zaphod

I really love the materials they used on this place. I think decades from now people will consider this to be a rather distinct and special building, while junkier less interesting structures being built around now will be nearing end of life.

Kind of an unusual location for this style of building. I wonder if over time Highway 6 will get more built up through there.

Can't look at those parking lots without badly wishing they were buildings...

The tags on that page you linked to says "Guangdong"

That area would look a whole lot better if they tore down the mall, even if they replaced it with nothing(honestly, any kind of "mixed use town center" in that location would be a non-starter). However it wouldn't change the general surroundings being unpleasant. I have a hard time imagining that area ever coming back. The long-term trend is going to be less demand for those buildings and the remaining oil industry moving out. My prediction: In 20-30 years several of those high rises will be imploded and a lot of apartments and older retail centers will be vacant lots.

The shorter of the two light gray office buildings on the south side of 610 North, 2727 North Loop, has no windows and appears to be gutted save for construction lighting. Is it being remodeled or dismantled? This building: https://www.google.com/maps/@29.805516,-95.4458515,3a,75y,96.02h,99.63t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sH7y25Ox3E8m28Ldfq51wwA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DH7y25Ox3E8m28Ldfq51wwA%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D268.28018%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

This of course makes me think they should hang on to and polish it rather than toss it. Having a recognizable brand that people associate with trust and longevity you'd think would be desirable nowadays. Like people like nostalgic hometown stuff, they like Whataburger's branding for example.

I love these eclectic smaller buildings.

Agree with the points above. These days a huge "trophy" building wouldn't do as much as something residential/hotel to bring in foot traffic that has nice lower floors to make the street level atmosphere more appealing.

Let's be fair though, the areas that FM 1960 passes through are really a lot more representative of the majority of our nearly 7 million person metro area than being in the western half of the loop. Greater Houston continues to grow unabated while the population of the city proper remains flat and is its share is shrinking down to become a little more than 1/3 of the region. I'll just say it, despite being the person to you know, post on the forum, I've always kind of had a mixed love/hate relationship with this place. The City of Houston proper is cool and some outlying places are cool but the bulk of where most people live in the metro as a whole are really disappointing to me. I also don't really want us to grow so fast anymore, because any growth from now on is going to take the form of the schlock that's expanded out along the Grand Parkway between Katy and 290 and that doesn't add anything good for those of us already here except more traffic and making the attractions or public places we do have more crowded. It's not just walkability, it's everything. These insular McMansion subdivisions keep the residents inside. They have one way in and out so the commercial development that follows is just a crust around the edges of free standing Chick Fil A's and car washes and nail salons, Ctrl+C Ctrl+V. Then the service industry peasant class moves into apartments kept neatly out of the way. The only parks are kids baseball fields or whatever the Precinct 3/4 people can justify mowing once a month. Since we are now in the retail apocalypse new growth isn't spawning new town centers or malls that act like places or anchors for development. The outlying towns in the growth direction like Katy and Tomball decided not to capitalize on it or annex the stuff around them. I realize that you will say Houston has always been like this, but that's just not true. Older areas developed up through the 70s and 80s were "ugly" with stuff like gas stations and billboards but most older neighborhoods do have kind of a community vibe. Like if you go to Garden Oaks or Sharpstown they have streets with sidewalks that all join up, there are city of Houston parks and public schools embedded in them. These places are also a lot denser than more modern suburbia. Also back in the day there were developers with interesting visions like George Mitchell and The Woodlands and all sorts of clusters of shiny office towers and shopping centers and stuff that was exciting. Nowadays its just filling the prairies with KB Homes the Landing at Mustang Bend 70" 90" whatever the hell those numbers mean. The FM 1960 area is sort of like the transition zone or prototype of the newer wave of suburbs versus the older ones. Eventually Greater Houston is just going to be this massive behemoth with no character whatsoever. The boosters will go "oh look at this ethnic restaurant in this skanky strip mall from the 80s we are so diverse" as being the only thing of note in a whole swath of blah. Yeah I get it, me living in Houston complaining about our sprawl is like moving to Phoenix and saying its too hot or moving to New York and saying people are rude in the subway. But its my honest opinion.

Instead of doing that I-45 widening project, just extend the Hardy. It would displace fewer people. Though I don't know if would impact more people with car exhaust pollution.

What would it take to just get a bus from Galveston to Houston up and running? Seems more attainable and a better fit for the likely ridership at this point.

So they are going to paint part of the street green and not much else then? Still see above ground power lines and skinny sidewalks.

This is a crazy idea, but Seabrook and Bacliff seem to have a critical mass of stilt houses to make it viable and so do areas of Galveston Island... A private pay parking lot that's elevated on reinforced concrete piers bored deep into the ground, above the highest known storm surge level. Catering to residents who live in stilt houses whose homes will survive a flood but whose cars won't. It would be located in neighborhoods like this so people could walk home after dropping off their car a few hours before the storm hits. Alternatively buy a lot in Montgomery or Willis or somewhere that's usually OK during a Hurricane and people can subscribe to move their vehicle and schedule courtesy shuttle van pickups whenever there's a storm warning.

I think it depends on what you are accustomed to buying. Kroger seems to have more national brands and better selection of things like microwave dinners or canned soup or string cheese and yogurt or whatever. HEB has more sundry items like laundry detergent, store brands for ice cream, junk food, etc. It's a tossup on produce IMO, some HEB's have great produce areas and others have undersized ones whereas Kroger tends to be consistent. HEB does have more beer selection, usually. Regardless, I am glad we have both chains. I would hate for one or the other to knock off the competition. It's nice having two mainstream grocery chains, not just a major chain and some upscale or downscale or ethnic alternatives(Whole Foods or Food Town or El Rancho). That's how it is for most of central Texas, Austin is almost strictly HEB save for a few remaining Randall's. Kind of sucks.