sarahiki

I'm sure glad they are making improvements. Every time I ride with my kids and we go through that tunnel past the BIZARRE display windows I wonder why on earth nobody has required the owners of the concession to spruce things up.

The little Hermann Park train that chugged and tooted its way into children's hearts for half a century will come to the end of the line Jan. 1 as workers make final preparations for the March opening of an expanded multi-purpose miniature railroad.

The new rail line comes with a host of new bells and whistles

Thanks for putting that in perspective for me... it's certainly true that there's crime everywhere.

Blue Valley, I know that crime wasn't in Walnut Bend (see my original post), but the comments linked to the article WERE mainly about Walnut Bend. Hence my interest.

There are a whole bunch of comments on the article linked. My question is, I though Jim MacIngvale (Mattress Mac) was going to buy up some of those apartments to help out Westside Tennis and the neighborhood. Its been about two years since I heard that, but now it seems its an urban legend. I'd love to see that whole Food Town complex razzed. However, the brand new one on the corner can't get any tenants because of the local residents that saunter around the corner trying to look tough.

We have gotten a flurry of emails also. Most of what is going on seems to be in Memorial Plaza, and of the follow home and hold-up in the driveway variety. Car breaki-ins are still our biggest problem, but that's all over the city. You just don't leave your cars on the street overnight, anywhere.

An article in the Chron today about a murder in a neighborhood south of Walnut Bend stirred a flurry of comments about crime in Walnut Bend:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5381378.html

I was looking for more informed opinions. What do you think about Walnut Bend? We are looking for houses and that is one area we are considering. I have little kids so safety is certainly a concern.

Thanks for any feedback.

According to the maps I have, those are supposed to be 'luxury' apartments, but they still will be noisy and an eyesore. Too bad the current owners didn't check things out closer before they bought, because the maps of SCR I have (which came from the SCR visitors center) clearly showed those apartments going in there.

I'm not really surprised that many homes are for sale in SCR at discounted prices, but the fact that many of them are on the EAST side of SCR (away from the landfill), seems noteworthy. There must be several factors at work here, which are combining for a synergistic effect on the market prices.

I must say I find these homes at these prices tempting. I don't like the look of SCR very much, but an inexpensive home on the east side of the community might be a pretty nice solution to our current where-to-live conundrum.

We were at the Chik-fil-A in Pearland a couple of weeks ago and it was raining hard... an employee with an umbrella walked us out to our car!! I was totally shocked. That was lovely customer service.

No matter where you work in retail, the increasing lack of any kind of customer service is appalling, as is the attitude of many employees. Until quite recently, I worked retail, too.

Sackers at most grocery stores - even the Gulfgate HEB - will generally ask women if they need help with a carryout. In the more upscale neighborhoods, one still has a choice of paper or plastic bags and my sources tell me that the carryout tips run $1 - $2 per bag.

Sounds like that could get a little steamy in the sun, n'est-ce pas?

Hardi Plank is concrete planks. So you could say that a Hardi Plank house is a concrete house.

Thanks. This week I'm off Pearland. But I change my mind almost daily so I'll probably be wildly interested again in 3 days. I'll keep your info for the next mood swing.

hmmm. thats weird. Wgreen@ashtonwoodshomes.com or 281-541-1013 direct. I look forward to talking with you.

Wayne

twgreen, I just tried your AOL address and it didn't work. I'd like to get in touch and have a look at Southern Trails. How can I reach you?

ive never said i didnt prefer brick. and we as developer built their entrance and it is nice. i jut drove through SCR and 75% of the brick has green mildew and water stains on it, which isnt all that appealing to me. bottom line gentleman, it comes down to dollars and cents (sense). all of those amenities get absorbed in lot cost. We have already absorbed some addtional items and thanks to the builders for agreeing to support the rise in lot cost. As far as appeal of Southern trails. We arent even close to finshed with the entry and perimeter of the community. Within 4 months its gonna have a look i think our homeowners will be proud of. I welcome any ideas and things to improve the community. And i will shoot straight and be honest on what we can and cant do and even try to explain why. It may not always be what you want to hear, but please believe me when i say i have only the best intentions (im actually condsidering moving here......anyone know someone who wants a 5400 sq ft home in Waterbury Estates in Silverlake?)

