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capnmcbarnacle

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Everything posted by capnmcbarnacle

  1. Sounds like you got it right. It's just a shame that when you stand in the park you get the ass end -- a very unwelcoming and ugly end -- of that building. At least from a park visitior's perspective, no view was better than that view.
  2. I have been watching this sucker go up everyday, and yesterday I had the opportunity to drive past through the park from the North. It looks like this building is facing the South -- away from the park -- and overlooking an ugly stretch of downtown. The back of the building -- with one window in the middle of each floor -- faces the park. It is the most unwelcoming, ugly blob. I don't want to sound too shrill, but suffice to say it doesn't make the park experience more inviting. I'm sure there is a reason they faced the building away from the park, maybe because of access issues involved with not owning the entire lot. But crap. It reminds me of the back of ther Mercer. Anyone know why they would face the building away from the park and toward the electrical substation?
  3. I suppose I have become a littel skeptical of the "destruction of our beloved Mom & Pops" angle the more I think about it. I'm not so sure that Wal-Mart takes away from small independent businesses as much as it takes away from other large retailers (at least in this setting, I think the Wal-Mart effect on small towns is a different story). A friend of mine and I discussed the kinds of things one regularly purchases at Wal-Mart, and what Mom and Pop we would buy them from in lieu of purchase at Wal-Mart. We asked each other where we would shop today for the following items. We found that a bunch of the stuff WalMart sells is stuff we'd buy at Kroger, Home Depot, Target, Academy, Sears etc. If anyone cares to help us out, let me know what Mom and Pops you go to now to purchase the following items which will be available at WalMart. 1. Television. 2. Six pack of tube socks. 3. Video game. 4. DVD. 5. Pair of filp-flops. 6. Shotgun shells. 7. Sleeping bag. 8 Inflatable kiddie pool. 9. Four new tires. 10. Lawnmower. 11. Swingset. 12. Laundry detergent. 13. Outdoor Christmas lights. 14. Cell phone. 15. Igloo cooler. What Mom and Pop businesses are really around anymore -- Antigues, second hand clothing, pottery and art galleries, quality clothing and jewelery? Is what's left of the Mom and Pop stores something that has a need to fear WalMart at all? With the exception of hardware (a dying breed) isn't most of what is purchased at WalMart already purchased by the consumer at other, albeit specialized, big box stores like Circuit City or Home Depot or Academy? Don't know. Just curious how some of you might answer.
  4. I'm just happy that I'll have a place inside the loop to by shotgun shells at a low, low everyday price because as much as I love the mom and pop gun stores, they get away with charging an extra $3 per box.
  5. That is great! I drive out there from Montrose to eat and shop sometimes. I'll go downtown now. What a great call. I realize this will be smaller store, but assuming the selection is still solid they will draw inner loopers to shop. I couldn't imagine a scenario where I would drive downtown to buy groceries but this just created one. Great pickup.
  6. I am watching this sucker go up and it looks like they are just finishing the 45th floor. There is one more on top of this and then the roof. About 40 or so feet to go by my guess -- equivilent of four floors.
  7. When you drive down Allen Parkway and enter downtown where it becomes Dallas, it is becoming noticeable. From an infill standpoint it is nice to see some height down at the end of the street. Dallas terminates into the convntion center and the street has now really filled in with this building, as well as the 3 blocks of Pavillions. Put it this way, it wasn't more than a few years ago that the last five blocks of Dallas before the convention center felt barren. The height of the hotel at the end of the street has the effect of "lengthening" the street. As a veteran of that part of DT, it's amazing to think of that area before the park, Hilton, Embassy, Park Place, Hess, Houston Center 5, Pavillions, etc.
  8. Just an observation... I can see this building out of my window and expected them to start on the indented floors a couple of floors ago. I think that the floor numbers on the exterior service elevators do not correspond with the floor numbers in the renderings from Hines. There has been some comment that this building looked shorter than we thought but maybe this is part of the issue.
  9. I would like to see a new rendering, as the footprint of the building looks awfully small to me. But, I like that what appears to be the tower footprint is set back in the corner and there is a lot of space facing the park. I'm guessing they may put pool deck or something on a second floor that covers the area facing the park. Anyone know?
  10. I predict the cranes will move up over the weekend. They're about to finish a floor and look like they'd run into the lower crane with then next floor.
  11. How many units are there now anyway? Wait... I think I just found it. 67 units there now. So whatever traffic that place generates now, it will be about 3.25 times more with Ashby...
  12. That's how they got it permitted. Retail obviously means much more traffic thatn 216 apartment units. Of course, there's no telling how many cars a walkable retail option keep off the road... The traffic impact assesssment said something like 120 trips per hour at peak times. A drop in the bucket. But people will freak out and show what this has been about all along -- having a 26 story tower in your backyard. It's never been about the traffic, it's about people not wanting a tower looming (with scary arms and everything!!) over your house. Can't say I blame them, but they should have put a height restriction on that property before these guys bought it. .
  13. In the anecdotal evidence department, I was invited to a Birthday dinner at Guadalajara on Saturday. Keep in mind that this is for a bunch or current and former (moved to the burbs) inner loopers. I'm not sure who came up with this place or how, but it struck me as interesting that a Pavillion restaurant got tabbed over any numbber of the other usual Inner Loop haunts. I hope this is a sign that this place will actually draw people who live 10-15 minutes away from downtown instead of just staying in Montrose, Heights, etc. The difficulty with downtown restaurants has always been that to attract close-in residents,as those residents had to drive past half a dozen great places to get to the downtown spot.
