a dense urban region of new townhomes/condos/apartments and then suddenly you see vacant lots, warehouses and old houses. It doesn
  17. Some interesting facts about Uptown Houston: - It is about the size of downtown Atlanta, Denver and Los Angeles! - Per capita income in Uptown of $65,000 is higher than Beverley Hills and Costa Mesa, California - Williams Towers is the tallest building in the world outside of a CBD (claim is disputed though) - Galleria is the fifth largest mall in America in term of retail space, second largest in term of number stores and largest in terms prestige and luxury. - There are 30 high-rise apartment buildings in the vicinity of Uptown - Uptown hosts 20 millions visitors a year. Source - Wikipedia
  18. This is what I thought too. These developers have prime spots along the creek and they are wasting them with building just generic strip centers with their back facing the water. Couldnt they think of a water-front development with cafes, restuarants fronting the creek?
  19. Grand Parkway or no Grand Parkway, let's rebuild the inner city roads first. That can be done at a fraction of the cost of Grand Parkway!
  20. I know a new retail center, aka strip mall, is being built on West Alabama and Sage. However, there is other construction going on as well so not sure which you are referring to.
  21. A recent arcticle on another lifestyle center in Pearland! http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/sto.../10/story5.html
  22. So developers see Houston as a gamble because of no zoning laws so they are reluctant to build new things. Yet, there is a strong opposition to anything that smacks of zoning! What gives?
  23. Well said! This is what I had in mind too. While I think that there could be better locations for Fry's store as in a nicer area, I do not think that potential customers avoid it just because of its current location. I say this simply because those customers simply do not have a better choice. Fry's is unlike Best Buy/Circuit City due its large selection of merchandise. Now if there were another Fry's store in Sugarland, then most residents of Sugarland would surely prefer that one. I think Fry's chose its current location simply because of higher exposure and accessibility (close to two freeways and central location in SW Houston to draw customers of all kinds, rich AND poor). However, I also think that people who live in nicer areas generally do have a tendency to avoid shopping or going into areas with questionable reputation. However, they have that option only with regards to places like Kroger/Randall, Barnes & Nobles, Best Buy, and Starbucks etc because of increased availability of those businesses. As for a specialty store like Fry's on SW freeway, people from Sugarland would still go there because there are only a few of them, it is located right on the feeder road and people go there strictly for business (better prices, larger selection) and not for shopping experience/hanging out (as in a mall or restaurant).
  24. There is empty land on the western side of Buffalo Speedway between Westheimer and Richmond. This is prime real estate sitting vacant. Is anything happening down there? By the way, which part of midtown is seeing most development so far? I drove north on Main Street coming from TMC. The area between TMC and 59 is, of course, nice. However, once I had passed under 59 and entered Midtown, I didnt notice any of the new constructions everyone is talking about. I drove until Alabama, turned east and returned via Fannin since I didnt have much time but just wanted to take a quick look. I did see a new condo building on Fannin, just south of Alabama.
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