The Great Hizzy!

Thanks for sharing, Pumapayam.

MinuteMaid Park, Toyota Center, expansion of GRB, Hilton Americas, MetroRail

Were all done for two reasons: Super Bowl and Olympics, not for downtown.

Our MetroRail is a joke, now its just in its infacy, so I will give it time. (Dallas has a very good MetroRail, now they just need more businesses in downtown)

MinuteMaid Park, Toyota Center were built basically because we were forced to build or loose teams, not for downtown.

I will give you Discovery Park, that is probably the only thing that has been done for downtown, I am not sure how the mayor has played into the park, so I have nothing to say against that.

LOL!

Actually, most U.S. cities have pretty dead downtowns, and many of them even more so than Houston. Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco are among the few exceptions. Most other cities, however, aren't really happening either.

I'm still baffled by this prevailing notion that every social ill in this country is "the worse" in Houston. I mean, really, what happened over the last twenty years before I moved here? There's a real psychosis among some people in this city.

Oh, stop that.

I seem to remember a garage being there as well.

This sounds like something geared towards the 35-50 set. I could be wrong, though.

Wow, didn't realize it was that soon. I was thinking December or something like that.

I had no idea that they'd cleared that much land thus far. I've not been on that side of Houston Center for weeks. Really starts to give you a better idea of the layout's size in relationship to HC and the GRB.

Also, note some of the new construction and renovation projects going on in the warehouse district on the other side of the elevated 59. With some dilligence, that area has as much potential as Midtown, if not more.

Well, it's always good to see something in print, with tangible dates backed up by realistic timelines than speculation, panic and BS. Hopefully it will be a smooth construction process with quality build.

This is intersting because it was a pretty good night traffic wise on Saturday and it made me think about the potential impact of the Pavillions and the development slated to the east of there. With northern end traffic being a weekend/late night type thing, it would be great to see HP and the new park development create more of a sense of community that would make that part of DT a daily thing more than just a nightly thing.

Good re-post Bachanon. Always good to specifics so that there's less speculation or confusion over potential projects.

I don't know if this is a 100% but Turnberry doesn't typically struggle to get projects off the ground once they break ground.

What a happy first post, Houston 1973. I'm smiling just reading it.

You need ammenities to attract more people to move there.

It is the people who live in downtown that should support the bulk of the retail.

The rest just hit the restaurants and clubs and treat downtown more as a novelty.

I mostly agree with this. I don't think downtown residents SHOULD necessarily be the primary supporters of downtown retail (in fact, I think it more depends on the type of retail) but I do agree that there presence should be substantial.

I really like the idea of buidling off potential new residential develops such as the Fingers project, the Pavillions and even the new Ben Milam renovation if it comes to fruition.

I wish we there was a link to this information so that we can go back from time to time and read about updates, but thanks for the information anyway. This sounds great, if true. I've always wondered why some developer didn't take advantage of the ol' Ben Milam like others took advantage of some of the other older buildings near MMP.

Yeah. If they do, it'd be a nice change of pace.

I agree with WG. Retail in urban developments won't be effective if the market it intends to serve is over saturated. Clearly, the developers for this project don't see enough in the way of longterm development to justify bringing retail into their development. Maybe in ten years they'd feel differently--or maybe not.

Thanks for the tip, WG. I admit that I forget the place is still in existence (even if under its fourth or fifth incarnation). The problem is that the building itself is small relative to its surroundings and it kind of sits out of the way, half burried beneath the elevated.

How are the prices? Can you get a good lunch for seven bucks or less?

Oh, wow. Didn't know there were two of them in play now. That little sections seeing quite a bit of action for sure, then.

Basically, the Voss/San Felipe intersection. I know that they've cleared land and there's a large renovation of a former strip center nearby. They're also replacing another apartment complex across the street with a more elaborate development, so that intersection's seeing a lot of activity. The design I've seen on the billboard at the site looks very "Gablish". Not bad or anything but nothing out of the ordinary from their other projects.

In today's economy and office market, no. American firms are become more leery about building massive high rises so the number of firms who would do so are limited. But even if willing, the market has to bare it, and in most U.S. Cities, the market simply isn't there to absorb the space a tower like BotSW would present. Even with the positive turn in the DT office market, Houston is one of those cities.

Cool. Didn't know that. I've probably heard that somewhere in the past and just never connected it with anything in particular.

I agree. I've always said that about commercial revitalization concerning retail downtown. Given the market and the preponderance of the type of people who are downtown at present, a good mix of both the traditional chain and the original concept would probably be a good starting point. Name recognition is important with certain consumers, be it for good or bad. Once that crowd begins to permeate and congregate, they'll eventually expand their interests to the non-traditional outlets and "spread the word" so to speak.

Even so, the longterm success of HP will greatly depend on DT's ability to attract a critical mass of residents, who will make the area more of a neighborhood, just as the people who live in Uptown, Montrose, Rice Village, Upper Kirby, et all have made those areas all encompassing neighborhoods.

You know, I also like H-Town Man's suggestion of Houston Green(s). Certainly not a generic "named after" moniker and probably has the ability to endure.

Midway Gardens has a nice ring to it as well--at least, in my feable mind,

I heard wealthier residents of Riverside Terrace get transfers to schools on Houston's west side...

Years ago, in the late 80s, I had a cousin who graduated from Bellaire High, and her family lived in RT, so there may be something to it. I wouldn't know for sure, though.

I think it should be something plain and simple like "Comfort Park". I think it's kinda catchy. I can see it now, "Oh yeah, we are having a soccer match at the CP", or "Let's meet today for lunch at Comfort Park". It could work.

By the way, if someone would like to use the idea to submit, by all means. Dinner and Astro's gear isn't quite enough to get me excited enough to submit it.

While I'm not sold specifically on Comfort Park, I do agree in the let's keep it simple idea. I've always thought it odd that the city didn't have a major park named after Roy Hoffheinz so I imagine he would be a candidate if you were to want to name the park after some notable figure in the city's history.

I still have my doubts about Seth Wand but he has looked decent in his time out on the field over the first two preseason games. Spencer had a couple of miscues covering his assignments (picking up the wrong guy) but also had some very impressive blocks.

The right side (that is, David's weak side) is also very interesting. You hope that at some point this season, Eric Winston's recognition of blocking schemes and the like improves to the point where he can be ready to fill in if Wiegert doesn't work out long term.

As for Donovan McNabb and "running QBs"... I don't think Donovan's been a prototypical running QB since about the 2003 season. For one, he's a lot heavier than in his first five years in the league (and slower) and he's become a lot more sensitive about injuries since he suffered a fairly serious one towards the end of the 2003 season. His running style is a lot more defensive than explosive, that's for sure.