HtownWxBoy

I have to admit... at first when I heard about the new tenants at HP I was really down like most people. But since then I have been thinking... - these are still good stores - other tenants announced are great tenants - there is still room for SEVERAL more tenants... and they will announced - this project is actually underway... they are building! - Downtown park, fingers tower and American apparel are all announced / underway - the potential for more retail and residential development downtown is now great Well, once again, I AM TOTALLY EXCITED!!

I would LOVE to see an H&M at Pavilions... though I doubt that will happen.

I know on the one side on Main Street there is the garage where American Apparel and other retail places are scheduled to go.... in the Sakowitz building. Across from the one shorter side of the Pavilions is an Italian restaurant while on the other short side is, I believe, a hotel.

It will. Go to the Pavilions' website (I know it needs updating) and look at the colored pictures under "Renderings". I am sure it will look very similar to that... minus the condo towers, of course. Not sure, but I believe others were announced a few months ago.

Exactly! Let's not forget, just b/c a store isn't coming to Pavilions doesn't mean it won't now come to Downtown. American Apparel is opening up right next to Pavilions. I have bought a few shirts from there and I really like them... plus I love their multi-colored undies. ha ha ha American Apparel also has a history of opening up in areas needing more retail... they like to lead the way... and others always follow. I would love to see a Gap and Banana Republic... they would not be anchor stores... so they could still come to Pavilions. Those who wanted Barnes and Noble... well, the book store they announced is basically the same thing! Forever 21... ok, never been there... was hoping for something bigger, but oh well. I would have liked to have seen a Virgin Megastore or Niketown... but now that I think about it, I wouldn't shop there! ha ha For shoes, I like Sketchers... and for music, I get that stuff elsewhere. I would have liked to have seen a movie theater... but hey, look at the awsome, trendy bowling lanes we are getting! That will be fun to go to! No condo tower upset you?... well, residential vacancy rates downtown are very low... so I am sure other projects will be announced. Go to Denver Pavilions' website and see how many tenants they have... on 2 blocks. We will have three blocks. You want to know why I am excited?... b/c coming to Downtown in 2008 is OVER 360,000 sq. feet of NEW RETAIL SPACE, including clothing stores, a huge bookstore, a trendy bowling alley, Houston of Blues and SEVERAL great restaurants. Also coming to Downtown, a new, huge Downtown Park that will include restaurants. Following all of this is the new fingers tower already under construction. This will have street-level retail including a small grocery store. NONE OF THIS EXISTS IN DOWNTOWN TODAY.... STILL SAD?

I like the Angelika Theater, but they usually play more "independent" films. That's great... but it would be nice to have a theater that plays all the big box office movies.

I can't believe how upset a lot of people are getting. I am a bit bummed by the new tenants, also... but this project is still happening with great tenants... and MORE tenants will be announced. Our project is bigger than Denver's... and just go to their website and see the number of stores they have. They are two blocks... we are going to be three! I was hoping we would get a movie theater... but oh well.

I drove by the site today... they were tearing up the one parking lot... it was nice to finally see some dirt! Here we go!!

Two anchor tenants... my guess is it will be something like a United Artist Movie Theater, Virgin Megastore or Niketown. According to Denver Pavilions's website... their "major" tenants are: Virgin Megastore, Hard Rock Caf

I know they are saying that the grand opening is in October 2008... but does anyone think parts of the project will open before then?... or will everything open at once?

Seems like that Italian restaurant will be in a nice prime location once Pavilions is done.

Imagine... all of this... PLUS.... American Apparel and any other retail stores that open on Main Street, The Park Tower w/ street-level retail and Discovery Green... all new to Downtown by late 2008... well, the Park Tower will be later, but not too much later.

My guess... it would be cheaper to buy in DT now.

