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The Langley: Residential High-Rise At 1717 Bissonnet St.


musicman

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News that this glorious tower will go up has catapulted today into the realm of the top 5 moist wonderful days for Houston. :) I am happy to call this stupendous city my home. :)

just when city hall closes for the day. should be an interesting monday morning.

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Great news. Did I hear correctly that they cancelled the retail portion of the project and made it 100% residential?

From the chron link already posted

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/breaking/6582223.html#none

The latest plans reduced the number of apartments from 226 to 210 and eliminated a spa, retail space and executive offices.

The approved plans, however, don't change the original 23-story height of the building, which would tower over single-family homes in the adjacent Southampton and Boulevard Oaks neighborhoods.

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What aspect of living in that neighbourhood is idiotic?

None. Well, maybe spelling things in British English...I kid! I'm talking about how all of them claim this will be the end of the world with their "tower of terror" nonsense. Yeah I hope they don't suffer the fate of River Oaks, which has one or two of these things and has been doing just fine for years.

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I might be the only one on this forum to say it - but I feel for the neighborhoods around the Ashby High Rise. The building would be better suited to the Upper Kirby District. It is WAY out of scale for Southampton and Boulevard Oaks. It fronts on minor streets and will create gridlock. Some homes will lose sunlight at certain times. And now that the permit has been granted, there's nothing they can really do.

.

The Ashby High Rise is a perfect example of how Houston needs to listen more to neighbors. Call these neighbors NIMBYs if you want, but in a city without zoning, we need a better mechanism for neighborhoods to voice their concerns over projects that impact them.

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Doesn't the earth revolve around the sun?

It revolves around the sun once each calender year. It also rotates 360 degrees every 24 hours, which is what I think you're referring to. So I guess having your property cast in the shadow of this complex, say, every afternoon from here on out is okay then? On the positive side, maybe it will save them on cooling cost.

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I'm really surprised they gave him a blog.

why?

Chron.com commentor might be the lowest form of human life.

well, the two commentors I read seemed like they lived in the neighborhood, so they're wealthy low form of human life who might have a say in this thing.

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why?

well, the two commentors I read seemed like they lived in the neighborhood, so they're wealthy low form of human life who might have a say in this thing.

The comments on his blog were tame - not at all like the typical chron.com drivel. I consider myself somewhat conservative and chron.com commentors strike me as ignorant right wing reactionaries that border on racist.

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The comments on his blog were tame - not at all like the typical chron.com drivel. I consider myself somewhat conservative and chron.com commentors strike me as ignorant right wing reactionaries that border on racist.

Considering how incredibly stupid his suggestion was (bribe the residents with a free spa membership? Really?), the comments really were tame. He should have been raked over the coals for that.

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The comments on his blog were tame - not at all like the typical chron.com drivel. I consider myself somewhat conservative and chron.com commentors strike me as ignorant right wing reactionaries that border on racist.

If their posts indeed display racism, have them reported. If people report and get the admins to delete bad posts, chron.com would be a much better place.

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Nevermind, I thought it was the equivalent of them giving him a column. In fact I think anyone who wants a blog on Chron.com can sign up and get one.

Well, it's not a column, but it's "sort of" an official chron.com blog. At least he's on their blog roll page and he's already been featured on the front page twice that I've noticed. It's sort of a big deal. They asked him to do it, he didn't just sign up.

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I'm not sure if anyone has answered this in the 59684309683 pages of this thread, but what's wrong with the apartments currently holding ground at 1717 Bissonnet?

How many units are there now anyway?

Wait... I think I just found it. 67 units there now. So whatever traffic that place generates now, it will be about 3.25 times more with Ashby...

Edited by capnmcbarnacle
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How many units are there now anyway?

Wait... I think I just found it. 67 units there now. So whatever traffic that place generates now, it will be about 3.25 times more with Ashby...

For the purposes of this discussion, it may not be a significant numerical difference, but I've gotta point out: Maryland Manor serves a lot of Rice students who walk, bicycle, or ride scooters to campus. I'd be willing to bet that every one of the likely residents of the Ashby high-rise will drive to and from work.

Edited by marmer
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For the purposes of this discussion, it may not be a significant numerical difference, but I've gotta point out: Maryland Manor serves a lot of Rice students who walk, bicycle, or ride scooters to campus. I'd be willing to bet that every one of the likely residents of the Ashby high-rise will drive to and from work.

Is that a bad thing?

I'm sure the Rice grad students will find another complex to bike and scoot to and from.

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Yeah, wasn't sure about the number of units at Maryland Manor, but I figured it was populated with Rice folks.

Is that a bad thing?

I'm sure the Rice grad students will find another complex to bike and scoot to and from.

But the point is that it's there, it's built, and fairly functional from what I gather (and I assume it is somewhat affordable considering the area). If that is indeed the case, then off-campus (but nearby), affordable, non-Rice built housing doesn't seem that prevalent.

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Yeah, wasn't sure about the number of units at Maryland Manor, but I figured it was populated with Rice folks.

But the point is that it's there, it's built, and fairly functional from what I gather (and I assume it is somewhat affordable considering the area). If that is indeed the case, then off-campus (but nearby), affordable, non-Rice built housing doesn't seem that prevalent.

Ashby & Rice University: Together, turning riders into drivers

;)

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Maryland Manor used to be a dump, but a fairly cheap dump. Yes, lots of Rice students used to live there. It was extensively remodeled in the mid-90s, seems to be pretty nice now. I would not assume for a moment that those people who live there now, probably grad students, med students, and middle-income-ish retail and office workers, will be able to find 67 similar units in the area. I could be wrong, but I bet I'm not. But, hey, go ahead and tear down a perfectly decent, up-to-date, highly occupied apartment complex, and build something that might not get financing, might not find tenants, and almost no one in the area really wants. That's what property rights at all costs, with a side order of urban density, really means!

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