Indeed

The Gillman site makes sense, especially if parking from Arena Theater and PlazAmericas is used. Not having to build parking would change the economics significantly.

"Removing" Sharpstown (PlazAmericas) is not feasible. Consider: The property has at least five different owners, including the owners of: the mall, former JC Penney, former Macy's, Burlington Coat Factory, and the Jewelry building. "Removing" the mall would require purchasing all of these properties separately, and if you didn't get them all you would be out of luck. Several of these are operating businesses, and the Jewelry building is fully occupied. So you would have to spend a lot just to acquire the property. Then you'd have to deal with hundreds of existing leases, some of them long term. You can't just tell a tenant to leave because you want them out. Then you would have to spend millions to physically tear it down. Then, probably several years and tens of millions of dollars later, you would be left with a large vacant parcel in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood with crummy retail all around. You would have to sit on it (= no return on all the money you just spent) or seek financing to develop a brand new "something." Whatever that "something" would be (retail, residential, mixed use, etc) would cost hundreds of millions to build. Even with new market tax credits, TIRZ support, City support, community reinvestment act credits, and any other enhancements you could find, the prospects are minimal that you could pull off a new development any time soon. And if you did, my guess is that it would include at least 80% of the kind of things that are already there, to wit: retail, services, office, food. People talk about "bulldozing" the property, but never seem to address the realities of i) how to get that done, ii) what to build after, and iii) how to pay for it. And finally: this is a very visible, prominent deal in town. Every developer knows about it, but even with the mall itself being marketed through bankruptcy and both the JC Penney and Macy's being heavily advertized for sale, nobody has made a run at it. Given that the entire professional development community has passed on this prospect, the commenters should get the message that it just isn't going to happen.

It's not a huge laundromat. The former JC Penney site will have a variety of uses, including a grocer, a laundromat, and a bunch of other stores. It's an appropriate use for a space that has been vacant for a long time.