Well, unless the bottom drops out after you buy a home and home prices plummet, you will almost always in the end save money by buying. You may not save it right away, but you will over time. Everytime you write a rent check, that money disappears never to be seen again. When you write a mortgage check, although most of it in the beginning goes towards interest, you get to write that off on your taxes. Any money you put towards your principal is still yours... you don't lose it... it is just in your home now. Although you may pay a bit more each month for a certain place with your mortgage / property taxes / HOA fees... you get money back from tax write offs and property value increases. If you buy a home today and 5 years down the road its value goes up $50,000... that $50,000 is now yours. If you paid rent for those five years... all of that money is gone and you haven't made a dime. Even if you buy a home and the value of it stays the same, you still technically save money as opposed to renting b/c of all of your tax write offs. If you have good credit and you could afford to buy, you should buy. All you do is take what you pay in rent and find a home where your monthly bills (mortgage / insurance / taxes / HOA fees) equals around what your rent was. Hope that helped a little bit.

A lot of it will have to do with simple "supply and demand". If the demand is there... say all of a sudden lots of people want to move downtown... but the supply of new apartments/condos isn't there... prices of the homes already there will go up. If they build tons of new housing downtown and find out nobody wants to live there... prices will go down. Areas such as Midtown, the Heights, Montrose, Uptown and the Museum District / Medical Center area continue to see home prices for the most part rise b/c people want to move into these areas... there is a demand. Fortunately, there is a lot of land and a lot of homes / projects being built (the supply), so although home prices are rising, they aren't out of control. Other factors of course go into it, but supply and demand plays a big part is where home prices go.

True, but at least things are improving... the future of Downtown looks bright, and it's fun to watch. I am excited to see what Downtown will be like 3 to 5 years from now.

Although this would be a great project anywhere in Houston, I think the fact that it is right in the middle of Downtown is what gets me most excited. I also get excited thinking about what this project could do for Downtown in terms of attracting more residential and retail projects. If Houston Pavilions was going to be built in the Galleria, I would be excited, but not nearly as excited as I am with it being build Downtown. Just look at all the construction going on or getting ready to go on in Downtown compared to just 6 months ago..... Discovery Green, the Fingers residential tower which will include street-level retail, Houston Pavilions, American Apparel (hopefully opening sometime in the next few months)... I think we have seen a big turning point for Downtown.

Yes yes... Houston House is "gay"... we are busted. It's all part of our evil "agenda". We have infiltrated the malls and the shools, now we are moving onto apartment buildings... and by apartment buildings I mean the actual physical structures... we are turning the actual buildings gay! Next on our list to gayify... THE MOON!! > Anyways , I have been in 2016 Main a few times. I thought it was a nice place... I wouldn't mind living there. It's in a great location... right next to downtown on the rail... though the exact area it is in is a little shady. I was in Houston House once... seemed ok. 2016 Main was definitely the nicer of the two. I knew a "gay" who lived in 2016 Main... so that place might also be "gay"... maybe it caught it from Houston House!

Slowly moving forward... I will be really happy when I finally see some dirt!

If people in Philly, DC, NYC and Boston can handle the cold up there, Houstonians can handle the cold here w/o needing to run into tunnels. That's why we have coats, gloves, scarves, etc... to keep you warm outside. Rain... use an umbrella. I can understand when it's hot and humid b/c it sux to sweat after only walking 2 blocks... but cold and rain... people can learn to handle that.

I say build the tunnels underground for when the weather is not ideal for walking outside... but don't put any retail or restraunts or anything else down there... keep that all above ground on the street. Sure we can put nice art work or neat lighting in the tunnels to make them fun to walk through, but just make them for walking... not for sitting, eating, shopping, etc. If you want to get to another part of town, you go underground and walk in the tunnels to that part of Downtown and them come right up to the surface when you get there.

Ditto!

From the Houston Business Journal.... http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories...1256400^1414949

... and so it begins!

I, for one, would love to someday move downtown... once it becomes more "urban" with more places within walking distance to eat, go out to, shop (inclucing grocery stores), etc. My boyfriend and I recently bought a townhome in the Heights. When we were looking to buy, we did look at a loft right on Main Street, but b/c of several reasons, we didn't buy it. I like the Heights, and our home is much bigger than the loft we looked at, but I for one would love to live somewhere more "urban"... and I wouldn't mind less space. He likes more space, but when I told him about what Downtown might be like a few years from now, he definitly seemed interested.... so we will see. :-)