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brian0123

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Everything posted by brian0123

  1. Isn't a spaceport the last thing you build in Sim City before a huge hurricane comes and wipes it out?
  2. As a former owner in East Midtown, I'm glad to see the section in the SE seeing more development. To me that was one of the major trouble spots. The other problem isn't necessarily the shelters, but the flophouses that are interspersed in the neighborhood. Those are the places that are unregulated, people just come and go all the time, and they throw trash on nearby properties. Close those down and the east side would get a lot nicer. You are correct. The only loitering that will occur is what MOW allows. I think this is better than the empty lot that was there... I just wish it meant more tax revenue for the neighborhood.
  3. Thanks for the links. Yeah, I live in Knollwood Village (Braeswood Area) and was hoping to learn about possible improvements along the bayou within loop 610. I was hoping for a dedicated trail bridge instead of having to cross on Buffalo Speedway.
  4. So I'm a little confused about long term plans for Brays Bayou after the recent vote that will expand greenspace and parks along our bayou systems. I've emailed the city (which just added me to pointless email list), I've found a website for the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan, but I can't find anything that talks about how this vote will impact Brays Bayou. Is there a master plan for it somewhere? I did find a website from the Flood Control District called http://www.projectbrays.org/ but that looks geared towards flood control improvements by 2014 only.
  5. The problem is that they end up coming off of Midtown's tax rolls. Then, crime calls tend to increase around them for complaints on vagrancy, loitering, traffic, panhandling, etc. Midtown's Constables end up fielding extra calls because of these places (which comes out of Midtown taxpayer's pockets), yet the budget to hire extra police hours has decreased. I don't think Meals On Wheels here will be a magnet for crime, but I do think that it could attract vagrants that will want to target the workers/visitors. If Meals on Wheels has to keep calling the police, then they're taking man hours away from Midtown residents and businesses that are paying taxes for the extra protection.
  6. What what what?!?! Go to Tacos A Go-Go over Chipotle (they have a big burrito as well). The vietnamese places in Midtown have better coffee than Starbucks (Midtown already has one anyways)... also give Double Trouble a try. Midtown has a ton of better options than the places going into this location.
  7. Can someone clarify the ski dome idea? Would they be on real snow, or a fake/plastic type of material? I keep hearing about this concept but never heard more details on it and how it would work. I'm still in favor of stripping it to the frame and making a park under it.
  8. I never understood why people care about what happened in a house prior to the owning it. If someone had died in my house, it would probably serve as a converstation starter at parties. Even if ghosts were real, am I'm supposed to worry that one would return to haunt me even if I had nothing to do with their parting? And if it's possible for a place to be haunted... that would be an awesome money maker because I could rig webcams throughout and charge a monthly subscription for access. I'd be a millionaire in a month.
  9. By fake, I meant the "town center" type places that attempt to call a large shopping mall something else. I also meant the illusion that the burbs are safer than the city. I didn't mean to imply that you have issues with those less fortunate... I was just alluding to typical "white flight" whether it applies to you personally or not. Also, I do have a kid w/ another one on the way. I walk to Reliant Stadium, my street has tons of kids on it who ride scooters and play tag up and down it (even afer dark), and during Halloween we have a group of about 50 kids where we all walk door to door. Yes, having a kid sort of forced me out of Midtown (more so for the housing stock), but my "urban suburb" is probably a very good example of the trends in Houston population stats (and will only continue as more families move back to the older, now urban suburbs).
  10. Thanks, this illustrates my point from earlier. You all can argue all you want about how the burbs are growing and feel great about how you escaped the big city... but the long term reality is that suburban growth will be increasingly from poorer and immigrant demographics (esp here in Houston). The suburbanites will gradually be confronted with the fact that their neighborhoods (or ones nearby) are changing. School resources will become more strained (i.e. the inc in school enrollment #'s seen earlier in this thread), servicing those that need the help will grow more challenging (esp as they spread out further), and transportation and growing crime issues will only increase. Again, there is nothing entirely wrong with this because it's just the reality of the world we live in. I deal with this stuff in the city and am fine with it... the difference is that you can only run from reality (and build fake suburban eutopian cities) for so long.
  11. Recent report about poverty increasing in the suburbs. While not talking about Houston, it highlights the fact that immigrant and lower income families are now taking up housing in the suburbs. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/nyregion/suburbs-are-home-to-growing-share-of-regions-poor.html?hp NPR also had a report this morning about this study saying that aid organizations (which have forever been focused on serving rural/urban areas, are having to readjust to serve the suburbs). In Houston, yes... the population shifts to the Woodlands/Sugarland/etc. do have higher income people there... but those places are still "new" and are outliers. I would bet that the trends around the country are also happening here (the higher cost of housing in the loop is pushing people to the burbs). Go to any European city and you tend to see the same trend has already happened there.
  12. True, or fortune cookies. When I lived in Midtown I was a block away from the fortune cookie factory on Caroline. Friggin awesome smell when they were cooking them.
  13. I was looking past Gus Wortham golf course. I believe there is some stuff right at 225 and 610 and I'm guessing that's what I was smelling. I was referring mainly to the Far East End (if that's a term).