LOL

- Swampwalk

- Where Styrofoam Cups go to Die

- Ol' Brownie

- The Long Cesspit

- El Rio de Vagrantos

- ???

Seriously, the Bayou is a nice place to walk during the day but you're never going to have commercial development along it as long as it's part of the storm water system and can rise twenty feet in an hour.

I'm entering this thread late, but here's my 2 cents. I don't think any of these downtown projects (pavilions or bayou place) will really succeed if the target is mostly local people. We need to attract tourists. It kills me everytime I hear someone from outside Texas raving about San Antonio and RIVERWALK!!! Houston has much more to offer than San Antonio, but it's not packaged up as neatly and pleasingly as riverwalk, so tourists can't figure out where they're "supposed" to go. We need to copy SA. We need to turn the Bayou into Riverwalk and call it something else and suddenly we'll have a downtown scene.

I'm sure many of you will agree that the Houston pavilions suffered a major blow when the developer decided to pull out the residential portion of this project due to financial reasons. The residential portion would have at least guaranteed that someone would have to been there 24/7 and if reasonably priced may have attracted the type of resident downtown Houston desperately needs. This would have really made this project as a true mixed use center for that side of downtown and created synergy.

Knowing that the residential portion will not be included we have to wonder- How will the Houston Pavilions fare? Will it be an entertainment and restaurant Mecca as envisioned by the developers or will it be Bayou Place South and face sparse crowds at certain hours?

WHY IT WILL SUCCEED

1) Disco Green - This is going to be a blessing for this part of downtown and the day crowd around the park may lead to the night crowd frequenting the Pavilions a few blocks away. The question that remains to be answered will be how consistently will this occur?

2) Metro Rail- The location of the Pavilions is along the rail line and this is a great location for the current line and those heading to the Pavilions from the future rail extensions.

3)Lunch Time Crowd- The lunch time crowd in both the neighboring skyscrapers and the office component of the project will sustain the success of the restaurants at lunch time Monday through Friday. Hopefully, the trend here will not be like almost all of the rest of downtown- restaurants will have limited hours and very short hours on the weekends.

4) Houston House Apartments- News of a developer intending to spruce up the Houston House may be good for the Pavilions. The more reasonably priced housing near this project the better.

5) Future Development- This portion of downtown has plenty of room to grow and if designed intelligently this area could grow into a nice neighborhood and the Pavilions could definitely be a big part of it.

WHY IT WILL FAIL

1)No Residences. As stated before this will have a HUGE impact on the project and having so many people anchored to the project because they lived there would have turned this from a place you visit to a place where you call home. All of the tenants would have benefited from this in some way.

2)Location -Let's face it. the location as it currently stands is not the safest and most inviting spot in downtown.

3) One Park Place -True we are getting a new residential tower in close proximity to the project but I don't think a luxury apartment will have a significant impact on it. I doubt the resident of a second home 6,000 square foot penthouse in downtown Houston would be someone who contributes to the downtown Houston night life of the Pavilions on a frequent basis.

4)Houston Shops- This is a great parallel for the Pavilions. It involves restaurants, retail, is close to many offices and is very busy during the weekday lunch hour but is DEAD come late afternoon. Even the fronts facing the street are dead after 5. Of course the pavilions will have more of an entertainment flavor to it as Bayou Place does but will it be enough?

5) Not enough destination retail.- Do any of the tenants really excite anyone? Some of the restaurant and dining tenants are unique but again the Bayou Place also has unique dining and entertainment options and that has not reshaped that part of downtown as it should.

Of course I would love to see the Houston Pavilions become a huge success, spur development, and fuel an renewed interest in downtown never seen before but I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here. What do you guys think?

Thanks for the information everyone... very helpful. I'm interested in learning whatever I can about various Pearland communities & schools, so I welcome any and all opinions.

I've noticed pretty big price drops in some existing "non-hot" areas as well - like Sunrise Lakes.

As for trees, there aren't many in any of the master-planned communities of Pearland - they're just too new. Silverlake does get you some trees.

West Oaks does have homes that are older than 10 years, but it's a good place to be if you have kids (schools nearby, built around Dad's club fields.) I have a friend in West Oaks and he and his family love it.

All of this talk of Pearland gets me itching to move... I need a bigger place in 2008, but my wife doesn't know how to stop spending the money.

