gwilson

Actually, I spotted a report on the news several months ago that compared incidences of violent crime at various malls around town. Sharpstown was the worst, with 80-something incidences. The next worst was Greenspoint with 17 or 18. The best was Gulfgate, with 3 incidences, which is very convenient to and draws from some of Pasadena.

That's assuming, of course, that a resident of Sharpstown wants to go to those places. Everywhere is convenient to somewhere. I'm not going to argue over what is convenient for you.

I'd love to see those statistics because every set of numbers I look at show Sharpstown on a whole being a virtually violent crime free area.

Sharpstown and Pasadena might be a mile difference between each other and downtown, but it is infinitely easier to get to downtown from Sharpstown.

Sharpstown is also far more family friendly (in the neighborhoods). No one understands the crap on the main streets more than I do. I'm quite involved in trying to get rid of the trash and improve Sharpstown. Part of those efforts are underway on the SW Corridor (Bellaire from 59 to 8).

Sharpstown mall isn't dangerous. It just isn't. You can go there any time, any hour. If dangerous means cars with rims and more black people than white people, than sure. But if by dangerous, you mean you are more likely to get hurt, mugged, murdered there, you're simply wrong.

You've got to look past the misconceptions.

Yes, I know I talk a lot about Sharpstown. But I love it and that love doesn't blind either.

Also, Sharpstown's proximity to Westchase, Sugarland, mid-town, uptown, the Galleria, the museum district, Montrose, etc (all SW side) adds quite a bit to Sharpstown's score card over Pasadena.

Pot, meet kettle.

Hmmm... in a battle between "pasa-figgen-dena" and Sharpstown, which would be better-suited for the title Armpit of Houston?

Pasadena is out of the way and stinks. Sharpstown is convenient with beautiful neighborhoods.

It really is funny how ignorant people are of what Sharpstown actually is.

As it is my goal to one day have my name (or my company name on a building), this would be GREAT (if it weren't in pasa-friggen-dena).

Gorgeous building.

I think it would be AWESOME to renovate it and build the office spaces out like the mid 50s and 60s (like Ewan Mcgregor's character's office in Down with Love).

That would be great.

Holy crap. I cannot believe some of the posts in this thread.

Technology a weapon against a fascist dictatorship? Do you really think that EMAILS could have brought down Hitler with no way to PHYSICALLY depose him? And do you think that he would not put limits on the ability of the people to communicate to organize opposition?

The only form of gun control that should ever be considered is background checks. If someone is a felon or a diagnosed mentally ill person (that doesn't mean just depression), they should not be allowed to purchase firearms. Even that I'm not certain would stop crime. The felon or mentally ill person, if they wanted to kill someone, would just kill them another way.

Gun control is unconstitutional. It is that simple. The populous is expected to maintain it's own defenses as a check against the government so that the government knows it cannot operate without possible recourse. Simply put we are expected by the Constitution to depose our government if it starts violating the Constitution.

There are a plethora of one liner arguments against gun control, and all of them are valid for the most part.

Gun violence at the hands of criminals is not a reason to remove firearms from the hands of law abiding citizens. It is counter intuitive.

I guess Mr. Perry has forgotten that the guy who killed my friend and boss Chris Marshall in the Tarrant County Courthouse on July 1, 1990 was a "law abiding" former lawyer, who would have qualified for a concealed handgun permit had they been available in 1990.

Do you seriously believe that this guy wouldn't have used other means to carry out the act if he couldn't get his hands on a gun? Knifings are pretty dern common too.

That's great, since my comments have nothing to do with those that died. It has to do with the ridiculousness of a fundraiser.

Bullshit. ----^

You sir (and others here) are victims of our national victim mentality.

There is no rational reason for a fund raiser for them outside of covering funeral costs.

You might find it in poor taste, but it doesn't mean it isn't right.

I am not speaking down about the victims, I just don't see a rational reason for a fund raiser. I don't see how it will benefit the victims families (aside from funeral costs).

We live in a country where it seems money cures everything. It doesn't.

I feel for the families, I just don't see where a fund raiser will benefit them.

If you think this fund raiser is for anything other than driving ticket sales, you're gullible.

Political correctness is a crock, deal with it.

Why do they need a fundraiser?

Unless it is to pay for the funerals of the kids, it is retarded to have a fund raiser.

Not saying this isn't done, but I don't think it is the case.

They don't just go in and cut the trees down. They have to remove the stumps as well which is a fairly costly process on large pieces of land. I get an acre cleared and stumped (in the footprint) for around $7,000. The price gets much higher when you go over an acre.

