NotYetYuppie
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Posts posted by NotYetYuppie
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Sounds interesting, but the link you posted didn't work - would you mind re-posting?
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Just curious if anyone knew anything going on with this development? I'm sure like many things it is stalled b/c of the economy... But just curious if some of you well-connected types konws anything specific.
Maybe Obama will see it as a shovel-ready project...
Nothing like building a bunch of yuppie townhomes to get the economy going... -
I noticed they have started digging on the lot next to DT - I assume for the garage. Not quite as exciting as a tower, but thought I would make a note... (Sorry if this was already posted).
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I hope the person that made this rendering got the height right in relation to the rest of the skyline. If this is correct, Discovery Tower will make a bigger impact on the skyline than I thought it would. It will make DT look wider from a distance from the north/south. Cool!
I don't know about Discovery Tower, but the Apartments in the picture next to 5 Houston look way bigger than they will be in real life. I work near there, and they are just about out of crane space, so I don't even think it will be as tall as 5 Houston...
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The website says the park opens in April. It looks pretty obvious that they are not going to have the Northeast corner (the pond, etc) finished by Saturday... Unless they start pouring some serious concrete by midnight.
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Did you read the article? Demand was high enough, and the parking garage will be built on the adjacent lot to the east.
Just to clarify - won't the garage be built on a block to the north (one block up LaBranch)? Not trying to be a richard, just want to make sure I understand where the garage would be. The only block that is kind of to the East is where i though the new hotel was going to go.
Also, back to my other question - does this crane sitting in the lot mean anything is right about to happen?
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There was a crane type thing with a big ball on the end of it today on the parking lot. The parking lot was closed off too... interesting?
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The wife and i are going this Friday. There was no problem getting a reservation. I will let everyone know how it goes.
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I like the old green building and the new rendering and that spot is a special one. I think the plans for a canoe rental and cafe there will work.
I think a causal bar on level 1 with lots of outdoor seating would work great. You wouldn't even need that much seating, as people could just mingle in the surrounding area. There was a bar in York, England on the river that I always think of when I think of the sunset building. I guess a big problem is the flooding (if you had the bar on the lowest floor, which is what I think would be nice so that you could have people accumulate around the area).
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Thanks for the info Lucky - that is pretty exciting news. I glance at the site when I am driving on I-10, but it looks to my uneducated eye like they are just moving dirt around.
I wonder what the time frame on this is - sounds like a ways out.
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TAKE THIS FOR WHAT ITS WORTH, but I heard from a reasonably reliable source that the stadium area that is being considered is privately held land south of the MMP parking lot that was previously under consideration. I didn't get exact location, but basically across 59 from GRB.
I gathered that they are in the process of making sure they can acquire all the land they need.
I hope this turns out to be true! Sorry if this is not new news.
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Does anyone hear rumblings about the specific location? Is it stil the Astros parking lot?
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Is this (see article below) the same block that this thread is talking about? If so, looks like a nice hotel.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...iz/5156092.html
Park attracts a hotel tower
Developer plans a 22-story Embassy Suites downtown near Discovery Green, an area growing in popularity
By NANCY SARNOFF
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
A local hotel developer is planning to build a 22-story Embassy Suites near the new downtown park, the latest project to be announced in this suddenly hot area.
American Liberty Hospitality expects to start construction on the 250-room full-service hotel by next summer after it receives final approval for its franchise from Hilton Hotels Corp. and secures financing. The opening is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010.
Nick Massad, president of American Liberty, said he has had preliminary discussions with public officials regarding a tax abatement for the estimated $50 million project, but won't discuss details until the negotiations are further along.
Located at 1515 Dallas at La Branch, the hotel would be near developments such as Discovery Green park, the One Park Place apartment building, the Houston Pavilions retail, office and entertainment complex and two proposed office towers. The George R. Brown Convention Center and Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel are also close by.
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I am attaching some photos I took today of the site. They are certainly working hard... My question is, who is providing the oversight to make sure they are doing a good job of cleaning up the hazardous waste?
The first photo is looking northeast from the southeast corner of the site (near Clinton and Bringhurst). The other photo is looking south near the north entrance (near I-10).
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I was on the BBP website, and they have an updated map showing trails completed and almost completed in the east end. The map is dated January 2007. The trails on the sourth side of the bayou west of Clinton/hirsh should almost be finished all the way to mckee street. Right now, the trails end at mckee street and do not connect directly to the downtown ones, but hopefully they will soon.
