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livincinco

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Everything posted by livincinco

  1. livincinco
    Are you familiar with the Texas Central Railway proposal to build a HSR link between Dallas and Houston? That seems like an awfully big step towards building what you're talking about.
  2. livincinco
    I haven't seen any tally of the comments, so I can't comment on the truth of that, but it's still irrelevant because those comments don't consider cost and general feasibility of the project. Comments are one factor in a decision nothing more.
  3. livincinco
    That's outstanding. The point of soliciting comments against several options is to assist in the process of eventually arriving at one option and then executing it. I'm sure you'll disagree with this, but I'm going to hazard a guess that there were public comments in favor of several different options. Therefore, somebody's comments are always going to be ignored.
  4. livincinco
    Damn you and your "facts"!
  5. livincinco
    Profitable really isn't the issue, opportunity cost is. Let's accept that the land got sold out from underneath them. They clearly weren't making enough profit to relocate and open the store in another downtown location. I don't know what their rent was at that location, but I'm going to guess that it was below market value (which could have also contributed to their profitability). I don't have the data to say for sure, but there just doesn't seem to be evidence that street level retail in downtown is a good business investment at this point.
  6. livincinco
    There's a key point that you're missing here though. Macys closed their store because it wasn't doing enough business. It's great to speculate about how nice it would be to build storefronts but they need to be able to do business and there just isn't any evidence at this point that sufficient retail volume exists to do that. Pavilions/Greenstreet has had success as a entertainment/dining destination, but hasn't been able to generate any significant retail presence. The only way that you draw a department store anchor at this point is by giving a large 380 development agreement. I would argue that money is better invested in drawing residential for the near term and then letting the retail develop organically from the increased population.
  7. livincinco
    I...didn't realize that you could write full sentences!
  8. livincinco
    Last I heard though the fees aren't set for the new canal yet, so the projected increase in business is purely speculative. There's some concern that Panama is going to jack the usage fees up so high that it will impact volume.
  9. livincinco
    Chevron has a chemical division that's headquartered in The Woodlands? Could your source potentially be referencing that entity?
  10. livincinco
    Both of those buildings look like they're going to be done a lot earlier than that based on current progress.
  11. livincinco
    That area really needs something like this. I'll be surprised if this isn't a big success.
  12. livincinco
    Why not? TJ certainly didn't look impressive and it wouldn't hurt to give Schaub the additional rest. At least Case brings a different element by being able to move around when there's pressure.
  13. livincinco
    I'm less concerned with Schaub at this point than I am with Kubiak. I really think that he's taken them as far as he can and that it's time for a change. Their offense is just too predicable. Teams on sitting on the routes.
  14. livincinco
    I kind of liked the concept behind Cotswolds where they were a little more subtle. How about Cotswolds - the new millennia?
  15. livincinco
    I agree. Seems like its just a matter of time before they start issuing speeding tickets on the toll roads based on the scan times at the different stations. On that same note, saw this today. http://t.nbcnews.com/technology/careful-what-you-tweet-police-schools-tap-social-media-track-4B11215908
  16. livincinco
    What's happening in Ft. Bend really reminds me of how Orange County, CA developed. It never developed a dominant city. I can see Ft. Bend ending up with multiple mid sized cities in the 100k - 300k population range that blend into one continuous urban area.
  17. livincinco
    What I find both exciting and terrifying are the implications of "big data". For example, Nordstrom recently admitted that they were using store cameras to track shoppers, identify them by age group and gender, and then track their walking patterns through the store to improve their placement of merchandise. I'm fine with targeted marketing, but...
  18. livincinco
    Nice stereotyping. Try driving down Mason sometime. You'll find a pretty wide variety of small family-owned restaurants tucked into the little strip centers there.This has become a great area for grocery stores. In addition to Trader Joe's, we've got Whole Foods, Sprouts, the big HEB, and the new Kroger Signature all within a couple of miles. I need to start cooking more.
  19. livincinco
    Have you ever heard the Vince Lombardi quote "when you get to the endzone, act like you've been there before." The same thing is true of first class.
  20. livincinco
    I don't know how familiar you are with the history of Southwest, but offering first class and lounges would be a pretty radical departure from their business model.
  21. livincinco
    I doubt that anyone in the US will build another department store of that size. Those days are gone.
  22. livincinco
    I think that they'll renovate it and integrate it into the project. Makes complete sense to have a mid-price hotel attached to it.
  23. livincinco
    That is completely unrelated to this thread.
  24. livincinco
    Not at all. His discussion is centered around a government planned district. Low level retail should develop organically without government involvement as a response to market demand. As I've stated in other threads, I believe that low level retail will develop in downtown Houston once there is a sufficient population to support it. In my opinion, CoH is doing the right thing in that area - incentivize residential and let the market provide the retail once sufficient demand exists. That being said, I think that a Fig At 7th type development would be great in downtown and would be worth incentives, but this looks like this is more of a push to create a Michigan Ave type of environment.
  25. livincinco
    Actually, I can pretty much say that I don't think something is realistic for any reason that I want. I stated what I clearly identified as an opinion, but I'll expand anyway. Let's use LA as an example. LA has created a pretty vibrant population downtown, but it really hasn't generated retail in that process. LA Live has become a major draw strictly based on entertainment and restaurant venues. They recently launched a retail center that I think is very much in line with the kind of development that would work well in Houston - Fig at 7th which is anchored by Target and Sports Chalet (comparable to Academy) along with an upscale food court.
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