I've never heard of anyone bartering lumber though. We don't live in much of a "lumber" market area for someone to offer to do that.

I will admit my ignorance though since I've never cleared more than two acres at a time. And if such companies exist, I'd like to find out who they are. I'd save a lot of money.

NOt sure what to say if those responses are truly from the mouths of NewQuest. I can't imagine it is a sound business move in general. I wouldn't spend the money clear cutting it if I didn't know what I was going to use it for. Seems like a waste of money.

Anyone have any pics of the tunnels?

lol@ Olshan. They still use that logo today. Ron Stone does their commercials.

thank you michael richards.

People who accuse others of racism without merrit are just as bad as actual racists. His comment was in NO way racist.

The last time I was at the 'Nugget was for a Gordie Brown show just about this time last year (I think he has since moved to the Venetian). It certainly needed a face lift. It had lost it's mid-century charm and was full on horrid 70's from the wallpaper to the carpet. I can't even imagine what the rooms were like.

I'd love to see it returned to it's original charm.

That being said, I think a GREAT idea for a 'Vegas resort would be a return to the Rat Pack/Bugsy era Vegas. From the finishes, to the uniforms, to the architecture. Modern amenities in a 1950's package. It would be nice if it even had a dress code (slacks and shirt minimum/jacket and tie preferred for men and skirt/dress for women).

I, for one, would visit often.

Malcolm X high is the same as Robert E. Lee? Give me a break.

Simply being associated with the confederacy doesn't equal being a racist.

And the war wasn't fought over slavery and the south wasn't the slavery homeland. The north had just as many slaves and slavery became a polarizing issue only near the end of the war after the emancipation (up until that point, slavery was still legal and heavily practiced in the north).

It amazes me how ignorant of history people are.

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but...

Bambolino's Pizza.

The drive through pizza places with the little patios that had the best pizza and breadsticks in town and also had the best frozen lemonade.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm I used to frequent the Beechnut/Bissonett location.

Yay for the 9,000 square foot row house? lol

Even if the owners designed it, the builder should have piped up and done their job by advising their client on the mistakes they were making. It is possible they did this and the clients were just dead set, but who knows.

$150 a foot is very cheap. We build closer to $300 (or more depending on spec or contract), but considering materials and finishes we use, it makes sense.

We build all over town. Primarily the Woodlands right now though. We are starting some 15 new projects in the next few months ranging from Rivercrest (Westheimer & Gessner super estate area), Afton Oaks, Bellaire, Magnolia, Memorial, etc.

I really don't understand why builders create such large PLAIN homes. Do you really think you will last long building 6,000+ sf homes at $150 a foot? Style, layout and appeal sell homes, not square footage.

7,000 is the smallest of the homes I'm working on, and every one of them has intuitive and creative layouts and finishes. It helps that we work with an amazingly talented architect.

bump

Hey guys,

I need to find some high res shots of the Arena Towers. I've tried Google Image Search to no avail, was hoping you guys might be able to help.

Thanks in advance.

That expensive? If so, this area of the Monopoly board is probably becoming off-limits to anything but this level of development from here on out. With land so high, who could afford to build a 1-story strip center? If this is successful, I would expect more of the same near Richmond, especially if the rail runs there. Then again, there might be a limited supply of buyers at this price level so similar projects might be sparse.

It was just a guess on the price. Considering a large lot in Sharpstown is at the 10mm mark, I'd imagine it would be a bit pricier at Kirby & Westy.

the land for this project is actually on a 75 year ground lease. probaly valued around $65-$70 a foot. The costs are prohibitive, but the players in this arena do know how to do a project right. Its exciting to see how many quality developments are in the works for houston.

I assume this is a rental building then?

In essence it will be a 2400 McCue-esque residential with a Post-Midtown first/second floor? That is awesome.

I'd love to develop something like this, but wouldn't even know where to begin to raise the money for one. The land cost alone is probably 20 million-ish.

I checked that building out a few weeks ago and looked at one of the penthouse units. It was nice, but the layout was unimpressive. They could have done some better design. I do know the entire top floor, save for this unit, was occupied by royalty and staff from some middle eastern nation.

The young lady that showed me around was quite fetching though. Gorgeous in fact.

Does anyone remember Hanna-Barbara Land? I seem to recall it, and that it had a ride you could stand on. Somewhere out towards sugarland maybe?

or was I imagining things?