They also seem to have acquired several small parcels of land. Hey, its definitely a start!
http://www.buffalobayou.org/documents/ProjectStatusJan07.jpg
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The people at the Downtown YMCA told me that they have bought a lot a couple of blocks away and will move locations in the next couple of years. It will be nice to have a newer, updated YMCA, but I wonder what will happen to the old building?
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I drove by the MDI Superfund site and noticed there are several trucks and tractors in there and they have begun the clean up! The 36 acre site is in between Clinton Dr and I-10, bounded by Bringhurst and (near) Waco Street. (Sorry, no pictures to post).
Not sure what all contaminated the soil, but I know lead was one thing.
Frank Liu bought the site and plans to develop it. I am not sure how long the clean up will take or what the plans are to build - anyone know? (i saw this article, but it gave no details: http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/4926543.html). Hopefully this will be good news for the whole community! Cleaning up hazardous waste is always a good thing... It makes me so happy to see that site cleaned and the new Bruce elementary school being built on Jensen (it used to be right next to the contaminated site - very sad to think about).
Here are some articles about the history of the site (some of them are pretty old):
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/ne...p/cleanup28.pdf (on page 3)
http://www.mothersforcleanair.org/about/ch-fifth_ward.html
http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page?_pageid=5..._schema=PORTALP
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I agree, I would not jog/bike on the east side trails along the bayou at night. They are not lit.
As for traffic, there is almost no traffic on the ones near Jensen along the Bayou (I have never seen anyone else on them when I am on them), but that might be because they do not connect with any other trails right now.
It will be great when you can bike from the east side through downtown and out west along the Bayou. Soon (this Fall), the trail on the south side of the bayou will at least connect the East side to McKee, and then it would be a short surface bike trip to get to the tails along the byaou near downtown.
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Has anyone been out on any of the H&B trails along buffalo bayou in the East End?
I jog sometimes on the one on the north side of the Bayou starting at Jensen and going to McKee Street (it has been open for a while now, but there is still no acess to McKee street); and I have been exploring the ones on the south side of the Bayou near Jensen.
The one on Jensen heading East is almost complete to Tony Marron park, but there is a small segment left to be completed.
Are there any other trails along the bayou being developed out here?
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I heard about this large plot being sold about 8 months ago, but haven't heard or seen anything since. I confirmed with the EPA that the deal closed, so I wonder why clean-up hasn't started?
Here is the last Chroincle article I could find:
"Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Wed 06/21/2006
Section: B
Page: 8
Edition: 3 STAR
Superfund solution / Private cleanup of a contaminated site in Fifth Ward could provide a national model.
Staff
SINCE being abandoned as a metal casting foundry in 1992, the 36-acre Many Diversified Interests Inc. site off I-10 East has been a visual eyesore and toxic waste threat to surrounding neighborhoods and a nearby school. Over the years, lead, arsenic and other contaminants in the property's topsoil have washed onto adjacent playgrounds and yards, undermining economic revitalization of the area.
That may be changing thanks to a first-ever proposed agreement between the federal Environmental Protection Agency and a purchaser. Under the agreement, the nonliable private party pays to clean up a Superfund site. The prospective buyer, Clinton Gregg Investments, L.P., entered a winning auction bid of $7.8 million, including an estimated $6.6 million tab for the removal of contaminants. The site, near downtown, will likely be used for housing and thus require the highest level of pollution remediation.
While the use of private dollars to clean up a toxic waste dump is welcome, it limits avenues for community input, and residents in the area bounded by the freeway and Bringhurst and Waco streets are rightly eager to influence the site's future. Gentrification is already changing formerly low-income zones around downtown, where rising property values are creating a tax crunch for longtime homeowners.
"The issues are layered," said Reginald Adams, a Sierra Club organizer who resides near the MDI site. "You have gentrification, increased property values, a geriatric community and a housing project that has received an unsolicited bid for redevelopment." His environmental group is partnering with the Fifth Ward Superneighborhood Council No. 55 to educate residents about the MDI sale. The council held a neighborhood meeting to gather recommendations for the redevelopment.
Since the massive project will require some improvements to city infrastructure, Adams hopes residents can wield some political clout and the developers will have an incentive to cooperate in planning adequate green space and a mix of commercial and residential amenities in the project. The unique solution proposed for the MDI site won't work everywhere, because not every toxic Superfund site sits upon land valuable enough to pay for its own cleanup. The prospective Houston buyers will perform a valuable civic service and provide a role model for the nation if they can convert a poisoned property into a tax-generating development, while working with longtime residents to create a mutually compatible community."
Nothing like building a bunch of yuppie townhomes to get the economy going...
Shell Energy Stadium
in Sports and Stadia
Posted
Not so fast...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6339016.html