We have been looking at houses in Pearland in the 180-200K range. There are some really nice places. I'm wondering, have prices there actually dropped? I feel like I didn't see so much for so little when we were looking a few years ago. Is this the subprime effect?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations regarding Silverlake vs. SCR, or other areas to consider? We would like a place that's a few years old, with more mature trees.

Thanks for any advice!!

Absolutely.

I don't live in Pearland, but I've been looking in your same range. I don't know that I'd call it the "subprime effect" but it's definitely the "foreclosure effect" which probably has something to do with subprime.

If you plan to live in the house for a while, the property value increase shouldn't be too much of a concern to you, as long as you don't go negative, which you shouldn't. However, without knowing the future of Houston's economy, you very well could. There will be an oil 'bust' at some point.

If you find a house you like, and it's priced such that it's below the recent comps (i'd go 3 months instead of 6, because things have changed drastically) buy it and live in it.

Don't look at your primary residence as an "investment" but as a place to live that has appreciable value.

PS - try putting this in the Pearland (Coastal Prairie and Bay) section and you'll probably get more feedback. -> http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...hp?showforum=19

thanks, I wasn't aware of that thread.. I'll post over there, too.

We have been looking at houses in Pearland in the 180-200K range. There are some really nice places. I'm wondering, have prices there actually dropped? I feel like I didn't see so much for so little when we were looking a few years ago. Is this the subprime effect?

What do you think... are we likely to lose money buying a house at that price in Pearland? I can only think property values have to go up, despite all the new construction. Areas like Silverlake are so convenient, and the schools are good, I've heard. Am I being unduly optimistic? Thanks for any opinions.

I posted that... I said they seemed unpopular because I saw a post on here from someone who said they hated these houses. However, I can say that I love mine. In my opintion, design is great, construction is great. I love my house.

I came across a post on the Real Estate forum from a woman who said she lived in an Urban Lofts townhouse and that she "knew" the opinion around here wasn't great about them. I tried using the search function here but couldn't really find much. Just curious because I looked at some of those about a year ago and thought they were pretty good for the price. I've got an acquaintance who lives in one of the earliest examples in the West End area and he seems to be pretty happy. Are we talking poor design? Crappy construction? Cookie cutter with modern undertones?

They're putting a rails-to-trails trail through Riverside Terrace. Should be great.

Does anyone know they ripped up the railroad tracks (HBT) that used to split TSU? I know they just demolished the remnants of the bridge that crossed Brays Bayou, butt when did the tracks go? They still have RR crossing markings on the pavement ob Cleburne St.

HoustonRealtor, it sounds like you would be the right person to talk to if we are looking for a house in Westbury or similar-priced neighborhoods. How could I get in touch with you?

Thanks

I am currently working with a buyer in that price range that grew up in Meyerland, so Robindell (plus Braes Timbers and Braeburn Terrace) and Westbury were high on her list. Robindell has some nice houses, but there isn't a huge spread between the low end and the high end, so it might not make financial sense. My buyer doesn't have the money to fix a home up, so we needed something in pretty good condition. I think we finally have the right house and are in the process of negotiating repairs.

I agree that Westbury has more upside if the house has good bones, but you won't find much availability in your price range. Most in your range will be in Westbury South (not great for resale), Westbury 4 (better for resale, but not ideal) or on a major street (again, not great for resale).

Some say that Sharpstown is nice, but it seems like many Houstonians don't want to go anywhere near it. The mall's reputation, along with main streets in the area (like Fondren and Bellaire) have not helped the situation.

Best of luck!

I just saw your post; I like hearing such positivity about Riverside Terrace. We bought one of the (seemingly-hated-by-this-forum) Urban Lofts on Calumet a couple of years ago. I have felt dedicated to this neighborhood but I'm having doubts lately. Someone was just (literally moments ago) shot outside our house in Riverside Park. There is an endless problem with other neighborhood residents throwing trash all over the neighborhood. There's broken glass and condoms all over the jungle gym in the park. This urban mama is starting to actually long for the suburbs, for a safer, cleaner place to raise my kids. But I sure do love the commute from here.

I don't have much money (hence the townhouse purchase) so options to move are limited. Those police lights outside right now make me wonder though.