  14. Really, I think the growth on the east side of the innerloop is stunted due to the refineries. I looked at some property on the east side of the loop, but the wind blew an interesting smell my way and I said nope. Even so, there is tremendous growth south and southeast in Pearland/Alvin/Clear Lake/etc.... so not everything is north/west for the burbs. As for places like the Woodlands, I look at them as fake cities. Yes, they have several major employers and a couple impressive buildings... but remove that and you just have a big mall. It's a place where everything is planned and catered around employees that work in those handfull of businesses. It's a great concept, but if you lose/hate your job at one of those businesses... your SOL if you can't find a job next door or you just deal with the commute to energy corridor or Downtown/Galleria. Sugarland will never become a huge "jobs center" due to the painful commute times to IAH and Hobby. Katy/Energy Corridor will grow until it starts to turn like Greenspoint did. There are just far too many large apartment complexes that are "newish" along it that will deteriorate quickly. My money long-term is Downtown/Galleria and the Medical Center. If I had a crystal ball I'd predict that the area around Reliant Stadium will also grow one day.
  15. First, the urban core is a WAY smaller area compared to the suburbs (and even then, you should probably only look at west of 288 within 610) and the places it is growing are mostly from singles/couples (vs families in the burbs... hence the school enrollment stats). Second, this report does not show demographic and income changes within these areas. If it did, it would most likely show that the suburbs are being filled with tons of middle and lower income families (nothing wrong with that), while the urban core is filling up with higher income singles/couples/ and now familes. In other words, white flight is sort of reversing. It's at a point where it can't really go any further out (unless one day La Grange becomes a suburb of Houston ) When people like me say the urban core is growing, I typically mean that areas that were lower/middle income and were full of older/widowed people are now becoming vibrant communities again. Personally, I grew up in the burbs, moved into the loop, and first witnessed Midtown (in a period of 5 years) spring huge new apartment complexes and add thousands of new residents. Then, we moved over near Braeswood and are now renovating a house and raising our young family in it. The neighborhood has more kids in it than it has in a long time, and it's like the suburbs in the middle of the city. More families move in every day... and thus, people like me say the city is growing based on personal experience. Yes, the burbs will always grow faster. The question is what kind of growth will it be and will current residents like what they see as their neighborhood changes?
  16. I drove by yesterday and there were crews working in it. I was in shock considering I lived in MIdtown for five years and this place is finally getting renovated AFTER I move out. This building was always one of those places I hoped would be fixed up... I'm so glad to see that happening instead of a wrecking ball.
  17. Agreed. I was confused by the NDA logic as well. Aren't the meetings public information anyway?
  18. Yes, I always thought one lane in both directions with a dedicated turn lane in the middle. Wider sidewalks (or possibly squeeze in a dedicated bike lane).
  19. My friend used to live in 2106 facing Greyhound and she said it was always entertaining. She lived near the top and it was still noisy from the station, but the people watching was so much fun. She said that at night you could hear screams coming from the Central Square building. BTW, that side of 2106 facing south has one of the coolest views of the city (no Downtown, but Med Center over to Galleria is really cool).
  20. Yes, HCC has mentioned one tower in the past. I went to a community meeting they had (maybe two years ago) and they said they were hoping to one day have a tower across the street with something like a big Barnes and Noble on the bottom.
  21. That was an awesome scoreboard! Did people in the 60's wear their church attire to everything?
  22. Considering that construction hasn't even started, I'd be very surprised they can build a new movie complex, garage, and reno the existing building to be ready by a 2013 move-in date. If so, it would have to be near the very end of the year.
  23. The area is definitely a fun place to live and I do recommend it. We loved living there despite the negatives because it was constant excitement (good and bad). It was awesome having an officer at your door in minutes, and the 2am male prostitutes dancing in the streets to "attract business" always cracked my wife and I up. The neighborhood continues to improve, big projects are in the works, and there is never a dull moment to be had. I loved to ride my bike around and go speeding off to any police lights I'd see down the road. Once I saw an HPD officer do an awesome one-handed choke slam on a guy at the Greyhound station while on a ride. Don't let the negatives keep you away from the fun, though. As the neighborhood improves, all the excitement will go away and you'll end up in the most walkable and developed neighborhood in the city.
  24. I lived there for five years and recently sold my townhouse. My wife and I loved living there, but I believe all the major returns for the townhomes have already been realized (I made a small gain). The townhomes are getting older, and lots of work will be needed in the future on them. Some are already getting run down. One that was across from us was beautiful until the guy couldn't sell it so he turned it rental. It deteriorated in a year and became an eye-sore. I can't imagine how his neighbors (esp the one sharing a common wall) felt. Also, a common concern at HOA annual meetings was the number of rentals in the area. 30 years out... who knows what it will be like. The neighborhood will probably be awesome. The townhomes themselves... I wouldn't hold my breath. The main Baldwin Square HOA only collects enough money for common areas, fencing, etc. They have no reserves to take corrective action on property owners that become neglectful other than sending angry letters. Living there, my wife would walk around by herself (and with our baby daughter) during the day. At night, no way. The crime stats for Midtown are good, and police response times are awesome (I know because I had to call them a lot). You just have to realize that being the most walk-able neighborhood in the city has advantages and disadvantages. There is a lot of bad foot traffic through the neighborhood, and lots of suspicious people. Most of them just move along or are dealing and they leave you alone. Some do steal mail/packages/potted plants/etc. One of my neighbors had a jacket stolen, and a guy returned later at night with it asking if he wanted to buy it back. That said, the only crime committed against me in my five years was someone stole some of my xmas decorations last year. Feel free to ask me whatever else.
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