aeroG

Yeah, I recall how long and drawn-out the effort to get the Sugar Land Town Square project was. There was a lot of hashing out of designs, abatements, etc. so it took a lot of perseverance to see it actually get off the ground. The Town Center site was probably THE premier location for development in Sugar Land. I've been in SL since 1989 and assumed for a long time that would be the mall site. It deserved a top-notch project rather than just another strip center. That said, I do have a number of criticisms of it, but mainly because it hasn't come anywhere near its potential yet. In particular, there's too much emphasis on very high-end retail and restaurants. Also, there really needs to be an entertainment venue, such as the IMAX theater that was part of one early proposal. I'd love to see a 3-D IMAX. Also, there needs to be some thought put into making obvious pedestrian connections to the mall, La Madeleine (which would have been an ideal restaurant for Town Center, but is across the street) and other nearby places. I've walked these routes, and while you can do it, it's often rather awkward, especially to the new outdoor mall extension, when just a bit of sidewalk paving would help tremendously.