cumby

Annise kept name dropping them, didn't she, in the whole 380 tax deals debate in the Heights WM discussions? I thought that might be a sign that Houston would be pushing it along soonly

Ha ha, I worked at one of those you're talking about years ago when they went up. I could see the another branch of my bank from the drive thru window and with banks changing hands that bank now has three on that corner. As soon as all those banks started going up, that was the end of the industry. And yet they continue to go up...no one learns. They are useless.

This looks familiar, like something that was being planned over there awhile back. I like its look, but agree about the freeway access. Then again, many of us don't bother to get on the freeway and if my dentist or doc was in an office like that, it wouldn't bother me a bit to take Montrose down to go there. It sure would look nice from the freeway

Our downtown skyline is beautiful... on a clear day, anyway. When the brown fog isn't there, I absolutely love it.

You know, I only saw What's up Cupcake once and I travel that path at least six times a week. I saw the owner give some flaky excuse somewhere about it, so I sort of lost hope. Pie in the Sky is WONDERFUL!! I love all their food and their desserts are great. Go a la mode! Mango Beach on White Oak is supposed to have some yumminess too, but I haven't made it over yet.

Ainbinder, not Ainsworth, FYI. And this isn't just Heights, this is concerning several neighborhoods along the Washington Corridor that use these streets and share resources. You are entitled to want WM, I am entitled to not want it. Yale's repaving was getting done before WM was announced. That's great all the streets above I-10 got so much attention, but between I-10 and Memorial there leaves much to be desired. You do more to prove AF's point than mine. As for the schools, you have got to be kidding me. I've taught in HISD and just spent the last year researching the elementary level to find one for my kid. Unless you live in the right exact spot or can pass the Vanguard, you're kind of screwed. My question is why would they want to build it? I am very well aware that they certainly can build it (but your loan comment is like borrowing from the mafia), I just don't understand their "built it and they will come" system.

The lot most mentioned is being split into multiple plats - A, B and C with A being the Wal-Mart development. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5E7ocgwEpk8/TFMRfW4YCBI/AAAAAAAAAkI/nY3t8WBST1c/s1600/Replat+-+Koehler+Street+-+1.jpg Across Yale, there will be three other unrestricted reserves: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5E7ocgwEpk8/TFMT4TWPR8I/AAAAAAAAAkY/GIEywxjelYY/s1600/Koehler+Street+Variance+Overhead.jpg I can't find the info now, but would love if someone else could fill in the blank...I remember renderings with a second developer who would have space either across Koehler or across Yale. Bass is planned to be widened to allow traffic from I-10 coming from the West to hit WM/Koehler, but I am assuming traffic from north, south and east would be using Yale or Heights in one way or another because frankly there is not much of a way. Bonner, the street forming the back of the development, is closed because of the train horns and would have been another cut through. Shortcuts from the south may include Patterson and residential side streets like Eigel. Koehler is trying to be widened, as an earlier post confirms, and that has been postponed.

First of all, I do not claim to be cool or popular. Don't be so nasty, name calling puts your credibility in question, not mine. I am perfectly aware of what is being offset here. You guys have feeders and streets out where you live off of 1960 or feels like Dallas (your words, not mine) or wherever you are, and so having street work here isn't that out of the ordinary. I pay a lot of tax dollars on my property and we generally have crummy roads and the school I am sending my kid to is sketchy. There are better ways to spend tax dollars than a feeder we never asked for and have lived without happily. That isn't something the city ever had to build. The most roadwork the city pays for in this area seems to be the freeways that get the suburbanites in and out of the city so they can take their paychecks outside of the beltway and enjoy paying low taxes and having better schools. Yeah, we sure are winning the financial war here living in the city. Sarcasm. I don't see why you have to be so nasty when you don't have a personal interest in this, unless your personal interest is the benefit of Wal-Marts everywhere.

2.26 miles away and hate this idea. I think the three mile inclusion is an interesting indicator, we all share these roads for schools, libraries, groceries, etc. No way, and any incentives they or Ainbinder receive or reimbursements provided later are adding insult to injury. This is desirable property, if they want it that bad they can pay every last dime themselves.

It is interesting too to debate how "little" the politicians knew...afterall, when Mayor White checked out, Christina Cabral, his Director of Boards and Commissions, took a regional executive job with Wal-Mart. http://politicalblog.abc13.com/2009/09/mayors-staffers-on-the-move-out.html Hell no, they don't know.

I think this is really simple, don't build it. Many in the community have spoken and said they don't want it, why does Wal-Mart want to push the matter? People say it will bring in people from beyond the Heights, but anyone near Airline or near 610 north will have an easier time heading to the new one at Crosstimbers and 45 and anyone in the West End will have an easy time hopping off the roundabout to Westcott and hitting up the new location going in at I-10 and Silber. It isn't like there won't be close Wal-Marts-a-plenty, and Target is there to meet the big box need. We have Fiestas and resale shops and plenty of places that make living here cheap if you want it to be. Come on, now! The infrastructure argument continually gets undermined by commenters who clearly haven't traversed these roads. Yale sucks already and cannot be approved (if you've been watching Heights news, you know this) and at this point on Yale you can't do anything to expand, but then you'll stick a light there and back traffic up? Will you now be able to turn left on Heights too so you can reach the rest of the developments, then backing up Washington (which already is trafficky because of the existing building). Koehler and Bass won't be improved enough to make this bearable. Bonner, Eigel, Bass, Koehler, if you don't know these names, your argument is hardly worth listening to. But if this is your neighborhood (I include everything from Memorial Park to Heights, north and south of I-10), this affects you because we're all using the same streets to get to the same schools, the same libraries, the same grocery stores, etc. That won't change with Wally smack dab in the middle of it, but it will hurt us in how we carry about our daily lives. Sadly, we could benefit from other things being built there that are low impact on the surrounding areas. Residents of this super-area are not opposed to development and anyone in the know is aware that this will never be a park. That said, this can be something that benefits the area and seriously, NO TAX INCENTIVES/ABATEMENTS/380 AGREEMENTS. Those are for encouraging people to build in undesirable areas that need growth. Last I checked, land is still pretty valuable around here. So says my tax bill, anyway.

The place at Marq-E was Surfer's Paradise Bar and Grill. Definitely. Easy to confuse one cliche tropical restaurant with crummy food and silly themes, no worries. Same tackiness, for sure. I've never "gotten" the hubbub about Rainforest, I've got a kid and even he wasn't into it all that much. Not sure why people are so protective of it, even my 4-year old would know to follow moonb007 over to Cheesecake Factory!

I actually visit this place during the week for Pump it Up, I bring my kid there about once a week for the open play. There are usually only like 6 kids there, lol, so nice for me but not nice for the tenant I guess. Putting Edge, I believe, closed. Heard it was the whole lock on the door scenario. It was a cute little place, I had gone there like once too. Todai is a real treat too, I love that place, that Cafe Adobe is nice because it is pretty often empty. I even dig Red Robin and Improv. I think moving Drink and Improv is great, maybe they will open stores there in their place that open to the outside parking and the inside so you don't have to trek in if you don't want to. Some of the stores in the newer section of Woodlands Mall like the Loft are like that and I'm more likely to pop in that way. Gotta agree about Vans too, I don't think this place initially intended to be marketed to the "get off my lawn!" demo in the first place with the possible exception of Cafe Adobe and the theatre. EB Games, Hot Topic, ice cream, Claire's...it's seeems like they were marketing straight to kids. It needed Vans, but it seems Vans was not enough. And I miss Jillian's, where the heck did the hyper bowl machine go?!