The Great Hizzy!

It's an industrial area with factories, warehouses, refineries and the like. It's the spine of the working class community. It's a great reason why Houston is one of the largest cities on the continent. Heavy industry isn't going to look "good". It doesn't look "good" on the south side of Chicago, the east end of LA, the East Bay or what have you.

However, there are things the city could do to make the immediate area between US 59 and, say, Lockwood Drive look more presentable to the local community. I agree with that part of it.

Interestingly enough, exiting at Uvalde or Maxey Road and then north will take you to some neighborhoods that look about as new as anything in the 'burbs and they're predominately latino or African-American neighborhoods. That's what's weird and lovable about Houston, IMO... things just come up and slap you in the head, even if you've lived here for a decade or more.

I thought Atlanta was the overall crime leader followed by Detroit (for Metros over 2,000,000)?

Sundance Square in DT Fort Worth would be a great model for the Houston Center area. To me, they have some similarities, and resign myself to the fact that the Lamar and McKinney corridors from Houston Center to about Milam are probably the best bets to see further expansion of longterm retail (not bars and restuarants) similar to what's at Sundance.

Mine is a combo, that's for sure.

All theve done so far is a small little building but this thing is going to be nice.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're confusing the Gardens at Westgreen development with the Indigo Earth project. They are completely seperate projects. No dirt has turned yet on Indigo Earth while the Gardens at @ Westgreen project is well underway and will likely be completed in either December or the first quarter of 2005.

The Gardens @ Westgreen

Also,

Initial tenants will include Slick Willie's, Tokyohana Grill and Sushi Bar, Berryhill and the Swig bar.

That's a very good point, Subdude, but I also agree with Space City that in the process of annexing surrounding communities, the city should have a plan in place to provide better infrastructure (if it doesn't already exist) including park acreage, modern drainage and, perish the thought, sidewalks. Settegast, for example, is an impoverished area and the lack of basic infrastructure in that area of the city only makes the area look more desolate than it is, which doesn't do a good job of promoting commercial opportunity or even basic retail access.