Texasota

I mean, I'd love to see the feeders rebuilt as urban streets with much lower speed limits, but I doubt TXDOT agrees with me on that. Otherwise this seems like a truly insane project to prioritize. 

Wait the total cost of the Inner Katy BRT is only 600 million even with TXDOT's shenanigans? What is this, a modern country still capable of building things?

ugh I want it now.

It's perfect. I will hear no complaints!

Ugh, i've had enough of this 90s nostalgia.

That's great, though it makes the planned removal of the North St crossing as part of TXDOT's boondoggle that much more annoying. 

It's genuinely amazing how much worse it looks.

On 5/18/2023 at 2:41 PM, Amlaham said:

Idk if this has already been posted/discussed before, but Midtown TIRZ created funding for a cap park over i69 between Midtown and the Museum District. The dates are obviously off, but the important thing is that they plan on funding the park! 

 

Good to see confirmation, but this one was always going to happen. Midtown is well funded and good at planning. 

My big concern is the N Main cap.

Are you talking about the detached garages facing the alley between Waverly and Ashland? 

Or do you mean the proposed houses?

Given the alley I'm hoping that sign is just showing a generic development. Having the garages facing Waverly rather than the alley would be an atrocity.

Why would they choose those columns? They don't match the new building and have strong Cinco Ranch vibes.

Not very impressed by the siteplan, but Peargrounds might be the best name I've ever seen.

Yep. And technically alumni actually only refers to men. Multiple Judies Cook would be alumnae.

But I'm fine with removing that distinction. It's a dumb thing to gender and just makes life harder.

Singular vs. plural is a meaningful distinction though. 

I know this is a losing battle but...

alumnus

alumni is plural

Just keep marching them south on Kirby until you hit the village. 

I'm not talking about the FBI building. I'm talking about X Houston, the building this thread is about.

The original design was better, but the planning commission did not grant them a variance for it.

In other words, this design is an explicit response to development regulations as applied by the City.

This building is literally worse than it could have been because the city *didn't* let the developers "build whatever they want". 

I thought my opinion of the archdiocese was already as low as it could get. I can't completely believe they're doing this.

Well, and the actual garage itself is not bad looking. The lit panels make it memorable and make it *feel* less like this oppressive hulking garage.

Eh, in some ways it's a convenient shorthand for knowing what a person's context/perspective is, especially if they give you a blank look when you try to be more specific (Rice Village, Montrose, "Downtown" Downtown).

I do think there's value in talking about the city proper/inside the loop + uptown/the historic city/whatever as a distinct thing, and Downtown is easier for people than even "inside the loop" (which is maybe too restrictive anyway).

It's annoying, but I understand why it happens and I'm not sure what the best alternative would be. 

Lots of people who travel regularly (especially for business) end up with a preferred hotel chain for points reasons. That translates to Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Hyatt, etc. 

That can end up being a surprisingly strong influence in hotel choice.

But... the village is east of Kirby. 

I don't think 6 stories is overbearing. I am familiar with the comparison, though Austin is *not* my go-to for urbanism to emulate. 

As someone who used to live off of Mandell I 100% agree. They're adding protection where it's most needed. I'd always love more but this seems like a good approach for this specific street. 

I just wish it were 6 stories instead of 2.