gene

oh that is weird...if it was on the front side i would say its some fun way to have people experience eating outside of the Whole Foods Market...ie. picnic tables on grass would be fun! but not sure since this looks to be on the north west side of the building!  and hey this has been driving me crazy but at night has anyone else noticed when you look at any of the Frost Bank windows there is that circle light reflection as you drive by? it catches my attention every night as i drive by (the circle light/reflection grows bigger then smaller as you pass it) (i work and live a block away or so on each end of this building...) and i hate it haha...its so distracting to me for some reason!    hopefully its just a temporary thing but it appears on all windows on both the east and north side... kooky i know but had to post! haha! (edited to say oh wow you can actually see one of the circles in that photo above... look at the second story up on the left about second window from left and you will see about 3/4 of a circle...!!! oy!)

Do we know when Whole Foods is opening?

last i heard it was april 2014...cross your fingers for that...or sooner i hope

haha love the McD pic as well...you are awesome SkyLine View

haha i just want to say thanks for keeping me entertained on a boring day at work

thanks for the update and the sore neck

So a boutique hotel then?  That's good.  This area of town is the right location for additional smaller hotels with more upscale services.

I agree...Montrose is prime for something like the Austin hotel - Hotel San Jose or their sister property Hotel Saint Cecilia... for awhile there, the owners of those hotels were looking at the spot across from Firkin and Phoenix...maybe now is the time!

A hotel option

Half Price did have a large old home at one time that was just a few blocks from the current location. Regardless, this thing isn't going to happen anytime soon unless all the long term tenants reach an agreement with PM. 7 to 10 years is a long time.

that was the best location ever and they should definitely move to something similar...loved the vibe of that house/half price books!

Would have been nice if the shopping strip was at the front of the lot up against the side walk and the mix use development developed behind and over it in a sort of monster ashby hirise sort of way.

I know a lot of people who observe the pride parade is going to miss that spot. Many people viewed it from stands built in that lot.

I hope these developments cling to each other instead of encroaching on the charm of the Montrose neighborhood.

Would suck if say the BJ Oldies building was replaced by these lookalike residential buildings.

And can we make a pact to limit the use of the term "eyesore"????

oh god forbid that eye sore changes so that people can enjoy that parking lot once a year for a parade haha

wait i'm confused...ya'll are talking about land drilling and construction when clearly it's already built...as evidenced by those amazing photos there a few posts up!!!

agreed, i like the tentants there too but good riddance eye sore of a plaza!!!!!! best news this year haha! (hopefully it doesnt take 7 to 10 years!)

good god yes those photos blow my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!! just amazing...thank you so much for posting...

i too mourn the loss of Eatzi's! Hated when they closed (and how they closed those losers!) but for now i am actually enjoying the Fresh Market on San Felipe quite a bit...but again, cannot wait for the new Whole Foods to open...it is definitely long overdue!

yeah i personally cannot wait for this to be finished as well! Whole Foods and The Counter just a couple of blocks north of my work and a couple of blocks south of my home?! that = awesome (plus it is a great looking building as everyone else has said!)

OMG haha! funny stuff!

Gene, I love your description of the Mercer:  "weird/ugly pencil looking almost no window building/complex".  Its an awkward phrase, but a very apt way to describe it!  Better than my own:  "the elevator shaft building".  :-)

haha thanks and yours is VERY appropriate as well!!! what in the heck were they thinking when they built that!?!?

haha thats the one!!!

yep fence is down and weird to say but i like it better with the fence down...anyway...they are really digging away and since i live next door and drive by it every day i still look at that plot of land and think my god thats small! haha! its going to be the most narrow tall building in uptown (besides that weird/ugly pencil looking almost no window building/complex at sage and richmond...)

yes its a condo property now...with the astoria land property being so small and outdated i thought they would find an excuse to knock it down haha!

Which site would that be? That little apartment complex behind the Astoria on Garrettson?

 

 

Yes i keep waiting to hear that they are knocking down The Winhall Townhouses since they sit right up against  the future Astoria property!

 

ditto to the theater comments! i only go to Sundance these days as that is the best theater with the most respectful movie goers! i dont mind high prices keeping out the riff raff...i want to enjoy my movie haha! and to the person asking about towers being built and worried no high rises will be built due to lack of land...if the Astoria has proved anything is that you only need 5 square feet of land to build a highrise in the galleria area!!!

ps...sorry this is slightly off topic but it seems all the galleria area streets now have the cool sidewalks/lighting yet Post Oak Blvd does not...is this because they are working on the widening of the street for the metro bus project?

the cool lights: http://www.hessamerica.com/Newsletters/201002/

and

the bus/road project: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Uptown-transit-plan-back-on-the-road-4585111.php

anyone have any word that we will get these lights along Post Oak Blvd eventually?

1st) those huge posters of art can easily be changed one day for something else...

2nd) the only thing RD could do better would be if he had those changing color lights shining up on his buildings...nothing says class like changing color lights!!!

it looks like it...i live "almost" next door and they seem to have it all knocked out...

yes i saw that they started working on the parking lot this weekend....cant wait to see how this all pans out because that lot does look super small!