  14. I had alway heard early on that they weren't in the loop simply because the rents were too high for them. This would certainly provide them with a great opportunit to jump in but I wonder if their business model can work with a single screen? I'd love to see this place turn back into a real theatre of some kind.
  15. For those of us keeping score at home, it looks like they took a building that was near 100% occupancy, and replaced it with a building that they can't get filled up. Suffice to say the plans for the rest of the center are on a long hold.
  16. An article about bookstop closing and moving to the new building. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/heights/news/6558890.html After stating that they have no plans to redo anything else and are fine with the status quo, the Weingarten rep delivers this gem... “We're very healthy there and very excited about what's going on there,” Harvey said. “If you disregard the new development section, almost every space in the shopping center is taken.”
  17. I feel the way I do about any other big adverising sign. That's all it is to me, the same as the old "Rice Hotel" sign I see out my window, or the old Gulf Oil sign, or any other big sign or billboard. Some I like, some I don't. Some has content that might offend me, some doesn't. I'm sure there are plenty of Baptists who hate the big Budweiser signs on the brewery and distributorships but there ought to be some distinction between disliking what the sign advertises and disliking the design of the sign. St. Joseph chose a cross to advertise themselves, or mark their affiliation, or attract a certain clientele. I understand that people get sensitive about religion, but I think lots of people are confusing the aesthetic of the object with the symbolism of the object. If they had installed a big Caduceus (The doctor emblem with the pin and wings and snakes) would you feel different? I think some of us would still think it is out of scale etc., but others of us who dislike the cross would be ok with it. I don't feel strongly about the addtion one way or another. It evokes a shoulder shrug when I go by.
  18. The sky is all purple, but I don't see people running everywhere. I give this an A+ for ambition and/or sarcasm. I have to believe the illustrator realized that the only thing that is ever really going to happen here is maybe repaving of the sidewalks to make them squiggly, some flower beds, and purple or pink street signs. But hey, if you're asked to draw an idea I guess this works.
  19. Don't look now, but this thread is at risk of becoming complementary and optimistic toward HP. Stop it right now. We didn't have 237 pages of negativity in order to thow it all away because the office space got leased, House of Blues is booming, and Lucky Strike is actually going to open. Somebody throw in a downer of a post! Don't you know that "Lidz" didn't make it!!!!
  20. It's a gator. I've seen a few down there, but that guy was the largest. Probably 6-7 feet, but they always look bigger when you are in the water with them. We just cruised right past him and he slid into the water as we went by. Kind of spooky. I haven't seen as many snakes as I'd expect down there, but lots of turtles and saw a coyote once. And before everyone says it was a dog, there was an article awhile back about TPWD trying to trap coyotes in the loop that were snagging poodles in River Oaks. The architecture of the old viaducts downtown is cool -- lots of interesting structures that are visible from the water under the underpasses. Brick walls, arches, etc. There are some great beaches to stop and hang out at in the park too. They're off the trail and nobody is around. And, best as I can tell, it's legal to drink beer on the water as it's a navigable waterway. If more people knew what a few of us know, you'd see people using it like crazy. To be honest, I kind of like it as it is.
  21. I do it every year. It's aweseome. It's more polluted downstream, then up. The section through memorial park and river oaks would surprise you. Look in the photo section wehre I posted some photos a year ago. It's a cool trip. I think this will link you... http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/index.php?showtopic=15519
  22. In April, I talke to the canoe guys that are supposed to have the concession. He said they'd be in next summer.
  23. I get irritated when people park in front of my house to walk to commerical businesses near my house. Mostly it's beacause they park in the middle of the curb cut and take up 2 spaces with 1 car. But I don't own the street and anyone can park there. It's an interesting phenomenon that we feel a sense of entitlement to the public parking in front of our homes. That being said, when faced with the option of people parking in front of my house to walk to restaurants and bars that I also walk to, or having no cars on the street to impede my drive to Fudruckers, I'll take the former. Parking will always be an issue in our neighborhood. Not everyone who wants to go to the places here lives withing walking distance. The way I see it there are the following options: 1. Require the business to adhere to the code, forcing them to acquire and scrape away a few bungalows for surface parking ala The Tavern. 2. Complain about on street parking until the businesses leave, and then moan about how "non-walkable" Houston is. 3. Use eminent domain to increase the width of the right of ways. You know, so you can park on both sides and still get two lanes of traffic down the middle. It'll only take part of you front yard anyway. 4. Accept that part of living in a desirable urban neighborhood is that other people want to drive to your house and walk around where you live. I have a place in the French Quarter and no parking place. It's not unusual for me to walk a number of blocks from my car to the apartment because other people park on the street. Imagine the quarter if we required every restaurant or hole in the wall bar to have 10 spaces for each 1000 feet. It would cease to exist. If you want businesses you can walk to, along with some neighborhood character, I think on street parking is the trade off.
  24. I always like seeing what is under the ground. All those piers make me wonder what used to be there. Anyone know? Also, in the pics and video there is a big concrete ball and a red or orange circular structure taht looks like a well or somehting. Anyone that has seen this up close know what it is?
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